Best Beater Watch for the Money? Casio AD-S800WH Solar for $45.62 on Amazon

 

This Casio AD-S800 Solar with 49mm bezel seems like a good value at $45.62. If you want better lume and water-proof, you might want to look at a Citizen Pro Diver for over $200. 

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Comments

[Gary]

Casio has quite a few watches based on the 5208 module.

First, there is the AQS800 line:

http://www.casio.com/products/Watches/Sports/AQS800W-1B2V/

Next, there is the AQS810 line:

http://www.casio.com/products/Watches/Sports/AQS810W-1AV/

Finally, the ADS800 line that you mentioned (not shown on the Casio web site as far as I can see).

The AQS800 models are the smallest and thinnest (I own a couple of these). The ADS800 models are the largest and thickest. The AQS810 models are in between.

The ADS800 models have 200m water resistance and apparently mineral glass crystals. The AQS800 and AQS810 models have 100m water resistance and acrylic crystals.

One thing I don't like about the 5208 module is that you can't show the day and date at the same time on the LCD. Your choices are time with seconds, day with seconds, or date with seconds.

[Gary]

This thread on the AQS810 has some pictures of the blue version of the ADS800.

http://forums.watchuseek.com/f17/hidden-gem-aq-s810-budget-model-review-711129-10.html

[Gary]

After reading the specs more carefully, it turns out that the bigger ADS800 (51mm x 11.3mm) is actually thinner than the smaller AQS810 (46.6mm x 13.8mm).

[Angelo]

For not much more, I'd opt for an entry level G-Shock. I think you get more for your money with a G-Shock. I had two watches in for battery changes yesterday----and noticed the mall watch shop selling G-Shocks for $79.95. I assume these same ones are available online for less----almost indestructible and you can usually sell them years later and make much of your money back----replace them with a new one if you so desire. Batteries in the G-Shocks are said to last 7 years too.

[Gary]

You can get a workhorse G-Shock DW6900 at Amazon for about $43, and its cousin, the solar/atomic GW6900 for about $76.

[Angelo]

Gary: On the advice of Herculodge reader Tom, I picked up a G-Shock about 2-3 years ago----I love it. Wore it this weekend in fact. I don't plan on selling mine. When it needs a battery, I'll put a battery in. I wear this watch for the rough stuff and it's holding up nicely so far.

[KI6H]

I'm a big fan of the Casio Men's WS210H-1AV, which I abused egregiously on a recent trip far off-grid in Baja California, Mexico. It shows the moon phase & tide, is solar powered, has a countdown timer (many watches do not) and costs about $30.

I was dragging it in and out of saltwater and across sand all day & it still looks brand new. I also use it for cooking (countdown timer.)

The moon phase is great for astronomy (which was part of the trip) and the tide chart is great for tooling around in boats (the other part of the trip.)

[Gary]

I have a WS210 also. I bought it for the moon phase and tide features, but even without these it's a good all-around watch for the money. Also, it has the loudest alarm beeper of any of my Casio watches. The G-Shocks are very quiet in comparison.

[Angelo]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CASIO-MEN-WS210H-1AV-TOUGH-SOLAR-TIDE-MOON-PHASE-WATCH-/151671458441?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item235052ca89

Looks like a deal!