Review of the Casio G-Shock GW002KA & G5500MC

Today's blog concerns a pair of watches that I call the forlorn Gs---destitute and bereft of the love and affection lavished upon their more popular siblings like the Frogman and Riseman.  But the GW002KA and the G5500MC are really solid Gs with great feature sets that belie their awkward appearance.  If one is looking for a G with all the creature comforts and the exclusivity of wearing a watch that few people have (albeit 'cuz everyone thinks they are ugly) then read on.

I should also mention that I got my hands on a decent camera with some amount of adjust ability. So I am no longer at the mercy of my fickle point and shoot determining what my photos should look like.

I'm really eager to get into the descriptions of these watches because there is little to no discussion of them on the net, particularly the GW002KA.  So let's get on it starting with construction of the G5500MC.  The G5500MC is typical of the 5500 series of Gs with its plastic case, stamped backing secured with four screws and resin bezel and band.  The four pushers are enclosed by the bezel itself so this is a nice alternative for those who appreciate the mud resistance of the Mudman series but are buying on a budget (actual savings are slim at best but every dollar counts towards another G LOL).  The clasp is nicely signed, made in Japan (if you care) and of the double prong variety which is both attractive and very secure.

As with most Gs of this ilk the water resistance is measured at 20bar or 200 meters and this is so stated on both the case back and strap.  The strap also has a series of parallel ridges running the inner length that help keep the watch positioned firmly on the wrist as well as holding the strap keeper in place.  

The color of the G5500MC is often referred to as brown camo but it is not like any camo pattern I am familiar with.  I can best distill the essence of the G5500MC's appearance as coffee with cream added that hasn't been thoroughly stirred.  

Moving on now to the construction of the GW002KA which I think a great deal of people will find quite appealing upon acute examination.  The aesthetics of the watch are quite similar to the 6900 series of Gs with the 3 eye face.  The real unique characteristic is the composite nylon/resin band which is rather comfortable.  Additionally the green nylon is only a thin covering over the resin core of the band so this helps to prevent the nylon from absorbing lots of moisture and emitting that pungent redolence.   The strap keeper and buckle are both nicely signed but the place of origin is uncertain being either China or Japan.

The GW002KA features a stamped case back secured with four screws with water resistance marked on said case back as 20bar.  The pushers are plastic and the illumination has its own exclusive pusher at the 6 o'clock position which is always nice.

And now we get down to brass tacks in regards to the respective feature sets of the GW002KA's 2913 module and the G5500MC's 3062 module.  

Starting with the G5500MC the module features Tough Solar power, world time, five alarms (including snooze), hourly signal, 60 minute countdown timer and stopwatch.

In the G5500MC's main time keeping mode visible are indicators for the power reserve, DST, power save mode, auto EL, hourly signal and the date and day can be displayed alternately by pushing the adjust button.  By pressing and holding the adjust button one can, of course, set the time as well as a few other neat things.  Of note one can select 12 or 24 hour time formats and determine the duration of the illumination.  The illumination can be triggered with the optional auto EL mode in which the illumination turns on when the watch is held at a 40 degree angle.

Now let's take a look at the module of the GW002KA.  This watch features Waveceptor (US only), Tough Solar, world time, 5 alarms (including snooze), hourly signal, 60 minute countdown timer, and stopwatch.  In the main time keeping mode displayed are indicators for power save mode, DST, hourly signal and auto EL.  The three eyes correspond from left to right to 10 second display, power reserve and Waveceptor successful reception or signal strength if the watch is trying to connect to the Fort Collins, CO atomic tower at that time.  Pressing the reverse button will alternate the bottom third of the screen between day and date. Pressing the forward button takes the watch into atomic time keeping mode in which one can see the exact date and time the watch last connected to the atomic tower and also attempt a manual connect.  In the watch adjust mode one can select illumination duration as well as 12 or 24 hour formats amongst other sundry things. 

So that's it.  Nothing much else to say aside from the fact that these two watches have some very good features for their under $100 prices.  The only real concern is whether you find these watches to be attractive or not---frankly they are a little sad.  Take care and enjoy the wrist shots.