After flirting with vintage G-Shock watches and learning about resin rot, I cashed out, making about a $30 profit on a $1 watch + battery, and forgot about them for a while.
When Casio added a step tracker to some of their watches, I decided to dip a toe (or rather, a wrist) back in the G-Shock waters.
I’ve had an Apple Watch, a Fitbit watch, and even a Pebble watch (some people still remember them), and the most useful thing to me was the pedometer.
There are only a few G-Shocks with a step tracker. I chose the budget-minded GBD800 ($100) – part of the G-SQUAD exercise-oriented line. It has the usual suite of timer and alarm settings, but no ABC (altimeter, barometer, compass) functions. To get those with a pedometer, you have to step up to the GGB100 Mudmaster, which costs almost four times more.
And… it’s pretty good. The watch looks great but the negative display (light numbers on a black background) is hard to see in any low-light situation. The backlight effectively illuminates the screen, but should I have to use it every time I’m indoors and want to check the time?
It’s not a smartwatch, but the G-Shock smartphone app not only syncs your step count, but also lets you set the clock, alarms, and timers more easily than repeatedly pushing buttons on the watch. The step counter tab is basic and after using it for a few months, I suspect the GBD800 is slightly overestimating my steps.
So it’s not perfect but it’s a keeper. Will I want a watch that does more? That remains to be seen.
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