It struck him that a watch floating within a rubber case would be impervious to shocks. After a bunch of testing and design with toughness in mind, the brand was born. Nearly 35 years and hundreds of models later, G-SHOCK is still best known for being some of the toughest, hard-wearing watches that money can buy.
I’ve known my friend, Nathan, for the better part of ten years, and for about the last six, he’s been an avid mountain biker, pillar of the biking community in our area, and all-around good dude. We met while working at a Sears Auto Center back in the days when that existed. I was still sporting Invictas g shock watch back then and thinking I was the Boss Hogg of the local watch community. We bonded over our love of motorsport, our hatred of Sears, existentialism, and, of course, watches. Personally, I like stories about watches that are worn, sometimes for years, and have the wear and tear to prove it.
The final compliment I can give the GGB100-1A is that it serves just as well being a “cool-looking watch” as it does offering useful functionality and sensors for those who need them. Few products look as good both on and off road, and this is one of them. My one regret about the watch is that Casio was not able to integrate solar charging. That means you’ll need to change the battery every two years in the module 5594 in-house made Casio movement. First of all, the Bluetooth connectivity changes the power drain dynamic of a watch, and it can’t always be reliably recharged via light.
It easily survived the bumpy ride, being totally submerged in mud, an encounter with a hostile local, and an ATV that seemed to catch fire briefly. Of course, that’s a fraction of what the Mudmaster is built to withstand and just a small piece of the performance it promises, and the GGB100 packs new durability features and tech at a characteristically approachable price. For 2019, the new flagship Casio G-Shock watch in the $300-$400 USD range is the Mudmaster GG-B100 model family. It consists of a few color variations, with this mostly black-toned reference GGB100-1A being the version I reviewed.
Using carbon for the watch’s core saves weight and adds strength, as it has a tensile strength ten times that of iron and yet weighs far less. The carbon case also allowed Casio designers to develop a new structure of shock-resistant button. Doing so also let them remove button guards from the exterior, which helps streamline the G-SHOCK’s look. In addition, the watch contains a filter that prevents the intrusion of dirt, vastly improving the watch’s performance in muddy environments. The name G-SHOCK has become a byword for independence and pushing the limits. Guided by a “Triple 10” development concept, the design teams sought a watch with 10-meter free-fall endurance, 10-bar water resistance and a 10-year battery life.
When you press the top right button you get the seconds hand now pointing north for you AND a digital readout in bearing degrees for the direction you are currently facing. You can also change this readout to a NSEW readout rather than a specific bearing. The watch also allows you to drop a virtual pin on a location and then have the watch indicate direction for you to return to that location later. The numbers at 12,3,6 and 9 are easily legible and there is a digital display at the 6 position giving you a digital clock as well as the analogue hands. Just be aware that around 6pm and 6am the digital part is hard to read as the sword hour hand passes over it.