FT500WV-3BV Watch

This is a nice cheap watch so don't expect the world. I use it at the weekends to keep my better watches safe from damage. However, although it looks rugged it is not particularly robust and the face is cheap mineral and easily scratched. Having said all that it looks pretty good and keeps good time.

I've used this style when I was overseas and it kept up to the rain, sand, and heat spectacularly. So when I needed a new one I went back to old faithful. It is accurate and the illumination is excellent. As a result my one year old fell in love with it and has commandeered it from me. He has chewed it, thrown it, and smashed it on every surface he could find and it still holds up wonderfully. 10/10 would buy again.

Good product

I like the easy reading dial and the simplicity. My first forester lasted three years until it took a sharp fall onto a hard floor, and I hated to see it go. The velcro band took some getting used to at first, but I learned to like it. If it picks up lint or whatnot, it won't hold as well, but you can rake it out occasionally to restore the grip. Casio revised a couple of things. My original had the luminous dim backlight that stays on for one second when you press the button, whereas the new one has an LED at 6 o'clock that stays on for 4 seconds. The new LED is far brighter, far brighter than necessary for reading the dial. You'd want to shield it in a dark theater. Maybe you'd want it as a quick flashlight. The batteries are different too. The old model FT-500 uses a single silver oxide coin cell, SR621W (363/364) whereas the new model FT-500W uses two coin cells, a silver oxide SR920SW (370/371) for the timekeeping and a lithium CR1616 for the backlight. The instruction manuals are on the Casio web site under codes 5170 and 5405 respectively. Overall a great value.

Calidad CASIO

2 years and still running. If it stops ticking, note that this watch has 2 batteries. You need to remove the top section that has a large battery (CR1616) for the light. Then you will see the little battery (SR920SW) that powers the watch movement.