CasioG-Shock Mudman Super Dual Illuminator Men's Quartz 52mm Digital Watch G9000-1V

I've owned this watch a week now it's it my first and only G-Shock watch. I do a lot of mountain biking and bike camping, and my "nice" watch was always left behind. This seemed like a good, cheap alternative for a solid reliable watch. Here are the things I like about this watch and why I choose it.First, it has everything you need. There are more fully featured watches, but do you need them? I do not need a thermometer, sunrise/set, moon phase, or barometer. A compass might be nice but I can live without it. If you're the type of person who needs those features you know it.It's not solar, but this is an advantage in a low-maintenance watch. I have another solar watch, but I'm fine with a battery. Both need to be swapped out over so many years anyway and the solar is more maintenance. I have to charge it twice per year, once in the summer sun and an overnight boost in the winter from my strong LED bicycle light. This watch is set-and-forget.It lacks atomic radio sync. I have it on another watch and I like it. I am slightly OCD so I checked the G-Shock's time after a week, it's still on the same second. I can eyeball a slight difference. The atomic G-Shock is around $200, this one is around $50. I can live with that.The mudman has a raised back so the watch doesn't stick to your wrist. If you're into sports that make you all sweaty this is really nice.The main reason I like this watch is that it's normal sized. I have a 7" wrist and it's totally balanced in terms of size. Most G-Shocks, especially the newest ones, have ballooned into a huge monstrous size, as if this makes you more manly. There's nothing wrong with a big watch but it's not my style. There are very few medium sized G-Shocks, this is one of them.The buttons are a little hard to press as everyone has mentioned. It's designed that way to keep grit out and it's really not a big deal.Finally, how can you beat the price? It's inexpensive and lightweight. I can take it anywhere, bash it into trees, stuff it into my backpack, sweat all over it, then run it over the sink for a bit and it's like new.I'm looking forward to wearing this one for the next several years. I will likely get bored of it before it outlives its usefulness but I'll keep updating this review.

I'll preface this review by mentioning that I've been an avid Casio collector for several years, and have been interested in watches since I was barely old enough to tell the time. I've owned around 100 or so watches in this time, many of which were great and many of which were pretty terrible. This watch is one that has proven itself to be definitively unique out of every other watch I've ever owned. When I got this watch, the first things I noticed about it were the clear references to motorsports - the tire tread pattern on the inside of the band, the bewheeled, helmet-and-goggle-wearing "Mudman" engraved on the case back, and the dual stopwatches for tracking split times. This seemed to be an eager invitation to use this watch as it was clearly intended, so I did. It went mountain biking, go-karting, drag racing, and for spirited drives on mountain roads in an old 90's sports car, and did its job perfectly. I was able to use the stopwatches to track and record lap and split times for friends on the track, as well as to keep generally accurate times for myself while mountain biking and driving. I say generally accurate because the buttons are very stiff to begin with, and one's hands are usually occupied for a few seconds during the start and finish of a lap. That said, the buttons to start and stop the timers are big enough to be actuated with gloved hands but will require some getting used to due to their unusual stiffness. It's not a watch you can treat gently, its design demands that you be assertive and tough when operating it to get the best from it.Speaking of the design, it's one of the most original in the vast world of digital watches. It's a standout design, even among the wide variety of unique G-Shocks. The pictures on the listing make it look larger than it really is, on the wrist it is light, rigid, and has a profile lower than even the DW-6900 making it easy to wear under a cuff.There is a part of the design that some have complained about, which are the raised nubs on the resin shroud on the bottom of the watch. They say that these can cause irritation to the skin due to rubbing, and while this does likely happen for some it has not been an issue for me after several months of wearing it.The clasp on the band is metal, which definitely adds to the level of confidence I have in the overall durability of the watch. I have noticed however that the strap retainer doesn't grip the band very well and frequently slips out, which causes me to catch the wayward strap on my clothes and on machinery - which while annoying, is just something I've learned to be mindful of as it's a small issue compared to how great the watch is overall.In summary, this is an excellent watch and I recommend it highly to anyone who enjoys any sort of motorsports, mountain/road biking or running. The water resistance is higher than the majority of us will ever need, the readability and illumination is among the best Casio has to offer, and the design is unique, attractive and highly functional. I give it a 9.5 out of 10, with the -.5 being due to the issue with the strap retainer and the fact that sometimes the watch can be hard to read in the daytime due to the depth at which the display is set within the face of the watch. The bezel is set very high, and sometimes this can cast a shadow over the display making you have to adjust the angle of the watch to read it when in direct sunlight. Other than that, this watch is an amazing value at this price, you will be getting much more than your money's worth.