The Casio G-Shock is a collection of watches that have gotten an iconic status. It is appreciated all around the world, and is one of the most-sold watch models ever. And with all right.
The G-Shock is known for being sporty, durable, robust, and reliable. And this is something that all G-Shock models have in common. Because of its great popularity, Casio has released countless and countless different models and iterations. All to serve the specific wants and needs of its customers.
The Casio G-Shock G-5600E is the model we are reviewing and looking closer at in this article. This watch is not as sporty, nor as advanced as some of the other watches, but each model serves a purpose and this one does too.
The G-5600E is the perfect watch if you love the ethos and DNA of the G-Shock but want something a little neater, easier, and more versatile. This watch is much more simple and more versatile than many of the other options out there, but at the same time, offers everything you’d expect.
Starting off, what you’ll notice immediately about this watch is its iconic squared case shape. Like most of them, it has a black resin case. This is built with bumpers and protection, in particular on the sides which provide excellent shock-resistant properties. Does it even have to be said that this an extremely tough case? The resin will keep it looking great for a long time to come since it doesn’t show scratches in the same way as steel does.
The watch offers a water resistance of 200M/660 feet, which is quite good since it is a dive watch performance. It is suitable for swimming and diving and won’t break a sweat.
Just like the case, the strap is made of black resin. It has an integrated design which makes it sit more comfortably on the wrist and get a more seamless design. Of course, this strap is very suitable for this type of watch since it is water-resistant, durable, and will hold up well. However, some owners have complained that the strap is a bit stiff and not the most comfortable one.
When it comes to the legibility of this watch, it is ok, but it is certainly not the best there is out there.
It is however equipped with illumination which enables you to read the time in low-lit conditions, so that is a huge bonus. You activate the backlight illumination by pressing the upper right button and a turquoise color will appear for about half a second.
Covering the screen, it uses mineral glass. Mineral glass is harder than resin but it is not as tough as sapphire crystal. But considering the price point of this watch, the mineral glass is a good option.
The screen presents the time at the bottom of the screen in a large font to make it easy to read. It has all of the standard features including Hour, minute, second, pm, month, date, and day (12/24-hour format).
As you may know, there are several iterations of specifically the square version. The reference G-5600E is a version that has slightly more to offer, which means that in addition to the regular functions, it also has a world timer. On top of this, it is also solar-powered.
The solar function means that solar and ambient light generates energy for the movement, thus eliminating the need for replacing the batteries which are good both for the environment and your convenience. Of course, the life of battery life varies but it is said it should last 10-15 years assuming it is subject to light over time. If it is not subject to any ambient or solar light, it will last for about 11 months. To improve its battery life, Casio has equipped this watch with a power-saving function, meaning the display goes blank to save power when the watch is left in the dark.
The watch has a world time with 29 time zones, a city code display, and daylight saving on/off. Then of course we also find a stopwatch with a 1/100-second (measuring capacity: 23:59’59.99’). The measuring modes are Elapsed time, split time, and 1st-2nd place times. The one-second countdown timer has an input range of 1 minute to 24 hours. Lastly, the full auto-calendar goes to 2099.