# Casio Protrek Triple Sensor PRG-510T-7V - first impressions



## MikoDel (Dec 10, 2010)

Casio Protrek Triple Sensor PRG-510T-7V - first impressions

Well, I can't believe I actually bought a watch that's not tritium after my Traser's and Tawatecs. But this thing's got 5 ALARMS. And I need an ALARM sometimes. Mainly because I burn late oil writing reviews and such. I'm thinking the convenience of being able to fall asleep WHEREVER and not worry about having my cell phone next to me in case I'm beat up in the morning and don't wake up - that's worth a try. There's no snooze, but I set two timers in case I'm a pig and ignore the first one.

This Casio is very easy to read - high contrast white hands over a dark dial. It has a titanium bracelet. And light as HELL! Very, very comfortable. It looks big but it's nuthin' on your wrist.

ANYWAY, no great experience here to draw from, it only just came today from Creation Watches. It was $375, not cheap, but no worries working with power tools either. It's not like it cost a fortune. This isn't the one that calls home to Tokyo every day (whatever) and syncs with the "world clock". I actually like to set my watches fast, because I tend to arrive just in time. It always helps me get my azz in gear when I see the time is 7 minutes fast. Yeah I _know it's fast,_ but when I'm rushing around I swear it helps. So exact time is OK but I'd rather be able to set it this way.

Re-sizing the band was pretty easy with my $3 tool I got online and a pair of needle nose pliers. When I first looked at the "manual" I was like, Oh geez!!! But ya know, after the initial G-Shock wore off of a hundred pages of features, I learned how to set the time, and fooled around with a few of the other functions in about a 1/2 hour. Good owner's guide actually. Understand all my other watches have a second hand, and show the date. I haven't anything like this in decades. My pictures show the LED at all zeros because I was playing with the stopwatch before I took the pics. Normally the LED shows the day and date.

No tritium but it has a light, which is cool. The folding clasp on the buckle seems to stick out a but when locked. It's not totally low-profile. Maybe I just got a bum one, or maybe it's the way they are. Hard to say. Doesn't look torqued or damaged. Wearing the watch on the inside like I do, I'm wondering if that clasp is gonna catch on my jacket sleeve.

One thing I noticed was Casio says in the manual, swimming, skin diving, water sports etc. is OK with their 100m water resist rating. Because I have read plenty of owner's documentation from companies that rate their pieces at 100m and tell you NO diving, no swimming, etc. I mean, pleeeeze. Either the watch can keep water out at 100m or it can't. So many informative articles have been posted about that here. But although I know a little bit about how arbitrary the standards are, it still makes me laugh. Casio does tell you to take it off if you're gonna use shampoo and chemical products, because they compromise the seals.

I love Creation Watches by the way. I had ordered a Citizen Diver Mega-Monster (whatever that thing is that's as thick as 10 silver dollars taped together) and at the last minute some guy's review tipped me off as to how thick it really is. And they pulled my order at the last minute right off the loading dock and gave me my money back.

List of Features:
(just don't ask me to demo them for you)

"Double-lock, 1-press, 3-fold Buckle"
Titanium Band
Solid Band
100-meter water resistance
Mineral Glass
Neobrite
LED light
Full auto LED light, afterglow
Solar powered
Low-temperature resistant (-10 C/14 F)

Digital compass
Measures and displays direction as one of 16 points
Measuring range: 0 to 359
Measuring unit: 1
20 seconds continuous measurement
Hand indication of north
Bidirectional calibration and northerly calibration function
Magnetic declination correction

Altimeter
Measuring range: -700 to 10,000 m (-2,300 to 32,800 ft.)
Measuring unit: 5 m (20 ft.)
Hand indication of altitude differential
Manual memory measurements
(up to 14 records, each including altitude, date, time)
High Altitude / Low Altitude memory
Total Ascent / Descent memory
Others: Reference altitude setting, Altitude tendency graph
*Changeover between meters (m) and feet (ft)

Barometer
Display range: 260 to 1,100 hPa (7.65 to 32.45 inHg)
Display unit: 1 hPa (0.05 inHg)
Hand indication of pressure differential
Atmospheric pressure tendency graph
*Changeover between hPa and inHg

Thermometer
Display range: -10 to 60 C (14 to 140 F)
Display unit: 0.1 C (0.2 F)
*Changeover between Celsius (C) and Fahrenheit (F)

World time
29 time zones (29 cities), daylight saving on/off
1/100-second stopwatch
Measuring capacity: 59'59.99''
Measuring modes: Elapsed time, split time, 1st-2nd place times

Countdown timer
Measuring unit: 1 second
Countdown start time setting range: 60 minutes
Countdown start time setting range: 1 to 60 minutes (1-minute increments)

Daily alarms
5 independent daily alarms
Hourly time signal
Battery level indicator
Power Saving (display goes blank and hands stop to save power when the watch is left in the dark)
Full auto-calendar (to year 2099)
12/24-hour format
Button operation tone on/off
Regular timekeeping:
Analog 3 hands: Hour, minute (moves every 10 seconds), second
Digital: month, day, day of the week
Accuracy: +/-15 seconds per month
Approx. battery operating time:
6 months on rechargeable battery (operation period with normal use without exposure to light after charge)
23 months on rechargeable battery (operation period when stored in total darkness with the power save function on after full charge)

Size of case/total weight: 56.8 X 49.3 X 14.2 mm/112 g
LED:White


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## JwY (Apr 5, 2011)

Congrats! I got the PRW5000Y the other day. Love it so far.

Out of curiosity, is your seconds hand hitting all markers perfectly?


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## carlowus (Oct 12, 2008)

Nice, good thing this has also lume, here is mine:


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## Wojo (Sep 6, 2008)

JwY said:


> Congrats! I got the PRW5000Y the other day. Love it so far.
> 
> Out of curiosity, is your seconds hand hitting all markers perfectly?


Are you finding your second hand is a little off?


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## Wojo (Sep 6, 2008)

Good write-up! Also that watch looks pretty sweet on a one piece band |>


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## JwY (Apr 5, 2011)

Wojo said:


> Are you finding your second hand is a little off?


It seemed like it slightly (very slightly because I am super picky), but I exchanged it and the new one is great!

When I was looking into it originally, I realized how weird it was having a manual hand set only to have the Tough Movement change it back every hour.

Still loving your 5100? :-d


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## Wojo (Sep 6, 2008)

I love it, unfortunately my G shocks have lost a lot of wrist time because of it too. I thought the hands were off on it, but when I look at the dial from directly overhead, everything lines up.


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## MikoDel (Dec 10, 2010)

JwY said:


> Congrats! I got the PRW5000Y the other day. Love it so far.
> 
> Out of curiosity, is your seconds hand hitting all markers perfectly?


Interesting question, seeing that my intention was to mention just that. I failed to talk about how this Casio ProTrek appeals to the precision seeker in me. I don't know if you do the same, but I like to set my minute hands so that when the second hand hits 12, the minute hand is exactly on the demarcation line. (Please correct me if that's not the correct term for a watch marking.)
This is sometimes difficult and it's like a game. It's kind of ridiculous to even try unless your watch is well-made and the dial is meticulously graduated. So since the minute hand on the ProTrek moves in "detents" every 10 secs, it snaps into perfect alignment with each minute, every time. I love it! The second hand ticks in perfect alignment with the lines and 1 thru 12 indicators as well. 9 o'clock is ever so slightly off. I'm talking being a real piccyune here. All in all, I would rate the build on this to be near-exceptional in terms of everything appearing precise. I guess that addresses some of the inquiries as to if the alignment is good.

*My only issue with this watch so far is that the safety clasp sits "high" and doesn't snap flush with the band's clasp. I would very much like to hear about your safety clasp - did I get a badly mfg'd band? It is made in China. It's not interfering with my clothing or anything.*

I set the second hand to The Official NIST US Time Widget and so far, after maybe 2 or 3 days, it's still ticking exactly to the beat of the world clock.

Also please notice the plastic ergo-paddles (such license I take there) on the back that soften the contact point where it rests against you. I said it once, I'll say again - this is truly a comfortable watch.

I do think about, since I wear the watch on the inside of my wrist it's not going to get as much "sun time". So I take care to place it in the sunshine, like up on a window, or under a "daylight" fluorescent hood which is leftover from my Brazilian Rainbow Boa's enclosure. That thing charges it for serious!!! It reads "H", for HIGH charge.


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## JwY (Apr 5, 2011)

Wojo said:


> I love it, unfortunately my G shocks have lost a lot of wrist time because of it too. I thought the hands were off on it, but when I look at the dial from directly overhead, everything lines up.


I've been wearing mine a lot as well lately. My automatics have actually stopped for a while, lol. I just noticed on my new one that the minute hand is very slightly off, but looks fine at some angles. If I advance it one step, it overshoots a little, so it's probably in between gears. Very minor, so I will probably keep it considering everything else is perfect.



MikoDel said:


> Interesting question, seeing that my intention was to mention just that. I failed to talk about how this Casio ProTrek appeals to the precision seeker in me. I don't know if you do the same, but I like to set my minute hands so that when the second hand hits 12, the minute hand is exactly on the demarcation line. (Please correct me if that's not the correct term for a watch marking.)
> This is sometimes difficult and it's like a game. It's kind of ridiculous to even try unless your watch is well-made and the dial is meticulously graduated. So since the minute hand on the ProTrek moves in "detents" every 10 secs, it snaps into perfect alignment with each minute, every time. I love it! The second hand ticks in perfect alignment with the lines and 1 thru 12 indicators as well. 9 o'clock is ever so slightly off. I'm talking being a real piccyune here. All in all, I would rate the build on this to be near-exceptional in terms of everything appearing precise. I guess that addresses some of the inquiries as to if the alignment is good.
> 
> *My only issue with this watch so far is that the safety clasp sits "high" and doesn't snap flush with the band's clasp. I would very much like to hear about your safety clasp - did I get a badly mfg'd band? It is made in China. It's not interfering with my clothing or anything.*
> ...


Unfortunately, my model came with the resin/rubber band instead of bracelet, so I'm not sure about the clasp.


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## MikoDel (Dec 10, 2010)

*Accuracy after a month - One second slow*

So I started this thread on Oct. 25th and here it is Dec 1st, and the watch is off of NIST time by one second.

I feel I've made a good choice with this watch. Somebody reviewed the "Black Titan", this same one, and it totally looks great in black too.

But one second variance after 35 days? It's a great timepiece. I turned on the hourly chime. It's cool knowing how time is passing without even having to glance down.

After wearing it for awhile now, even as comfortable as it is, I think maybe my Tawatec automatic with the "black massive" SS bracelet is still the most comfortable of all my "big" watches.
I gave my dad my Traser Ti Commander and he's loving that. That's a bit smaller but very comfortable to wear as well.

If this Casio had tritium it would be even better!


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## MikoDel (Dec 10, 2010)

*Casio Protrek under a magnifying glass*

Just a FYI, I recently viewed my Casio ProTrek PRG-510T under magnification, and the hands don't line up as well as I thought they did! But I guess if you need a magnifier to see that, it's not worth making a stink about. At certain places it is near dead-on, and in other places around the dial the hands are off the mark, usually left of center.

Just thought it worth mentioning because some of you asked about alignment. I certainly would enjoy a watch that functions with the precision of this Casio and also is dead on everywhere around the dial. But being able to appreciate such engineering doesn't mean I am willing to pay for it. Still, a few of my friends have good timepieces like Tag, Omega, Breitling, Rolex, and when I have the opportunity I will put them to the mag test and see how they line up.

As some of you already said, my automatics are running to a stop because this Casio is my go-to watch now. I put it in the sun here and there to keep it charged, but mostly I wear it. As I mentioned, the +/- 2 seconds per month accuracy and solar power equate to peace of mind, while the "eternal" date and beep alerts on the hour make it really convenient. Of all the bells and whistles I use the barometer, countdown timer and alarm features most often.

I noticed some tiny scratches in the crystal with the magnifier. But all in all it looks really sharp and functions flawlessly. A great watch that, once again, only needs a visit from the mb-microtec "elves" to be truly spectacular!


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## cal..45 (Jun 4, 2006)

*Re: Casio Protrek under a magnifying glass*



MikoDel said:


> ...once again, only needs a visit from the mb-microtec "elves" to be truly spectacular!


Totally agreed. Unfortunately we will never see any japanese watch with radioactive material on the dial :-(

cheers


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## MikoDel (Dec 10, 2010)

*Re: Casio ProTrek alarm feature - don't lose your job over it*

I mentioned I thought the alarm features would be quite useful. And they are, but not for waking me up! Just wanted to be clear that my hopes for using this as an alarm are dashed. Yeah, if I'm sleeping lightly it does wake me, from time to time. But if I'm dead to the world even multiple alarms set back to back don't really do the job. I need the Blackberry to really wake me.

It's coming up on a year with this, and it's now off nist.gov time by about 2.5 seconds from whence I set it last October. Can't ask for more from a 300 some-odd dollar piece. I know some of you are so into Waveceptor atomic sync, but unless there's a variance in the accuracy of Casio China watches from one to another, not sure why it's needed. This one's obviously way far inside the guaranteed +/-15 secs. month. Also, since I like to keep it 6-7mins fast, any Time sync watch I buy I'll have to set to manual anyway.

I'm looking at some G-Shocks. I just ordered the Motorcycle one, because I always wanted a big 'ol SHTOOPID watch, and man that GA-120-1A is just SILLY huge. Even though I have seen even bigger watches on a few guys.

But there's a G-1250BD-1A (pic attached) that has a lot of the same features I LOVE about this Casio Pro Trek, such as 

solar power
a light
hourly alarm (love the double-beep that lets me know each hour's passing)
high contrast face
steel band
mineral crystal
light and comfortable (from what I've read)

all for around 225-250 bucks!! And it's BIG too (not as big as the Motorcycle). But most of all, it's a G-Shock, which means I can beat it up doing tree work and outdoor work and I don't have to worry about it as much.

So I'm loving that. For sure be my next G.


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## MikoDel (Dec 10, 2010)

*Re: Casio Protrek module 5213 - DST in world time must be set separately*

I work in the states, but the parent company "Sovereign House" is located in London. I'm wondering why when I switch to world time (WT) it only shows 4 hours difference and not five. First of all, I didn't know that the Brits had British Summer Time. I thought only the US did that. (Of course, typical American. I want my extra hour of daylight and I want it NOW!)

I was wondering for awhile now, why is the time an hour off in world time mode, when I set the g*&%%$m dst settings correctly for here?!??

But if you refer to the attachments you will see that daylight savings time must be adjusted independently in WT mode. That solves that problem. And I also love how I can swap London for my Home City in a simple operation, as I am going there soon.

Now which timepieces should I bring to England? I think if I go over there with the G-Shock Motorcycle, they'll take one look at that thing and peg me as a rebel!

"We're off to the punk underground mate. I believe that's where you'll have a proper good time, yeah? Get him another jar."


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## MikoDel (Dec 10, 2010)

*Re: Casio Protrek module 5213 - DST in world time must be set separately*

Hi all. I have a few pics of wear and tear on my PRG-510T at its 5 year anniversary. (Sorry for the blur, my phone doesn't do closeup very well.) You can see the bezel lost its finish in places and some of the black paint is missing from words on the front. After all this time, my impression of the ProTrek is that it's still one of the most comfortable watches ever. This titanium featherweight is such a pleasure. I don't think I use any of the features anymore, except for the backlight, which is excellent. And you don't even need that if there's even a little ambient light. It's that easy to read.

The other day I had to use HT mode to sync the second hand back up with the digital seconds display. Not a big deal.

Also I must have had some funky setting involving world time, because for awhile I was not able to turn on/off DST. I was convinced something was broken. Of course I checked the setup at the time and thought everything was correct, but sometimes you have to walk away and come back to a problem. All's well now.

I have tougher, more rugged looking, more expensive automatic watches with wide leather cuff bands and bigger dials... but there's just something so right about the way this modest little watch looks and feels. Wearing on the inside of my wrist as I do, the perfection in this ProTrek's ergonomic fit is appreciated every time the weight of my arm presses it into my wrist. Or when wearing layers of clothing and a heavy motorcycle jacket over it. I guess I'm just happy that I haven't grown tired of it. I don't care that it looks a little beat up. The crystal and dial are still very beautiful.

Great watch, I highly recommend it, even after (especially after!) 5 years of ownership. Bravo Casio.


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## MikoDel (Dec 10, 2010)

Hello all, wanted to show wear and tear on this ProTrek after 10 years. Now keep in mind I'm a climbing, cutting arborist. So all in all, this thing is looking pretty GD good, LOL! Also I was dee-lighted to find the price went from $375 back in 2011 to nearly $900 now in 2022 on Amazon. (Not dee-lighted enuff to sell it tho!) My eyes are currently on the PRW-50YT-1 (around $600), one of the Firefall series. I may actually like the PRW-60T-7 best (around $450), cause it's all brite metal, not black. However the 60T has an 'organic glass', not sapphire crystal. Me thinks the reason this old PRG ProTrek survived 10 years in the trees as well as it did is partly cause of sapphire.


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