Casio Pro Trek Smart WSD-F20 Review: Military Grade Android Wear
Verdict
If you need a hard as nails GPS smartwatch that will work flawlessly when you’re out in the wilderness the Casio Pro Trek Smartwatch deserves your attention! It’s got all the features that you need from a watch when exploring the outdoors.
Pros
- Android Wear 2.0 powered smartwatch
- Offline GPS support when there is no internet
- Battery efficient dual-layer display mode
Cons
- No heart rate monitoring
- Expensive
User Review
( votes)Casio has just coined its second smartwatch to enter the market. This time, it is a GPS enabled outdoor smartwatch powered by Android Wear 2.0. It has come as an upgrade to its predecessor and is called the Casio Pro Trek Smart WSD-F20.
This digital timepiece is built for traveling, outdoor trekking, and rough-and-tough adventures. Whether you are in need of GPS, a compass, activity tracking or Android Wear, it has got your back.
Let’s dive into the details to see how it will be supportive of a real adventurer.
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Table of Contents
Build & Design
From stormy wet to hot sun, the ProTrek Smart WSD-F20 can perform in the most extreme of conditions due to its military standard build (810g durability) and 50 meters (5 bars) water resistance.
It features a two-layer display mode (full-color and monochrome both) and a 1.32-inch capacitive touchscreen display with an anti-fouling coating. The shape and design resemble the popular G-Shock Casio watches.
This smartwatch is big enough to fit large wrists and also has a good weight to it that makes it feel significant when worn. The dimensions are 61.7mm in height, 57.7mm in width and 15.3mm in depth. The watch along with watchband weigh approximately 92g.
There are two colors variants, black, and orange. For me, the black version is the clear winner.
[Clicking on any image below will take you to its official destination at Amazon]
Features & Technologies
1. Battery Efficient Dual Display Mode: The Casio Pro Trek Smart has a Two-Layer LCD Display. One is a Full-Color LCD Display for colorful maps, activities, and navigation. The other is a Monochrome LCD Display which is for watch modes and basic functions that are shown at all times (as to save battery power).
2. Offline GPS Support: You will not always find a data connection in the wilderness. So Casio included an offline built-in GPS alongside to help you not lose the way when there is no data connection available. It uses a low-power GPS system using three satellites: American GPS, Russian GLONASS, and Japanese Michibiki to provide pin-point location in the full-color display.
3. Android Wear 2.o: The Android on your wrist will enable you to use core Android features and thousands of Google Play Store apps. Interactive Notifications, Google Assistant, Google Play Music, Google Fit, Facebook, Messanger, Uber and almost all your regular apps will be right over your wrist. Learn more about the features of Android Wear 2.0 at TechRadar.
4. Quad Sensors: This Casio smartwatch has quad sensors built-in that provide an accurate altimeter, barometer and compass reading without utilizing a nearby phone.
5. Activity Tracker: It includes many activity-tracking features, for example, cycling, running, trekking, paddling and more that are available at Google Play Store for Android Wear.
6. Quartz Movement: It uses an electrical quartz crystal to keep the time. It will constantly oscillate at the correct frequency to keep accurate time.
7. Military Grade Smartwatch: The Pro Trek Smart WSD-F20 has a military-grade build with 810g compliance and has water resistance up to 50 meters. 810g compliance is the testing that military devices have to go through to be “field ready”. This watch is ready for war!
Battery & Synchronization
The battery of the Casio ProTrek Smart is not bad considering the features it has. It can last up to 25 hours with GPS enabled, which is among the best around. But using it as a timepiece ais most important, and with the GPS turned off it can go as long as a whole month!
The second Monochrome LCD Display and the low-power GPS are some features that are designed to extend the battery life.
Some kind of solar power would be a great idea in a future iteration to extend the battery life further when out in the wilderness. I guess that really hikes up the price though.
There is no flaw regarding syncing with a smartphone. It works beautifully with phones having Android 4.3 or above and iOS 8.2 or above. Both Bluetooth 4.1 and WiFi (IEEE 802.11) connectivities are available.
Does the Pricetag Suit the Casio Pro Trek Smart?
The Casio Pro Trek Smart WSD-F20 is surely going to be one of the best military-grade smartwatches of the year. It has superb durability, a subtle design, Android Wear 2.0, GPS, activity tracking and loads more features that are equally exciting.
The omission here is a heart rate monitor. However, is it really necessary for this type of watch? Casio are targeting an audience of outdoor enthusiasts like hikers, climbers, and hunters. Do they really need a heart monitor? Sure, its interesting information to have but I don’t think it’s actually a big deal here. It’s a necessity for runners but hikers? It would also really reduce that battery life.
The battery life is actually very good. The Lithium-ion battery does great work here considering the very energy-intensive features like the three satellite-based GPS systems and full-color LCD display.
Yes, this watch is expensive (we’re talking Apple watch territory) but for a certain niche audience, it is well worth the price tag. This is not a watch for the average city dweller. This watch is only for those that need accurate maps and a compass. It’s tough, well designed and an awesome watch for a very particular crowd.
