Getting close and personal with the old ProTrek
The sun isn't too hot for a change and therefore I can take my time and set the Canon RP with its large macro lens to take some close up and macro shots of the PRG-500GB.
In digital gadget years the PRG-500GB is a real antique. It was launched in 2011 and IIRC it was also the first ProTrek to feature an ana-digi dial, a full ABC suite of sensors and the Tough Solar charging. It also had a new (at the time) auto-illumination feature that almost worked. Unfortunately, CASIO engineers were too confident about it and therefore there is barely any lume on the hands, which makes the PRG-500GB a bit of a challenge to use at night since the hands are barely legible on their own and the LED is just good at illuminating everything except the hands, and that's when it decide to turn on, which only happen on occasion and is not very reliable.
But it looks cool. For once CASIO did a good job with the color scheme and the selection of the strap and the honeycomb of the solar cells is nicely integrated within the an inner sector.
The hybrid strap has an outer layer of nylon covering an orange layer made of leather and is soft enough to allow the watch to lay flat on the table, despite the presence of the massive end links extending from the lugs.
These are part of the reason why I don't wear the PRG very often because they turned a very large watch into one which is simply massive. It was fine when I used the PRG-500GB for trekking but it's just too large to wear at the office and the sensors sticking out from the case are not really helping to keep its size manageable on a 16.5cm wrist.
The PRG-500GB is also a world time watch, but I wish good luck to anyone who will try to use it as such, as the operation of this watch is so convoluted that just setting the time correctly is a chore - which is why I only wear it when I don't have to deal with changing it back to winter time. I forgot how to do it and I'm tired of having this watch prove to me every six months that I'm too stupid for the PRG.
I'm a big fan of watches that are interesting because they are either unique, have interesting features, well designed or simply offer a great value for their price.
