Casio F-108WH Review

Because I like a bargain, I bought this very blue Casio F-108WH from eBay. I've semi-jokingly posted before that I was influenced in my decision by an old video review from Gary ("I Like Watches") and by Russell ("The Mad Watch Collector") who likes the slightly bigger and more rugged version with the same 3224 module, but really it was just because of the price.

Currently retailing at £14.99 from most online stores, and specifically Argos, I snagged this "worn once" (i.e. used) Casio and another equally unworn F-91W for less than the price of one of these little beauties alone.

As you can see, it's very blue which makes it more of a "unisex" colour for those who care about such things (I don't) and possibly very "youthy" more than something an adult should wear. Again, I don't care about any of these things, and I wear whatever I feel like wearing. I'm hardly a style icon or fashion victim at the best of times.

I like the bigger display and superb viewing angles, but the functions are in different places to an F-91W which is why I previously bought the Skmei 2042 instead of the Casio W-217H (the official "bigger F-91W") with the same module inside.

But as this is essentially a different watch to the F-91W and W-217H, I don't care about the pressing of the wrong buttons as much, although when I do, it does still irritate me.

The caseback is the same as most Casios with the 4 little screws which always end up dropping onto the carpet when you change the battery. But with an estimated battery life of 7 years, and a fresh battery already "installed" (LOL I always find that term a bit pompous) by the seller, I won't have to worry about that anyway. I doubt that I'll be wearing this watch in 7 years time, or even next year, to be honest.

Another reason why I chose to buy this watch is the strap. As with the Casio AE-1200 ("Casio Royale") and its Skmei "Dual Time" clone, the ridges are flat on the back of this strap unlike the more prominent and rounder ones on the AE-1000 and W-218H (which Russell favours). I have a particular dislike for the latter straps because they are thicker, more uncomfortable, and dig into my wrist leaving indents. YMMV.

An odd design choice by Casio was to put a black plastic buckle on this strap instead of a matching blue one or a much better stainless steel buckle such as Skmei use, but it still looks okay.

Compared to the F-91W, this is a much bigger watch. The width of the F-108WH is 42mm (the F-91W is 34mm and the W-218H is 44mm), and it's about 8mm thick. Quite thin, very light, and with a square shape which renders the lug-to-lug essentially the same as the width, it will fit anyone.

There are no differences in the functions between the F-108WH and the F-91W. Both have the same basic timekeeping, alarm, and stopwatch. The LED backlight is better on the F-108W, but it's still only a single orange LED and not a glorious bright blue EL as on an A-168, W-86, and various others.

I'm not sure if the F-108WH is available in America, but I did see the "Pez Outlaw" was wearing one in the documentary, so I assume they are. Casio have some oddly territorial releases which drive us all mad, including the F-105 which we can't get so easily in the UK, and the W-86 which Americans find unobtainable, and don't even get me started on how many Japanese only Casios exist which most of us have never even heard of.

As a nice "sporty" and probably disposable Summer watch, I don't think you can go wrong with one of these cheap Casios. Ignore the WR rating (or lack thereof) because these will take a dunking and survive, but I know that the blue will eventually fade or discolour in the sunlight if you're lucky enough to have any.