Casio Wave Ceptor Tough Solar MULTIBAND6 Men's Watch WVA-M630B-3AJF (Japan Import)

This is a cool watch. Sure, the instructions are in Japanese, but fortunately in the 21st century, we can find a video and set the watch up fairly easily. And, yes the watch band is kinda stiff, but it seems SO strong and well made that I have no problem letting it loosen up. Awesome features are the atomic time and solar charging. For this price, I don't expect luxury, but I was a little bit disappointed that the watch face cover seems to be made of plastic and not glass. Maybe I can have it replaced, but otherwise I love the look of this field watch. Plus, like I said, for the price (just under $100) this is, nonetheless, a really fun watch to have and I'm looking forward to using it.

Probably my favorite watch. This has been my, “Go-To,” timepiece since I purchased it over a year ago. Simple, reliable, rugged good looks. It’s a field watch with atomic timekeeping, so it’s always accurate. I love the classic analog display, but I appreciate the dual digital display for when my eyes are tired. It’s understated and I like that. Comfortable. Great value for the money.

I have wanted a few things from a wristwatch since I was a kid: solar charging, atomic time, and something that doesn't look like I strapped a 1990s-era PDA to my wrist, or doesn't look like I think I'm a rapper. After literal years of searching/researching, I finally found this watch. Or should I say it found me? It is a simple field watch with a twist! It does solar charge and pick up 6 different atomic time stations across the world, just like I wanted. In addition, because it uses the Casio 5161 module, it has five alarms, a 1/100 sec stopwatch, a 99min timer and a second time zone! These days, larger watches seem popular, making this one feel a little small, but it feels (and looks) fine on my wrist. As a (tiny) bonus for me, this is a Japanese market watch. To me, that brings a cool factor. To every American (including me), it means the included manual will be useless, and you will need to find the English equivalent online (just search Casio 5161 manual). This is my first Casio, so learning to run it without a manual wasn't gonna happen. I got the watch in sleep mode, with the battery at "MID" level (it came in a black box, so makes sense). As soon as I opened it, the hands started spinning around, until it read what it thought was correct time. Again, the manual being written only in Japanese, I turned to YouTube to first learn how to set the time manually, then from WWVB, the atomic time station (this info is also in the English manual). Within 2 days of normal use, the watch had charged itself to "HI" and has been there since. As long as you point the 12 toward a window at night, and keep it within a few feet of the window, it picks up WWVB (in the upper Midwest) and automatically sets itself. The one day it didn't, I had placed another piece of electronics RIGHT next to it. The dials are glow-in-the-dark, plus there's a little LED under the 6 for illumination. I charge the glow off a halogen light for 20-30 sec. For the next few minutes, it's stupid bright, and it still glows enough to read the next morning, 8ish hours later. I have only a few small negative remarks (which I knew about before buying): first, the strap is a bit stiff out of the box, and it's a bit short for some larger American wrists. Second, the buttons and back of the watch are made of plastic (there's a stainless plate on the back too). Given what you're getting in this watch for the insanely cheap price, I understand the plastic. (And by the way, it doesn't look bad-bad.) It's just that I can't imagine a metal back driving the price that far up. And since its closest competition (at least that I could find) costs a solid $100 more than this watch, I would have gladly paid the few extra dollars for a metal back. Lastly, none of the illumination options light up the LCD very well. Not a deal breaker for me, could be for you. Last comment: Casio use the 5161 movement in a LOT of watches (and a lot of international market watches). If you don't like this particular watch's looks, hunt around. There are Wave Ceptors (like this one), along with Lineage watches, in many different colors and styles, which use the 5161. You'll likely find one you'll like! I LOVE mine!

I'll admit it. I'm obsessed with Casio watches. In fact, I've purchased Casio watches exclusively for almost 50 years; all the way from a 4 function chronometer to a database/calculator watch to solar and atomic watches. In that time the only other watches I've owned are ones someone gave me as a gift. They have just about everything one could possibly want in watches, but the features I'm totally sold on are solar charging and atomic clock. In other words, never having to set, wind, or replace batteries. I now have two of this type, one for dress and one for casual/light work; both hybrid analog/digital. Yes, there is a bit of a learning curve to use some functions not regularly accessed, so for most who are not total geeks the manual needs to be accessible for not-so-often used features. I have the manual on my PC and on my phone. You can get the English manual off the Casio website. Enter 5161 for the watch module number. What I really like about this particular watch is that is is so easy to read. The numbers really jump and if your eyes are getting on the older side you will likely have no problem reading the time. Some reviewers have complained about the band being really stiff... and it is. But you can greatly speed up the softening process by folding the band flat and 'rolling' the fold down the length of the band a few times. I was almost going to buy another band but I tried this technique first and it seems to work pretty well. Try keeping this band and be patient during the break-in period. It looks great and appears to be high quality. Others have complained about the night light. It does not light the digital window well enough to see easily, but more than enough for the rest of the face. I guess if you like to use the stopwatch or timer functions in the dark this may not be the watch for you. All of my Casio watches have had lights with the job being done to varied extent. Even if I hated how this light works I wouldn't be too disappointed as I very rarely have a situation where I must depend on a watch in pitch black darkness. If you're CIA or a Seal you're probably looking at something else anyway. I just look at my always-on time on my phone. Some reviewers have also complained about the body of the watch being a sandwich of metal, plastic, and metal. In my opinion if you're wanting this watch to serve as your only watch don't wear it when your climbing a rock face or framing a house. Casio (as well as some other brands) has an abundance of other watches that can more than handle those situations. There are watches Casio makes that are titanium, sapphire crystal, can dive to 300M, and have all the bells and whistles but you'll pay way over a grand for them. Watches vary in price according to features, whether they can take a beating, what kind of metal they have (if any), and the type of crystal. And you might think that this watch is a little pricey when you pick it up, as it is pretty light. I can't vouch for ruggedness but for me if I get in a really rugged situation I'll take the watch off. Also for me, the atomic clock and solar charging features make it worth it despite possibly not being so much for mountain climbers and others who like to get lost or otherwise risk getting killed. Any Casio watches not having these two [essential] features together can be a lot cheaper, or much more expensive. And Casios designed for rugged use can have these features, but all of them are for a larger wrist as far as I've seen. I chose this watch over a smart watch. Smart watches are expensive and have to be charged almost daily. And besides, for me at least, smart phones have all the necessary functionality except heart monitoring to catch arrhythmias, etc. And that function can be done with other devices that are much cheaper than a smart watch, have reliable results and are doctor recommended. I am a real watch live Amazon purchaser that just happens to love the practicality and functionality and smart design of Casio watches. I highly recommend this watch.

This is the 1st watch I have ever brought for my self. So as is my want, I spent countless hours watching and reading reviews on various watches and through the process started developing a check list of features my new watch had to have. The first and most important was arbac numbers. This was important a must have feature. It had to be accurate, had to have day and date, be waterproof, have great luminous numbers and hands, Later I added an alarm to the list and finally solar power. So many great watches had some of my list requirements but saddy fell short. Then I discovered the Wave Ceptor range on Amazon. The 1st watches I found in the Casio range were thousands of dollars... not for me... then Hundreds of dollars... still to much... keep looking, finally finding the model WVA-M630B-3AJF. It's just the perfect watch... it has everything on my list and much more. In addition to my must have features list it has a led light to light up the face of the watch at night, self correcting to atomic time, World time for dual time zones, count down timer and a track timer. These extra features being managed be the small digital display the 6 o'clock position on the dial. "The one watch everyone should own". It's discreet enough to wear in the office or on a sales call, it is robust enough to wear in the work shop and in the weekend it will play as hard as you can. Always keeping perfect time, always fully charged, always ready to go. So what are the cons? This watch is manufactured to a price, it feature rich mechanism is essential a plastic digital watch In a stainless steel shell. .. I mean this literally with the grey plastic watch body sandwiched within a stainless steel top cover and bottom plate, with sad plastic mode and adjust buttons that can be difficult to press with big manly fingers like mine.... oh yeah and the digital screen is not back lite at all, even by the led light. So will the watch last for ever? I doubt it and buying a new watch in 10 years or so when the rechargeable battery dies maybe cheaper than replacing the battery. Nor is this and airloom watch... What it is, is the perfect EDC watch. It is affordable enough to own a number of these in different colours and styles depending on your mood or your current adventure. I brought my watch from Amazon seller Moon_Dog in Japan the watch arrived very well packaged and so quickly, just over a week which is incredible, give I am in New Zealand (down the bottom of the world, below Australia) I encourage you to at least consider the Wave Ceptor range next time you looking to purchase a watch. Given it ships with a 2 year Amazon warranty it is incredible value for the money. Cheers Cliff

Watch is good very light. However screen is thing plastic anything scratch easily even when you change your clothes. I cannot say do not buy but also I cannot tell buy.

Unfortunately, this watch has too many cons for me: Analog-Time • The minute-hand is not 100% accurate • Minute-hand starts inching halfway towards the next mark after 20s • So I might accidentally read 10:53:50 instead of 10:52:50 (see image) • I wish the minute-hand only moved when the minute actually changes (at the 0s mark) Timer • You can only keep minute timers (e.g., 1:00, 2:00, etc) • Meaning you cannot edit the seconds on a timer Band • The band is too stiff • I read you can beat into the band to soften it, • but it doesn't provide a great first impression Buttons (minor con) • Only 3 buttons • 3 buttons limit the ease of functionality and requires more "holding" some buttons • e.g., for the stopwatch, you must hold the start/stop button in order to reset it instead of pressing a would-be-convenient-4th-button In conclusion, I was really excited for the solar charge, atomic time, and looks, but unfortunately, these cons are just not worth it.

My favorite watch has been my Casio G-Shock (GW-2500-1AJF). Its decades old, still works on the original battery, and has atomic time/radio reception and solar charging which all still work. And work perfectly. Its amazing, I do think it is one of the the best mass-market watches ever made in terms of longevity and accuracy. Absolutely incredible for the price of a couple hundred $$ purchased used 15+ years ago. I can totally see why people are addicted to Casio Watches and G-Shock watches. But the G-Shock its getting very very old. Really old. Its a big hunk of cool looking plastic on your wrist. Also the worst (worse?) thing about this G-Shock is that its very complicated to operate, set, reset, etc... I have to download the manual every time I need to do anything (which is not often). Also the typefaces are small and dimming as I get old and my eyes go bad and I can read basically only the hand positions. Which is fantastic because the hands are luminous white on black super easy to see! I figured I would get something more basic, less chunky, and simple, yet I do still want atomic time and solar charging. The Casio Wave Ceptor Tough Solar MULTIBAND6 Men's Watch WVA-M630B-3AJF (Japan Import) was just what I wanted. Its relatively simple, easy to read, has an LCD instead of an LED (which dims over time), and has radio clock/time and solar. Perfect! FYI pictures shown are with a new aftermarket watch band (see below for reasons). This watch is very reasonably priced, its a Japan import but now widely available in USA. Don't worry about those Japanese characters on the screen, they are only day of week which can be changed to English. Lookup Casio 5161 and you can easily find the English manual pdf online to change languages and set up the watch. Make no mistake- this is a budget watch with a budget exterior that is thankfully matched with a very nice interior and feature set. There is plastic on the outside but nice stuff on the inside. Features: Like my old G-shock this syncs with the solar radio clock at midnight to receive the correct time, charges its battery with solar. Stick this in a dark drawer for a few months and it will enter battery save mode, pull it out and give it some light to restore everything. Really amazing. Shows charge (low/med/HI) on the display in case you want to know. Easy to charge. Has LED backlight to read the time (but not the LCD) in the dark. Has world time (another time zone, alarm, stopwatch. Countdown timer shows as "TR" (time remaining?) on the display, can only be incremented in 1 minute intervals. Otherwise shows day of week and day of month on the display. Day of week is japanese but is the only japanese on the watch, so once you change to English, you won't see any Japanese characters. There are 3 pushbuttons to change stuff around but its far less complicated than a G shock. Band: First off the band is 20mm not 19mm like the listing states. The listing is wrong, its 20mm. Also I have a large-ish wrist and the original band was at maximum capacity which did not feel great. The original band for some reason does not use the latest "quick release" spring bars/ lugs so you need a tool or small screwdriver to replace the band. Put in a new band with the easy quick release springs/lugs. Lots of people have said the band is very stiff and rough. This is true, I agree. I tried to break it in but could not make it, so I swapped out the band for a stretchy modern quick-release nylon green band which mostly matches the original colors. It was 19mm and the lugs fell out of the mating holes without any force. Put a 20mm band in there and it fits perfectly without falling out. So, Again, the Band is 20mm wide not 19mm wide. Why do they say 19mm? No one knows. Many reviews here note the problem with this. Setup: The watch is easy to setup, first download the manual for the Casio 5161 (the movement type of this watch), choose your home city and hopefully the time will self-adjust to the correct time. If not, the next step is (using the manual) to do a manual radio/atomic clock update which is awesome! Point the watch at Colorado (easy here on the West Coast) while doing so. The second hand will move to "R" for receive (under the 9) and then to "W" for (??working?? Over the 9), and then back and forth as it figures out the time. Then you will be all set, the hands move to the correct positions. Watch: This watch is sort of a military or "field" watch with green tones and band. This is fine with me, I love the look. The dome on the face is not glass, its plastic or "acrylic crystal", given the cheapie price and features. So don't beat it up a lot. It is waterproof to 50M so you are ok with it splashing in the water but watch out for those pool chemicals on your plastic dome. And your actual dome! The watch face looks great, the watch is not super thin or super large so should fit everyone. It is very very light however, which was unexpected. The hands are nice and note the second hand has the luminous coating on the back side as the tippie tip is too tiny. I don't think it would be possible to make a thinner, tinyier second hand. The front of the watch and the back of the watch are metal. If you look at the side of the watch, there is an intermediate layer, which is small but which is plastic. The main thing I do not like about this watch (other than the original small and stiff band) is the numeral "6" which is cut off on the bottom of the watch, and which displays only the bottom portion of the "6". To the left and right of the half 6 are simple placeholders, the 6 should be a similar but fatter placeholder, in my view. I am sure hundreds of consultants and designers decided the partial 6 was way cool but it looks way cheap. Even worse when you press the illumination light in the dark, this half 6 looks like a "9" because the LED is right below it and distorts the bottom portion. See pics. Bet they never thought of that! A small complaint to be sure but the half number is bugging me. Just to complain a little more, the hands are also a smidge thin. The watch is very light so if you are looking for something heavy and bulky this is not for you. One alternative, in the same price range, is the Casio MTPS120L Series which has nicer hands, a mineral glass crystal, a nicer metal exterior, and also has solar but not atomic radio and no digital display. Check it out if you don't like this watch. It has sort of the same look to it for approximately the same price. The atomic radio is what drives the price of this watch up which necessitated cutting back on some other features at this price point. Use: The watch is a pleasure to wear and use. Keeps itself charged, synchronized with atomic time and ready to go at a moments notice. The only downside to this watch is it makes me want to step up to another more expensive model. Really fantastic, hope you all out there are enjoying yours and I could not recommend this more.