Consumer Reviews

Picked up this watch last week (found it somewhere else for a for a bit cheaper) and loving it. The watch has all the functions mentioned and all work smoothly. The only thing to note is that the watch case itself is a mix of dark green and black (it’s hard to make out in photos). Keep that in mind if you’re “fashion conscious,” didn’t bother me one bit. The watch is a little on the large side so if you’ve got a very small wrist it might be huge on you. I’m a lefty and wear it on my right wrist and have no problem with button operations. For some reason the moon display was reversed but the documentation explained how to fix that quickly. Like all temperature sensing watches, your measurements will be off if you try taking a reading with it on your wrist (body heat and all). Everything else appears accurate. The radio receiver has worked flawlessly every night, even receiving a signal with the watch deep inside my house.

Pros:
Watch has everything except a GPS!
Solar powered, don’t worry about batteries.
Large, easy to read numbers.
Bright backlight, auto backlight if you enable it.
Calendar programmed until 2099.
Great water/depth resistance (200m).

Cons:
Large size (only a problem if you have a small wrist).
Disclaimers in manual to take all readings with a grain of salt (not meant as professional quality measurements).
Two-tone case (dark green and black, why not just back?).
Non-standard watch bands, can’t swap it out easily for non-Casio band.

Great watch with many useful features. I bought this as a backup tool for aviation. It has proved to be fairly useful. I give it only 4 stars because of the functionality of the measurements.

I calibrated my watch at the airport with actual observed conditions. Once calibrated it will provide fairly accurate measurements, I use fairly loosely. The barometer only measures in increments of .05 inches. Yesterday the barometer was as 30.07 observed and my watch read 30.10. I suppose 30.05 would have been closer but I was thankful that the watch read that close. The temperature measurements have been dead on. I have an outdoor digital thermometer at my house and they generally read the same to .2 degrees F.

The altimeter and compass do not continually measure. They have to be refreshed. I believe that the compass reads for 20 sec and the altimeter might be the same. The altimeter has shown to be the most inaccurate of the measurements. It tends to fluctuate a lot.

My biggest complaint though is the backlight. It only stays on for about 2 seconds once the button is pushed. It isnt nearly enough time to take in all the information that this watch provides. I havent found a way yet to change the duration.

I could certainly have gotten away with the 1300 series but my wife thought the 1500 looked better so who was I to argue. The moon feature of the 1500 is pretty cool. I do enjoy knowing what phase the moon is in and how high the tides are.

Overall I really enjoy this watch. I wish that it was a little more accurate but I guess that is why aviation instruments are thousands of dollars and this watch is hundreds. BTW, I really like Amazon and buy most everything from here…except this watch. I bought it at my local Casio dealer for about $30 less than advertised here. The casio pathfinder website has a dealer locater function. If you are thinking about this watch…get it.

Edit:
Seems as if the price is dropping on Amazon. It is currently under $225. I doubt that you will find it cheaper. Maybe, but prob not. Amazon came through again for me. They most always have the best prices.

My local bookstore carries TWO monthly wrist-watch magazines. Some of the watches go for over $250,000! And, they all have about the same functions: Time, Date, and Stop Watch. In 10 years, if they still work, and have not been crushed by a bowling ball, their actual value will have to depreciate. And, in 20 years, who will have replacement parts?

I buy a watch for functionality. And, the PAW1500-1V has it all. The ‘1V, with it’s two bands, is lighter, more comfortable, and less expensive. No other wrist-watch can compare with the PAW1500. While enjoying outside activities, I always know when to pack-it-up because rain is definitely on the horizon.

When hiking, or cycling, I use the compass, altimeter, and temperature sensors. All teenagers are connected by brain wave transmissions. During a full moon, all teenager’s thought processes deteriorate. In fact, a lot look like they have crashed after a very long week-end party. So, I depend on my PathFinder to provided a reality check. While I’m in the classroom teaching high school mathematics, my PathFinder tells me if my students are being influenced by a full-moon. The five alarms provide a three minute warning to wrap it up before the bell rings.

I never worry about knowing the correct time because the the PAW1500 automatically receives time and date updates from daily government radio broadcasts.

The PAW1500 is the second best male toy ever made. The all time best male toy is a portable, talking, GPS system. NOTE: GPS systems that do not talk are worthless.

I recently received this watch as a gift, as I already owned a Casio Pathfinder PAW1300G-1V (the earlier model), and it was thought that I would appreciate the upgrade.

In short, this is a nice watch, but there aren’t that many features over the PAW1300 line to justify the increased size. Unfortunately, in spite of these new features, I find that I still go back to the PAW1300 as my daily watch, simply because it’s a better package as a whole.

There are three major new features in the PAW1500 series that are not in the PAW1300:

– Tide calculator
– Moon phase calculator
– Water resistant to 200m (instead of 100m)

The increased water resistance is terrific, as this turns the Pathfinder into an actual diving watch, instead of a mere snorkeling watch. But the other two features, in my opinion, are underwhelming, and the cost in the module’s case-size are quite great.

To whit: the PAW1300 is 47.4mm round and 11.5mm thick. The PAW1500 is 51mm round and 13.9mm thick. This may not sound like a big difference, but side-by-side, it’s palpable. Before obtaining this watch, the PAW1300G-1V was the largest one I owned (in a close tie with the Seiko Orange Monster). Now this watch completely dwarfs it. It’s so big, I feel like I can use this watch to deflect bullets, Wonder-Woman-style.

(If you like big watches, then don’t listen to me. If you don’t care, but want this watch anyway, then get ready for the predictable, “Good thing that watch is water-resistant to 200 meters, because you’ll need it when that watch drags you down to the bottom of the ocean”-type jokes from your friends, and even strangers.)

Additionally, the 1500PAW has some shortcuts, like the countdown timer. The PAW1500 only has a “yacht” timer, which means that you can count down only from a maximum of 60 minutes. Instead, the PAW1300 has a full 24-hour countdown timer, which is something I use frequently. To find this feature crippled in the PAW1500 was a disappointment. (Also, the altimeter only has a 20-record capacity in the PAW1500 compared to the 40 records in the PAW1300, but I don’t think many people will be affected by this.)

The PAW1500 does have one minor pro that I should mention: the information is better-displayed than it is on the PAW1300. Despite the watch’s large size, there is technically less space in the LCD display for numeric/text/icon information, but to me the information is presented with a cleaner layout and is more intuitive to read. I.e., I think it makes the best of what it has, and I wish that the PAW1300 had done a better job in this regard.

In short: if you are looking to get a cool outdoor-gizmo watch, this one will deliver heaps of features in spades. The solar power is awesome, and once you have atomic syncing, you’ll never go back. The other features, when you learn how to use them, are extremely powerful in combination.

Still, I would advise that you be honest with yourself. Do you really need 200m water resistance, and calculators for tides and moon-phases? (And do you really want a watch the size of a beverage coaster?) If not, then I would recommend that you take a look at the PAW1300 series. It’s considerably cheaper, and the size is less obnoxious.

(The PAW1300G-1V in particular is noteworthy in that the band is not integrated with the case, but can be swapped out for standard one-piece 22mm bands, like the Zulu or NATO straps.)

There have been many generations of Pathfinder watches over the past several years, and to me, the PAW1300 feels like the golden version: the Pathfinder done right (well 90% right). Unfortunately, the PAW1500 feels like an awkward, next-generation compromise in order to pack in those few extra features. Maybe the PAW1600 will be an improvement.

As a final note: I see a lot of reviews for the Casio Pathfinders complaining about the lack of accuracy. Please note that these watches need to be calibrated to local conditions if you want them to be truly accurate, and even still, you should fully understand how the features work (and the basic science behind them) if you want to get the best use of these watches. If you are looking for a zero-maintenance, GPS-quality dashboard for you wrist, I would recommend looking at the Garmin Foretrex 101 (while a terrific piece of equipment, it’s not solar-powered, and will require changing the AAA batteries every 10 hours).

For those who aren’t familiar with atomic time watches, it works something like this. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) maintains super-accurate cesium atom and hydrogen atom clocks (hence “atomic time”). Astronomical observations from the U.S. Naval Observatory are used to keep the atomic clocks in synch with the actual rotation of the earth and its orbit around the sun. The resulting time information is then broadcast via short wave radio from Fort Collins, Colorado. An “atomic time” watch picks up the radio signal and adjusts its time to match it. Simply leave your watch near a window at night, and it will automatically adjust the time. Your watch will always be super-accurate within a fraction of a second (theoretically at least).

I’ve had many Casio watches over the years including a solar powered Casio G-Shock with atomic time that I’ve had now for 5-6 years. It still works perfectly. It’s been in very hot weather, sub-zero cold weather, in the ocean, in the snow, in high-pressure car washes, in luggage compartments at 40,000 feet, and it still works perfectly. The damn watch won’t die! The only reason I bought a new Pathfinder was because I felt due for a new watch. I don’t need an altimeter, barometer, compass, moon phase nor tide indicator, I just wanted a new damn watch!

That being said, the Pathfinder PAW1500-1V is a really cool watch for gadget lovers. You can view the phase of the moon for the current date as well as for any other date. Not only can you view the tide for the current time and place, you can see the “lunitidal interval”, whether it is spring tide or neap tide (I don’t know–ask a surfer), and you can get this information for any time on any date.

In addition to the current barometric pressure, you can display a graph of the trend of barometric pressure readings to help forecast the weather. And then there’s a compass, an altimeter, world time (all 29 time zones–yes, there’s 29–not 24), a countdown timer, and 5 alarms. The atomic time feature also works in most of Europe and Japan (they have their own atomic time broadcasts) as well as most of the U.S. and parts of Canada.

All of this is solar powered. So long as the watch gets a little sunlight now and then, you never need to replace the battery. Did I mention that that this watch is water resistant to 200 meters?

If past experience with Casio watches is any indicator, I expect my PAW1500-1V to be an extremely durable and reliable watch for many years. BTW, it is really cool looking, and you’ll want it to be visible the next time you’re in the conference room where everyone else is wearing those bogus diving watches.