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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

The tide function, to be accurate in your location requires that you enter the time of the first high tide of the day, then it calculates the subsequent tides. Unfortunately it is off by a few minutes per tide so after a few days you need to check your tide table and reset the timing, at least that is the case for Santa Cruz, this whole function is sort of gimmicky, but cute.

On the positive side the watch is comfortable to wear, the interface is intuitive and simple to navigate, the illumination is effective and easy to find and activate in the dark. The automatic timekeeping (Atomic clock) is also cute, but it works well in my area and gets an update every night, making the time consistently as accurate as a GPS (I was recently in a hotel in Orlando, where it never got the update, but the time stayed accurate). The compass function works well and appears to be quite accurate. The yacht racing countdown timer is easy to set and to update during the sequence and easy to see. It is very nice to be able to see the actual time in the same display as the countdown timer.

In general I am pleased with the product and would recommend it.

Next, this watch looks pretty good in person. It does look odd, what with having such a huge display, but it doesn’t look close to as bad as it does in the online photos. If you’re iffy about it, you should definitely go to a local store and try it on.

As others have said, the thermometer function is largely useless. Not only do you have to remove the watch from your arm, but you then have to wait about 10 minutes to get anything close to what the real temp is. This is no joke, as the other day I measured the temp in my office at 73 degrees (thermometer right on my desk), but the watch said that it was 86 degrees. So I took the watch off and hit the temp button every minute. Each minute it would come down about a half degree. Took so long that I finally just gave up on waiting.

The functions are really nifty. Do we need all of these functions? No. Are they super cool? Absolutely.

Fun toy!

I bought this watch just before heading to Japan for vacation. Now, when I get to Japan and can’t figure out which way is north, I’ll have a compass on my wrist! And a barometer so I can figure out if rain is coming (it’s raining there this weekend). And an altimeter for when I hike Fuji-san. And a tide graph for when I go surfing. And ultra-water resist so I don’t have to worry about leaving the watch on the beach. And a day/date/worldtime mode so I’m always oriented. And an atomic clock so I won’t have to re-adjust the watch. And an alarm so I’ll wake up on time. And an auto backlight so I can see all of this at night by just tilting my wrist to an angle and having the light turn on.

Is any of that necessary? Probably not. But it sure was fun typing that out…

=)

The compass is a little tempermental but works great outdoors once it is calibrated (readings are a little iffy indoors, near powerlines, or electronic equipment). The tide/moon data is great and can be specified to exact locations. For the thermometer to work accurately, the watch needs to be off your wrist for 20-30 minutes. This is probably the biggest con of this watch but temp is the least of my concerns.

The biggest downfall of most watches in this catagory is they eat lots of batteries. Well, I have found the solar powered battery more adequate. Just leave it exposed to sunlight for 5-10 minutes and it is fully charged. Additionally, if you set the watch to “Power Save” mode, it automatically goes to sleep when not exposed to light for more than 60 minutes.

The light can be left on by enabling “auto light.” Turn on this function and rotate the watch to >40 degrees and the light stays on until you move it <40 degress.

With moon and tide graphs, along with compass, altimeter, barometer, thermometer, timer countdown, stopwatch, five alarms, world time, hourly chime, solar power, extreme temperature resistance, power saving, radio-atomic timekeeping – this watch simply has it all!

The PAW1500 is a fantastic looking timepiece as well.

I have also owned the models below:

PAW-1300G
PAW-1200-1V
PAG-40 (Newer with Resin Band – Green/Grey)
PAG-40B2V (Blue w/Nylon Band)
A few other models I don’t have the numbers for

In response to someone else’s complaint about the backlight – I agree it could stay on longer (and I looked for a way to set this, but unfortunately there isn’t), but unlike the PAG-40, this watch features a MUCH BETTER Auto Backlight function as this watch has a light sensor so it won’t activate the auto backlight when you’re in conditions with alot of sunlight. The PAG-40 Auto Backlight turns on no matter the condition or amount of sunlight. Also, being that the PAG-40’s auto-backlight is tied to the Barometer button, it would continually turn itself off as it would invariably be hit by my hand during the day if my wrist was flexed. Lastly, being a solar powered watch, you don’t have to worry about battery drain with the auto backlight on the 1500.

In response to one other reviewer’s complaint about the band – I have a solution and have created what I consider to be the ultimate looking pathfinder.

I too dislike the plastic resin bands. The band doesn’t stay in the band-holder and the plastic bands also become uncomfortable after hours on my wrist.

Using the black plastic band ‘holder pieces’ from the PAG-40B2V (which easily bolt onto the PAW-1500) I have attached a multi-strap nylon band with quick release buckle from a Casio G2110V G-Shock which truly creates the ultimate, rugged looking pathfinder timepiece.

The G2110V Multi-strap nylon band is wide and makes the timepiece look more balanced as the wide band suits the large watch. I’ve been searching for the ultimate looking and performing active watch and I’ve finally been able to create it.

This configuration also works and looks great with the Green/Grey/Black PAG-40 (however, if you’re buying from scratch, the 1500’s additional Solar Power, Atomic Timekeeping, Countdown Timer and Auto Backlight features make it a much better buy).

Try it out if you get the chance!

The 1500 watch is perfect for that. At the Trailhead I will turn on the GPS, get a fix, read the elevation, and then set the Casio 1500 to that elevation. It’s normally pretty close on it’s own but not always perfect. Then I start my hike. Most of my hiking is upwards from the TH to a lake or mountain peak that I know the elevation of. So I can use the watch to determine how I am doing and how much time I have expended. In conjunction with the Garmin GPS it’s a wonderful combo.

This is my first solar powered watch and that too was one of the reasons I got it. No more batteries. No chance it is going to die from batteries when out on a week-long adventure somewhere (which has happened with my battery powered quartz watches). My watch keeps itself charged even if sitting on my desk in my office for weeks at a time and the only light it gets comes through a window 10′ away.

I have not really used the back light much that many folks complain about as I don’t hike much at night. I’m old, when it’s dark I’m likely to be inside.

As for the atomic time sync: no issues at all. Again, my watch normally sits on my desk inside my house and it gets the time signal just fine. In fact there’s a screen on the watch to inform you when it last synced. Never an issue. I live in the western US.

The thermometer is accurate as long as the watch is not on your wrist. It takes 5-10 minutes once off of your wrist to be accurate. Unfortunately, since I’m a mammal and it’s a watch it can’t measure wind chill. Darn. :-)

All in all this is a great watch for the $$ especially if you buy it someplace like Amazon on sale. I expect this watch to last 10+ years and thousands and thousands of hiking miles. I consider it part of my hiking survival kit.