Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This watch works exactly as advertised and I am quite pleased with it.The magnifier is high quality, providing real resolving power -- more than enough for the smallest text.The LED is bright and is aimed right where the light is needed when using the magnifier, and works well as small flashlight.Expect the same flashlight performance as you would get with any of the newer mini key fob LED flashlights.The strap is comfortable even given a minor quirkiness.
Here are the quibbles that prevented me from giving it a full 5 stars:
- The magnifier lens, when covering the watch face, has front and back surface reflections.You may find that you have to adjust the angle of the watch face to read it clearly.An anti-reflective coating, such as those used on camera lenses and lately eye glasses would probably have helped, although such coatings are expensive and can be easily damaged.I'd rather move my wrist back and forth a bit than pay an extra $20 for the watch, and in the worst case you can always flip the lens up out of the way.
- The buttons are a little too easy to push.
- The back light illuminates the foreground (i.e the numerals) not the background.The watch face has to be tilted a bit away from you for the backlit numerals to be easily read.
- The end of the strap is hard to thread through the retainer behind the buckle, the end wants to go through a hole and end up under the strap instead of on top.But I found that this wasn't uncomfortable for me, so now I don't bother trying to thread it 'correctly'.
- The 'home' display does not have a distinctive beep.In other words, when you press the mode button to cycle through the displays, the watch will beep with each button press.But you have to watch the watch face to find the main time display.With a Casio watch, reaching the 'home' display sounds a different frequency beep, so you can return to the main display by just quickly hitting the button till the distinctive beep.
Again, these are all minor quibbles.Other features of the watch that work well include:
- four independent time of day alarms
- a count down/count up timer.Like my last Casio, the watch will beep each second when it reaches the last 5 seconds.A 30 second alarm will sound at zero, while the watch continues with a time count-up. Surprisingly you can set the count down timer to include seconds, as in 2:15:25 (2 hours, 15 minutes, 25 seconds).The max count down time is 23:59:59 and I *assume* that's the max count-up time as well.
- The usual stop-watch function.
I've amused many people by showing off my "old geek" watch and in the short time I've used it so far, it has already been quite useful.I just hope the magnifier/crystal stands up to abuse, it's curved surface with no protection means it will inevitably get scraped against walls and objects.Only time will tell if lens will become too scratched to be useful anymore.
1 YEAR UPDATE....
It's been a year since I've bought this watch and I'm pleased to report that so far, the lens doesn't have a single scratch.I've noticed that the display now dims a bit each time the alarm sounds.This may mean that the watch battery is starting to get weak.One thing I forgot to mention is that there is a separate battery for the watch and for the light.This is a smart feature.I've been careful about not over use the light and right now it seems as bright as the day I bought it.
Speaking of batteries, if you go to the manufacturer's web site [...]and click the "services" tab, you can register your watch.The claim is that you'll receive "free batteries for the life of the watch" if you register.We'll see.
I've actually started watching for a new version, or if it looks like it is about to be discontinued, I will immediately buy a second one as a spare.I've grown to like it that much.
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Product Description:
Our new ibeam watch collection has a built in led light and a flip-up crystal that maginfies at a 3x power.This is a very cool and functional swiss movement, high end watch. It's absolutely perfect for those times you need a little visual help. It's not an exaggeration that The Survival Watch could literally be a life-saver. It has features that support every kind of activity during daytime or in pitch darkness. The Patented Pop-Up crystal has a magnifying lens built in allowing you to see objects up close when you're in a pinch.And, the built-in LED flashlight is a real life saver when you're in a dark environment.The watch face also has back - lit numbers making it easy to see the time. The watch band has a built in compass making this a truly indespensible items when you need to know your direction home.Water resistant to 150 feet.Dual time zone settings. Four Daily Alarms.20 Lap Chornograph. Selectable 12 or 24 hour time format. Calendar Display of Day/Date/Month. Chime every hour. This watch is sized for a man and is available in five color choices: Black, Grey, Clear, Blue and Orange.
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