Casio Pro Trek PAG240 – A Cool, Do-Everything Watch

February 6, 2014

Here’s the deal. I love watches. I don’t always wear one – especially in a day and age where I’m carrying a mobile phone around – but when I do I like to have lots of features on my wrist. In the past, I’ve had altimeter/barometer watches, multiple lap timers, waterproof build quality and many other items as part of my watches. The bar has been raised as Casio delivered one of their cool pieces of wrist tech to me the other day.

That’s right, more features, more style and more drooling on my part. The Casio Pro Trek PAG240 is an upgrade to their PAG40. This model has triple sensor (as with the earlier model) that can give you altimeter, barometer, thermometer and compass. But it adds a few things that made me raise my eyebrows.

It’s now powered by the sun, has both sunrise and sunset data (great if you’re a photographer or need to schedule training sessions during daylight hours, features world time of 48 different cities, and it’s as rugged as any of their other watches…including those in the G-Shock line-up.

Mostly because I’m a stickler for cool tech in my watches, I’m thinking of ponying up the $250 (MSRP) for this beauty. I’d use it during all my travel and speaking gigs (48 cities are sure to include Vegas, Austin, Chicago and Florida). The altimeter/barometer will tell me when it’s going to get stormy in Paris during the Tour de France. And the sunrise and sunset settings will allow me to figure out when the best time is to take my waning sun photos on the Gulf coast in Florida.

In all, I think this watch is a winner. I’d like to see the price dip a little bit, but other altimeter/barometer watches come in between $75 and $400, so this is right in the middle. The thing that probably boosts the price the most is the self-charging solar-power feature. Really nice to have as you don’t have to crack open the watch every few years to replace a battery.

The solar power perk also ensures that you don’t lose the functionality that’s built into the watch. Prior altimeter/barometer watches with water resistance had to go back to the factory to be pressure tested and sealed whenever a battery was needed. That’s far more annoying than you realize. I’d rather just put the watch on a window sill or roll up my sleeves and get a full charge whenever I need it.

The only other drawback, after price, is the size. Like any gadget that packs such a big punch, this watch also packs a big size. My wrists are the diameter of baby asparagus so I’d prefer to get the PAG240 in a mid-size face. But that’s just me. The size is easy to read and the strap makes it comfortable to wear anywhere.

If you’re looking for a watch with a ton of features and don’t require the connected features in some of the latest fitness and heart-rate monitor watches Casio has just introduced, then the Pro Trek PAG240 is a cool addition to any wrist.

Let me know what watches or technologies strike your fancy by leaving a comment on this post. Thanks for reading!