G-ShockG-Shock GW6900-1 Men's Tough Solar Black Resin Sport Watch

I am very happy with this watch. This is my first Casio G-Shock and so far, I love it. I think the size and shape are just right and I like the functionality. I was a little worried that it might be a little big and bulky on my wrist but I think it fits just right. I have an average size wrist and the watch doesn't look abnormally big on me.I really like the solar function. I wore Timex Ironman watches for years but changing the batteries was such a hassle due to the difficulty in getting the back off with the wrist band in the way. And I had to replace a couple of watches when I didn't get the back sealed properly and water got inside. I'm hoping that with this solar powered one, battery replacement is a thing of the past! It really doesn't take much effort to keep the battery fully charged. When I got the watch in the mail the battery level was at the third level (of four), or the level just below full charge. Initially it took a little bit to get the charge up to full and it went back and forth from full charge to down a level a few times over the first few days. I'm assuming the watch had been sitting in a warehouse out of the light for who knows how long so it probably needed some extended light exposure to fully charge. After a few days I was careful the expose the watch to direct sunlight for longer periods and that brought the charge up to full and it stayed there. Since then I haven't made any special effort to expose the watch face to light (sun or electric), just the exposure it gets through normal everyday use, and it has stayed fully charged.I've been really happy with the atomic timekeeping as well. The instructions go to great lengths to explain how you need to position the watch a certain way on a window sill at night so that the watch can receive the time keeping radio signals. It sounded like it was going to be a real pain since I prefer to sleep with my watch on. So far my watch hasn't missed the signal once even though it stays on my wrist in bed at night. I imagine that results might vary depending on where in the country (or world) you live and what the surrounding terrain is like. I live in the northeast US and in pretty hilly terrain but so far, no problems with reception.Other than those specifics, I like the overall look and function of the watch. I was concerned the numbers might be a little small but so far that has been fine. Figuring out the controls was not difficult. I did read the instruction manual to find out about some of the specific functions but overall I just played with the buttons a little bit and most of it is pretty intuitive.I've only had the watch for a few weeks so I can't speak toward it's long term durability but it definitely seems very well constructed and I look forward to many years of service. It looks like the band is relatively easy to replace should the need arise. Overall I think it is a great watch. If you are looking for something that is functional and durable, I highly recommend the G-Shock GW6900-1!

I had an original DW-6900 purchased over a decade ago. It was tough and lasted a long time, but mostly sat in a drawer because I didn't think it had a good functionality to size ratio. The "three eyes" design of the original used a lot of real estate on the dial for the purpose of graphically counting seconds; something already done by the seconds portion of the readout. For the tradeoff of bigger size, the original DW-6900 still only had the basic functions.When I saw this updated GW-6900, I was drawn as before to the aesthetics - I've heard many people say that this is the most popular G-Shock form factor of all time, and I suppose it works its charm on me as well. But the difference here is this one is updated for the new millenium. Has the same great looks but much improved functionality.Above and beyond the original DW-6900, this one is solar charged, synchable with 6 atomic radio signals (vice 5 that many other multi-band watches are equipped to hear), has a very well thought-out world time/GMT function, auto illuminator, and multiple alarms. But best of all - those previously useless "eyes" now have real functions. And good ones too; they show either power reserve or the status of various watch functions.The left eye is related to power levels:Power save [on/off]Different levels of charge [high/mid/low/charge]The middle eye is related to watch functions:Auto Illuminator [on/off]Beep on button push [on/off]At least one alarm is set [on/off]Snooze alarm set [on/off]Some function related to the atomic time radio signal that I haven't read about yetThe right eye continues on in its semi-redundant role as a graphical seconds counter, but it amps up to subseconds when used with the stopwatch.Another great improvement over the DW-6900, and over some other auto illuminator models, is how the illuminaton works. First of all, you can set the illumination to stay on for either 1 or 3 seconds. Nice. Also, you can also stick it in auto illuminator mode, which turns on the lume when you put your wrist horizontally in front of your face, then rotate your wrist toward your eyes so you can see the dial.The improved functionality of this auto illuminator implementation is that it can stay on all the time (vice being automatically shut off over 8 hours as with some other models), but here's the good part - it won't turn on the light when you're in a bright area. It's a "set and forget" feature, which in real life operation, tends to work just like the lume on an analog watch: it's there when you need it and not there when you don't. And it won't waste power. Pretty sweet.This is the only radio-controlled watch I've owned that has managed to sync on the first night. I put it in a westward-facing windowsill between the blinds and glass, with the dial facing down and 12 o'clock side facing west. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it synched on the first try, right around midnight. For best results, find a window that is facing Ft Collins, CO.Overall I'd say this is the most refined and useful G-Shock I've had yet. Seems like Casio has been listening to what the customer wants. The only improvement I'd ask for is a better lap timer on the stopwatch. This is where the Timex Ironman models really shine; I'd like to see the ability to count laps and review lap times on a G-Shock.This watch is an engineering marvel. Excellent value for Amazon's price of $88.