Casio Wave Ceptor Tough Solar MULTIBAND6 Men's Watch WVA-M630B-3AJF (Japan Import)

I'll admit it. I'm obsessed with Casio watches. In fact, I've purchased Casio watches exclusively for almost 50 years; all the way from a 4 function chronometer to a database/calculator watch to solar and atomic watches. In that time the only other watches I've owned are ones someone gave me as a gift. They have just about everything one could possibly want in watches, but the features I'm totally sold on are solar charging and atomic clock. In other words, never having to set, wind, or replace batteries. I now have two of this type, one for dress and one for casual/light work; both hybrid analog/digital. Yes, there is a bit of a learning curve to use some functions not regularly accessed, so for most who are not total geeks the manual needs to be accessible for not-so-often used features. I have the manual on my PC and on my phone. You can get the English manual off the Casio website. Enter 5161 for the watch module number. What I really like about this particular watch is that is is so easy to read. The numbers really jump and if your eyes are getting on the older side you will likely have no problem reading the time. Some reviewers have complained about the band being really stiff... and it is. But you can greatly speed up the softening process by folding the band flat and 'rolling' the fold down the length of the band a few times. I was almost going to buy another band but I tried this technique first and it seems to work pretty well. Try keeping this band and be patient during the break-in period. It looks great and appears to be high quality. Others have complained about the night light. It does not light the digital window well enough to see easily, but more than enough for the rest of the face. I guess if you like to use the stopwatch or timer functions in the dark this may not be the watch for you. All of my Casio watches have had lights with the job being done to varied extent. Even if I hated how this light works I wouldn't be too disappointed as I very rarely have a situation where I must depend on a watch in pitch black darkness. If you're CIA or a Seal you're probably looking at something else anyway. I just look at my always-on time on my phone. Some reviewers have also complained about the body of the watch being a sandwich of metal, plastic, and metal. In my opinion if you're wanting this watch to serve as your only watch don't wear it when your climbing a rock face or framing a house. Casio (as well as some other brands) has an abundance of other watches that can more than handle those situations. There are watches Casio makes that are titanium, sapphire crystal, can dive to 300M, and have all the bells and whistles but you'll pay way over a grand for them. Watches vary in price according to features, whether they can take a beating, what kind of metal they have (if any), and the type of crystal. And you might think that this watch is a little pricey when you pick it up, as it is pretty light. I can't vouch for ruggedness but for me if I get in a really rugged situation I'll take the watch off. Also for me, the atomic clock and solar charging features make it worth it despite possibly not being so much for mountain climbers and others who like to get lost or otherwise risk getting killed. Any Casio watches not having these two [essential] features together can be a lot cheaper, or much more expensive. And Casios designed for rugged use can have these features, but all of them are for a larger wrist as far as I've seen. I chose this watch over a smart watch. Smart watches are expensive and have to be charged almost daily. And besides, for me at least, smart phones have all the necessary functionality except heart monitoring to catch arrhythmias, etc. And that function can be done with other devices that are much cheaper than a smart watch, have reliable results and are doctor recommended. I am a real watch live Amazon purchaser that just happens to love the practicality and functionality and smart design of Casio watches. I highly recommend this watch.

My favorite watch has been my Casio G-Shock (GW-2500-1AJF). Its decades old, still works on the original battery, and has atomic time/radio reception and solar charging which all still work. And work perfectly. Its amazing, I do think it is one of the the best mass-market watches ever made in terms of longevity and accuracy. Absolutely incredible for the price of a couple hundred $$ purchased used 15+ years ago. I can totally see why people are addicted to Casio Watches and G-Shock watches. But the G-Shock its getting very very old. Really old. Its a big hunk of cool looking plastic on your wrist. Also the worst (worse?) thing about this G-Shock is that its very complicated to operate, set, reset, etc... I have to download the manual every time I need to do anything (which is not often). Also the typefaces are small and dimming as I get old and my eyes go bad and I can read basically only the hand positions. Which is fantastic because the hands are luminous white on black super easy to see! I figured I would get something more basic, less chunky, and simple, yet I do still want atomic time and solar charging. The Casio Wave Ceptor Tough Solar MULTIBAND6 Men's Watch WVA-M630B-3AJF (Japan Import) was just what I wanted. Its relatively simple, easy to read, has an LCD instead of an LED (which dims over time), and has radio clock/time and solar. Perfect! FYI pictures shown are with a new aftermarket watch band (see below for reasons). This watch is very reasonably priced, its a Japan import but now widely available in USA. Don't worry about those Japanese characters on the screen, they are only day of week which can be changed to English. Lookup Casio 5161 and you can easily find the English manual pdf online to change languages and set up the watch. Make no mistake- this is a budget watch with a budget exterior that is thankfully matched with a very nice interior and feature set. There is plastic on the outside but nice stuff on the inside. Features: Like my old G-shock this syncs with the solar radio clock at midnight to receive the correct time, charges its battery with solar. Stick this in a dark drawer for a few months and it will enter battery save mode, pull it out and give it some light to restore everything. Really amazing. Shows charge (low/med/HI) on the display in case you want to know. Easy to charge. Has LED backlight to read the time (but not the LCD) in the dark. Has world time (another time zone, alarm, stopwatch. Countdown timer shows as "TR" (time remaining?) on the display, can only be incremented in 1 minute intervals. Otherwise shows day of week and day of month on the display. Day of week is japanese but is the only japanese on the watch, so once you change to English, you won't see any Japanese characters. There are 3 pushbuttons to change stuff around but its far less complicated than a G shock. Band: First off the band is 20mm not 19mm like the listing states. The listing is wrong, its 20mm. Also I have a large-ish wrist and the original band was at maximum capacity which did not feel great. The original band for some reason does not use the latest "quick release" spring bars/ lugs so you need a tool or small screwdriver to replace the band. Put in a new band with the easy quick release springs/lugs. Lots of people have said the band is very stiff and rough. This is true, I agree. I tried to break it in but could not make it, so I swapped out the band for a stretchy modern quick-release nylon green band which mostly matches the original colors. It was 19mm and the lugs fell out of the mating holes without any force. Put a 20mm band in there and it fits perfectly without falling out. So, Again, the Band is 20mm wide not 19mm wide. Why do they say 19mm? No one knows. Many reviews here note the problem with this. Setup: The watch is easy to setup, first download the manual for the Casio 5161 (the movement type of this watch), choose your home city and hopefully the time will self-adjust to the correct time. If not, the next step is (using the manual) to do a manual radio/atomic clock update which is awesome! Point the watch at Colorado (easy here on the West Coast) while doing so. The second hand will move to "R" for receive (under the 9) and then to "W" for (??working?? Over the 9), and then back and forth as it figures out the time. Then you will be all set, the hands move to the correct positions. Watch: This watch is sort of a military or "field" watch with green tones and band. This is fine with me, I love the look. The dome on the face is not glass, its plastic or "acrylic crystal", given the cheapie price and features. So don't beat it up a lot. It is waterproof to 50M so you are ok with it splashing in the water but watch out for those pool chemicals on your plastic dome. And your actual dome! The watch face looks great, the watch is not super thin or super large so should fit everyone. It is very very light however, which was unexpected. The hands are nice and note the second hand has the luminous coating on the back side as the tippie tip is too tiny. I don't think it would be possible to make a thinner, tinyier second hand. The front of the watch and the back of the watch are metal. If you look at the side of the watch, there is an intermediate layer, which is small but which is plastic. The main thing I do not like about this watch (other than the original small and stiff band) is the numeral "6" which is cut off on the bottom of the watch, and which displays only the bottom portion of the "6". To the left and right of the half 6 are simple placeholders, the 6 should be a similar but fatter placeholder, in my view. I am sure hundreds of consultants and designers decided the partial 6 was way cool but it looks way cheap. Even worse when you press the illumination light in the dark, this half 6 looks like a "9" because the LED is right below it and distorts the bottom portion. See pics. Bet they never thought of that! A small complaint to be sure but the half number is bugging me. Just to complain a little more, the hands are also a smidge thin. The watch is very light so if you are looking for something heavy and bulky this is not for you. One alternative, in the same price range, is the Casio MTPS120L Series which has nicer hands, a mineral glass crystal, a nicer metal exterior, and also has solar but not atomic radio and no digital display. Check it out if you don't like this watch. It has sort of the same look to it for approximately the same price. The atomic radio is what drives the price of this watch up which necessitated cutting back on some other features at this price point. Use: The watch is a pleasure to wear and use. Keeps itself charged, synchronized with atomic time and ready to go at a moments notice. The only downside to this watch is it makes me want to step up to another more expensive model. Really fantastic, hope you all out there are enjoying yours and I could not recommend this more.

I'm not a watch expert or snob but I really really like this watch. I just got it and I can't stop looking at it. Super easy to read. I love the ticking second hand tho I wish it was more visible. Super quiet. The digital is awesome. I'm a photographer so I can wear this with a fancy band and still have timer and stopwatch functions. Awesome! Speaking of which, during shoots I'm usually in the dark so this watch can be there with me. It has an orange LED as well as Lume. The lume isn't the best but if you can carry a uv light that helps. Otherwise, just hold your thumb next to the LED, and it'll bounce enough light back to the digital display to see the display. For the money, I have zero complaints. I wish the lume lasted longer but that's with every watch. I wish it would last for hours, that would be cool! Btw, I'm getting a 33.5 mm screen protector so I'll report back if it fits. I couldn't find the exact size anywhere so I'll try to get that in the review update. Google Casio 5161 PDF to get the manual in English. For those that say it's only in Japanese, you can change the language. You get English, Japanese, Spanish, Chinese, French and I think one more which I forget. Just take the time to look for the answer and you can get it how you want. It's really not complicated, I'm absolutely not smart and I got it. Trust. You can do it!! The strap is the weak point. The case is resin and the glass isn't the most scratch resistant but this strap.... OMG. It's so stiff! I ended up using a strap from my ae-1200wh and it for pretty well!! It's super comfy so I might buy another and use this. Only thing is you need 20mm bars/poles/sticks because the ae-1200wh uses 18mm. I also bought another leather strap but it looks purple so I'm sending that back. I posted just so you can get an idea of what it looks like. It was supposed to be a deeper brown. I have a black silicone strap coming as well. As for the seller, really super fast shipping and packaging was super sealed and safe. I really appreciate how they protected my purchase. Thank you. Overall great watch! I'm looking forward to using this as my daily. Can't wait to but more straps too!

I've had my Casio Wave Ceptor watch for almost a year and couldn't be more pleased with it. I was a big fan of the Timex easy reader watches - but went through several of them in the past three decades, generally when a little water got in the watch, even though they were touted to be water resistant. I started a search on the internet for radio controlled, solar-powered, inexpensive watch with a lighted dial and non-metal strap and found nothing that met all the criteria until I came across this watch. When I got my watch, I put it out next to the window and viola! - the watch was synced perfectly the next morning and haven't had to set the time since. Every few weeks I make sure to leave my wrist under some sunlight very briefly and that takes care of the battery charging. The directions for daylight savings and crossing time zones require reading the directions, but it's easy and straightforward once you do it. I like being able to push a button in the middle of the night to light up the dial. The band is perfect. I don't take a chance swimming with it but there's other reviews that mention it lives up to its waterproof claims. It used to be a hassle to buy and install a new battery in my old Timex watches once a year or so and even more of a hassle for the watch to slip out of sync by 10 seconds or more every week. You never have to worry about these issues. I was never a fan of Casio watches. I'd built an impression of them as all digital with watch faces cluttered with multiple dials and extra features. This broke the stereotype. Highly recommended for people that want a truly maintenance-free watch for a long time.

When I first opened this watch, I felt really underwhelmed. It was light, it felt cheap, the digital display had a limited viewing angle, and the orange light looked really dated - I haven't seen a non-EL light since, like, the 80's. But after living with this watch for a few months, I've definitely had a change of heart. --The atomic clock function took a few days to get in sync, but has reliably been synchronizing daily since then. Even automatically adjusting for DST. As a added benefit, date is automatically updated. This watch requires zero maintenance. --The lume is so good on this watch. I haven't come across a watch that is both this bright and long lasting. I swear that the dial is legible 4 or 5 hours after the lights go out. The Citizen and Timex watches I've used in the past are rarely good more than an hour or two, but I've been floored at how long I can continue to see the hands on this watch. The orange light is for those dire circumstances when you have to wake up in the dark and need to see the time - or you're at the movies when the lume isn't strong enough to compete with the screen, in these situations, the backup light handles it just fine. --The stopwatch and timer are... ok... I guess. The stopwatch is limited to 99 minutes, and the hundredths aren't visible until you pause the stopwatch, because they alternate on the screen with the 00:00 from the minutes:seconds display. The timer can only be set in whole minutes, from 1 to 99 minutes. You can't set the seconds, but it will count down seconds once you start the timer. But I never use those functions on my watch, so I don't really care. If I wanted an Ironman experience, I might be more upset. --The band, I replaced in the first week with a NATO strap. The original band was not good. --The WR rating is only 5 bar, so I try not to take it swimming, but I suppose I could. --The stainless façade isn't great, it's getting scuffed up pretty easily, but it's not noticeable unless you're looking at it up close. It's certainly less noticeable than the glass getting scratched - which my lens has been holding up quite nicely. Though the lens does protrude quite noticeably - 0.64 mm doesn't sound like much, but it's the most I've seen glass protrude from the case in my limited selection of watches. Because of the brain dead operation of this watch after initial setup, think I'm actually going to regret not buying 2 because I like it so much. I used to be annoyed at the 1st of every month when I had to reset the day dial on my watch, and while I was at it, get the second-hand lined up with my cell phone's clock. This Wave Ceptor has made this watch as easy as possible to keeping your watch on time.

Unfortunately, this watch has too many cons for me: Analog-Time • The minute-hand is not 100% accurate • Minute-hand starts inching halfway towards the next mark after 20s • So I might accidentally read 10:53:50 instead of 10:52:50 (see image) • I wish the minute-hand only moved when the minute actually changes (at the 0s mark) Timer • You can only keep minute timers (e.g., 1:00, 2:00, etc) • Meaning you cannot edit the seconds on a timer Band • The band is too stiff • I read you can beat into the band to soften it, • but it doesn't provide a great first impression Buttons (minor con) • Only 3 buttons • 3 buttons limit the ease of functionality and requires more "holding" some buttons • e.g., for the stopwatch, you must hold the start/stop button in order to reset it instead of pressing a would-be-convenient-4th-button In conclusion, I was really excited for the solar charge, atomic time, and looks, but unfortunately, these cons are just not worth it.

This is a replacement for my 14-year-old wave ceptor watch. I like the watch very much (4+ stars), but the band is terrible/unusable (-2 stars), making the watch unwearable.

UPDATE: 1/20/24 -- I've had this watch for almost 7 years now. It's still going strong. Wear it everyday. I have to get new bands for it about every year, but it's been great. Simple, reliable, sets and recharges itself with normal use. This has been a great watch. UPDATE: 6/16/18 -- I've had this watch for almost a year now. It's still going strong. Sets itself, charges itself...nothing else to do except wear it. I really like the watch and the casual style. The band is okay, but since it's made of stiff cloth (like an olive colored canvas), it's dirty now and needs to be replaced. I wear this watch every day and have only noticed one small scratch on the crystal. The crystal isn't the hardest of materials, but it's hung in there for me through daily wear and my work around airplanes as a pilot. I'm upgrading my review to five stars. ORIGINAL REVIEW -- This watch took about 3 weeks to arrive since it ships from overseas. I bought it to replace a similar-looking automatic (self-winding) watch that I never could get to run even semi-accurately. From that experience, I decided to take a chance on this $90 Casio which charges itself through a solar cell in the watch face (never needs a battery change) and then automatically sets itself to the proper time using a time signal from Boulder, CO. The instructions are in Japanese so you'll need to first download them in English for this model from the Casio website. Setting this watch was the biggest challenge for me. It wasn't all that clear or easy to set from the instructions. Eventually, I got it all set up (and in English), but I don't use the stopwatch, alarm, or countdown timer features so I can't comment on how easy or hard those features are to use. The watch is extremely accurate and just tweaks itself periodically and automatically. I really like that aspect of the watch--dependably accurate. It also has a nice amber-looking light that makes the hands easy to read at night. Some customers don't like the band and some have said not so bad. But I just wear it loose and it's seems fine to me. I like the olive green color and steel look to the watch. A nice, casual watch. Overall, I like the watch very much and would recommend it. If it lasts, it'll be my go-to watch for every day wear.

Very good watch and good service from the seller

I like it very much and it is a superb acurate watch with solar battery, so no need to replace it every couple of years. Good value for money. I have changed cloth strap which was too stiff imho for metal bracelett, and it looks even better now.

Great watch! Best value for a don’t-even-need-to-set and forget solar watch with automatic time keeping. No trouble getting the signal from Fort Collins in southeast Ontario. Good high-contrast easy-to-read analog display, although the face is more brown than green as depicted in the product photos. The digital display fades at moderate angles, but is very legible until you get off-axis. Controls as easily as any multi-button digital which is to say kind of cryptically, but once it’s set up you shouldn’t really ever need to play with it. As others note, the included strap is too stiff to live so treat yourself to a prettier one.

価格がお手頃で、シンプルで見やすいのがいいです。

Flawless for such a small price. But not meant for any sort of manhandling.