CASIO G-Shock G-5600E-1DR review

March 5, 2017



The CASIO G-Shock G-5600E-1DR is my latest timepiece acquisition, and I'm pretty impressed with it. I was never into G-Shocks, but I've recently fell in love with the squares, and decided to get my first one. I was heavily researching G-Shock squares before making my buying decision, and I chose this one, because it's the only Tough Solar model without Multi Band 6, which I felt was nothing that I really need and pay more for it. However I wanted the solar charging, so this was the best choice for me. I bought it via PC Home, it cost me 3060 NTD (around 99 USD). It's not the cheapest square, but also not the most expensive (they can go up to 300 USD), for me it was a nice sweet spot. Check out my pictures and read about my impressions and experience below:

A side image of the G-5600E-1DR.

The back side is pretty solid.

The side view.

One downside: The readability is not good.

The rubber strap is pretty sturdy.

The buckle is very nice.

The illumination is pretty nice.

The features

The list of all the features, from hardware to software, is quite impressive:

• Tough Solar: Casio's technology, that uses sunlight and artificial light to power the watch's battery. This should prolong the longevity of the battery, some people say it should last 10-15 years without any issue. If the watch is not exposed to light, the battery lasts around 11 months before it dies with normal use, and 27 months, if the watch is in total darkness for so long.

• Resin Band: The band is made of highest quality polyurethane resin. It's highly resistant, has a great tensile strength, and long life time before cracking. It's a more expensive and higher quality material then rubber.

• Shock Resistant: You can drop or knock the watch and it will be fine. This is G-shock's key feature.

• 200-meter water resistance

• Mineral glass: It's harder than resin glass, but not as hard as sapphire crystal. Scratches can be easily buffed out.

• Backlight illumination: Activated by pressing the upper right button. A turquoise color will appear for about a half of a second.

• Timekeeping: Hour, minute, second, PM, month, date, day (12/24-hour format)

• World time: 29 time zones (48 cities + coordinated universal time), city code display, daylight saving on/off.

• Stopwatch: 1/100-second (measuring capacity: 23:59'59.99'). Measuring modes are: Elapsed time, split time, and 1st-2nd place times.

• 1-second countdown timer: Input range is 1 minutes to 24 hours (1-minute increments and 1-hour increments).

• 5 daily alarms: Including 1 snooze alarm.

• Full auto-calendar: Goes up to year 2099.

• Battery power indicator

• Power Saving: The display goes blank to save power when the watch is left in the dark.

My verdict

I really love this watch, and I wear it daily, because it almost feels as if it's not there. Weighing around 50g, it feels really light compared to my mechanical stainless steel watch, that weighs 3 times more (160g). The resin band feels comfortable on my wrist, it's very sturdy. I like the illumination, it's a very beautiful turquoise color, and I use it every night. The only downside is that it lasts less than a second. Another thing I don't like that much are the buttons. They're small and hard to press with finger tips, I usually have to use the tip of my nail, but I suppose that's to prevent them from being pressed accidentally, and ensure water resistance, I'm not too sure. I think being a design classic, as well as very sturdy, durable and feature rich watch, this G-Shock is a very good value at 100 bucks. I would recommend it to anyone who's considering to buy his first G-Shock.

19 comments:

  1. Nice article (the photos are great), thanks. I've just ordered one myself.

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  2. got one too, hidden gem. not in usa market which is dumb. does it take same band as other 5600-1V? Also you can prevent cracking or rot

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  3. May I know the country of manufacture of your watch?

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  4. The back of mine states Thailand.

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  5. Gotta get that one too..
    Nice review. Thanks

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  6. Great review.
    It costs 50$ in India. I got the same as a beater watch after getting my mudmaster gwg1000 and falling in love with G-Shocks.

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    1. Thanka. Got mine today. Good one. But I wish the display was large and more darker to read. Also the date should allow ddmm format. I wish it showed the time when in stopwatch or timer mode.
      Nice watch. I have rangeman and it feels too thick. I find it difficult to button my full sleeves with it. I always feel it on my wrist. This one is so light. It's unnoticeable. Also have 2 protreks. Same story.
      I love this one.

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  7. It a great watch just get one for my own birthday:)

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  8. You say readability is not good. What does it mean.

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    Replies
    1. It means you can't read the time well.

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    2. True. However, if you notice the display is very nice to read of you see it a bit from the left angle. Naturally when you look at you wrist. Strangely if you see it right in front of eyes it feels a bit washed out. But not a big issue

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  9. Absolutely amazing value for money watch. Gotten mine during 11.11 sale and around US$60. Pretty awesome compare to my other F91W, A168 and W217H.

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  10. hi, may i ask if this model have the solar panel test screen? i just got mine but i cant seems to find the solar test screen.

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    Replies
    1. I'm not sure what you mean by test screen? There's an indicator for the battery under the minute and second area. There are 3 letters: L • M • H. This means low, medium and high.

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