 "F·nix 3 Sapphire Rose Gold-tone")
Casio G-Shock Mudmaster GWG-1000 (Rs 35,995)
Let's get this straight: The Casio G-Shock Mudmaster GWG-1000 is built like a tank; its mean, rugged and ready for practically anything you can throw at it. It's not the heaviest watch I have come across, though it's definitely heavier than the regular G-Shock watches, as a colleague and G-Shock fan told me.
The Mudmaster comes with a lockable crown, and the compass and altimeter buttons at two o' clock and four o' clock, respectively. At six is the light button while the mode and display buttons are at eight and 10. An LCD screen just above six o' clock displays the day and date, as well as the other functions such as world time, temperature and timer, among others. All the buttons are sealed and big, so it doesn't matter if you're wearing gloves or not.
At nine o' clock is a small dial with a red hand, which displays the mode. Instead of GPS, Casio uses its own Multiband 6 radios, which automatically adjusts the time based on the reception of one of its time calibration signals around the globe, a release from Casio says. All I know is that it automatically set the time to India the moment I took it out of the box.
The Mudmaster, besides being mud resistant (one feature I couldn't try out), is also shock vibration and water resistant. I dunked it in a bucket of water for five minutes, threw it from a height of 10 feet and played soccer as a goalie, punching out shots - with the Mudmaster strapped on.
The dial is covered with sapphire glass and there was not a single scratch even after the punishment I put it through. The yellow strap with its metal loop looks and is tough, yet is comfortable. The readings on the compass altimeter and barometer weren't too off when compared with the F·nix 3.
The Casio G-Shock Mudmaster keeps things simple and tough; it's probably meant for a wrestler who gets down and dirty, or a trekker who has to face the vagaries of nature. But I sure would miss wearing it on my wrist when I return the review sample.
If you're a boardroom warrior and activity junkie, chances are you own separate watches for these two aspects in your life. Let's face it, activity watches are sporty, chunky, often loud, and absolute misfits in the boardroom. And classic timepieces generally don't bundle an altimeter, barometer, compass along with GPS and activity tracking.
So I was intrigued when I saw the Garmin F·nix 3 Sapphire Rose Gold-tone the first time. Here was a chunky watch in rose gold, which didn't seem out of place at a party or boardroom, especially when one used the leather strap included in the box (the other two straps being the black plastic and the orange nylon ones). But it was packed to the gills for an adrenaline junkie and could display notifications. A sapphire glass covers the dial, thus making it practically scratch-resistant.
The colour display isn't overtly bright but can be read in sunlight with the light turned on. I navigated to the running tracker just outside my place and the GPS signal logged on faster than ever. I went for a run in the park nearby and since the watch was synced to my watch, I could broadcast to my wife my location using the Live Track feature so she'd know when I would be back from the run. If you're a gym regular, you'd love the fact that the F·nix 3 can track indoor runs as well. Besides running, one can go swimming, skiing, cycling and hiking with this watch, among other activities.
The watch also uses sleep-tracking but its uncomfortable wearing the watch to bed. My Android phone was able to push notifications to the F·nix 3 over Bluetooth, but there were occasions, especially later in the day, when the watch lost the connection with the phone.
The F·nix 3 Sapphire Rose Gold-tone fits flawlessly in the boardroom will satiate any adrenaline junkie. But for the flaky connection and its heft, it's a one-time investment for fitness freaks with regular jobs.
