Tough guy, though not very intelligent. I spent a few days with the G-Shock GBD-H1000 watch and I am saying how it is

It provides notifications from the phone, indicates the location, counts the distance traveled and calories burned, and if necessary can be used to stun a bear. Ah, I would forget - it also measures time. This is the Casio G-Shock GBD-H1000, with whom I spent the last days.

The legendary producer of indestructible watches decided to influence unknown waters and give birth to the first - seemingly - a full-fledged smartwatch. An intelligent watch for the target group, which has so far refrained from these types of creations, mainly due to the lack of proper strength.

I spent only 5 days with the Casio G-Shock GBD-H1000 watch. It is not enough to write a full review. It is not enough to clearly write "buy" or "do not buy". However, this is enough time to learn the basic capabilities of this amazing watch and form a solid opinion about it.

This is not a smartwatch. It's G-Shock.

At first I have to admit my mistake and apologize. In the texts announcing the premiere of GBD-H1000 I called this watch a smartwatch . After 5 days, I can definitely say that ... he doesn't quite deserve this name.

This is G-Shock first. Then a sports watch (or rather "sports"). Only at the end of the list of its features can you give some intelligent functions that distinguish it from other watches of the brand. Under no circumstances should G-Shock GBD-H1000 be a smartwatch.

So what is Casio G – Shock GBD – H1000?

First of all, however it sounds, it is G-Shock. A virtually indestructible outdoor watch, ready for any challenge.

There is a reason why the Japanese brand has gained a reputation for watches for extreme applications and you can feel it also in its new watch. The entire structure is enclosed in a virtually all-plastic housing.

For five days I managed to muddy, dirty, drown in salty and fresh water, bury in dry and wet sand, and even carelessly put it on a tree while running through the forest.

This did not impress the GBD-H1000 the least. It looks and works like new. Both the material and the mineral glass covering the shield came out of all the tests, not so much as unscathed, as if these tests never took place.

The new G-Shock is also the most advanced timepiece in the company's offer, although it is not the most expensive one. However, it has absolutely the most functions, ahead of even the most advanced watches of the Master of G series.

The list goes on and on. The watch features such features as:

- GPS
- Solar charging
- Barometer
- Thermometer
- Altimeter
- Digital compass
- World clock
- Calendar
- timer
- Stopwatch
- Alarms
- Calorie measurement
- Heart rate measurement
- Pulse level alarm
- Accelerometer
- Pedometer
- Phone notifications
- Water resistance up to 200 m

The extraordinary durability and the multitude of functions are paid for with considerable dimensions, even for G-Shocki.

The G – Shock GBD – H1000 has an envelope 55 x 63 mm wide and 20.4 mm thick. It weighs 101 g, which definitely goes on your wrist.

And although maybe the new G-Shock looked on my slim wrist quite strangely, so - speaking in Białystok - I liked it . This watch has an undeniable, coarse charm.

I must admit that I was afraid of the size of this watch and without a trace of embarrassment I called it a hubcap among smartwatches. In practice, however, the GBD-H1000 proved to be surprisingly convenient.

Much of the merit is a strap made of resin, which is profiled at the place of attachment with the envelope, thanks to which it adheres perfectly to the wrist. I wore this watch every day, both while walking the dog and while shopping or working at the computer. Removing it after 16 hours did not give me a sense of relief, I did not feel that I was taking some weight off me.

Envelope buttons also deserve huge praise. They are solid, clearly palpable, and using the interface with them is really simple. Navigation is mainly via the three buttons on the left. On the right we will find a dedicated screen backlight button and back button.

A nice touch is the presence of classic beading, present in G-Shock from the beginning of the brand's existence. Of course, the sound can be turned off, but it's like buying a sports car and drowning out the sound of the engine. No sense.

The objective obstacle that cannot be overcome in some situations is only the thickness of the envelope. While I could easily hide the watch under the cuff of the "everyday" jacket, there was no chance to hide it under the cuff of a waterproof softshell. Fortunately, the GBD-H1000 is such a durable watch that you can simply put it on the cuff, although then of course you lose the heart rate reading.

And since we're talking about the heart rate monitor ...

G – Shock GBD – H1000 is a sports watch. As if.

GBD – H1000 is not the first GPS watch of the brand, after all there is the Rangeman model. However, it is the first watch with a heart rate monitor, GPS and dedicated sport mode.

Activity measurement is started with the large RUN button on the left side of the envelope. The first press initiates satellite communication. The second begins monitoring activity.

Personally, I am not a runner, but I checked the GPS and heart rate monitor quality during a quick walk. The GPS reading was impeccable, although in built-up areas it needed a lot of time to find the location - more than 2 minutes passed from the start of the walk, before it ended the search. In the open or in the woods this problem did not occur.

The heart rate monitor and pedometer also perform very well. Comparing the data from GBD – H1000 with the data from FitBita Charge 4 I can consider them fully reliable.

The watch display also deserves great praise. It will not win an award in a beauty contest or statuettes for interface design, but it is the most readable digital display I have come across so far. At least during the day. At night it is only illuminated by the weak blue light of a single diode - here I see room for improvement.

The automatic pausing function turned out to be extremely useful when, for example, we are waiting for the green light on the lanes. The watch immediately stops the measurements and resumes them when we move.

Saved activities are transferred to the Move application, which looks like it was designed by a 15-year-old, but from the data visualization side it looks really good.

G-Shock uses algorithms from the reputable company Firstbeat to analyze the measurements. From the data in the application we will find out what our VO2max is, what was the intensity of training, its effect, how many calories we burned and how much time we will need for regeneration. Firstbeat algorithms will also arrange a training plan for us, adapting trainings depending on the purpose we are interested in.

The problem is that G – Shock GBD – H1000 can measure only one type of activity.

The RUN button really means "gear". GBD – H1000 does not distinguish between walking and cycling. And trying to measure it with strength training is a real disaster.

The watch does not even turn off the GPS during such training, so the record in the application shows a multi-colored spot in a small area. What's more, if you do not turn off the function of automatic pause of measurements, they will stop and resume non-stop during exercises without moving.

The worst is, however, that GBD-H1000 counts calories burned based on the distance traveled, not the heart rate readings.

So you can exercise hard at the gym for an hour, and according to G-Shock you will burn as many calories as during an hour of lying on the couch.

I trust that over time new training modes will appear in this watch's software, because for now - to put it mildly - Garmin is not. And certainly no one who is looking for a real sports watch will even look at the new G-Shock.

G – Shock GBD – H1000 is a tough guy. But not very intelligent.

I am not surprised that the manufacturer himself does not call this watch a smartwatch, although he could - because he connects to the smartphone, transmits notifications, has some smart functions there.

In practice, however, G-Shock GBD-H1000 cannot even a fraction of what the poorest smart watch can do.

Apps? What is that?

Music control? Forget it.

Payments? Take a wallet with you.

Even passing notifications to this watch is frustrating and extremely underdeveloped. When a notification arrives, we can't expand and read it immediately. We need to click through the interface and enter the notification menu to learn more. We also cannot respond to notifications in any way. The vibrations are extremely weak and it is not possible to regulate their intensity. It is very easy to miss an incoming notification on this watch, and the complete strange message is the incoming call notification: every other watch vibrates all the time until we answer or reject the call. GBD – H1000 vibrates once, then the notification disappears. And you guys guess what it was.

Each element of the interface that serves the use of "intelligent" functions reveals that such constructions are G-Shock terra incognita. I suspect that without the certification requirements, the watch would not even have an airplane mode. We will not find in it such a basic thing as restoring to factory settings or erasing all data. To erase the notification and training history, we must enter each menu individually and delete them manually.

Poor smartwatch, phenomenal G-Shock.

If I were to evaluate GBD-H1000 as a sports watch or as a smartwatch, I would give it the lowest possible marks and order it to be bypassed wide.

And yet I won't, because these functions are just additions. Additions to fe-no-me-nal-ne-go G-Shock.

You can see that Casio is still playing a game of gradually getting used to his loyal fans to modernity. It started innocently, from the first cheap watches with a built-in pedometer. Now G-Shock shows its fans the potential of smart watches and at the same time proves that a smartwatch does not have to be filigree.

And this is a great move. G-Shock GBD-H1000 will undoubtedly convince fans of the series, because it is simply a fantastic G-Shock.

It is exactly as durable as consumers expect from a watch of this brand. It has all the features we find in top Master of G watches, and costs less than most of them. The only "but" that fans can have is working time.

In watch mode with notification enabled, G-Shock GBD-H1000 will work 12 months, drawing energy only from the sun. This, for obvious reasons, I could not check.

With the heart rate monitor on, however, this time drops to 66 hours of uninterrupted use. Including the time when the watch went into sleep mode, I managed to squeeze out of it only 4 days of work.

In sport mode, the watch can work for 14 hours, and then you need to charge it through the port on the watch's lid. Full charging takes about 2.5 hours.

However, I am glad that - unlike any other smartwatch - G-Shock GBD-H1000 will not become an electric waste after 2-3 years.

Even if we stop using its sports functions or smartphone connectivity, it will be able to serve like any other G-Shock - for trips to any terrain, regardless of the conditions, ready for anything.

With great pain, I packed it back into the box to be sent back to the distributor, Zibi, whom I thank for sharing the test copy .

I have long been waiting for the purchase of G-Shock. In the tabs I keep the Mudmaster GWG-1000 first, which costs almost exactly the same as the new GBD-H1000: about PLN 2,200.

And I must honestly admit that if I had to choose between one and the other today, I would have very few arguments to choose Mudmaster. G – Shock GBD – H1000 can do much more than it.

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Tough guy, though not very intelligent. I spent a few days with the G-Shock GBD-H1000 watch and I am saying how it is