Friday 14 February 2020

Review: Casio DW-291H Youth Series

"The model reference is DW. DW always referred to the G-Shock line. But the watch looks like the other standard Illuminator models! Hence, the 200m WR is a typical G-Shock rating. That surprises me when I first saw this watch on Shopee’s feed by a store named Jam Corner. After watching several video reviews and checking on Casio official webpage, I bought the watch from that store. Read below, my pictorial review on this 2020 Casio newbie. The Casio DW-291H-1AV. A missing G-Shock dubbed by one of the watch reviewer. Enjoy." – thetick-thetick2020 

The DW-291H Youth Series
The DW-291H is the latest Youth series release by Casio for 2020. It comes with three variations – the DW-291H-1AV, DW-291H-1BV, and DW-291H-9AV. At the beginning, I thought of buying the 1BV with read marker display. But, I settled with the 1AV because it is the standard model and the standard is always referred to the watch original design. Others are varients. The 9AV looks kind of a stealthy black. I don’t quite like it because of the polarized light amber display.
The case, the bezel, and the strap is made of resin. The watch features the 3484 module. Besides standard timekeeping, the module comes with multi-time reference up to 4 cities including the home time, world time, 1/100s stopwatch, countdown timer, and 5 daily alarms function. The module uses the LED light and the afterglow timing can be set for 1.5s or 3s. Besides that the module proposes a 10 year battery life using the standard CR2025. (For more details of the watch specification, please go to Casio official webpage). From my survey, the online stores in Malaysia is selling this newbie between RM130.00 to RM170.00 excl. shipping charges. Below, my personal view on the construction and the aesthetic design of the watch.

The watch design is symmetrical. It consists of four displays - the round analogue indicator at the top-right hand corner, watch mode and calendar display at the top-left, the main display is at the bottom half of the watch dial and in between there is a ten-seconds running graphics indicator. 
The gunmetal resin engraved with Illuminator and 200m is a top-screw bezel. It is not that tall above the thick mineral glass. I like the big main display. It covers almost half of the dial. I guess aged people like me prefers big and visible digital display! Rabun dekat daa.... short-sighted problem! He he.
Look at this barrel type of push buttons. They look like a stack of weight lifting plate! But I like it. It is big and mushy when pressed. Easy to operate.
The side profile. Symmetrical in every angle. The bezel is quite thick and rise like a dome. I like the watch shoulder, so recessed to connect the strap.
  Underneath. The watch case back is a screw-type stainless steel with very minimal engravings/markings. I like the strap connecting end. Simple with a single ventilation curve. Hence the absence of decals or prints on the strap make it looks clean.
I guess this resin strap comprises of new or enhanced compound that makes it so light and soft. It is not like the old one that feel so rigid and easily breaks after sometime. The strap pin hole is separated by about 5 mm gap allows strapping adjustment to fit even for smaller wrist. 
Plastic pin buckle. The keeper or the strap loop is made of the same resin. Other reviewers are questioning why Casio did't fit in the strap with stainless steel buckle and pin!? For me, the black pin buckle blends well with the strap. All black.
 No EL back-light. The amber coloured light comes from a LED lighting beam at bottom-right corner of the main display. Sorry, not that easy to make a shot in the dark while focusing on the object on camera within 3 seconds! Sorry bek... tak jumpa lagi digi-cam, pakai henfon cabuk Redmi jehh... haha.
My wrist is 17 cm in circumference. The watch sits nicely on my wrist. The only gap in between is just the space created by the ventilating curve of the strap. I believe it would be comfortable to strap on the diver's wet suit or hand gloves. 
 Not so crowded. I like the combination of black, gunmetal, steel and minor prints in red. The watch reminds me of the robot in that original Lost in Space movie. The big push buttons look similar with the hand joints on that ugly looking fat robot. Old science fiction! Anyway, I like this fat robot. Another love at first sight, actually.

My Opinion on This Watch
  • The price - worth for a 200m WR watch
  • The function - suitable for daily use
  • The design - looks decent but rugged
  • The material - I don’t think it will last longer than the battery life!
"Honestly, Casio is a no boring watchmaker. They produce very functional timepieces to suit to our often diverse tastes. Cheap or expensive, Casio wide range of product is fun to collect too. Bek! Amacam? Seiko memang boring? Okidoki, wait for next watch review. Thank you visiting my blog." - thetick-thetick2020