Casio Tough Solar AQ-S810W

If you've found the Casio G Shocks just a bit too pricey for a sports watch, then this budget hero Tough Solar presents a great alternative. At around £30 from internet retailers, this watch represents very good value and although being right near the bottom of the cost scale, is currently one of Casio's best looking watches. 

Look closely and you'll notice that the entire face of the watch is a solar panel which powers a rechargeable battery. With only a few days of charging, the watch will run for months. For economy of power, the minute hand only advances every 20 seconds and if the watch is left in the dark for a few days, the hands return to 12 o'clock and the watch enters a sleep mode to preserve power. As soon as it detects movement or light, the hands whirr right back to the correct time. Timekeeping is excellent with this model and it will lose or gain only one or two seconds per month. All the usual functions that Casio users will be used to are present with stopwatch, timer, world time, 5 alarms as well as a power indicator all on board. 

The evidence of the Tough Solar's budget nature is that the watch feels much lighter than a G Shock and the case plastics feel a little brittle. A tap on the crystal with a fingernail reveals that's it's made of plastic and not glass or sapphire. The strap also feels a lot less rubbery than those on the G Shocks and there is a plastic buckle instead of a steel one. The strap issue is easily resolved with the fitting of something more substantial, and just that small upgrade would change the feel of the watch a fair bit. Water resistance is rated at 10 bar or 100m rather than the 200m of the more pricey models. The stopwatch is also a little frustrating in that it only records up to one hour and the digital readout is a little small to read when running or swimming, making the watch suitable for outdoor lifestyles rather than for serious sports timing. 

All that said, this is a really special go-anywhere timepiece and there are very few sports watches that compare to it in this price range. You won't need to change the rechargeable battery for about 15 years and like most Casios, there's a good chance this watch will outlive its owner.