Casio Transforms Its Iconic F-91W into a Hiking Watch with One Small Change

Swapping rubber for woven fabric sounds minor, but it changes how the F-91WF breathes on the wrist during long days on the trail.

Close-up of a green digital wristwatch face showing time and mode with a green fabric strap.Casio

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Casio’s F-91W has been in production since 1989 and remains one of the best-selling watches ever made. 

Its beauty is found in its simplicity. Housed in a lightweight resin case, the timepiece offers basic water resistance and a host of useful features, all in one of the most GADA-friendly packages you’ll ever find in budget watchmaking. 

However, there’s always been one hitch in its theoretical perfection: the strap.

Since the beginning, the standard F-91W has been paired with a resin strap, which works fine for everyday wear but feels less at home when you’re trekking outdoors. But now, after nearly 40 years of existence, Casio has given the F-91W a trail-ready upgrade.

Black Casio F-91W digital watch with green accents and a black nylon strap on textured dark fabric.
Casio has unveiled a fabric strap version of the F-91W for the first time.
Casio

New strap, new personality

If you’ve ever wanted to take the F-91W into the backcountry without the plastic strap building up sweat or looking out of place, Casio now has you covered.

Introducing the F-91WF, a fabric-strap variant of its most iconic digital watch, giving hikers a more practical alternative to the original resin. Swapping resin for woven fabric sounds minor, but it significantly changes how the F-91WF breathes on the wrist during long days on the trail.

Black Casio F-91W digital watch with a black fabric strap wrapped around a black textured fabric roll.
The classic $30 GADA timepiece is now more trail-ready than ever, although fans have been customizing it this way for years.
Casio

In fact, this is something many fans have already been doing themselves. It’s not uncommon for collectors to buy the $30 F-91W and add a sub-$5 fabric, nylon or NATO strap to the case (if you want stainless steel, just buy the A159W). However, early listings found on Casio’s Thai website show the F-91WF priced at around double the price of the standard F-91WF. 

Black Casio F-91W digital watch with rectangular face and black fabric strap.
The new F-91WF is expected to be more expensive than the sub-$30 resin version.
Casio

The core specs carry over unchanged, such as the digital module, resin case and compact proportions. Available in black, navy and OD green, the case measures 35.2mm wide and 8.5mm thick, and is water resistant to 30m. That’s enough to survive rain but not submersion. 

It also runs on a single CR2016 battery rated for seven years of life, giving you stopwatch, daily alarm and auto-calendar functions.

Black Casio F-91W digital watch with black nylon strap on dark textured fabric.
You still get the same classic dimensions and features, like stopwatch, alarm and calendar.
Casio

Admittedly, anyone wanting a serious digital hiking watch probably won’t reach for an F-91W at all. Any G-Shock model will give you more shock and water resistance. Even Casio’s own Pro Trek models will offer significantly more capability. 

Three Casio F-91W digital watches with black, navy blue, and olive green nylon straps on textured fabric.
Three versions have been unveiled so far: black, navy and OD green.
Casio

But there’s something about the charm of the F-91W that keeps us coming back. You’d be hard pressed to find something as lightweight, comfortable and low-maintenance as this, even at twice the price.

Availability and pricing

Casio has not announced official pricing for the F-91WF in the US market. Again, these fabric-strap variants are expected to cost more than the standard F-91W, which typically retails for under $30. In Thailand, pricing sits at ฿1,600 (~$48).

Stateside availability details have not been confirmed but should roll out in the near future.

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