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Casio’s Affordable Outdoor Tool Watch Might Be More Useful Off Your Wrist

Tool watches can take on many forms. And sometimes, their most useful functions happen off one’s wrist.

Close-up of the top half of a black Casio Pro Trek watch with a black and white braided strap against an orange background.Casio

By Jack Seemer

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By its very definition, a tool watch should serve a specific purpose.

Whether that be deep-sea diving, measuring a car’s elapsed time around a track or tracking multiple time zones, tool watches can do things other timepieces can’t.

But when thinking about the functionality of a watch, most enthusiasts focus on dials, bezels and cases, and the myriad mechanisms packed therein.

The trail-ready Pro Trek PRJ-B001, on the other hand, starts with the band.

Black Casio Pro Trek watch with analog-digital display, white markers, and black fabric strap with rope detail.
The Pro Trek PRJ-B001, released in 2024, returns with a brand-new black, gray and yellow variant (pictured).
Casio

Band together

“Inspired by outdoor gear,” Casio says, the watch features an innovative bungee cord band that opens up a handful of opportunities in the great outdoors.

Black Casio Pro Trek watch with fabric strap and adjustable buckle shown from the back.
Casio developed a bungee cord band for flexibility outdoors.
Casio

The most obvious of those is that the watch is easy to adjust on the fly. That allows the wearer to quickly throw on a rain shell and put the PRJ-B001 over a sleeve — or perhaps the back of their daypack.

Black Casio Pro Trek digital-analog watch with a black resin strap worn on a wrist holding a yellow water bottle.
Quickly adjust the band to site on top of a jacket sleeve.
Casio
Black Casio Pro Trek watch with analog-digital display attached to a gray backpack with a yellow carabiner.
Or just affix it to the back of a backpack.
Casio

On that note, the strap is arguably even more useful off the wearer’s wrist, serving as a makeshift cord tie or simply hung off the roof of one’s tent as a communal timekeeper.

Black Casio Pro Trek watch with fabric strap, yellow paracord, and two carabiners on wooden surface.
The bungee-cord band can also be used to tie down any manner of things outdoors.
Casio

The watch used Bluetooth connectivity for automatic time correction, while Tough Solar helps to extend the battery life; a full charge lasts up to seven months.

There’s also a rotary guard bezel, which can lock and protect the buttons from any accidental pressings out on the trail.

Black digital-analog wristwatch with a round face and yellow accents worn on a wrist outdoors.
The rotary guard bezel locks the buttons to avoid any accidental pressings out on the trail.
Casio

Availability and pricing

First released in 2024, the series expands this fall with the introduction of a new color variant: the PRJ-B001-1.

Black Casio Pro Trek analog-digital watch with white and yellow accents and fabric strap.
The indicator hand on the inset dial was modeled after the shape of a carabiner.
Casio

It features black across the band, bezel, case and dial, with high-contrast hands and indices in light gray.

The accent color is yellow, which extends to the carabiner-inspired indicator hand on the inset dial.

Now available in Japan, the PRJ-B001-1 is expected to cost $180 when it hits Casio’s US website in the coming weeks.

About the Author:

Jack Seemer is the executive editor at Gear Patrol, with over a decade of experience in product journalism. He currently reports on a wide range of topics, including footwear, watches, EDC, cookware and more.

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