Casio’s new Pro Trek PRW61 outdoor watch is its first to be made using renewable biomass plastics, which combined with packaging made from recycled paper, is helping the company reduce its overall carbon emissions. Rather than just a single part of the watch being made from the material, the PRW61’s case, case back, and band are all made from biomass plastic. Biomass plastics use raw materials from organic, renewable sources like plants, with Casio specifically mentioning castor seeds and corn.
If you’re more familiar with Casio’s G-Shock range than Pro Trek, these watches are best suited to hikers, climbers, and anyone who loves being out and about in nature, meaning the use of sustainable materials fits in perfectly with the brand’s image. The PRW61 has Casio’s Triple Sensor array built into the case, which features a barometer/altimeter, a compass, and a thermometer. To maintain accurate time it uses Casio’s Multi Band 6 system to sync with dedicated radio towers around the world.
Despite the change in materials, the PRW61 is still a tough watch. It will resist low temperatures and continue working (down to -10 degrees Celsius or 14 degrees Fahrenheit) and is water-resistant to 100 meters. Other features include an alarm, timer, and stopwatch, plus a world time mode. There’s no need to charge the watch or to replace the battery on a regular basis either, as it has solar power which on a full charge will keep it going for six months even if it doesn’t see any light at all.
At 53 grams and 14.7mm thick, the watch is light and wearable, at least compared to some of the larger G-Shock outdoor watches like the 92-gram Mudmaster GG-B1000 or 106-gram Mudmaster GWG-2000. Neither the Mudmaster nor the Pro Trek PRW61 has a Bluetooth connection though, despite it becoming a more common feature on Casio’s G-Shock watches.
The PRW61 was first announced in Japan in February but is now official for the U.S. The watch will be available in April for $420 and sold in a single design with a black case and band with silver accents. In Japan and Europe, there are two other versions available, one stealthy black-on-black model and a more outdoorsy khaki and black version.
