Tag Archives: gear
Gadgets

Casio G-Shock GW2310FB-1CR

By on Monday, July 9, 2012

Leslie finally came back from his onshore assignment and he dropped this off at my desk: My new Casio G-Shock GW2310FB-1CR. Casio G-Shocks are known for their resistance to shocks (e.g. hard knocks and strong vibrations). They are designed primarily for sports, military, and outdoor adventure oriented activity. Of course, they’re also water-resistant to 200M. Operators may have Rolexes and Omegas but when they’re actually operating, they wear G-Shocks. And the color of this particular model, all black, backs up the walk with the look.

Aside from being a helluva beater of a watch, it’s also a gadgety watch. Consider the specs:

  • Tough Solar Power – Solar rechargeable battery with power saving function and battery power indicator
  • Battery life – 10 months on full charge an no further exposure to light
  • Multi-Band Atomic Timekeeping (US, UK, Germany, Japan, China) – Receives time calibration radio signals which keep the displayed time accurate, accuracy: +/- 15 seconds per month
  • EL Backlight – With auto (glance to light) and manual (press G button to light) Illuminate and afterglow (1 or 3 seconds).
  • World Time – 31 times zones (48 cities + UTC), city code display, daylight saving on/off
  • 4 Daily alarms and 1 Snooze Alarm
  • Hourly chime
  • 1/100 second stopwatch – Elapsed time up to 24 hours, split time, 1st-2nd place times
  • Countdown Timer – 1 minute to 24 hours
  • Full auto-calendar (pre-programmed until the year 2099)
  • 12/24 hour formats
  • Button operation tone on/off

Unfortunately, it doesn’t have the compass, altimeter/barometer and thermometer function of the recently departed Suunto Observer. Also, this particular inverted display is a bit hard to read especially since the numbers are smaller than those on the Observer. Finally, the backlight doesn’t remain on while being operated but shuts down in 1 or 3 seconds, depending on the setting. On those, Suunto had it beat. But at $150, it’s still a lot of bang for the buck.

Rating: 4/5

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General

Photon Microlight Upgrade

By on Monday, July 11, 2011

Jeanne got these little toy LED lights from Jet’s birthday party. We were playing around with them when I noticed how bright the yellow one is. I took out my trusty Photon Microlight and indeed it pales in comparison to the toy! So I swapped the LEDs and now my Photon Microlight is brighter :D

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General

Happy Fathers’ Day!

By on Sunday, June 20, 2010

Happy Fathers’ Day!

Michelle surprised me this morning with every man’s dream Fathers’ Day gift: A toolbox! And it comes with some screwdrivers and hex wrenches, too! Perfect for holding my growing collection of tools!

Love you, babe! :*

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General

Benchmade Pika II

By on Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Since I lost my Gerber EZ-Out, I’ve been looking for a suitable replacement. I looked far and wide but haven’t been able to find one until recently: The Benchmade Pika II. It reminds me of the Benchmade AFCK which is a knife I’ve always liked. But there’s more to it than that.

Let’s begin with the blade. It is 3.5″ long and is a modified clip-point with a partially-serrated edge. It has a big nice round ambidextrous thumb-hole. The steel is 9Cr13CoMoV from China but it’s said to be equivalent to 440C steel which has the highest strength, hardness and wear resistance of all the stainless alloys. Pretty good so far.

The handle is made of glass-filled nylon with molded “triple-grip” pattern. It was the thing I least liked about the knife as it was too intricate but it does seem to work. Polymer handles are pretty tough by themselves as I’ve experienced with my Gerber EZ-Out but Benchmade chose to further reinforce it with a steel inner lining. Nice but could be a problem when exposed to saltwater.

The locking mechanism is lockback.  A lot of people don’t like lockbacks and opt for a whole bunch of new technologies like axis locks. But lockbacks seem fine to me so far. The lockback mechanism on the Pika II seems very well made with no slack or wobble whatsoever.

The clip is the one of the best thing about the Pika II. It is small, light, and very strong. But best of all, it can be relocated to 4 positions. You can carry the Pika II any way you like! There’s also a provision for a lanyard. Well-designed, indeed.

The Pika II is part of Benchmade red box line: “Best in class value”. The knives in the red box line are low-cost, well-designed, fully-functional, and made in China, Taiwan to be precise.

There’s actually nothing wrong with that. Over a decade ago, I got myself a clip-point lockback that was made in Taiwan. It had a good, sharp, stainless steel blade. The only thing wrong were some chrome plated fasteners that eventually rusted. But it did it’s job, and well. I expect the Pika II to do the same.

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