In my search for an inexpensive sporty timepiece with a digital-analog display, I have recently stumbled over this Casio Sea Pathfinder SPF-60D-7AVER. Now I feel compelled to share my impressions about this feather-light titanium beater with you in this brief hands-on review article.
Some brief information first.
Casio introduced the Sea Pathfinder collection more than two years ago in 2009.
Equipped with Casio‘s own quartz module with an LCD display, the watch arrived in a bulky titanium case with soft-to-touch rubber inserts. Sporting a unidirectional rotating bezel, the Casio Sea Pathfinder leaves an impression of a simple diving computer for beginners.
Perhaps, that is the reason why the watch is officially rated for depths no more than 100 meters: it may be good for some basic snorkeling, but you really don’t want to dive in it.
The lengthy list of functions that this ugly swan possesses includes an altimeter, a barometer, a depth gauge, a water temperature sensor, as well as a stopwatch, a countdown timer, a simple logbook, a low battery warning, and, of course, whole five independent daily alarms.
Although presented in a traditionally bulky case (I didn’t personally measure it, but official specs put it as almost 57 mm long, 49 mm wide, and almost 18 mm thick, and, trust me, it looks huge on my 18.5 cm (7.3 in) wrist,) the watch has a somewhat plastic feel about it.
Part of the blame goes to the featherlight titanium alloy that was used to craft the Sea Pathfinder‘s body and the bracelet: the watch tips the scale at just over meager 107 grams. The other reason is, of course, the presence of numerous plastic pushers that are used to operate the watch. With their glossy textures, they make the watch feel even cheaper than it actually is.
On the other hand, I must admit that the parts do their job well: it is actually pleasant to operate the watch without putting too much exertion on your fingers. The shape and size of the pushers are also comfortable: you won’t have any problem operating the watch even while wearing heavy gloves.
It is not that good with the unidirectional rotating bezel. I didn’t spend much time rotating the part, but I had the impression that it will be too damn slippery to move when wet: there are just not enough notches on the bezel for a firm grasp.
The dial is organized in such a way so that in normal conditions the pair of open-worked hour and minute hands looks somewhat superfluous here. The LCD display offers all the necessary information in an easy-to-grasp, logical way.
The numbers are highly legible so that even persons with poor eyesight can easily read current time and other necessary information, such as water temperature and barometric pressure.
For dark places, there is an electro-luminescent backlight that illuminates the timekeeper’s dial for a couple of seconds after you push the button at 6 o’clock. Well, I would prefer it to glow just a couple of seconds longer, but it was possibly limited in order to conserve some energy (the CR1620-type battery is expected to last around two years if you are not excessively enthusiastic about the backlighting feature.)
The piece is equipped with some mineral glass that, predictably, comes without any anti-reflective treatment. Still, I don’t think that this is a problem for a more than affordable tool watch.
The titanium bracelet, too, is comfortable enough. At least, it didn’t try to depilate my hairy wrist. My only great complaint here is about the safety clasp that holds in place the folding buckle: every time I tried to open it, I had a feeling that I will break my nail. Well, I hope that it will get better with time.
VERDICT: The watch looks cheap, but does its job well. It is definitely worth every penny the Japanese brand asks for it.
See also: Casio Pathfinder PAG240-1, PAG240B-2 and PAG240T-7 models introduced
Photos: WorldWatchReview.com / Evgueni Matoussevitch
Casio Sea Pathfinder Titanium SPF-60D-7AV-ER specification
Price: $120-$130
Movement: Quartz, Made in Japan
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date with auto-calendar to the year 2039, five alarms, altimeter, barometer, depth gauge, water temperature, logbook, thermometer, submerged time, 1/100-sec stopwatch, countdown timer, low battery warning
Power reserve: 2 years (CR1620 battery)
Case: Titanium and plastic
Case shape: Oval
Bezel shape: Round
Dimensions: 56.60 x 49.10 mm
Case height: 17.80 mm
Dial: LCD
Numerals: Arabic
Hour markers: Luminous
Hands: Open-worked
Water resistance: 100 meters
Strap: Titanium bracelet with folding buckle and safety clasp
Crystal: Acrylic
Back: Solid