Looking on AliExpress for a strap that pops a bit (yellow or red) and I came across this watch for $4, which is only a fraction more than just a strap. Also to get free shipping, I had to get over $10 anyway. So I just bought the watch because, why not? Actually I don't hate the watch, now I have it. 🤔
It's simple and does the job, kinda like a basic Casio does. Obviously a very different style. This one is actually one of their own designs AFAICT, rather than a rip off.
Even at angles the numbers are kinda readable, which is something the last Skmei I bought had a problem with.
Though I already see that reflections on this dial might be an issue..
Still, not bad. This watch after all cost less than the cinnamon roll I bought for breakfast this morning! 🤣
Though, that was a very good cinnamon roll!!! 😉
They claim 50m water resistance, so I might try swimming with it. In my experience all these cheap digitals hold out better than their rated performance.
Perhaps this works as a new beater to use when I'm worried about getting one of my other watches damaged.
Still if I use the watch, I'll need to get another (or at least another strap) because that was the original point! 🤣
Functionality wise I guess it sorta beats an F-91W on most points, albeit in a package with a lot less charm in my eyes. Though, I could also see this appealing to some who don't appreciate the retro looks of the F-91W anyway†. 🤷
†Yes I'm talking about crazy people 😉
Well I said I'd take a picture outside and I have and yeah, quite readable. However, it is also the grayest day in the world. I'll still need to try again on a day with direct sunlight to really see if the negative LCD still works well enough.
That all said, again for $4 this is pretty good value anyway.
I realised the watch is just slightly off in terms of time (less than a second though). Either because I did not set as well as I first thought or just because of drift. This kind of thing annoys me in a way that it shouldn't. So of course I had to try and set it again.
Somehow I cannot perfectly nail the time. I think it works differently than a Casio in some sense, maybe setting on release rather than press or something. Whatever the reason I cannot quite get it perfect and it bothers me. 🤣
This is of course the stupidest thing in the world to worry about. I do not actually need the time to a fraction of a second accuracy and in addition this kind of module is likely only rated to +/-45 second a month at best so within a day it would likely drift anyway.
Nonetheless … somehow… it still bothers me I can't quite get it right. I'll freely admit to wasting too much time on this because I am an idiot! 🤪
Still in sync. Left is my Casio with the time synced automatically over Bluetooth from my phone. On the right is the cheap Skmei that I manually set.
P.S. Don't worry about the upcoming time change. I can flip the hour without adjusting the seconds. 😉
Velocipede Rider
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