casio w221h... i'll wait

Been a while since I've talked about watches, and the hot one right now is the Casio W221H. This is something I passed on, because the more I researched it, the more I realized there are annoyances about it that would irritate me.

I am willing to get one in the future even with its annoyances, but not for the price it's selling for right now.

And what is the W221H selling for right now?

At the time I write this, about double what it should be priced for. Worth it? Absolutely not unless you really, really like the design.

I'm going to describe the watch's annoyances from the Gen X point of view, as I am one. Here we go.

The #1 reason any Gen X would buy this is legibility. W221H is a compact digital with giant digits. And I'm not kidding when I say compact, as it's 43.7mm lug-to-lug with 38.4mm diameter, however... this thing has a very blocky shape.

Square type watches always look and wear larger than circular, even when the square is small, which is exactly what the W221H is. What this means is on wrist, the watch will always appear much bigger than it actually is, and this will mess with your head.

The W221H's strap is total garbage for two reasons. First, it's completely smooth for both front and back. Second, it has nothing that will hold the strap keeper in place. The keeper is that thing you tuck the strap tail through when putting it on the wrist. With a completely smooth resin strap, it's guaranteed the strap tail will work its way loose from the keeper during normal wear and leave the strap dangling.

I have already seen people swapping out the strap on the W221H for something else because they know it's junk.

There is a pause when going mode-to-mode that cannot be shut off, and I know exactly why. The W221H as a "flash alert" feature. When on, the word SYNC appears first momentarily when changing modes. When off, the screen blanks when changing modes before showing you the next mode. This means you're forced to wait every time you want to go to another mode (like going to set an alarm). Very annoying.

The thickness of the W221H case works against it due to its blocky shape. It's 12.5mm thick, which on paper doesn't sound bad. But on wrist, it's a different story as that case has absolutely nothing form-fitting about it. It doesn't matter what your wrist size is because it's just a block on your wrist and there is no changing that.

Will I get one?

When the price goes down appropriately, probably. But I'm going to be damned certain to buy from a seller that has a good return policy, because I am very well aware of the watch's annoyances.

High legibility Casio compact digital alternatives

All of these have big digits, are stupidly easy to read and have great night lights for night reading.

Casio F108. Basic F-91W type features. Square shape but "squat" for better fit.

Casio W217H. Basic F-91W type features. Blocky but with decent downturn at the lugs (which the W221H does not do) for good fit.

Casio W218H. Basic F-91W type features. Similar to the F108 with square-but-squat case shape, but for most people, this is the perfect basic watch. I own two of them. Top tier legibility with easy-press buttons. This thing is amazing. The only reason I don't wear it more is because I need a watch with a timer.

Casio W218HD. Same as the W218H but with silver case and metal bracelet instead of resin.

Casio W219H. This is the W218H in a semi-round case shape, some with cloth strap that has Velcro, meaning no strap tail hanging out ever.

Casio W219HD. The W219H with a folded link metal bracelet. The case is still resin but in silver color to match the bracelet.

Casio WS1600H. This is what I'm currently wearing. Has advanced features and is complicated to set up, but I like it a lot. It's the same case size as the AE1200.

Casio WS1000H. Big ol' digits on this one, and like the WS1600H, complicated to set up. I formerly owned two of these, and parted with both because I couldn't get used to the front-facing buttons. But the legibility was absolutely there, no question. And the strap was quite good.

Casio B650WD. Another F-91W type for features. This is the W217H with a metal bracelet and silver case. The metal bracelet fortunately has a movable clasp, so no futzing with links required. This is the classiest looking high-legibility digital in existence, and I'm not kidding. Yes, I do own one.

Not-exactly compact but still good alternatives

These are a few other models that technically aren't compact but aren't goofy-big either.

Casio SGW100. I owned one of these before, fabric strap version. Didn't care for the strap. I might get another at some point, next time in a resin strap version. Very good for legibility, so-so for its night light. Has advanced features that I also like.

G-SHOCK GBD200-1A1. There's a negative MIP display version, but the positive MIP display is the one to get here. Screen is configurable to make the time and date huge. It is also a crazy-good-looking watch. Strap is also incredibly good. Yeah, it has tons of features, but whatever, the display is the star of the show here. This one is on my to-get list. Even the all white one looks awesome.

I don't do analog, but...

Where legibility is concerned, especially for aging eyes, the best watch type is time-only analog where the dial is dark and hands are light or dial is light and hands are dark.

True, you only get the time and nothing else, but for ease of reading, there is nothing better. The reason for this is because instead of reading numbers left-to-right, you're seeing a symbol of the time. Think of it in the same way as reading a circular progress bar for a file download. Basically the same thing. Even if your vision is fuzzy, you'll still be able to read the time on a simple analog.

Casio does make a good cheap time-only analog, the MW240. Light or dark dial, your choice, some with resin strap, some with cloth.

If you absolutely need a night light, see MWA100H. Not exactly small, but it's time-only with a night light. And the night light fades when it goes out, which is kinda cool to see. The same version of this watch with steel bracelet is the MWA100HD.

Another time-only with night light is the MW620H.

Again, I don't do analog, but if I did, I would run with a time-only analog Casio. Why no date complication? Time display is big, but date display is tiny and something I just wouldn't want to futz around with. With time-only, you just strap it on, adjust time if necessary, then go. I like that. Easy and good.

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