Casio is giving its lightweight Pro Trek Hiker Line an unusually practical twist with the PRJ-B001EX-1. This solar-powered Casio Pro Trek PRJ-B001EX-1 outdoor watch retains the core technology of the PRJ-B001 family, but adds a reversible cloth-band system that can protect the watch, carry small essentials, and attach to a pack.
Price: ¥33,000 (Around $210)
Where to Buy: Casio
The result is less a conventional wristwatch with an adventurous look and more a compact piece of EDC designed around the realities of hiking, travel, and campsite organization.
A watch strap with a second job
The standout feature is the PRJ-B001EX-1’s reversible pouch-style band. When worn normally, it serves as a wrist strap. Off the wrist, it can fold around the watch head to create a protective cover, while its built-in zippered storage area can hold small, flat items such as coins, cash, or parking tickets.
The band is designed to accommodate a carabiner attachment, allowing the watch to hang from a backpack, belt loop, or tent interior. This creates a useful alternative to simply dropping the watch into a pocket when it is not needed on the wrist.
It is a clever answer to a familiar outdoor problem: where to put the watch when you do not want it on your wrist. Climbers, campers, photographers, and travelers may prefer to keep the time visible on a pack rather than under a jacket sleeve or tucked into a pocket. Covering the display when the watch is stowed also offers some protection when gear gets tossed into a car, packed into luggage, or piled up inside a tent.
This design does not turn the Pro Trek into a replacement for a full wallet or dedicated gear pouch. The storage compartment is best understood as a place for a few tiny, immediately useful items. But that limitation is part of the appeal: Casio has added utility without making the watch into a bulky gadget.
Familiar Pro Trek fundamentals
Under the inventive band is the PRJ-B001 platform, a compact analog-digital Pro Trek built for everyday outdoor use. The PRJ-B001EX-1 measures 50.3 × 46 × 13.6 mm and weighs 51 grams, making it a lightweight option in Casio’s outdoor-watch lineup. Its case and bezel use resin and bio-based resin components, a material choice Casio says is intended to help reduce environmental impact.
The watch has 10-bar (100-meter) water resistance, making it suitable for rain, swimming, and the usual rough-and-ready outdoor routine. A Super Illuminator double LED light keeps the analog hands and digital display legible after dark. Other practical functions include a 1/100-second stopwatch, countdown timer, five daily alarms, world time, and a hand-shift function that moves the hands away from the digital display when needed.
Casio’s rotary guard bezel is another useful feature. In its button-covering position, the bezel helps prevent accidental presses. Rotate the bezel back and the controls are revealed for easier operation, including access to functions such as the light and Smartphone Link. That detail makes particular sense when the watch is clipped to a backpack or bouncing around with other equipment.
Solar power and smartphone link
Like the rest of the PRJ-B001 family, the PRJ-B001EX-1 uses Casio’s Tough Solar charging system, reducing the need for disposable battery replacements. A full charge is rated for approximately seven months of normal operation, or up to 18 months with power saving enabled while the watch is stored in darkness.
B
luetooth connectivity pairs the watch with the Casio Watches smartphone app. The connection supports automatic time adjustment, watch-setting management, Phone Finder, and access to roughly 300 world-time cities through the app. On the watch itself, world time covers 38 time zones, representing 38 cities plus Coordinated Universal Time.
For hikers and travelers, the most interesting connected feature may be Time & Place. Pressing a button on the watch records the current time and location in the app, creating a simple log of places visited. It is not a replacement for dedicated GPS navigation or a full fitness watch, but it could be useful for marking a memorable viewpoint, trailhead, campsite, or the location where a vehicle was parked.
A different kind of outdoor watch
The PRJ-B001EX-1 is not trying to compete directly with a sensor-heavy Pro Trek or a smartwatch built around training metrics. It does not list an altimeter, barometer, compass, heart-rate monitor, or color map display. Instead, Casio has focused on dependable timekeeping, solar charging, useful connected functions, light weight, and a genuinely original carry solution.
That makes the watch particularly appealing to people who value the reliability of a traditional analog-digital watch but still want a few modern conveniences. It also has strong EDC appeal: the carabiner-compatible design and compact storage pouch give it a purpose beyond telling time.
The Casio Pro Trek PRJ-B001EX-1 is priced at ¥33,000 in Japan, or about $210 at the time of its announcement. International availability and local pricing may vary.
Price: ¥33,000 (Around $210)
Where to Buy: Casio
For anyone who sees a watch as part of a broader outdoor carry system, the PRJ-B001EX-1 is one of Casio’s more inventive recent Pro Trek releases. It is a watch that can leave the wrist without losing its usefulness.
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