Have you guys seen the g-shock Mil-shock project?

shootist16

shootist16

knife law moderator
Moderator
Joined
Dec 25, 1998
Messages
7,394
milshock2.jpg


milshock%201.jpg


Way cool. More info can be found on countycomm's site:

http://www.countycomm.com/milshock.htm

Opinions?
 
Originally posted by John Frederick
The strap looks like crap :barf: Talk about chicken legs :rolleyes:

Oh well, that's easily changed :cool:
Click to expand...


Um, it's all about THE STRAP. The whole mil-shock project came about because folks kept complaining that the regular hard plastic G-Shock strap felt like wearing a pair of handcuffs. The strap is a genuine US military issue strap, and it's a whole heck of a lot more comfortable than the crappy hard plastic that comes stock with a G-Shock. If you don't like the strap, stick with a regular G-Shock.
 
I think the strap looks ok but the watch itself is pretty underwhelming. It looks cheap compared to much of the G shock line. I don't necessarily like the ones that have every gadget on them and are extremely busy looking but this one looks like something you would get as a promotional freebie.

Edited to fix typos
 
I like the looks of it but I don't know if the changes warrant the extra cost. It reminds me of the origional G-Shocks instead of the newer more rounded versions. I don't think it looks cheap though.
Matt
 
The 5600 that it is based on is the original G-shock watch. I don't know about cheap looking, but it is the original "project tough" watch. I'll agree that it may look better on a rounded model.
 
I wonder why they chose that model to mod? I'd love to get the pins and band replaced on my G-5600. The G-5600 is simply incredible, although more expensive than the DW-5600. The only way I'd improve it is to add a screwdown back.

Edit: The G-5600 may not have been out when they started modding the watches. Not sure, though.
 
Take a look at the 5600E - comes w/ combo webbing/rubber strap. I got mine off Ebay for about $30

Sam
 
Originally posted by sph3ric pyramid
I wonder why they chose that model to mod? I'd love to get the pins and band replaced on my G-5600. The G-5600 is simply incredible, although more expensive than the DW-5600. The only way I'd improve it is to add a screwdown back.

Edit: The G-5600 may not have been out when they started modding the watches. Not sure, though.
Click to expand...

We chose that model because it is one of the base models and does not add anything to size or bulk like the newer models without any increased funcionality. The design calls for function, and not aesthetics. Secondly, the DW-5600 is NASA approved for space use.
 
I personally like that model G-Shock better than the enormous monstrosities; I guess it's just a matter of taste.

It's not that hard to put a one-piece nylon strap on any model you want, but replacing the spring pins with solid pins is very cool. I have had a spring pin break more than once and although with a one-piece strap you don't lose the watch, it flops all around when attached by only one pin and you have to take it off and put it in your pocket until you can get hold of a spare spring pin. Solid pins won't do that.
 
Hmm ... how can I explain that ... most watches have the strap held on with spring pins. The advantage is you can compress the spring pins and remove them, and that makes it relatively easy to change straps (once you master the trick of it, anyway). The disadvantage is spring pins are weak. Give a good yank on your watch and one of the spring pins will bend or break and it'll come right off your wrist. People steal watches that way; they'll pull a Rolex right off your wrist in a crowd and run with it. That's not a problem unless you're wearing something seriously expensive, but it can happen by accident too. You can be going about your business and your watch hits something or gets snagged on something and -- whoops, what happened to my watch? I know I was wearing a watch when I started climbing this mountain ... I think I was wearing my watch ... what happened to it??? Seriously, if you're heavily involved in a physical activity like climbing or scuba diving or fighting, all kinds of things, you can lose your watch and not even know it until an hour later. Even if you notice it immediately it may not be possible to retrieve it.

A one-piece strap threaded through over the pins and under the watch is safer because if one of the pins breaks you won't lose your watch (they never both break, not in my experience anyway). Even better, if you use a one-piece strap you don't need spring pins; you don't need to remove the pins -- so you can use solid pins. Military watches have traditionally had solid pins for security. You either use a one-piece strap or you attach a conventional two-piece strap by riveting or sewing it on, and when you want to change it you have to cut off the old one and rivet or sew a new one on -- but a one-piece strap is no problem; you just slide it off and thread the watch onto a new one.

If you look at the pictures you'll see they drilled the lugs all the way through and put in solid stainless steel pins -- you can see the ends of them on the outside of the lugs.

If you don't like the strap that comes with it you can change to any other one-piece strap, but if you want to use a conventional two-piece strap this might not be the watch for you. There are some two-piece straps made for solid pins, held on with a screw rivet or a split rivet so you can change them, but the selection is limited.
 
Originally posted by Cougar Allen
I personally like that model G-Shock better than the enormous monstrosities; I guess it's just a matter of taste.

It's not that hard to put a one-piece nylon strap on any model you want, but replacing the spring pins with solid pins is very cool. I have had a spring pin break more than once and although with a one-piece strap you don't lose the watch, it flops all around when attached by only one pin and you have to take it off and put it in your pocket until you can get hold of a spare spring pin. Solid pins won't do that.
Click to expand...

There is more to it than that I am afraid. First of all, a generic DW-5600 series Casio has an anemic 16mm interlug width. That's what started this whole Mil-Shock project to begin with. A means was needed to fit a larger strap on it because a 16mm strap looks wimpy on the DW-5600 alone. The interlug channel on these custom Mil-Shocks is milled out to a more acceptable 20mm. In the process, solid pins are added.

The hard part for a do-it-yourselfer to do is to mill the lug channel. We developed a jig and have the machine to automate the process.
 
I didn't realize you had to mill it all the way out from 16mm -- for some reason I was thinking it was originally 18. A 16mm strap on a G-Shock would really be silly.

I don't think the price is that unreasonable. Of course Casio could have injection-molded it that way in the first place for no added cost if they had wanted to, but they didn't. If ya want it milled out ya gotta pay to have it milled out....

Cheapskates might try a Chisco "The Band" velcro wraparound instead, but this is a much cooler solution and some people are going to be very willing to pay for it.
 
the old G's came with a 7 yr battery...I have one running on 10 yrs now!!! the new 2-3 yr batts suck IMHO...I have the solar version of this watch so i dont need to think about batteries. I dont wear it when I go spelunking.
 
I've been having a hard time liking the G-shock line for a number of years. They started out great and now they're gimmicky and stupid.

I'm sorry, but the watch DOES NOT NEED ALL THOSE DAMNED LCD BLIPS TICKING OFF EACH SECOND IN A CIRCLE.

I know the watch depicted doesn't have those, but most of the G-shock models DO now. They make the watches look stupid.

Casio also screwed the pooch when it comes to features. I had a G-shock circa 1991 or so that had the REM feature (a little blinking reminder), the WHITE light, a timer countdown, stopwatch that went for TWENTY-FOUR HOURS including hundredths of a second, and DUAL TIME.

I lost that one in the Intracoastal Waterway in 1997, and have been crying about it ever since. The next model that still maintained the same look no longer has dual time, and when the stopwatch passes one hour, the seconds shift to the space formerly occupied by the tenths and hundredths (so you no longer have 100ths). The illuminator blue-ish light is an improvement, I guess, in that it looks cool.

I don't understand why Casio took BACKWARD STEPS in terms of features/functions. Are they saying that even with better technology, the watches are not able to even be as good as they *once* were?! Why suddenly can't the stopwatch keep the same digits and longevity? Why no dual time?

Casio had a great idea with the TWIN-RESIST, but screwed even that up. The Twin Resist has a face cover that protects the buttons from mud. It's like a big mask over the whole watch. The buttons do not press in and out through a channel -- they are covered over, and you press them through the rubber outer shell. Great idea, except the look of the watch is fouled by the fact that the LCD numbers are formed so as to look like they're distorted by magnification (i.e. they are not done in the traditional "square" LCD configuration).

Beyond that, the Twin Resist should have been made the TRIPLE resist, adding SHOCK resistance to the Mud/Water resistance.

If I can think of these things, why the hell couldn't Casio?

And does it surprise anyone else that Casio has not made itself an entry into cellular phones? (or have they, and I just haven't seen them?)

---Jeffrey
 
Actually...

I think the G-5600 is the best watch in the <$200 price range out there. Look it up sometime. Watch goes for <US$100 from just about any internet dealer.
 
I love my G-shock (s) but have to agree with Jeffrey. Lot's of useless clutter on the face that does nothing. I'd love there to be one that just has big old numerals and nothing else. I G-shock based on the newer designs but with the 5600's LCD unit.

I would guess however, despite their ruggedness, that G-shocks major market is driven by urban Asian fashion. Just like knives, the money is in superficial hype, discerning function driven customers are a minority.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top