Casio WSD-F20A PRO Trek Smart hands-on: Ruggedized for the outdoor enthusiast

Earlier in the year, the Casio WSD-F20A entered the scene and became the latest member in the company’s Pro Trek line, offering outdoor enthusiasts a smartwatch that’s tuned to their needs. We recently got the chance to check it out more intimately, to really uncover how this $400 priced Wear OS powered smartwatch differentiates itself from the rest of the pack out there.

Right away, we can’t get over the fact that the Casio WSD-F20A is one ginormous sized smartwatch – easily dwarfing just about every other smartwatch out there. In terms of being stylish, it’s not one to win awards in this area, but it’s not trying to sell its looks. Rather, the WSD-F20A is ruggedized substantially more than its contemporaries by being design to meet MIL-STD-810G standards to ensure it’s water resistant up to 50 meters, shock resistant, drop resistant, and yes, it’s even protected against solar radiation.

One peculiar thing absent with the WSD-F20A is a heart rate sensor, which many smartwatches offer to provide users with better data when it comes to health and wellness. At first, we were a bit shocked by this dismissal, but later on understood why that’s the case – because it would’ve compromised on the smartwatch’s military standards for protection. Despite this, it’s armed with some solid GPS tech that ensures for the best accuracy thanks to its compatibility with three satellite-based positioning systems. True enough, it managed to accurately determine our distance while playing some golf, by using the Hole19 app on Android to measure our distance to the hole.

Some of the other main highlights of the Casio WSD-F20A that caught our attention is its dual-layer 1.32-inch 320 x 300 LCD Display. At first glance it doesn’t produce the vibrant and rich colors that typically accompanied OLED-based displays, but we impressed by its strong visibility in direct sunlight. In particular, telling the time is easily done because the monochrome LCD layer offers superior visibility. Besides that, it also features a digital compass, barometer, altimeter, and an activity tracker for light exercising management. Sure, the lack of a heart rate sensor means it’s relying mainly on other sensors such as its accelerometer and gyrometer to estimate exercising movement, but it would seem as though its target demographic doesn’t require it as much.

With a sticker price of $400, there’s no denying that it’s a pricey thing if we’re just to just look at it from a visual aspect. Then again, it’s more about utility than boasting a stylish design. In that regard, it’s not too often we come across something designed to withstand just about almost anything, but this is as close as it can get with a smartwatch currently.