by 
When I first set eyes on the Casio DW-H5600 Smart Watch I was impressed. Casio has always done great fitness watches and I’ve often worn a G-Shock instead of an Apple Watch when I know things are going to get strenuous or dirty. Casios, in short, can take a beating.
The DW-H5600 is a supremely usable, compact, and inexpensive fitness watch. Part of the Casio Move family, the watch features a number of exercise settings including gym workouts and running. It also supports Polar fitness monitoring, a feature that tells you when it’s time to start and stop training for maximum fitness.
What is the Casio DW-H5600 Smart Watch?
The $299 DW-H5600 is a brand-new model from Casio which features everything you need in a fitness watch including a step counter, heart rate monitor, and Bluetooth notifications.
The watch is completely rugged and waterproof to 20 bar and features a bright, readable display with backlight.
Overall, the watch is on par with Fitbit when it comes to size and quality. Aimed at a more adventurous fitness fanatic, the DW-H5600 also connects to the Casio Move and LifeLog apps to record your fitness goals and activities.
It lasts about a week on one charge and even charges via solar, essentially giving the watch unlimited battery life. You can also charge it via USB.
The rear of the watch features LED heart rate sensors which can also measure blood oxygen levels.
The watch comes in black and blue and comes with a free water bottle with purchase.
Is the Casio DW-H5600 a good watch?
I’ve used quite a number of fitness watches over the years and Casio makes the best ones. The DW-H5600 is no different. It’s compact, light, and very readable. I compared this model to my Apple Watch and found the step counter and fitness measurements to be similar if not the same and because this thing features G-Shock design and materials I’m far less afraid to take something like this on a long hike or swim.
The notification feature works fine – you actually probably will want to turn it off because the screen isn’t optimized for content digestion. The fitness screens are great and have a number of helpful prompts for sleep, meditation, and heart rate measurements. The app, which you don’t have to necessarily use but helps with setup, is fairly basic and offers views of your training history, sleep habits, and can even map your runs if you’re carrying a GPS-enabled cellphone.
Should you buy the Casio DW-H5600?
At $299, the DW-H5600 is fairly priced for a fitness watch. If you’re considering replacing a daily wear Fitbit with this model you’re going to have to be prepared for a monochrome screen without touch support. You could, for example, pick up a Fitbit Sense 2 for about the same price but you wouldn’t get the same rugged case or battery life.
If you like the G-Shock design, this thing is great. If you don’t then you’re probably not going to love this thing. It’s an acquired taste and very austere. That said, this is probably one of the best choices for an active smartwatch wearer who doesn’t want the distraction of a standard Android or Apple smart watch.
The watch stacks up solidly against any other fitness watch out there. It’s definitely not as performant or powerful as an Apple Watch or similar smartwatch but if you’re looking for a rugged, pared-down device that can take a licking and keep on managing your fitness, this is the watch to get.
