Ultimate EDC Watch? Casio G-Shock GW-M5610U Review

The perfect EDC watch?

The GW-M5610U is a classic square G-Shock and is the spiritual successor to the original DW-5600 from 1983. Using Casios Multi-Band 6 technology, it receives atomic time signals from radio towers across the world, adjusting the time automatically to the exact second each night. It passively charges off any ambient light, and it's so light and comfortable you forget it's on your wrist. A precision tool you strap on and forget about.

I've been wearing mine every single day for the last two and a half years; Sleeping in it, showering in it, swimming in it, working in it, travelling in it. Here are my thoughts.

Build and durability

Everybody knows how tough G-Shocks are, but after 2.5 years of proper daily abuse, this watch still looks new. I'm quite clumsy, I smack my watch off things on a daily basis. The glass is still perfect, mostly due to the case design having a sunken in display and raised bezel meaning it really doesn't see any impact from knocks on surfaces, etc. The resin case and strap have held up without cracking, fading, or deforming in any way. Any time I think I've damaged this watch, I give it a wipe and it comes up like new again. The buttons feel the same as they did on day one; No rattling, creaking or decline in functionality of any kind.

G-Shock toughness, perfect accuracy, and basically unlimited battery. The price? Around £100.

Solar and atomic timekeeping

The 2 stand-out features of this watch work exactly as advertised. The watch syncs to atomic time signals automatically, every night, which means it is always accurate to the exact second. You will never adjust the time on this watch. Never set the date after a short month. Never worry about it drifting. At any given moment, this watch is correct to the second. Multi-Band 6 gives you total confidence and peace of mind that the time is always absolutely bang on.

The solar charging is equally set-and-forget. I've never once thought about the battery because there's nothing to think about. It charges off daylight, office lighting, and apparently even overcast UK skies in November. In two and a half years the charge indicator has never dropped below high. Never once. The combination of these two technologies means you set it and forget it. No worrying about the battery level, no worrying about losing time or adjusting for daylight saving time, etc.

Size, wearability and looks

The GW-M5610U has a 43.2mm square case, but it wears smaller than that sounds. It sits close to the wrist, the lugs don't extend aggressively, and the profile is slim enough that it disappears under a shirt cuff. For anyone who finds most G-Shocks too chunky for office or smart-casual wear, this is one worth looking at. It's comfortable across 16 hour days and I sleep in it every night without issue. After a while you genuinely forget you're wearing a watch at all.

As a bit of a negative display hater, I love this display. Personal preference, but I find the standard displays far more legible and frankly better looking.

The retro styling is very charming and iconic. I'm 30, and I've had more than a few fond comments from people older than myself "I remember those from the 80s!". It wears its age well and still looks great in 2026.

One small but welcome detail: Casio included the option to switch between MONTH/DAY and DAY/MONTH date formats on this model. Most of my other Casio watches don't have this, which has always been a minor annoyance as someone in the UK. It's a small thing but it's the kind of consideration that shows someone thought about who was actually going to be wearing it.

The small cons

Nothing deal-breaking here, but after two and a half years you notice things.

The alarm is very quiet. I'm a deep sleeper, so that doesn't help, but even setting that aside it's genuinely faint. In practice I just don't use it and rely on my phone instead, which is a shame. There's no vibration alarm either, which would solve the problem entirely and would be a great addition for a watch aimed at active, everyday use.

The buttons are quite recessed and take a deliberate press to actuate. That's actually a double-edged sword. On one hand it can feel stiff, but on the other it means you will never accidentally press anything. On my old Casio AE1200, I'd occasionally glance down at the time and realise I'd somehow navigated to the wrong time zone without knowing. That never happens here. The button design is a considered trade-off and once you're used to it, it makes sense.

The timer is functional but slow if you frequently need multiple timers of different durations. At work I regularly need a one hour timer and a 15 minute timer at different points in the day. Every time it's the same process: into the timer menu, edit the duration, save, start. I've gotten quite quick at this after doing it so many times, but every time I do it I find myself thinking how nice a preset toggle would be.

Verdict

At around £100, the GW-M5610U is ridiculous value for money, and is one of the most quietly impressive pieces of kit I own. I would choose this watch over watches 5x the price, just for the ease of carry and peace of mind it gives.

What makes it so good is harder to articulate than a spec list. It's the total lack of friction. I never worry about damaging it. I never think about the battery. I never wonder if it's lost time. I never check whether it needs charging. I just wear it.

It doesn't have a beautiful automatic movement. There's nothing flash about it. It won't turn heads across a room. What it does is work, completely and reliably, every single day. That feeling of total confidence in a piece of kit is priceless.

The small cons are real, the quiet alarm in particular is a genuine limitation, but none of them change the bigger picture. Two and a half years in, I would absolutely buy it again without hesitation.