This outdoor watch can help lead you along a route and provide a weather forecast. Paired with an app, it can do even more.
Buy PRO TREK PRTB50-1
The PRO TREK PRTB50-1 is geared toward hikers, campers, climbers, and all outdoor adventurers who can appreciate its technology.
It’s the first of the brand’s outdoor-oriented PRO TREK series of watches to include Smartphone Link functionality via the PRO TREK Connected App and Casio’s Quad Sensor technology.
The Quad Sensor refers to four metrics measured by three sensors in the PRO TREK PRTB50-1 watch. Those sensors detect compass bearing, barometric pressure/altitude, temperature, and — thanks to a built-in accelerometer — also count steps.
These functions aren’t meant to replace a traditional compass or a map. Rather, they give you an easily accessible and informed look at your route progress and can forecast when you’ll reach a future location.
Below, we’ll dive into how the watch derives these four data points as well as how they can be used with the Casio PRO TREK Connected App to unlock more information.
Altimeter
The altimeter calculates your current altitude based on your location and changes in the atmospheric pressure. To get the most accurate readings, you should set the altimeter at a trailhead or other known landmark to establish a base altitude.
Barometer
Every two hours, the barometer measures the weather based on atmospheric pressure. The watch’s graphic display indicates whether pressure is trending upward, a sign that weather is likely to improve, or downward, that worse weather could be settling in.
Digital Compass
A direction function can detect magnetic north and then align the watch’s display of north with that of your topographic map. It also allows you to convert magnetic north to true north for further measurements.
The compass includes a bearing memory display to point the way based on a stored direction. This is displayed by the 12 o’clock position of the watch face. This helps you navigate in low-visibility conditions such as fog.
Thermometer
A thermometer can predict the temperature of your destination based on the temperature at your current location. This projection is based on a set calculation that temperatures generally decrease by 3.6°F for every increase of 1,000 feet of elevation. In metric terms, if the temperature at 1,000 metres is 10°C, for example, the temperature at 3,000 metres will probably be about -3°C.
Of course, at higher elevations this rate may differ, and it is certainly different when it’s raining or you’re in clouds.
You may layer by feel, but sometimes, measuring feel against data can inform you on how your body is handling temperatures. Seeing the temperatures ahead can also remind you of a coming need to layer up.
The App Unlocks More
To get more from the PRO TREK PRTB50-1, connect it to the PRO TREK Connected App via Bluetooth to access more outdoor-specific functions such as:
Route log
The app records altitude with data from the watch and GPS data from the smartphone. Users can also enter altitude data along the route and plot that.
While hiking along the route, the phone can add photos for future reference. That can come in handy when doing field research or noting your next bouldering or fishing spot.
Calories burned
The app approximates the calories you burn based on the steps counted and change in altitude readings. This info gets saved to the trip’s activity log.
Location indicator
Users can operate the watch buttons to save their current location in the app. In this mode, the compass bearing of the saved location point lets the second hand work as a wayfinding indicator. The distance is also displayed on the LCD.
Customizable mode/display
From the app, users can turn modes on or off and even change which order they appear on the display. The same goes with the default information displayed on the LCD screen. This customization lets you prioritize which functions you’ll most frequently consult.
Stay In Tune:
Four times a day, the watch automatically adjusts its time and altitude based on data from your smartphone.
Mobile phone finder:
When the watch is connected to the mobile phone, it can work as a finder and ping your phone to make an alert noise, even if it’s on silent mode.
These features are built over the PRO TREK frame, which runs on a lithium coil cell battery with an approximate battery life of two years. That’s not something your smartwatch can boast.
The watch is water resistant down to 100 metres. Other functions include a full auto LED light, calendar, as well as sunrise and sunset times. A rotating bezel helps with orienteering.
