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Casio A158W features and specs
The Casio A158W features includes a 12 and 24 hour time format, day-date, alarm, and chronometer / timer.
The A158W has the module 593 as the legendary all-black rubber-strapped Casio F-91W. So, from a digital display, electronics, and buttons perspective, the a158w is identical to the F-91W.
The A158W also comes in various colors such as a rose-gold accented style.
Dimensions / Size
- Total weight: 46 g
- Battery life: estimated to be 7 years. Battery type is a disc battery model CR2016.
- How much water resistance? Un-stated. I’m not sure if it is 30M like the f-91w.
- Width / diameter: 33.2mm
- Thickness: 8.2 mm
- Lug to Lug: 36.8 mm
- Band Width: 18mm nato strap. A nato strap for the a158w looks great in my opinion. I personally think grey, black, or dark green nato looks the best on the a158w.
Backlight:
People on Reddit r/Casio love to hate the backlight a158w backlight style (and similarly F-91W’s backlight).
As someone who wears blue-blockers, I personally dislike bright backlights, so the backlight is actually a positive for my taste.
Whereas the slightly-larger A168W has full-lit electro-luminescence backlight, the A158W is 100% readable in pitch black darkness, but the backlight is definitely dimmer and shines from the left side of the screen.
A158W Bracelet
The a158w bracelet is a winner.
The a158w’s bracelet serves its exact purpose with all superfluous elements removed. Its features have been reduced to the essentials. The bracelet, in one word, is “elegant”.
Overall, the Casio a158w bracelet exceeded my expectations.
Comfort: It is well designed and super comfortable. The links are thin and sit flush against the wrist. It doesn’t poke or scratch skin in any areas. While the bracelet is lightweight, it is sturdy, and the links move cleanly like a snake.
Bracelet flex: The bracelet has only minor flex side to side as seen in the first photo. As time goes on, I’ll keep an eye on how this changes. The bend is perfect enough to wrap closely around the wrist, and as it attaches to the case, it does not hand out at all when hanging straight down. In my opinion this adds to the wearability.
I tend to fidget with the bracelet and it’s quite enjoyable… no need for a fidget spinner hah.
The steel bracelet also doesn’t feel hot or cause sweat like similar rubber straps do.
Visually: In my opinion the three link bracelet looks a lot nicer than the barred look of the A700W bracelet for example. Additionally, it’s less busy than the a159w. It has that oyster bracelet appeal to it.
Resistance to scratches and scuffs: The bracelet and case have some scratches but are not very noticeable. As the bracelet moves, it does hit the edge of the case which causes a slightly noticeable scuff mark on the first end link, as seen in the photo below. I don’t mind it and of course, any watch when worn will get scuffs. It’s a mark of a well-loved item!
The clasp: small, doesn’t get in the way, easy to use, and doesn’t rattle at all.
Size adjustment: the a158w clasp is easy to open, close, and re-size.
It’s engineered in a way that you don’t have to remove any links to re-size it. I experimented with a few different sizes and eventually found a perfect fit. It slides up and down my wrist just a little bit, and if my wrist swells after working out it still fits pretty snug, not too tight.
As someone with arm hair, the bracelet causes almost no hair pull. I did smooth-out the inside of the bracelet following the suggestions from this video, which might have helped.
Why I chose the a158w
The A158W fills a watch collector’s niche.
With its steel case and bracelet, the A158W is classier and provides a distinct feel compared to watches with a rubber strap. In deciding between the F-91W and the A158W, the main deciding factor was the steel bracelet.
Based on other watches I own, the A158W fills 2 specific purposes:
- to try a smaller watch around 36-mm diameter.
- From what I can tell, this is really the smallest, thinnest watch in the Casio line that you can find. The A168W is slightly bigger.
- to try a thin steel bracelet.
- I already had several watches with rubber straps, I was particularly looking for a steel bracelet and I really like the oyster look / feel of the a158w.
At very reasonable prices on Amazon the A158W made sense to buy as a style trial with no risk of buyer’s remorse.
A smaller watch is practical because it doesn’t get caught on things as easily, is less bulky under a wetsuit, and looks visually subtle.
Friends of mine own the F-91W for surfing mainly, and I choose to use my Garmin Forerunner 255 in the ocean because of the ability to track location, which is pretty fun to look at where I paddled / swam. Yes, wearing an expensive Garmin in the ocean is a risk I’m comfortable taking.
My Timex Ironman was my former surfing companion, but it’s since seen less ocean wrist time, however is still surprisingly comfortable and I love wearing it.
Although one of the first things people say about my A158W when they see it is “oh cool it’s vintage”, I actually didn’t even consider the vintage look, nor do I particularly care about a vintage look. I wanted something that would be similar-ish in size to the likes of a 36mm Rolex Datejust or a Medium sized Cartier Santos. My thinking was, if I wear and enjoy wearing a $30 Casio of a similar size for a year or two, then perhaps it will be worth buying a higher end luxury time piece eventually.
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