A Fantastic Modern Tool Watch

The G-Shock Mudmaster has always been one of the brand’s toughest watches. With the GG-B100 line, that toughness now comes with even more features and functions. It is available in 4 different colorways: Black, Green, Orange and Blackout (which if you couldn’t tell by the name, has almost every component of the watch in black, except for the silvered pushers). The one we’ll be looking at today is my favourite colourway out of the 4, the green one, which is a surprise for me as I’m not the biggest fan of green watches.

On a side note, if I did have the chance to purchase Rolex’s 116610LV ‘Hulk’ I certainly would, and then make some money selling it off to fund an Omega Seamaster 300, but I digress. Green works well on the Mudmaster. It’s an olive drab, military green that certainly complements the watch’s field watch style very nicely. In fact, the Mudmaster is my G-Shock favourite watch so far. It’s an incredibly well built and well executed watch with plenty of cool features at a relatively affordable price. It’s built the way tanks wish they were built.

First impressions

There is a lot to like about the GG-B100. It’s a result of Casio constantly working on improving what they have done in the past. But with that said, this is a radically different watch from your run-of-the-mill G-Shocks, because of Casio’s use of carbon in the case construction to protect the watch and shave even more weight off too. The Mudmaster line has always been a field G-shock, or at least G-shock’s take on a field watch. And having a mechanical Seiko field watch personally, these are two very different watches, with very different appeals, though its probably no coincidence that this is one of my favourite G-shock models thus far.

Casio has always placed more focus on analog-digital style dials for their higher end watches, and the same can be seen here. They’ve done a great job in combining the functionality and durability of a G-shock with the aesthetic appeal of a ‘traditional’ analog watch. Hybrid dials like this one, have been a mainstay of modern Japanese watchmaking since the 70s and they really found their stride in the 80s.

The features

I’m not the biggest fan of digital watches; in fact my collection of only mechanical watches should speak of my tastes and preferences already. I do find myself liking the Mudmaster a lot though, and that’s really saying something. However, the only thing keeping me from pulling out my wallet for this otherwise rather affordable and incredible piece is whether I would actually wear it frequently compared to the ones that’re already in my collection. But whether I’m ready to start going digital over mechanical doesn’t detract from the fact that the Mudmaster is a fantastic watch.

The LCD screen may be small for some, but it is highly legible and offers snappy performance too. The hands are useful when needed, and are used to display certain features that we’ll get into later. However, they are usually performing their default time-telling functions most of the time. Casio’s cutting-edge screen and ultra-lightweight carbon means that there’s virtually no compromise between functionality and style. 

You get the feeling of immediately wanting to fiddle with the watch the moment you hold it in your hand. Seriously, those nicely finished and knurled buttons offer such a pleasant feedback and feel that they’re practically begging to be used. And if you couldn’t already tell by the name, the Mudmaster series is all about dust/mud/water protection, and the pushers have all been designed with that in mind. I find the number of pushers on the case (6 of them) to be quite a lot, but that means that you have quicker and easier access to the watch’s functionalities, to which there are many. Now, you can connect a smartphone to this watch with the ‘connect’ button at the 3 o’clock position and using the G-Shock app, allowing you to adjust the watch using the app if you don’t want to use the buttons.

The step-counter functionality is the newest sensor to be integrated into the watch, considering that the previous Mudmaster was already a triple sensor and this one being a quad. Adding on to the existing compass, barometer/altimeter, and temperature sensors of the watch. Other features also include sunrise/sunset times and the usual slew of timers, stopwatches and alarm features that you would find in other G-shock watches.

There’s no question that this is a very well-thought-out watch, with the dedicated buttons specifically for things such as the compass. Which really brings the functionality of the watch to the forefront. While many other digital watches may have plenty of features, they aren’t truly useful if they’re backed with a poor or difficult user interface, which the Mudmaster certainly avoids. And Casio, in general, is getting much better at making complex watches with great user interfaces too, making the overall experience of this Mudmaster all the more satisfying too.

With the use of glass fibers, carbon and a bevy of other lightweight materials, the Mudmaster is unsurprisingly incredibly lightweight despite its rather hulking design. Despite weighing only 92 grams and coming in at 55mm, it doesn’t feel like a toy watch. The lightness is backed by the overall solid build that makes this watch feel incredibly sturdy and well built, and pretty damn comfortable to wear as well. Oh, and it has a water resistance of 200m as well. Casio is getting much more comfortable with patterns and textures as you can see with this one, with its carbon weaved smooth bezel, and those knurled pushers too. G-shocks were never meant to be ‘good-looking’ or even ‘cool’, they’re utilitarian and are meant to get the job done. But with the Mudmaster, I think that’s changing and it’s an advancement in design that really makes most modern G-shock watches now really, really pretty to look at.

The Verdict

Casio always gives itself room for improvement, and for the GG-B100 Mudmaster, the brand has hit a sweet spot in design, price and features that will offer consumers a fantastic watch that ought to sell like hell too. It’s a watch that serves as both a ‘cool-looking watch’, as well as a truly functional and useful tool watch that you can undoubtedly rely on should the situation arise. Not many watches can fit this bill, but the Mudmaster is certainly one of them; and if even a self-acclaimed snob for mechanical watches like myself can find myself genuinely liking it, then it certainly has a place in your collection too.