I recently purchased the W213 and I thought I'd review it and pass along a few things I learned.

First off, I'm very satisfied with the watch.  I chose the 213 for a combination of reasons: a) Large LCD digital display, b) very light weight, c) metal band and body, d) more than one alarm function, e) 10 year battery and f) made by Casio. In all of these things I am completely satisfied and can heartily recommend the watch for anyone seeking this combination of features. Having written a rewview of the W752, I can tell you that it's EVEN lighter, thinner (a plus to me, as I was always banging the 752's face into things when in a hurry) and easier to read.  The face of the watch is very crisp and large and the numbers and display are extremely easy to read. The metal watch and band are masculine looking, though not bulky.  Surpassing the 752, there are 5 alarm functions, one of which features a snooze option. I would still prefer a blue back light to the side mounted white LED, but that's a matter of personal preference and I couldn't find a watch with blue back light and 10 year battery and the side mounted white LED works just fine. For a watch that costs around $20, having a 10 year battery is a great benefit, since they charge around $15 locally to replace watch batteries in water resistant watches. Why buy a new watch battery at $15 every couple of years when you can buy one watch for around $20 and have it last 10 years.

So ... I'm very happy with my new watch and can recommend it to anyone seeking this combination of features. As much as I loved and do love the 752, the thick body design seemed to seek out things to smack into just a bit too often, and the crystal has gotten VERY scratched up.  That will be my "heavy work" watch, while the 213 will become my everyday watch.

As before, there are a few things I learned in shopping for this watch that I thought I'd pass along.

1) BATTERY AND E.L. BACKLIGHT - To the best of my knowledge, Casio still does not yet offer a 10 year battery on any watch featuring blue electroluminescent back lighting. I'm assuming it draws too much power to last 10 years.  If I'm wrong about that, do let me know.

2) CRACKING PLASTIC BANDS / RESIN BANDS - During past research on this topic, I learned quite a bit about plastic/resin watch bands. I used to love to purchase Casio watches with plastic bodies and bands, but stopped the practice when it became clear I couldn't keep the bands in tact for more than about 18 months. They always cracked and split long before the watch itself died. This was a consistent problem I faced with at least half a dozen such watches. I never knew why they split so badly, but they always did. Well, in the instruction booklet for 752, they happened to mention that IF you get a plastic (or, as they call it, resin) band for the watch, don't allow it to stay exposed to water or perspiration for long periods of time as it WILL lead to cracking and splitting. I was STUNNED. As a person who perspires freely and lives in a humid climate, this is virtually impossible for me to do any time I'm active for long periods of time. According to the instructions, I should remove the watch if I'm going to be perspiring for long periods of time and dry the watch off when the band does get wet. WHY on earth any company would continue to use a material for wrist bands that their own instruction manuals admit will crack and split with prolonged exposure to water and / or perspiration is beyond me. Anyone out there buying plastic band watches and working in a swimming pool? You might want to go ALL metal. AS far as I know, this must be true for all or most plastic banded watches in the world, as more than just my Casio's have met this fate in the past. I long ago switched to all metal watches and I suggest the industry find a new material that doesn't scream "We want you to buy a new watch every year or two". But that's just me. Or is it?

3) 10 YEAR BATTERIES AND WATER RESISTANCE - One thing that drew me to this watch was it's 10 year battery. As I said before, it never sat well with me to have to drop $15 to have a 2 dollar battery replaced just because the watch requires special handling to preserve it's water seal. But when I read the instructions for this watch, I was very surprised to find that even though it comes with a 10 year battery ... if you want to preserve the water resistant features, you have to have the water seal replaced every 2 to 3 years. They also suggest now (213) that you not bathe in soapy water while wearing the watch, as that also reduces the life of the seals.  Now, this doesn't matter to me personally, as I don't bathe or swim with my watch on, but ... what exactly is the point of making a 10 year battery for a water resistant watch if you have to bring it to someone to replace the seal every 2 to 3 years? I made the 10 year battery a part of my selection process to avoid having to pay someone $15 every 2 to 3 years to open my water resistant watch ... only to find that if water resistance WAS important to me, I'd have to do this anyway. I don't really see the advantage here. So, if water resistance AND a 10 year battery are important to you, you might want to rethink your decision making. If, like me, the water resistance doesn't matter, then feel free to enjoy your 10 year battery as I plan to.

4) SIZING THE METAL WATCH BAND - While I found the manual that came with my Casio 752 very informative, it said absolutely nothing about HOW to adjust the size of the metal band with which it is equipped. Neither does the manual for the 213.  I assume this is because the 752 and 213 bodies are available with many different bands, which a quick browse on Amazon confirms. The process isn't all that difficult, but there area few things you'll need to know and to have handy to re-size the band. The band itself comes in a size that was about 2 links too large for my medium/large sized wrist. There are two possible downsizing solutions offered: A) Move the mounting pin on the main outer clasp so that the pin rests closer to the push button release and/or B) remove one or more links.

On the 213, there are only 2 sets of holes the mounting pin can rest in. I moved the mounting pin from the position furthest from the push button release to the one closest to it. That cut the "too big" factor by only a tiny bit. I'd guess this is about a 1/2 link adjustment.  I realized I would also have to remove a link or two. Here's how to do both:

MOVING THE CLASP MOUNTING PIN

The clasp mounting pin sits between pairs of small holes in the main clasp (2 pairs to choose from). Use a small metal object (fine point metal pencil tip, a thick pin, thumb tack point, tiny tipped screwdriver for glasses) and carefully push one end of the pin inward and to one side. This will remove the end of the pin from it's hole, allowing the pin to be wiggled free from between its current pair of holes. BE CAREFUL ... there is a spring inside this mounting pin and if you're not careful, once it's out of it's mounting holes, it may want to ROCKET away from you. Once the pin is free, move the pin to one of the pairs of mounting holes you think will work best for your wrist size and place one end into one of the holes. Next, slide the other end of the mounting pin along the inside of the clasp until the other end of the pin pops into the opposing whole of your choosing. The spring inside the pin will allow the free end to compress as you slide it closer to the hole and will then push the end into the hole when you reach it.

REMOVING LINKS

If the band is still too big after moving the mounting pin as far as you can, now it's time to remove a link or two. If you're going to remove links, decide first from which side it will make the most sense to remove the link or links. If you take them front he wrong side, you might find the watch fits perfectly, but sits crooked on your arm (faces too much toward or away from you). That's what I did the first time. The watch fit fine, but it sat funny on my arm.

To determine on which side it will make the most sense to remove links, put the watch on your wrist and close the clasp and center the clasp on the underside of your arm and check to see where the watch body now sits on your wrist. If it sits more to one side or the other, be sure to remove a link or links that will leave the watch face directly opposite the clasp as much as possible. For example, if, when you put the watch on, the body already sits directly across from the clasp and you need to remove two links, be sure to remove one from each side, or the watch will sit crooked on your arm.

NOTE - BEFORE REMOVING LINKS, I FOUND IT MADE THE WHOLE PROCESS EASIER WHEN I FIRST UNCOUPLED THE MAIN CLASP, MAKING ACCESS TO THE INSIDE OF THE BAND MUCH EASIER.

This band comes with a fairly easy to use system for removing (or adding) links. Several links on either side of the clasp feature a hole on the back surface (the side that lays against your skin) into which a very small screwdriver can be inserted. (If you don't have them already, I'd suggest spending a dollar or two on either a glasses repair screwdriver or one of those super small sets of screw drivers you can find in most grocery, drug, electronics and mass merchandizing stores as well as any home improvement center.) Use the smallest diameter screwdriver you can find and insert it into the whole on inside of the link you wish to remove and push very firmly and very carefully in the direction indicated by the arrow that's stamped into the back of the link. (Don't push toward the arrow, push in the same direction indicated by the arrow). If you don't have much hand or arm strength, you may need to have someone else do this for you. By pushing repeatedly and firmly in the direction of the arrow, you'll eventually push the connector piece out one side off the link. Keep pushing until the connector piece extends far enough beyond the end of the link so that you can grab it with your fingers (or, more likely, a pair of needle nose pliers) and remove it (about 1/16 to 1/8"). On the model 213, I found removing it required pliers. The two links joined by the connector piece you just removed are now free of each other. To free the link you want to remove, take out the 2nd connector piece attached to the other side of that link and it will come free of the band.

NOTE - If you want to remove two links that are adjacent to each other, you need only remove the connector pieces at either end of the two links, not the one that joins those two together.

Once you've removed the link or links you desire, put the final connector pin back in to join the two loose pieces of the band. To do this, just slide the two links together until they line up properly (until the place where they come together looks just like the links that are still attached to each other) and then slide the small end of the connector piece into the opening on the end of the link. Push it as far inward as you can with your fingers. This should leave about 1/16 to 1/8" of the connector sticking out. If MORE than that is sticking out, keep working with the connector and the two pieces it connects with your fingers until you can slide it in further. Trying to POUND it in with tools when it sticks out much further than 1/16" may bend the pin.

When the pin is as far in as you can manually advance it, take the watch band and turn it on it's side so the connector piece points up. Take the blade of a small metal screw driver and place it against the part of the connector piece that still extends out of the link. Use a hammer to firmly but gently tap the back end of the metal screw driver lightly a few times until the connector piece is fully back in place. I found only a few light taps worked fine.

I removed 1 link from either side of the 213 band and it fits perfectly.  Thus far, after a week of use, I'm totally delighted with this super light weight, very handy watch.