Note: When the watch arrived to me, the battery was dead. The Forester Sport uses one SR621W battery, which can be found on-line for about $1.60 each. Replacing the battery made the watch work without issue, and Amazon offered to refund 20% of the price for this mistake. I've since found out that all Casio and Timex watches sold by Amazon will be shipped running, and thus, already using the battery's power. Now the review...

The Forester is a good watch. It's available in three colors (black, tan and olive drab) but this one is basic black. The strap, case, dial, and "light" button are all black. The back and winding button are polished steel. The bezel is blackened steel. Overall construction is good at this price. Remember, we're talking about a <$20 watch here. The dial is about the diameter of a quarter, and the mineral glass seems pretty scratch-resistant. The case is plastic and seems durable. I tested the watch's waterproofness by doing the dishes and taking a shower. There was no water ingress, and I didn't see any condensation inside.

The band is made of black nylon webbing with the ends (both sides that attach to the watch) and the tip being black leather. The side on the twelve o'clock portion is the shorter end, and ends with a black plastic buckle. The tip of the other end goes through this and doubles over, being secured by Velcro. To help strap from accidentally loosening, the band has a black leather piece that slips over the tip. The tip is rounded, not squared. The band will fit any juvenile through adult, as the Velcro runs the entire length of the long band.

The numbers one through twelve are clearly marked in off-white, except three, which is where the date window is. There are small lines between the numbers to denote each minute, which are also off-white. The second hand is a whiter white for the last 2/3; the portion of the second hand towards the middle is black. The second hand also ticks (rather than move around without stopping) but doesn't make any noise. The hour and minute hand are the same white as the second hand, and are painted entirely. The middle of them is hollowed out, which makes a nice contrast. The date window is a little small for me, and it's a basic white background with black numbers. The date window does give an audible "tick" when the date changes over, but you have to have the watch right in front of your face to hear it.

The Forester only has two controls: the crown (winding button) and the light button. The light is in the 3 o'clock position, and is recessed so you don't turn it on accidentally. It's a basic piece of plastic with grooves molded in, and the case clearly labels it LIGHT. I've found it easy to use when I want to, and I wear a size XL glove. Pressing the light button and then letting go will give you one second of light. Holding the light button will turn the light on until you let go, plus one second. Casio calls this feature the Illuminator. It's okay. It lights up the entire dial with an olive green pastel color. The numbers, hands, and date window do not light up. The numbers, being slightly off-white, are a little hard to see because of the pastel green tint of the light. I have to keep the watch lit up for about three seconds to tell the time at night. Although the hands and date window don't light up, their shade of white makes them very easy to see when using the light. The watch uses electroluminescent light, which loses its ability to light up after a while. Also, using the light for an extended period of time, or using it when the battery is low, can cause the hands to stop for a few seconds.

The crown (the winding button) is located in the four o'clock position. Pull it out to set the time, and push it in slightly to set the date. Push it all the way back in to set everything. Setting the time requires moving the minute hand to two or three minutes past the time you want the watch set to, then pushing the crown in to set the time. Casio says to avoid setting the date between 9pm and 1am, as this might cause the date display not to roll over the next day. I don't know how the watch differentiates between AM and PM since this is an analog watch, but I've had no problems with the date window. If you just ended a month that has less than 31 days in it, you'll have to set the date for the month.

As mentioned earlier, the Forester uses one SR621W silver oxide battery, and Casio advertises a battery life of three years. Using the light once a day for five seconds a day makes the battery life two years. They also advertise the watch to be accurate to +/- 20 seconds per month.

For under twenty dollars, this is a good watch. It blows away the Smith & Wesson watches at this price level, and is rivaled only by Timex. I wear mine daily.

UPDATE: After one month of use, the Forester is still going strong. It's been in the rain, attached to my wrist while fixing plumbing problems, and gone in the shower without issue. If the band gets dirty, just take it off and put it in the washer. I haven't noticed any loss or gain in time with the watch, and the date function works as advertised. Also, the face is still scratch-free, and that's great considering I make and work on knives a lot.

ONE YEAR UPDATE: Still going strong on the original battery :-)