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The quick verdict
The bottom line: Casio’s big 2026 update to the legendary F-91W was a fabric strap and a price that roughly doubled, from about $22 to $45.95. Fans lost their minds, because a strap swap is something the community has been doing itself for years with five-dollar NATO straps. The hate is mostly about the price, not the watch, which is still the same dependable little digital it has always been. My advice: buy the classic and a cheap fabric strap, and pocket the difference.
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What Casio actually changed
Let us be precise, because the internet was not. Casio did not redesign the F-91W. It did not touch the module, the case, or the display. What it released in 2026 is the F-91WF: the same F-91W with the resin strap replaced by a woven fabric strap made from recycled PET fibers, the stuff plastic bottles are made of. Casio says the band is scratch-resistant and stain-resistant, and it fits wrists from 145 to 215 mm.
Three versions exist: the F-91WF-1A in black, the F-91WF-2A in navy blue with a blue accent ring around the display, and the F-91WF-3A in olive green with a matching green ring.
Everything else is the F-91W you know. Same 38.2 x 35.2 x 8.5 mm resin case. Same featherweight 21 grams. Same CR2016 battery rated for about seven years. Same 1/100-second stopwatch, daily alarm, hourly chime, auto calendar, and the same dim green LED backlight that everyone has complained about for decades. Accuracy is still rated at plus or minus 30 seconds a month.
The timeline went like this. The F-91WF leaked in June 2026 through watch blogs and the Instagram account geesgshock, which is when the backlash started. Casio made it official in early August, debuted it in Japan the same month, then rolled it out across Asia, Europe (at 39.90 euros), and finally the US in early September at $45.95 on Casio’s own store. It sold out within days and was restocked around September 15. India followed at 2,195 rupees, roughly $23.
Why fans reacted badly
The anger was never really about a fabric strap. It was about the price, and about what the F-91W represents.
The F-91W has been in production since 1989 and has sold well over 100 million units. Its entire identity is extreme affordability. You can walk into any Walmart or open Amazon and buy one for around $20 to $22. It is the watch people recommend when someone asks for the cheapest decent watch on earth. Doubling the price for a strap change felt, to a lot of fans, like Casio misunderstanding its own product.
The second complaint stung more: this is a mod the community invented. F-91W owners have been ripping off the resin strap and fitting cheap nylon and NATO straps for years. There is even a popular YouTube video titled “F-91WF Has No Right To Be This Expensive” that walks through building the equivalent yourself with a standard F-91W, a fabric strap, and a pair of adapters for a fraction of the price. When your customers have been doing your product update as a weekend project, charging double for the factory version is a bold move.
The third complaint is the one Casio keeps dodging. The F-91W’s most legitimate flaw is its weak green LED backlight. It is genuinely hard to read in the dark. Casio “fixed” the F-91W and did not fix the backlight. Same dim green glow, same squinting.
Is the hate justified?
Mostly, yes, but with a couple of honest caveats.
On price, the fans have a point. At $45.95 the F-91WF costs roughly twice the street price of the classic, and the only difference is the strap. Notebookcheck put it bluntly: the objection from collectors has been that the same result costs a $22 F-91W plus a few dollars of fabric strap. That math is hard to argue with.
But the product itself is not bad. The fabric strap addresses two real complaints about the original: the resin band gets sweaty and uncomfortable in heat, and it tends to crack and discolor after a couple of years of daily wear. A woven strap breathes better and, if Casio’s scratch and stain resistance claims hold up, could age more gracefully. Nobody who bought the F-91WF got a worse watch. They got the same watch, more comfortable, at a worse price.
And here is the part the angry comment sections skipped: it sold out anyway. Casio’s US store ran through its stock within days of launch. The market spoke, and the market said forty-six bucks for a fabric-strap F-91W is fine, actually. Enthusiast forums are not the whole market. Plenty of regular buyers just wanted the comfortable version without doing a strap mod themselves.
The fairest summary: Casio did not ruin the F-91W. It just priced the new version like a fashion item instead of a commodity, and the commodity crowd noticed.
Old vs new, side by side
| F-91W (classic) | F-91WF (2026) | |
|---|---|---|
| Strap | Resin | Woven fabric, recycled PET |
| Case | 38.2 x 35.2 x 8.5 mm resin | Same |
| Weight | 21 g | 21 g |
| Battery | CR2016, ~7 years | Same |
| Features | Stopwatch, alarm, hourly chime, auto calendar | Same |
| Backlight | Dim green LED | Same dim green LED |
| Water resistance | Splash-proof (30 m rated, not for swimming) | Same |
| Accuracy | ±30 sec/month | Same |
| US price | ~$19-22 street | $45.95 |
Same watch. Different strap. Double the money.
Should you hunt down the old version?
You do not need to hunt anything. This is the good news the backlash buried: Casio did not discontinue the classic F-91W. It is still in production, still everywhere, still about twenty bucks. Nobody is forcing you onto the fabric strap.
If you want the fabric look, do what the modders do. Buy the classic F-91W for around $22, buy a fabric or NATO strap and a set of adapters for a few dollars, and spend ten minutes with a spring bar tool. You will have the same watch on your wrist for under $30 total, and you will understand exactly why the forums were angry.
The only reason to buy the factory F-91WF is convenience: you want the fabric strap, you do not want to mod anything, and forty-six dollars does not bother you. That is a legitimate buyer. It is just not the buyer who made the F-91W famous.
One more thing worth knowing: the F-91WF was not Casio’s only 2026 move. The company also released the F-B100W, a nearly identical-looking model that adds a step counter and Bluetooth connection to your phone, with the phone automatically setting the time. It runs about two years on a replaceable CR2016, adds a timer and five alarms, and sells for £55 in the UK with a US price expected around $95. That one got a much warmer reception. But it is a different watch for a different article.
FAQ
What exactly did Casio change on the F-91W in 2026?
Only the strap. The F-91WF replaces the resin band with a woven fabric strap made from recycled PET fibers. The case, module, display, battery, and every function are identical to the classic F-91W. Even the weight is the same 21 grams.
Can you still buy the original F-91W?
Yes. The classic F-91W remains in full production and sells for around $19 to $22 on Amazon and at most big retailers. Casio added the F-91WF alongside it; nothing was discontinued or replaced.
Is the new F-91WF worse than the original?
No, it is the same watch with a more comfortable strap. The complaints are about the price, not the quality. At $45.95 it costs roughly double the classic for what amounts to a strap swap, and it still has the same dim green backlight the original is criticized for.
Which one should I get?
Get the classic F-91W. If you want the fabric look, buy a cheap NATO or fabric strap and the adapters, and do the mod yourself for under $30 all in. Only buy the factory F-91WF if you specifically want the out-of-box fabric version and the premium does not bother you.
What about the F-B100W?
That is Casio’s other 2026 release: a step-counting, Bluetooth-connected take on the same design, with phone-synced time, a timer, five alarms, and about two years of battery life. It is priced higher, around $95 expected in the US, and it earned a warmer reception than the F-91WF. Different watch, different value proposition.
Keep reading
- Casio F-91W Review – the full review of the original icon
- Casio F-91W vs F-105W Comparison – which budget Casio is actually better