The quick verdict
The Casio WS-1600H has the best timer I have ever seen on a Casio watch, and it is not close. You get two completely different timer modes: a preset timer with nine common times built in, and a programmable interval timer that can chain up to nine stages together. Add auto-repeat with a repeat counter, a count-up that runs after the countdown finishes, 100 metre water resistance and a 10-year battery, and the timer functions alone are worth the cost of admission on this inexpensive sports watch.
This post contains affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
The preset timer: nine times, one button
Most of the time, nobody sets a timer for 11 minutes and 12 seconds. You set it for 10 minutes, 15 minutes or half an hour. Casio clearly agrees, because the first timer mode on the WS-1600H is a preset timer with nine start times built in: 10, 12, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45 minutes. Press the upper left button and you cycle through them. Pick one and you are counting down, no fiddly setting process at all.
I wish this was standard on every Casio. I do not have it on a single G-Shock I own, or on any other Casio in the drawer. It is such an obvious idea once you use it: the times people actually use, ready to go in one press.
Auto-repeat with a counter, and a count-up after zero
The preset timer also includes an auto-repeat function. Set it for 15 minutes and it counts down to zero, then starts the countdown all over again. Plenty of watches can do that. What I had not seen before is the little counter in the bottom right of the display that counts how many repeat cycles the watch has completed, up to 100. For workouts, work intervals or anything repetitive, you always know which round you are on.
There is one more trick. If auto-repeat is turned off, when the countdown hits zero and the alarm sounds, the watch starts counting up instead, tracking elapsed time since the timer went off, all the way up to 60 minutes. Your pasta timer went off five minutes ago? The watch tells you exactly how long ago, without you doing any math. Casio’s official spec confirms this: elapsed time measurement for up to 60 minutes after the countdown reaches zero.
The interval timer: nine stages, fully programmable
Press the bottom left button again and you reach a completely different mode, which Casio calls the countdown timer and I call the interval timer. You can use it as a plain custom countdown: set any time in five-second increments up to 59 minutes and 55 seconds, with auto-repeat and the same repeat counter, up to 100 repeats.
But the real party trick is that you can program up to nine separate intervals in sequence. Five minutes of work, one minute of rest, five minutes of work, and so on, and each individual interval can be as long as 59 minutes and 55 seconds, so you could time an entire soccer game this way. Auto-repeat here applies to the whole cycle: it repeats once all nine intervals have run, not after each single stage.
The rest of the watch
Timers are the headline, but the WS-1600H is a complete sports watch around them. Casio lists a resin case measuring 45 by 42.1 by 12.5 mm, a weight of just 39 grams, 100 metre water resistance, an amber LED backlight with afterglow, world time for 29 time zones, a full auto-calendar to 2099, a daily alarm with hourly signal, and a stopwatch with an add-time function meant for injury timeouts in sports. Battery life is rated at about 10 years on a CR2025, which makes this a set-it-and-forget-it watch.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Nine preset timers cover the times people actually use, one button press away
- Programmable interval timer with up to nine stages, each up to 59:55
- Auto-repeat with an on-screen repeat counter up to 100
- Counts up for up to 60 minutes after a countdown finishes
- 100 metre water resistance and a 10-year battery
Cons
- Preset steps are fixed, so odd times need the interval mode
- The 45 mm sports case is chunky and looks like a sports watch, because it is one
- Only a single daily alarm
FAQ
How many preset timers does the Casio WS-1600H have?
Nine. The preset start times are 10, 12, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45 minutes, and you cycle through them with a single button.
Can the WS-1600H do interval training timing?
Yes. The second timer mode lets you program up to nine intervals in a row, each settable in five-second increments up to 59 minutes and 55 seconds, with optional auto-repeat of the full cycle.
Is the Casio WS-1600H waterproof?
It is rated to 100 metres of water resistance, so swimming and showering are fine. Battery life is rated at about 10 years.
Final verdict
If you use countdown timers a lot, and especially if you train with intervals, the Casio WS-1600H does things that watches costing ten times more simply do not. The preset timer should be on every Casio module, the repeat counter is genuinely useful, and the count-up after zero is the kind of detail you miss on every other watch once you have had it. For the timer functions alone, it is worth the money.