Do post some photos, it would be very unlikely for strap to come off just like that.

 

Its the actual part that holds the strap, I'll post a picture after this.

 

Hope you can see it, ill make a macro picture too.

 

Holy smokes! Send it to Casio. They should replace that as defective.

 

I am very impressed and not just a little incredulous you were able to accomplish this without abusing the watch any. If this were an older model, we could have blamed it on resin rot somewhat, but now I am out of ideas.

 

I have never seen anything quite like that, especially on a new G-Shock. Odd to say the least.

 

This is the second time in a week that someone had this happen (the other model was a 9300 mudman that was chewed on by a dog and the lug broke off).

And I hate to say it again, but this would have never happened with a steel cased or titanium cased watch. Regardless, G-shocks are generally tough enough that this sort of this rarely happens even under extreme abuse. So for it to happen randomly, the watch is clearly defective and should be send in for a warranty replacement. The Rangeman case center is an expensive part and you should not have to pay for it.

To the OP, did you buy the watch brand new, or secondhand?

 

If you have the Rangeman look at it, it definately has a huge weakpoint there. And i mean i got the watch brand new, never hit it with any thing or anything like that. The wrist band is attached being screwed and these screws are screwed in a plastic part that is attached in a U shape, the bottom of the U which is the part that actually holds together the part that has the wristband screwed in and the actual watch. This little "bridge" is only about 3mm big. Thinking logically this makes no sense, why use this U shape, its obviously creating a weakness. I just used the watch for general things, nothing like working or anything like that that could have damaged it in this way. I guess it was just this obvious weakness and the fact that plastic can be brittle and just break off like that.

 

DAMN!! man that sucks, hope you are able to get a replacement without any issues.

 

Well that is unfortunate.

Looks like you need a new case. I doubt that Casio will fix it under warranty as damage to the case is normally excluded.

For that to happen I think the strap will have had to be deliberately forced backwards beyond the strength of the plastic case. Don't forget that G Shocks only have a plastic case in the end and are a lot weaker than SS would be in the same situation.

I don't see how that can happen in any normal situation on or off the wrist. If you deliberately try to test the strength of the case then there is the danger you will exceed its capabilities as in this situation.





Mitch

 

I didn't force it back extremely, and like i said i noticed it, it didnt happen at that point. It must have happened yesterday, knowing that this issue wasnt there before. And the only thing I did yesterday was working out doing pushups pullups.. I mean I also own a Mudman and that thing is rock solid, nothing like that could happen to it, I used it while chainsawing and stuff like that, it froze up once at minus 15 C but worked afterwards. I just got the Rangeman as that one didnt work anymore due to battery (I know I could have got it replaced but wanted a new one) and the Rangeman was perfect. Oh and I bought it in Australia and still have warranty (14 days for any damage or fault) for a few days which protects me from such damage as Casio describes the watch as "designed and engineered to stand up to the most grueling conditions imaginable" and the watch has no signs of any wear or anything and I didn't try to check it for strength or anything like that.

 

the only thing I did yesterday was working out doing pushups pullups..

I could see push-ups putting a lot of stress on a watch as large as a rangeman. Not saying that it's an abusive situation, just one that's less than ideal and has the potential to expose some of the watches weaknesses as noted.

 

To kung-fusion, the watch was brand new and youre right, this would have never happened with steel or titanium or even if there wasnt this U shape construction.

 

Return the watch as defective immediately and insist on a replacement. If the seller won't honor the warranty, go to Casio.

 

I tried to upload a picture that I took with a macro but for some reason I cant upload it and wont be bothered with that right now, but looking at the parts i can see it just snapped off clean, i might upload them later though. Looking at my old Mudman, there is acual hinges the hold the straps in place.

 

It seems like this is a rather serious matter if it reflects a vulnerability in the design of Rangeman (or at least some of the Rangeman versions) and hopefully it won't get as nasty as the G keepers problem in the 90s.

The watch in the pic is an international version. I only have a Japan domestic version with carbon fibre, and am wondering whether it has the same vulnerability.

Compared a few case back pics from "J" and non-"J" versions and they look different, but maybe that is just plain cosmetics and could very well have the same design under the flap. Looks like need to take extra care with it ...

 

The case center is probably the same on all versions of the rangeman. It would not make sense for Casio to change it on different versions. Most likely this is just a case of a single defective unit. If it happens to someone else, then there might be a reason to wonder about the design

 

Sorry for the bad quality, I had to put the pixels down a lot the quality was too high... But there is that U shape that I was talking about. And just remeasuring it precisely the bottom of the U that holds the watch together with the screw part is 2mm thick, while the part the screw is placed in is over 4mm, so double.. It would be interesting to know if the J version has this U design too..

 

I do push ups every day and have been wearing the Ranger almost exclusively the last few weeks. It doesn't put any undue pressure on the case/strap.


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RE: the whole push ups thing... I wear the rangeman to the gym a lot, and when doing a certain exercise (incline chest press using a plate loaded machine) the back of my hand presses hard enough on the side of the Rangeman to activate the altimeter button. It happens every time. This sort of thing has never happened with any other G-shock I have worn, and I suspect it might be due to the fact that the Rangeman is very large and that button sticks out a lot.

Now, this is not the same issue the OP had, but it might be related. If the watch was being twisted by having the hand bent backward enough, that might be what caused the problem

 

This is what I was referring to. If the rangeman slides all the way down my wrist as I'm setting up for push-ups, as I come down it will get wedged between the top of my hand and forearm. This will push the watch "out" (away from the wrist), and can put a lot of pressure on the lugs I imagine.

 

If this isn't an isolated issue, then the Rangeman has a serious design flaw. I'll be more careful with the Rangeman from now on, just to be on the safe side.

 

I had it happen too that I pressed the Altimeter/Compass/Barometer button in a similar action, not doing pushups though but just whil going to bed and having my arm kind of bend. But this shouldnt weaken the watch that much. Like I said, ill just send it in and hopefully get a replacement. Otherwise, anyone know a watch like the Rangeman with similar functions but maybe more hardy?

 

Could the JDM's CF strap prevent this from happening?

 

I doubt it - the strap attachment is the same and it's not the strap that broke. Still I find it hard to believe this happened just from normal wear (maybe if there was some damage before to the lug like kung-fusion suggested). When I got my Rangeman I wore it for over two months straight and had no issues. Took it off for workouts however - exactly because of the protruding button-guard.

cheers, Sedi

 

It would depend how tight you're wearing the watch. Wearing it tight fitting and doing push ups would create a lot of stress on the plastic housing. That's one thing I do like about spring bars: they can flex a little with stress. Sure you might have to replace them occasionally.. But it's much easier to replace a spring bar than the plastic housing. And much cheaper, as well. I am concerned this is a design flaw. Perhaps a stress test is in order. I do not think a CF strap would change the integrity of the housing.

Why should you need to baby your rugged, outdoorsman, master of G? It doesn't make sense.

 

It would depend how tight you're wearing the watch. Wearing it tight fitting and doing push ups would create a lot of stress on the plastic housing. That's one thing I do like about spring bars: they can flex a little with stress. Sure you might have to replace them occasionally.. But it's much easier to replace a spring bar than the plastic housing. And much cheaper, as well. I am concerned this is a design flaw. Perhaps a stress test is in order. I do not think a CF strap would change the integrity of the housing.

Why should you need to baby your rugged, outdoorsman, master of G? It doesn't make sense.

Well, I don't think we can conclude it is a design flaw until someone else snaps theirs doing something normal. But as I have concluded after having all different kinds of G-shocks, nothing beats a metal case. I also see the advantage of springbars in that they are easy to replace and won't kill the case of the watch when they break. The idea of a springbar breaking (hasn't happened to me yet) is something that I think gets overblown. Yes, you could lose your watch if it happens unexpectedly in water or some other hazardous area. But if you use a NATO strap, you won't lose the watch unless both springbars fail at the same time (which is not going to happen). So if you want the toughest G-shock of all, a steel or titanium cased watch on NATO adaptors is probably the best you can do.

 

It is definately a design flaw, and a major one that you can spot so easy.. If you own a Rangeman just screw off the strap and look at the part where the screw goes into and how it is designed.. Just leaves to wonder if other G-Shocks have the same design..

 

Out of curiosity, I popped off the strap to inspect the lugs. They appear to be made out of a rigid plastic material. I doubt the bending of one's wrist would be enough to break them. I wonder what kind of force would be able to stress them to the point of breaking.

 

View attachment 1395411

Out of curiosity, I popped off the strap to inspect the lugs. They appear to be made out of a rigid plastic material. I doubt the bending of one's wrist would be enough to break them. I wonder what kind of force would be able to stress them to the point of breaking.

The "u" shape lug that sheared away is perpendicular to the torsion axis the lug pin which is only catching the lug witha few threads - is IMO the Achilles heal of this strap set up...

So, "sit ups" and other activities that stress these pin screws from stressed strap positions will likely result in this - on occasion, as I suspect this more has to do with the qc process of these resin mid casings that may have slipped passed and were injected at wrong material spec/temp cure...

CASIO will likely replace it at no charge to the customer, verifying that this is a defect. But as others have stated, the design is flawed...

Randy

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Thanks for the pic - now I also know what the OP meant with "U-shaped" - this really seems to be a weak point.

cheers, Sedi

 

^ Now that you mention it maybe the U shaped lug design is a potential structural weakness. Less mass to absorb stress . . . Argh, I'm not a science guy. Here's hoping to smarter people examining this issue.

If I recall correctly, part of the strap is inserted into that "U" slot.