Casio Duro MDV106: a 50-quid Marlin that's an absolute no-brainer, just don't turn the lights off
Two Duros and a Marlin in the face
Gethin's sick and tired of YouTube watch reviewers and their uninteresting descriptions of twerps, so this one's freestyle. Two Casio Duros, the Marlin in the face: the MDV106 in black and the MDV106B-2AVCF in blue. They seem to be the favourite affordable diver of the internet, and the internet tells us everything we need to know nowadays. So what does Gethin think?
I paid 54 British zloties for the black one on Amazon, Mr Jun's 40th birthday present. Mr Jun paid about £67.33 for the blue. Same seller, somewhere in San Bernardino, California. The black one's seconds hand wasn't hitting its markers, so I complained, and Amazon gave me a full refund and let me keep it. Free watch. Weigh it up. It's a no-brainer, bros. The blue hits its marks almost perfectly.
Specs for a 50 pound twerp
44 mm, about 12.1 thick, 22 mm between the lugs, 49 lug-to-lug, and 200 metres guaranteed by Casio. A 120-click unidirectional bezel, a screw-down caseback and a screw-down crown. Listen to this crown. It screws down, for a 50 pound twerp, extremely well. Unsigned, on a daily. Mineral crystal, no AR. Inside, the Casio 2784 quartz module: plus two to plus three a month in my experience, three years of battery.
And the Marlin, on the dial and the caseback. Casio used him from 2004 to mark their 200-metre watches, until the licence expired and they didn't renew it. The new MDV107 doesn't have him, and he's the whole point of the watch, in my opinion.
What do you guys want?
The case is very nice: brushing on the tops of the lugs, a bevel on a 50-pound watch, high-polish flanks. The caseback step looks a bit amateur, but overall, very nice. The black dial is a sunburst with an almost anthracite grey and a lovely red-tipped seconds hand. The blue is Sonic the Hedgehog blue. Pressed indices, not applied. Framed, bevelled date window. A polished arrow handset, slightly undersized, but it's okay. The bezel has a bit of back play and it's a bit soft, but it's actually not bad. I don't want to sound patronising. It's brilliant for what you get.
Straps, bracelets and that loom
It comes on a synthetic resin strap. Not the best, but quite comfortable, quite velvety, not a dust magnet. It's the first thing you'll change, but it's 50 quid. My bracelets are AliExpress knock-offs for about 25 pounds: a stamped-out Oyster style, get rid of it immediately, and a jingly-jangly Jubilee. Later I put my little Duro on a Tropic-style FKM strap from UK Straps on eBay, 12.50 to 13 quid. Extremely supple and comfortable, and it changed the whole watch.
Then the loom shot. Very disappointing. Virtually nothing. Even the Turtle is glowing like a quasar in your face. But for 50 quid? Get rid of them.
Verdict
On my 7.5-inch British wrist it's quite lovely. Below about 16 centimetres you might start to look a bit like a clown. For a well-specced beater it's an absolute no-brainer. There's nothing better at the price point that I've ever seen. I wanted a cheap beater for my holiday in Southeast Asia: 50 quid for 200 metres, bulletproof on a daily, an absolute steal. I can bang him around the shops without fear. You can't go wrong with one of these. Never give up, bros.
