When it comes to mid size Casio divers, well, I must admit I didn’t think they existed until just a couple of weeks ago. Affordable quality watches, and Casio seem to always go hand-in-hand. Just look at the Casio G-Shock range, or the Edifice range, hundreds, if not thousands of selection, for most wrists that is. Personally, I can’t wear G-Shocks simply because they start at 42mm and go all the way to 50mm case diameters. Besides, I’m not a huge fan of digital watches anyways. Casio’s edifice range is nice, but most of their pieces are either too large, or wear too large for my 6 inch wrists.
What I really want, is a mid size Casio diver. You know, something 36mm to 38mm, decent built quality, 200m water resistant, screw-down crown, reliable quartz movement. I’ve basically outlined the specifications of a Casio Duro, and dropped the 43mm to a mid size case. But it’s not like there’s a whole catalogue of mid size Casio divers available for me to pick from.
Casio Mini Duro (not really):
Lo and behold, Casio announced the mini Duro earlier this year, and I picked one up a few weeks ago. I got the Pepsi bezel, reference MDV-10-1A2VEF.
My first impressions were: “Finally, a mid size Casio diver for my small wrists, I can finally feel part of the Duro community”. There’s only one problem, it isn’t really a mini Duro. It looks like one, but its got 50m water resistance. It’s got no screw-down crown, not iso-certified, caseback seem like its snapped, not screwed in. In short, Casio checked the aesthetics box, and said screw it to everything else.
See, small wrists enthusiasts like us just can’t win. It’s like we’re getting the hand-me-down version of the Duro. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still happy to be part of the Duro crew. I seriously enjoyed the mini Duro for the initial two weeks. Until I came across an almost-vintage mid size Casio diver.
A Mid Size Casio Diver: Reference EFL-200
For the whopping price of $70AUD, roughly 45 American bucks, I scored what I’ve been after this whole time. Naturally this occurs two weeks after I bought the mini Duro. Regardless, let me read you the specifications of my almost 20-year old EFL-200.
The Casio EFL-200 sports a screw-down crown, 20bar water resistance, screw-down case back, and a 36mm case diameter. It’s basically the mini Duro that I’ve been after this whole time.
The Casio EFL-200 actually predates the Duro MDV line up entirely, which was first released in 2011. My particular EFL-200 dates back to 2006.
A Comparison of Mid Size Casio Divers: EFL-200 vs Mini Duro
By the way, this isn’t much of a comparison. The 20-year old EFL-200 takes the cake, cookies, milk, everything in your fridge and throws it at the mini Duro, but gently cause it might break. The built quality on the EFL-200 trumps the mini Duro by a thousand miles, the bezel is solid whereas the mini Duro is a little flimsy and has some play.
The Mini Duro feels light, and fragile, where the EFL-200 feels like a proper mid size diver. The mini Duro is a dive-style watch, plain and simple.
The lume on the EFL-200, which was applied almost 20-years ago, is brighter than the Duro.
Looking for a Mid Size Casio Diver?
Free advice, skip the mini Duro. Go on a hunt across Japanese e-commerce websites like Rakuten or just good ol’ eBay . I’m willing to bet there are a lot more where the EFL-200 came from. Look hard enough and you might find a New Old Stock, if not, used or second hand options are just as solid. Remember, these are Casio’s, they’re built to last.
I’m not totally opposed to the new mini Duro, but I can’t help but feel cheated by Casio. All you had to do was drop the size, that’s it, you didn’t have to drop everything else too. Look, if you can find one new under $40USD, I’d say go for it, give it a shot and experience the “Duro” sensation.
For me, the mini Duro has had zero wrist time since the arrival of the EFL-200, and it won’t be getting any in the near future.