I’ll admit liking the textured buttons (except the oddly-shaped light button). I like them on my G-Shock Rangeman (below).

https://thetruthaboutwatches.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Rangeman-buttons-2.jpg

It adds to the “rugged” look, I guess.

The hands-shift feature on the GA-900 is ironic… since you can’t read the LCD anyway. 🙂

Ah, some other model in a video had the “move hands out of way” position at 12 o’clock high, but here it is a horizontal spread eagle due to different layout. Still, as the gearing is still fixed between the two hands, there is a point (just after 3:15, I guess) where a whole lot of spinning is required. Two hands… so that’s why the goofy graphical seconds display exists.

The textured buttons baffle me. I think you can locate them by feel regardless and slipperiness shouldn’t really be an issue. My only guesses are either “premium feel” or “it looks cool.” Not to get into hipster authenticity talk, but it seems the show/go ratio is off in the wrong direction for this particular model.

Hi Oscar! Thanks for reading my review and commenting.

The timing of your last question is fortuitous, as it’s just about 1:30 right now (actually 1:25). So, I just performed a “hands shift” on the watch. It took 1-3/4 clockwise turns of the minute hand (and commensurate hour hand movement) to “3:15” position, nestled perfectly between the upper and lower LCD panels. When I “un-shift” them, they go in reverse back to the correct time.

I agree that the light button is weird. It looks more like a scolling button, since it’s knurled and cylindrical. It’s not often I have grimy hands, so… not an issue there. Nevertheless, I’m sure you’re right that the texturing there will gather “schmutz” over time, even if you never pushed it.

Alas… perhaps you and I (without knowing your age and making some assumptions) are not the target market for this “fashion” G-Shock. In any case, there are over 300 other G-Shock models to choose from.

Considering that they all have very similar functions, we could argue that they’re ALL “fashion” pieces. Going on functions, alone, there would otherwise be about 3 G-Shock models. 😀

I really can’t stand the looks of that light button. Why is there color on the sides, and why the meat tenderizer knurled pattern? That same threshing drum look is on the uh wrist rests (?) beneath it, giving a real “keep hands away” look, and all for what? So your finger doesn’t slip off the button? If my hand is that grimy, the grime is going to be collected right in all those little nooks.

Correct me if I’m wrong on this. If it’s 1:30 and you want the hands out of the way, the minute hand is going to do 11.5 rotations before stopping?