Casio has gone in a slightly strange direction with the newest Mudman, and the strangest part is what it took away.
The G-Shock Mudman GDG-B100 is the first Mudman with a MIP (Memory in Pixel) display. It adds Bluetooth notifications and actual run tracking. Then it drops Tough Solar, the feature that made the Mudman a watch you could strap on and forget about for years.
If you know the Mudman line, that trade is the whole story.
A Mudman That Finally Moves to MIP
The GDG-B100 replaces the conventional dual-layer LCD of the current GW-9500 Mudman with a MIP panel. That is a natural fit for this kind of watch. MIP screens stay readable in bright sun without leaning on a bright backlight, which is exactly what you want on a watch aimed at hikers, military users and first responders.
Casio paired the display with a red LED backlight. Red light preserves your natural night vision better than the white or blue backlights most digital watches use, so checking the time at 3 a.m. in a tent will not blind you.
The rest of the rugged package is intact. You get 200-meter water resistance, shock and mud resistance, a Carbon Core Guard structure, carbon fiber-reinforced resin, and gaskets on the button shafts to keep dust and grit out. The case is 63.6 x 49.6 x 16.2mm and weighs 66 grams, so it is still a big, chunky tool watch. Casio builds the case, bezel and band from bio-based resins.
Bluetooth and Fitness Tracking Arrive
Behind the display, Casio has pushed the GDG-B100 further into fitness than any Mudman before it.
An accelerometer tracks steps, distance, pace, speed and calories, with auto pause, lap tracking, interval timers, and storage for up to 100 runs. There is no onboard GPS and no optical heart rate sensor, so this is not a full sports watch. Distance comes from calibrating against your phone's GPS through the Casio Watches app, and after that the watch can estimate distance on its own.
Bluetooth also brings notifications for calls, emails, social media, calendar events and reminders, plus automatic time adjustment, world time across 38 time zones, and a phone finder. That is a meaningful step up from the GW-9500, which has no connected features at all.
If you want to see how Casio has handled connectivity before, our G-Shock GBA-950 review covers the analog-digital side of the same idea.
The Tough Solar Problem
Here is where the GDG-B100 gets divisive.
Casio powers the new Mudman with a standard CR2032 coin cell, rated for about two years. The GW-9500 it sits beside uses Tough Solar, which means you can basically forget the battery for most of its life. Dropping solar from a watch designed for harsh environments, and doing it in the same generation you add a power-efficient MIP display, is a hard choice to explain.
Some buyers will genuinely prefer it. A cheap, user-replaceable coin cell beats another device that needs regular charging, and two years is not short. But there is a reason the Mudman faithful are arguing about this one.
The sensors tell the same story. The GW-9500 packs a digital compass, altimeter, barometer and thermometer. The GDG-B100 has none of them. In exchange it adds Bluetooth, notifications, activity tracking and those more developed running features, and it is lighter at 66 grams against the older watch's 81 grams.
So despite the newer model number, this does not look like a straight replacement. It looks like a second branch of the Mudman family, one aimed more at casual training than at pure navigation.
Where It Sits in the G-Shock Lineup
Casio has been nudging G-Shock toward fitness across several lines, and the GDG-B100 is the mild version of that shift.
The recently announced GBX-H5600 goes much further, adding optical heart rate and Polar-powered training metrics. The Mudman keeps things simpler and stays closer to a traditional G-Shock tool watch with a smarter brain.
If you want the full outdoor-watch comparison, our Garmin Instinct 3 breakdown shows what the dedicated GPS watch brands bring to the same buyer.
The GDG-B100 launches in black (GDG-B100-1), olive (GDG-B100-1A3) and tan (GDG-B100-1A5). The UK price is 200 pounds, and the Japanese price is 38,500 yen, roughly 245 dollars at current rates. A US price has not been announced.
If you are shopping the rugged end of the G-Shock range on Amazon, the older GW-9500 is still the better buy for anyone who values solar and real navigation sensors.
Bottom Line
The Mudman GDG-B100 is a real upgrade on the display and the smart features, and a real downgrade on the things that made the Mudman a set-and-forget watch. MIP plus Bluetooth plus run tracking is a smart package for the price. Losing Tough Solar and the ABC sensors to get there is the trade Casio is asking you to make.
For a hiker who wants notifications and step counts, the new Mudman delivers. For a backcountry user who bought the line for solar power and a compass, the GW-9500 still makes more sense. Watch this space to see whether Casio eventually merges the two branches into one watch, because right now you have to pick which Mudman you actually want.
