Casio’s new fabric-strap F-91WF finally gets a wider release, but it costs twice as much as the classic

Casio introduced the new F-91WF series with a fabric strap in early August, and fans have been waiting for the revamped iconic digital watch to make its way beyond Asia. After being released in select Asian countries including Thailand and Vietnam, the fabric-strapped F-91W is finally getting a wider international release. Casio has now brought two F-91WF models to Europe.

The F-91WF-1A and F-91WF-3A are now officially listed on Casio’s websites in several European countries, including Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. The navy blue F-91WF-2A is notably missing from the rollout, and it’s unclear whether Casio plans to introduce it at a later date. Also, both watches are currently listed as "coming soon" and should be available for purchase in a week or two.  

As we speculated in our earlier coverage, the new fabric strap variants cost significantly more than their standard resin counterparts. The all-black F-91WF-1A and the olive green F-91WF-3A are both priced at €39.90 in Europe, which is roughly twice the price of the classic models. 

For reference, you can get the classic F-91W-1 with the blue accent for just €19.90 from Casio Germany's official website. And it's even cheaper on Amazon, where it's currently going for as little as €14.95. 

That's a surprisingly expensive upgrade for a watch whose enduring appeal has always been its affordability. 

For the uninitiated, the new F-91WF swaps the familiar resin band for a lightweight woven fabric strap made from recycled fibers, which Casio says is resistant to scratches and stains. Otherwise, this is still very much the F-91W (curr. $21.92 on Amazon) we know and love.

We still don’t know when Casio plans to bring the F-91WF series to other markets, including the US and UK. But with the European rollout now underway, it shouldn’t be too long before we see the fabric-strap F-91W start making its way to more markets.

Specifications: Casio F-91WF

• Case dimensions: 38.2 × 35.2 × 8.5mm
• Weight: 21g
• Case/bezel material: Resin
• Band: Fabric ribbon made from recycled PET
• Water resistance: Water-repellent
• Crystal: Synthetic resin glass
• Battery: CR2016; approximately 7 years
• Band size: 145–215mm
• Stopwatch: 1/100-second stopwatch; 59:59.99 measuring capacity; elapsed time, split time, and 1st–2nd place time
• Alarm: Daily alarm and hourly time signal
• Lighting: LED; green
• Calendar: Automatic calendar, set to 28 days for February
• Accuracy: ±30 seconds per month
• Other functions: 12/24-hour format; hours, minutes, seconds, PM, date, and day display