Best Dive Watch Ever...

[AlexMDiver]

Have a Suunto Stinger.
I like it. I use the gauge mode more than the computer mode, especially while free diving, obviously. Lots of functionality. PC interface is good.
I'm on the second stinger though. First one flooded on a 45m dive after i had the first battery changed. :11:
But I called the shop, they sent it into Suunto, found that it was a problem with one of the button seals and they sent me a brand new one (after about 3 years of use of the old one!).
Problem is, that I check the time in the dark often with the backlight while I am not diving and this really uses up battery. Good thing is that you can get the special key to open the case and change the battery yourself on ebay. Now, battery changes are fast and cheap!

 

[hank harris]

Suunto D9

It is small enough to wear as a watch every day. They may be out there, but I've never seen a wrist dive computer I would wear as a watch topside.

Other than the small dial (the tradeoff for the plus mentioned above), it works well underwater for everything from air integration to compass.

It has great topside functionality. I especially love the compass for hiking in the booneylands.

 

[douglasville diver]

Swiss army.
Bold face big # reg. hands. Can read it even narced at a glance.

 

[serambin]

How about best VALUE dive watch ever? I think I'd say the Shark Hammerhead.

I loved the old one so much, I had to buy the newer version (not the Hammerhead 2, which doesn't go as deep)
1. only costs about $100
2. built like a brick
3. glass face is recessed down into the bezel so it doesn't get scratched (can't figure out why many more expensive watches never thought of this). the bezel itself is also big and easy to turn with gloves
4. rated to 660ft, and one of the few watches I've had, including more expensive dive watches, that didn't leak at 100ft or less
5. the crown is screw-down and offset so it doesn't bite into you're wrist
6. the indiglo button is easily pushed even with a thick neopreme glove


If I have some money lying around at some point I'd like to pick up a nice citizen, or if I tripped over a much bigger pile of money I'd snag a sea dweller, just for the coolness factor.


BTW, don't ever ever EVER buy a watch from a company called Sector. I don't feel like typing out why, but if you are considering them, just ask me why not to buy them. Fortunately you don't really see them in the US.

Austin

Hey, if it fails at 655 Ft, let me know and I'll file the warranty claim for you.

I love watches. Have a bunch made before Winston Churchill was born. ( by the way, don't dive with a 1888 Elgin pocket watch, real mistake - big mess ) I use a Casio Sea-Pathfinder, but it's only because it cost less than a refit on my Rolex. ($160 v.s. $100, go figure)
Plus, in a year, it has lost only 25 seconds time. (v. s. 10 Minutes for the Rolex Submariner)

Stan

 

[dandrian]

I will have to give a shout out for the Hpyer Aqualand NX also. Out of all of the computers and watches I have used, it has by far the most user friendly setup and controls as well as the most logical display of any I have ever seen. It is complex enough to provide great dive information but simple enough to be easy to use.

David

 

[khacken]

I have the new Citizen 20th Anniversary Aqualand and love it!

 

[Cave Diver]

I use one of the Casio G-shock series. It's the only watch that I've found so far that has been practically indestructible in my everyday life AND I can take it diving.

 

[scuba-doc]

Been diving for many years (over 20 years) and had a couple of dive watches in that time. Had a Tag for a while until it took on water and stopped working. So I got a Citizen about 5 years ago and liked it because the face never scratched (unlike my Tag), didn't require batteries (solar powered), and told me my depth (good for free diving and as a backup if computer batteries go bad).

The problem was that now I'm a bit older and have a job that requires dressing up. But I also work out, active outdoors, diving, boating, etc. So on any given day, I might go from shorts to a suit and back to shorts again.

I was given a Movado as a graduation present from my family a while back, so used it for dressing up. But it just wasn't me, plus I hated having to switch back and forth between watches depending on what I was doing or wearing.

So I found the solution. I decided a couple of years ago that I was only going to buy one more watch.....EVER....and use it for everything. That watch was the Rolex Sea Dweller. That's the type of watch you can wear with your dive suit and business suit.

Since I couldn't afford it until now, I finally made the buy yesterday and couldn't be happier. But I haven't had the chance to take it diving yet, so nothing to report yet. But for those who think they shouldn't take such an expensive watch diving should really reconsider why they spent so much on a professional dive watch rather than some fancy Movado, or similar, that seems to be allergic to the water, plus a middle grade dive watch, and switch between the two as needed. I did it for years and will never do it again thanks to my latest, and hopefully last, watch purchase.

Regarding the watches with all the computer features.....my opinion is that a watch should be used to tell the time/date. All those other computer features should be left to a traditional dive computer. I'd rather have the "best" dive watch and "best" dive computer than to have the "best" dive watch / computer combo, because you will be sacrificing a bit of both with the combo. Same concept for fins for scuba vs free diving. If you use the same fins for both, you're not using the optimal fins for each one separately. Will it work? Sure. Will it be optimal? No.

Just my opinion after learning the hard way .

 

[tjmills]

Nice addition to the thread Doc.

My only question is......

Why can't we get a good watch with nice looks Analog and something simple like electronic depth(0-200), time (dive and stopwatch)and temp? Sort of a mini dive computer for back up? Why is this so hard for them as these electronic parts are easily available in the market today? What is wrong with having both?

I am not advocating using your watch as your primary dive computer but it would seem valuable to the market if they could sell something like this not only for divers but because its cool too. Before I started diving I wanted something like this and which is one of the reasons I love the Rolex's also. They are tough and cool. Just add a little electronics to it also. Not for a primary but for a secondary back up in case you are at 120' and your dive computer craps out. I would buy this tomorrow.

I do have a citizen that is close to this but is very limited and is very basic in its functionality electronically. The bad thing is that it needs a new battery about every 12-18 months and its ok in quality but not great. I even bought the European model because it had some things that I wanted and was a little more rugged.

You take a Tag or a Rolex and add some decent information on a screen and we would all be setting aside $$ for it.

 

[melle]

I am the proud owner of an Immersion H2O.
Analog time, bottom timer digital. 10 dives in log. Temp. Depth. Bottom time.

Very nice. Italian made.

http://www.immersiondivingtechnology.eu/index_eng.html

Absolutely brilliant. Nice, large watch. Cool to wear. Sturdy.

Melle

Nice addition to the thread Doc.

My only question is......

Why can't we get a good watch with nice looks Analog and something simple like electronic depth(0-200), time (dive and stopwatch)and temp? Sort of a mini dive computer for back up? Why is this so hard for them as these electronic parts are easily available in the market today? What is wrong with having both?

I am not advocating using your watch as your primary dive computer but it would seem valuable to the market if they could sell something like this not only for divers but because its cool too. Before I started diving I wanted something like this and which is one of the reasons I love the Rolex's also. They are tough and cool. Just add a little electronics to it also. Not for a primary but for a secondary back up in case you are at 120' and your dive computer craps out. I would buy this tomorrow.

I do have a citizen that is close to this but is very limited and is very basic in its functionality electronically. The bad thing is that it needs a new battery about every 12-18 months and its ok in quality but not great. I even bought the European model because it had some things that I wanted and was a little more rugged.

You take a Tag or a Rolex and add some decent information on a screen and we would all be setting aside $$ for it.