Timex Expedition Indiglo Watch

[hitee]

Hi

I'm new to this whole thing and have bought a very cheap Timex Expedition watch water resistant to 200m. Trouble is, I've just seen a Citizen Ladies Eco Drive dive watch for 80 GBP and am now wondering if I should return my Timex and get the better/more expensive one. The instructions on the Timex say it is not a dive watch and should not be used for diving - but it has a rotating bezel and is a 200 meters watch! Why else would you want that?

Please help! I thought I had my kit under control - now it seems i don't!

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Many of the so-called dive watches on ebay are really NOT. The citizen is and is a good watch at the same time. I don't however think you should limit yourself to the "ladies" models. I have a pulsar(seiko) solar 400 that says right on it DIVERS 200 meters. price 160 USD. It also is big enough for me to read easily. I have seen ladies model dive watches and with some of them I wonder how can you see that little thing in murky water with low light conditions. and that bezel is so small can you really manipulate it easily with gloves on? I would suggest sticking with a full size dive watch that ok maybe it doesn't look good with an evening gown but it sure looks great with a 7 mil and you can see and manipulate it easily. Then you need to decide what features it needs to have. Do you need it just for time of day and elapsed time of the dive. Is a second hand important to you? Mine is I use it for that extra minute or so on the safety stop after my computer says ok but I'm diving at altitude so I want an extra minute. Do you want to have to push a button to see it at night or is it better to just hit it with your light for a second and then look. I do this with mine and it's way bright enough. Brighter than the G-Shock digital I was using til it puked and I don't have to try to press that little button with my drysuit gloves. I'm sorry if I've confused you more but to me this is important equipment and careful consideration is called for if you're going to use it for a long time. So after all this my recomendation is if it says not for diving don't it may work for a while yes but what if it craps out after 3 or 4 dives. Less chance of them taking it back. My advice go for the actual DIVE watch and go for a full size one. If you have small wrists the bands (rubber ones that is) can be modified or changed and remember that they are easier to adjust than steel if you're going to be going from no wetsuit to a 7 mil. Hope this helps. Jim

 

[hitee]

Thanks Jim.

I'm still a bit confused. Buying everything is really costing me a fortune.

Reasons to keep the cheap one are as follows:
- Others seem to do fine with cheap watches (Swatch, Casio, etc)
- If I'm going to lose it - I'd rather lose a cheap one!
- It's big enough to read
- It has a back light thing
- It would save me an extra 45 GBP that I cannot afford!

Reasons to get the Citizen Eco Drive:
- I'm worried the Timex will stop working and on a 6 week expedition, this could be bad.
- It looks better on my arm!
- No battery to replace.
- Seems to be the done thing.(sheep factor)

I'm leaving in 7 days, so I need to figure out what I'm doing quick!

Any help much appreciated!

 

[Mrs.Prages]

I have a 19.99 Casio that has been to 110' and lived through surf and turf and is still kicking. It does me fine. THe one thing to remember is try not to push any of the buttons while at depth. I did kill a 6.48 Wal mart special when I accidentally kept the button pushed when it hit against my compass boot for too long.

 

[RonFrank]

I have a Timex Helix Depth watch. It was $25.

It has worked without problem on about 30 dives.

HOWEVER, I would NOT trust this thing as a primary anything.

I use it for Backup with My Dive Computer. I also have everything but the timer functions on my analog console (temp/Depth). I find the watch useful for doing intermediate safety stops, or for timing parts of a dive.

IMO if you are planning on using a watch as primay gear, get one that is MADE for scuba diving. However I'm guessing that you can get a Dive computer for about the same price, and IMO that is the way to go. The Aeris Atmos I can be purchased for $100, and unless you need Nitrox, that is one HECK of a LOT better option than any watch.

 

[Mrs.Prages]

This is true, I use a watch, but I also have a computer for my primary.

 

[pete v]

Hi

I'm new to this whole thing and have bought a very cheap Timex Expedition watch water resistant to 200m. Trouble is, I've just seen a Citizen Ladies Eco Drive dive watch for 80 GBP and am now wondering if I should return my Timex and get the better/more expensive one. The instructions on the Timex say it is not a dive watch and should not be used for diving - but it has a rotating bezel and is a 200 meters watch! Why else would you want that?

Please help! I thought I had my kit under control - now it seems i don't!

i have the same timex watch and it has been down to 120 ft with out a problem, i use it for a secondary with a depth gauge, my primary is a dive computer. the deal with anything that says "scuba" is it is very expensive and i would always recomend to spend the money and get quality stuff (less of and chance of failure (hopefully) and you wont need to replace it as often. but as for the watch, i would stay with the timex and spend the big bucks on your life saftey gear ie... reg, bc etc. the stuff you can get off ebay all i can say is be carefull you can get some good deals but there is alot of junk out there, my advice also would be to spend the extra money and get the expensive save your *** gear (life saftey) through a lds, you will pay more up front but my experence has been that the coustermer servive has made up the difference

 

[gracklemann]

My LDS sells a brand called Freestyle. They have a big selection of watches that are fairly cheap and made for diving. They appear to be comparable price-wise to Timex and Casio.
http://www.freestyleusa.com/product/index.html