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I was looking into purchasing a dive watch and wondered what is so special about having one and what should I look for before purchasing one?? Prefered brands? any special functions?
I have a Citizens Hyper-Aqualand. During a dive I look at it for my depth and ascent rate. Mainly it's used for filling in my logbook with the basic details....
Max. Depth
Avg. Depth
Bottom time
Time in
Time out
Surface Interval
Temperature
If you use the download, it will give you a profile of each dive. You can keep track of your dive buddies, site locations, all kinds of info.
Of course it's no replacement for your computer but it's easier than my computers logbook feature!
I have the same watch, and believe it or not the only reason I picked this one up was because it gave the temp. of the water. But I also like my plain Sekio with the bezel that moves, since I started diving with a computer it does most of the hard work for me. But a watch is just so you know how long you have been under the water and how long you have been out between dives.
Currently I'm using Timex Ironman Triathalon (has the start/reset buttons below the display). Water resist to 200 meters, large buttons (can push with my 3mil gloves) and large display.
When diving, I use the chrono feature as a bottom timer. And I like that I can use the lap feature for timing my safety/deco stops and still keep the over-all run time.
And the alarm feature wakes my lazy butt up so I can get ready to help with the open water class on Sunday.
And best feature, only $30 from walmart. So if I was to lose it underwater, I'm not out lotsa bucks.
I generally agree with Walter but I do prefer an analog watch. Analog is easier to read in low light under stress when all you need is a good approximation of elapsed time. A one way bezel ring is nice too.
Mother Ocean eats knives. She also will eventually fill _any_ void exposed to her with seawater, including the one inside the watch. Expensive watches eventually become expensive chunks of fused corrosion products. Inexpensive watches eventually become inexpensive chunks of fused corrosion products. All things being equal here (dead watch = dead watch) I prefer the cheaper solution. The fewer bells and whistles it has the less there is to go wrong with it.
Don't worry about the band, Velcro replacemants are cheap, and the old band comes off in seconds. Whatever you use be sure you can break the band if the watch is entangled or snagged on entry _before_ doing significant damage to your body. Even dumping a Rolex is less expensive than reconstructive surgery.
But I still prefer my Luminox in any and all low vis situations. It is so darn bright that I never have to focus on it, and you can see it easily in twilight, before your eyes have adjusted to the lower light levels. It wasn't cheap, but it has been with me over 150 dives and lots of camping/hiking too. Comes with it's own velcro band too! BTW, you could even read a map by it if pressed to!
Spend $12.00 and get a good watch band. The best one in the world comes from our friends down under. The name of it is "Waterborne" and it WILL NOT FAIL. The thing is made outta ballistic nylon with stainless steel hardware, you can wear it over your bare arm or over a drysuit.
In order for you to loose your watch BOTH watch pins have to break or come out. Other than than you still have you watch or computer if one pin fails. I have one on my Citizen and Nitek C (bottom timer).
Buy a good watch as a back-up and buy a good band to go with it.
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