How to Choose Your Dive Watch

If you have ever been scuba diving, you know that your body absorbs nitrogen during a dive. It is always important to monitor your levels of nitrogen and keep it at acceptable limits. Keeping track of your depth and time under the surface is how these levels are monitored. A dive watch keeps up with your time below the surface.

There are three different styles of dive watches. One is a digital dive watch. Many of the more popular digital watches are water resistant up to 200 meters or more. They are inexpensive and lightweight. You may own one and not even know it! Another type of dive watch is a classic dive watch. They are mechanical or quartz analog watches. They can range in price from about $100 to $20,000 depending on the brand and features. The last type of dive watch is a dive computer. This watch does everything that an actual dive computer does, but it is compact and fits on your wrist like a watch. This makes It more convenient for the diver to view while beneath the surface.

Even though you have a dive computer, chances are you will most likely want a dive watch as well. Here are a few reasons why.
1.You will n eed a watch, why not make it a dive watch?
2. The more classic style dive watch identifies you as a diver.
3. You could choose to combine your watch and computer and have a dive computer watch.
4. Some of the more risky dives require back up devices. In this case, it would be smart to have a computer as well as a watch.

So, now that we have gone over the basic types and what a dive watch does, let’s go over some important features that you should keep in mind when purchasing one. The most important feature to look for in a dive watch is water resistance. A recreational dive usually goes up to about 130 feet. Therefore, a good dive watch should be water resistant up to about 200 feet. If you want a good quality watch, look for the one with the highest depth resistance. Also, make sure that your watch has a watch stem that screws tight against the o ring. This ensures better water resistance.

When purchasing your dive watch, look for one with a rotating bezel. This is used as a timer when you are diving. Simply, set the bezel’s zero marker to the minute hand and you can view elapsed minutes by looking at the outer bezel.

Luminous hands can also be a handy feature on a dive watch. Some watches use types of luminescence that release photons from stored light at the surface over time. After time passes, the hands will become dimmer but will still remain visible. Another type of luminescence used is tritium gas inside small tubes at each minute mark. This gas will keep the same light intensity for up to ten years.

A locking clasp is also a good feature to have in a dive watch. This will prevent the watch from coming off if you were to come in contact with another object. If you are wearing a wetsuit, you may want to look into a watch that has a strip of metal in the band that extends out and makes the band longer so it will fit your wrist over the wetsuit.

Remember, when you are shopping for your dive watch, you get what you pay for. Make sure that it is good quality and reliable. It must withstand pressure and temperature changes and be functional In salt water. Your watch must be flawless. Your life may depend on it.