Never Dive with a Cheap Dive Watch
March 31st, 2009 by Aiden Charles
Diving is all about timing. Divers, therefore, need some way of keeping track of their timing during their dive. They can’t watch the clock on the wall, nor can they use a typical watch. That is why they use dive watches also known as diving watches or divers watches.
There are lots of things one can get away with being “cheap” about, including watches not used for diving, but it just doesn’t make much sense to risk injury or death by depending on a dive watch not up to the task.
Okay, there’s cheap and “really cheap”. The first is a good deal; relatively inexpensive; while still being sturdy and reliable. The second is disposable, low quality junk - you might as well save time and just flush the money down the drain. You know it’s going to break - just a matter of when.
I would like to assume most folks trying to buy a dive watch cheap are really just looking for a good deal, but often see that’s not the case - they really mean low quality cheap. I recently read a post by a guy bragging about the $10 watch he got to use for scuba diving.
Maybe he’s forgotten the part timing plays in dive planning. If he’s diving with a computer as well as the watch then his exposure is far less, but if that watch is his only timing device and he’s spending any appreciable time at depth, he’s got a high risk of decompression illness (DCI) when it fails him.
Seiko offers the Dive Collection watch. Up to 650 feet of water resistant abilities and time and date and temp readings and many more readings this watch is a good choice. Suunto also offers two watches.
End result - DCI, also known as the bends. If severe enough it could kill him, if not, maybe just a painfully crippling injury. Either way, why take the risk?
A dive watch like all dive gear needs to be reliable simply because the diver’s life depends on it. When diving, Murphy’s Law is in full effect. There are a myriad of things that can and sometimes do go wrong. Why add to that list, things you can actually do something about?
- Posted in Fashion