Which Watch?
Posted By Linden Wolbert on 2 August 2007
Some time ago, divers were easily identified out of the water not by their flashy dive resort t-shirts or dive flag bumper stickers, but by their watches. Those individuals sporting a timepiece with spinning silver bezels and sophisticated movements implied they were adventure-seeking aquanauts; disguised cleverly as mechanics, secretaries, teachers and bank tellers. These were the people who went to great depths at sea in their spare time, risked getting the bends and could possibly even have encountered – gasp – sharks! Men and women of action, those who donned a dive watch were unique by default.
Over the course of time, these trademark watches with artfully cluttered dials became stylish and coveted by even the driest land-dweller. Elite businessmen, equestrians, plumbers and even pilots wear them now regardless of if they’ve ever set foot in salt water. Bezels are used more frequently to mark time before the next business meeting rather than to indicate how much time is left before your tank reaches 500 PSI.
Not all of us choose to afford gold-plated extravagant waterproof timepieces like the legendary Rolex Submariner, nor do we wish to risk dropping several thousand dollars accidentally into the depths of the abyss on our next dive. Luckily for you and I, there are some more wallet-friendly options for dive timepieces that won’t sacrifice style or functionality in the process. This year, the Freestyle watch company unveiled two new dive watches just for us: The Aquanaut and the Immersion.
On a recent dive trip, I tested both watches myself and allowed neighboring divers to give them a whirl for their feedback and opinions. Basic, durable and delightfully affordable, these analog watches are great for everyday use and make a good back-up timer for any diver. If they get banged up, so be it. The Freestyle Immersion (around $110) features a simple, unpretentious design that comes equipped with a “NightVision” backlight display. This is perfect for deep dives, low light situations or night diving. I do wish the light would stay on a bit longer after I depressed the button, as it turns of almost immediately after release. The Freestyle Aquanaut (around $100) is a heftier and seemingly more robust model. It doesn’t have a backlight feature, but boasts large luminous hands, numbers and markers that glow for up to 8 hours after seeing the light of day, or your torch for a few minutes.
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