KDP discusses scuba diving and dive watches. Besides talking about what I look for in a dive watch that I’ll take diving (Spoiler alert: There’s nothing terribly surprising, it’s just a matter of what I prioritise.). There’s ea fairly long segment where I show my dive kit and explain a bit about what it all does; if you only care about the watch-related bit, feel free to jump ahead to ~15:30.
Videos / links mentioned:
– The Fat Gent channel:
– The Fat Gent’s review of the Invicta Pro Diver (or ‘what to not look for in a diver’):
– vid. about using a unidirectional bezel:
– home of Tibby Adapters: (I didn’t mention it in the vid., but the bars are just standard holes-case 24-mm springbars, so you could put whatever strap you want on the Suunto.)
Related videos / links not specifically mentioned:
– review of my Trident GMT:
– review of the Citizen EcoDrive Diver:
– Ariel Adams (of ‘A Blog to Watch’) learns to dive: (I’m not sure if it’s in this vid. or another in the series, but he does actually talk specifically about watches and how diving’s changed his appreciation for dive watches.)
If you’re considering diving (and don’t have medical conditions that prevent it), do it: It might not be right for you, but there’s only one way to find out … I don’t think diving is something that resonates with everyone, but it’s worth trying (at least) once—it’s like visiting another planet, and being weightless is pretty great!
I didn’t specifically mention it, but, for the dive nerds: My regs are: 1st stage: ScubaPro Mk11; 2nd Stage ScubaPro C200; octo.: Mares (not sure about the specific model). The console computer is the Suunto Cobra 3, and the wrist computer is the Suunto D6i with the ‘Tibby’ adapters from Sphere. Totally had my first stage upside-down when I was talking about attaching to the tank; my bad! I’m certified through Padi (OWD, AOWD, drysuit, Nitrox), and I’ve logged ~150 dives … I think that the Great Blue Hole in Belize is, if anything, underrated … –and– That ought to cover most of the diving FAQ ;~P (Happy to answer any other questions or geek out about dive kit in the comments!)
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Rating: 4.31
I wish you would review the edox diver.
I know nobody who goes scuba diving with a silly $15,,000 Rolex!
Asmr
Dude your voice is so soothing
new subscriber sir Ross (all things equal vs. other watch channels, the replies make a difference)
My Rolex GMT is my 40th bday gift from my wife and honestly i never thought of diving with them by my Buschett are perfect fit for my dives
Thanks. If it says 100 or 200m, does that mean I can go diving in a swimming pool and go under for about 10 or 20 feet or a dive training pool?
Thank you. God bless, Proverbs 31
Recommends an Invicta… I bet this is going to be good satire.
I like dive watches, but I don’t dive. They’re really cool and rugged and they have a timer. The lume is usually really good so I can read them at night.
Well spoken and straight forward dive equipment discussion and tying in how horology fits in. I have watched countless videos about dive watches and yours is the first I have seen from the Diver's perspective. Thank you. It seems evident in the online watch community, dive watches are very poplular, but few use them to dive. I get it, they look good on wrist and waterproof comes in handy in general.
My two divers, Omega Seamaster 300 Professional Quartz purchased in 2000 and Rolex Submariner No Date in 2004, both new from AD. Probably have about 60+ dives with Omega Seamaster Pro. Red Sea, Mediterranean, Caribbean, Great Barrier Reef all great dive memories. Agree the date is superfluous under water, but not a big distraction either on the Omega. Rolex Sub with Date & Cyclops is another story, that is why I think most divers want the No Date Sub if they want a Rolex diver. If I remember correctly the bracelet is also more polished on Rolex and this can attract those barracudas. Brushed SS or NATO or Rubber is preferable.
Why Omega Seamaster Pro Quartz as opposed to automatic version? Back in 2000, I loved watches and automatic movements already, but I cared more about the best Dive watch performance as a tool under task. I liked the automatic too, but Quartz is more accurate, and only later I realized that 15 sec/day would not have made a difference on 45-50 minute dives. It doesn't end there however. The Quartz was slightly thinner and that is convenient in and out of water. When the battery in the Quartz is near end of life, the second hand jumps at 4 second intervals over 4 seconds instead of 1 second per 1 second. I like this feature and it worked perfectly before having to change the battery every 4 years. Back in 2000 the Quartz cost about 1800 USD at AD compared to 2400 USD for an automatic. Enough difference in 2000 for an extra diving vacation package in a warm part of the world. Back then I knew I would be buying (4 more years of saving up for) a JLC with automatic in-house calibre, so it was not necessary or a big deal to have an automatic ETA based calibre inside my dive tool watch.
Have to throw in one more point from Divers perspective. I hear much youtube talk about the bracelet diver's extension, because it has one, or doesn't or it does and it's not adjustable. These opinion's sort of float in the ether, because they never refer to actual diving. I really like the Seamaster 300 Pro bracelet and the divers extension. I have used the same watch in warm water without a wet suit, same way you wear it on land, or with diver extension deployed on 2mil, 3mil, even 5mil wet suits and dry suits. Some reading this are probably thinking, how can a non-adjustable diver extension on bracelet be used on various thickness wet suits? Your under water, and not at the Opera. You just move the watch to a different position on your forearm as it is tapered and you don't suffer any difference to check your time. It stays taught in various positions you choose based on thickness of suit. Works well.
6:30 Decompression divers do use pure oxygen as a deco gas. 100% oxygen becomes toxic at a depths of about 6 meters (20 feet) so if you have good buoyancy control you can use it to speed up your decompression when you do a deco stop at say 5 meters. It will speed up decompression since you'll be breathing a gas that contains no nitrogen, thus helping your body get rid of its excess nitrogen.
Sorry for your disrespectful neighbors. Unbelievable. Exactly why I live in the middle of the woods.
Nice informative video. Thanks for taking the time.
Fight an underwater creature. Lol. This is the "finest diver" I never meet in my life.
Sorry about your neighbours. Mindless self indulgence.
nice video. thanks man, you re great youtuber. that music downstairs is quite loud indeed.
Excellent video and thanks for doing this. I'm also a diver and wear several dive watches, including for diving. I have no issue with wearing a dive watch as an accessory or as a statement i.e. Submariner. Dive watches are seriously cool but I always think of them first as tool watches. When my wife asked me why Mike Nelson ( Sea Hunt) is checking his watch, I indicated the absence of a dive computer. Divers had to know how long they had been submerged. Everything in a dive watch was for a reason- they are engineering marvels. For techies, the U.S Navy issued the famous canteen watch to their Frogman until 1961,along with the famous FSX-797. It was quite serviceable but rendered largely obsolete by SCUBA and improved dive tech. Very good civilian dive watches were in production and Mil Spec 22717A was authorised to buy them.
Sooo coool this video! Wow it has come a long way since Jacques Cousteau's days contributing and developing the "Aqua Lung". Lot's of technical gear and training there. Great intro to dive watches that one can appreciate all the critical thought and preparation going into diving thereby choosing a watch for that purpose. Closest I've been is many hours beneath the surface as a youth living in pools and at the beaches growing up in SE Florida skin/snorkel diving viewing coral reefs not far off shore. Good times in the 60s and 70s. Your compromised voice was very relaxing and zenful. btw great comparison to old school and new side by side and the qualities the old tried and true tech still has for reliability as the final safety net.
Great, simple, straightforward information. I haven't dived for many years, but have retained my love for Dive watches. My first was a Zodiac Sea Wolf.
Great video!!!! Excellent!!!!! Loved it!!!!100%with you on this one….
As an avid watch collector and soon to be diver (first class was supposed to be this weekend, but was delayed due to issues with the pool) this video was extremely informative and interesting. Well done! I'm so glad to have found and subscribed to your channel. I can't wait to see more videos!
One question: Do you need to be a diver to own or wear a dive watch. Anyone?
Well done. It is amszing how many people think we tell how much air we have left using our watches! No, The watch only tells us how long we have been submerged!
Serendipity: I normally watch and enjoy you watch videos; I've just signed on for my first diving course and this video pops up! Very informative for me KDP! I intend to use my my Steinhart OVM watch.
Just subbed. .very good video ..very methodical.
I agree 100% concerning redundancy. .I will always wear a dive watch no matter what..plus I do a lot of free dives ..
My go to watches have always been any of my seikos..even though the citizens get their fare share..lol I will never wear any high end watches while diving..I'm just funny that way…
All in all I enjoyed the video
I've been into dive watches for awhile now and recently learned of a place that has a dive experience you can take before committing to a certification class, so I'm planning on finally giving scuba a shot soon!
Anyway, I recently got into tritium tube watches (the particular watch I got is actually a pilot watch, however) and been pondering if the ever glowing H3 may be a better choice than typical lume for diving?
In hindsight, I guess dives probably wouldn't outlast the charge of good lume, but it has been nice to know I can read my tritium Marathon Navigator in the dark no matter how long I've been away from light and wondered if you had any opinions on the matter?
Listening to you is very soothing, you sound like willy wonka!
well pure oxygen is sometimes used when diving deep for the final deco stops on depths below 6 meters
Superb video, brought back good memories of my very brief diving days. I used to use a Citizen quartz diver, because it was the best value true diver in the mid 90s for approx £95. There is so much choice now and it was diving that really got me into watches in the first place! Your explanation of diving gear and it's uses is pretty much the clearest I've encountered. Great to hear your point that one doesn't use oxygen in your tanks, it really grips when I hear that! With regard to helium escape valves, is it not true that if the gaskets are good enough in a watch, then the escape valve is completely irrelevant? Sinn don't use them and some of their timepieces can go down to serious depths!
By the way, I am also kind of prone to cold. Do you think a dry suit can be used for surfing or are ther slimmer or lighter ones? It would really be cool to be able to use a drysuit if they are not to heavy or makes your movements slower. Do you know of any lighter or less thick technology in that?
Hadn't seen this… alway nice to learn something.
Well, one thing said wrong was right at the end. No amount of technical diving requires a He escape valve. Simply because He escape valves are for saturation divers who are kept at the ambient pressure of the diving depth that can be down to 400 m or more for, and may take weeks to decompress. There is no real way of stopping Helium from passing through things.
This is great instruction for beginning divers! I still use my watch like that for more casual dives. About a year ago I started doing some deeper dives that require decompression stops and now I use mine a little differently. I twist the bezel to point the arrow to when my down time is over and then I use the minute makers for decompression stop time. This method also makes it so that I don't accidentally forget when I was supposed to come up.
I dive in Monterey occasionally (it's either Monterey or the San Blas islands in Panama), and I just wear a wetsuit. I don't find it that cold, but maybe it's because I grew up swimming in Lake Tahoe haha.
Hi K.D. Thanks for the great video. I've only just started getting back into dive watches again after a 32 year hate towards them. It's a funny story on how this happened but it was on my cousins 10 birthday (he is 3 months older than me) when his father had bought for him a cheap dive watch from the market. He was hanging around the table waiting for the birthday cake when all of a sudden the bezel fell off then the glass popped out followed by the dial. And since that day i haven't been able to bring myself to like any dive watch until recently that is.
Has there been many instances during your dives where the lume on the watch was completely necessary?
I have a lot of diving questions to ask… firstable, why do you wear a dive watch underwater, when you already have a diving computer???
Amazing video. Really enjoyed it. Makes me proud to own way to many Dive watches. When I would snorkel at the keys I would see lots of Cuda and Sharks in the water. I would always make sure I had on a Bland Black and Brushed Stainless Steel Dive Watch with no flash. Not wanting to attract any of the carnivores. Those Cuda sure look aggressive with those protruding pearly whites.
I love dive watches. I dive regularly and have found that I wear pretty much the same equipment you discussed. With regard to my chosen timepiece for diving. I am lucky to own the full array of watches from my beloved 90's Rolex Sub no date, to Seiko, citizens, some boutique watches etc. they are all automatics, have no date, have drilled lugs, sapphire, depth rating of no more than 200 m.. actually a 100 meter diver with a screw down crown is more than adeaquate in my view, (The Oris diver is worthy of note, see James Stacy's video) Obviously a screw down crown. Always a Nato. I would always say a uni directional bezel…However….The Vostok Amphibian is the exception. The whole premise of the design is a left-field approach to the orthodox water resistant designs seen in most divers. I will leave you to look at these great watches. They have a bi-directional bezel and I have used mine regularly. I have nothing but admiration for them. I love the 'Kalashnikov' type approach and their robustness and innovation and the pure engineering logic to a water resistant watch. they are literally indestructible and can be modded to accommodate any personal preference. Don't write them off, they were good enough for the Russian Navy diver, they are good enough for us recreational divers.
Wow, this guy really likes to talk.
Hi KDP, great video! I too am a diver, and was until recently from the north of Seattle, and dove the area for over ten years. A dry suit is essential!! I did my first open water with a wetsuit, and quit right after because it was so cold. Years later I got a dry suit, and it was like a different sport:) Really enjoyed this
Have you ever been diving in Dominican republic. Breathing in pure oxygen makes you dizzy and can kill you.
Hi there K…Just 1 question…when you purchased those Aqualung fins, you weren't "Sitting on a park bench…eyeing little girls with bad intent" now were you? LOL!! Sorry, I'm a big Jethro Tull fan, seeing them in concert 3 times (Chicago 1970, Chicago 1971, Denver 1973…or was it '74?) The 1970s are somewhat foggy…if you can dig what I'm saying. I'll let the 'safety sausage' go without my snide comment. Glad to see the subscribers increasing. Kind of ironic it happened when I started checking out your interesting vids.
Just kidding…it's all you, brother!!