By reading the title of this post, you’re probably saying “What is this about?” Simply, it’s about how to carry a timing device. I’m not talking about a dive computer, depth gauge or bottom timer. I’m talking about a simple watch. We carry watches as a backup timing device in case our dive computers or depth gauge/bottom timer dies while on a dive. Technical divers will use watches to time their decompression stops if their bottom times do not show time in seconds or have a stopwatch function (like the UWATEC hockey puck bottom timer/depth gauge). Now I know your next statement, “I wear my watch on my wrist.” Certainly that is a logical place to wear a watch, but many times we don’t have that luxury.

Location, Location, Location

When I travel to warm water diving locations, I normally wear a 3mm full suit or shorty. These suits are thin enough that I can wear both bottom time/depth gauge and watch on my right wrist. Unfortunately, I don’t get to dive in warm water very much. So that means I dive my dry suit 99.999% of the time. A watch, with a normal band, will not fit on my wrist. It’s mostly due to the thickness of my undergarment, dry suit material and rings for dry gloves.

One option of wearing the watch would be to cut off the watch band and attach the watch to the bungee that holds my bottom time/depth gauge. Another option is to replace the watch’s band with bungee that will fit over my dry gloves. Both can work. But I’m the kind of person who doesn’t like any clutter on my arms. For quite a while, I was carrying it in my wetnotes, but I found that when I needed to use it, I had to fish through my pocket, pull out my wetnotes to get it, then restow my wetnotes. Then I still had to hold the watch in my hand. It wasn’t optimal.

My Solution – Think Illumination

I have found the best place for me to store my backup dive watch is on my dive light. I’ve attached my watch around the ballast on my light head. By doing this, I don’t have to cut up the watch band and the rubber watch band is stiff enough that the watch won’t slide off. When we are on deco, we normally clip off the light head and stow the light cord (unless conditions warrant keeping the light on and deployed). When the light head is stowed in this manner, the watch is easily accessible by looking down at the light head. Reaching the buttons is just as simple as I can access the watch with either the left or right hands. If water conditions are too dark to stow the light head, it will be in your left hand. If you needed to run the watch, it’s now right in front of you on the light head.

It may not be the best solution, but it is a solution that works well for me. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Dive Safe,
Duane
Precision Diving