Scuba Diver's Watch

Bahamas diving trips make for one of the most popular vacation ideas around. This is no surprise, given that selling points for such trips include plenty of sun, sand, and the opportunity to relax while viewing beautiful undersea life and intricate coral formations. Still, diving is a sport, and like all sports, it can be dangerous if a diver fails to show the proper respect. The ocean is an unforgiving place for the arrogant. Happily, technology makes having a Bahamas diving experience safer than ever before. One particularly cool gadget is the dive watch. Read on to learn what makes it so useful and interesting.

THE DIVE WATCh: AN OVERVIEW

As all divers should know, many chemical processes work on the body of a diver while he or she is having fun beneath the waves. One such process is the build-up of nitrogen within the body. Internal nitrogen levels fluctuate based upon dive depth and time, and it is essential to keep track of these variables in order to keep nitrogen build-up within safe parameters. Failure to do so can produce very unfavorable results. Fortunately, dive watches are just the thing to help divers keep a worry-free eye on the time.

DIVE WATCHES: STYLES & FEATURES

At their heart, dive watches are timepieces. As such, they come in many different styles and levels of sophistication. Analog watches with old-fashioned quartz movements and other vintage touches are a hot collector's item, even for non-divers. Digital dive watches are the modern take on the device - a higher degree of water and pressure resistance are often all that separate these machines from their more terrestrial cousins. Finally, as technology continues to shrink as it grows more powerful, it is worth noting that divers may come across wrist-portable dive computers. With all the functionality of a full-fledged dive computer and all the time-keeping capabilities of "normal watches", these tiny computers are becoming very popular.

As far as features are concerned, it is important to remember that dive watches will spend a great deal of time in the ocean. Before heading off on a Bahamas diving excursion, divers should make sure their dive watch of choice is easily read above all other concerns. After all, dive watches are useless if you can't tell the time, both current and elapsed. More than that, it's dangerous. Beyond easy visibility, minimum depth ratings apply - two hundred meters is the current standard. Regarding analog watches, don't forget to batten down the hatches and screw those crowns tight to avoid water-logging! Optional features for high-risk environments and the like include some measure of inner illumination in case the dive environment is one of poor visibility, stopwatch functionality, solar power, and so on.