Who dives with their Rolex...how deep?

[peterskinner]

Out of nothing but interest, what depths do forum people actually frequent when wearing their Rolex? Does anyone go seriously deep wearing one?

[oldsalt]

Maybe 20 metres tops in the Maldives... other wise it's just the shower for me...

cheers

[betterwatchit]

Yes, always. Have used Seadweeler and Deepsea most often, but occasionally Explorer II while fitting in unexpected dives while travelling.

I've only dived recreationally and have taken the Seadweller and Deepsea down to about 45m.

[OmegaJJH]

Desk diving is as far as mine has got sadly, but that is only due to lack of holiday's now we have a baby

[padi56]

Originally Posted by peterskinner

Out of nothing but interest, what depths do forum people actually frequent when wearing their Rolex? Does anyone go seriously deep wearing one?

Well I would doubt today if 95% of all dive type watches ever see water other than perhaps a dip in the pool or shower,and after reading the many posts on TRF some are afraid to even get them wet.So IMHO today all this depth rating although a technical achievement is little more that pure marketing mine is bigger that yours etc, and yes today many belong to mine is bigger than yours brigade.My own personal deepest dive and very very very carefully planned was a little over 100m, and can assure that was plenty deep enough for me and a 1990s Rolex SD.If I remember the deepest recorded dive just on scuba gear was in the Red Sea quite a few years back now ,by a guy called Nuno Gomes total depth was just over 318m perhaps now broken.


Now it only took him about 20/50 minutes to reach that depth,but because of breathing different gasses at that depth and pressure.It then took him little over 12 hours with all the safety stops to finally return to the surface safe, and without any form of decompression treatment.Now at these extreme depths,there are several diving related problems to overcome nitrogen narcosis, decompression sickness, oxygen toxicity,sheer dehydration and the different affects of the gases when changing over tanks containing the different gas mixtures.Now while breathing the high helium mix past around 60M the gas wants to leave the blood while the nitrogen wants to rush in.

Now this dive would have not been possible without a huge back up and very careful planning. Gomes is in a very small group of guys that have gone over 250m with just scuba gear.Plain fact there have been more guys to go to the moon,that have got past 250m underwater just on scuba. But most recreational divers today stick to around 30m- 40m max depth on just air.Some more technical recreational divers would go to perhaps 120m but for this type of diving you must be very experienced with plenty of planing and backup.So today the dive ratings on watches are a bit of a joke as they will never be used by man or superman, perhaps they make them today because they can and little more.

[Shichinin]

Originally Posted by padi56

Well I would doubt today if 95% of all dive type watches ever see water other than perhaps a dip in the pool or shower,and after reading the many posts on TRF some are afraid to even get them wet.So IMHO today all this depth rating although a technical achievement is little more that pure marketing mine is bigger that yours etc, and yes today many belong to mine is bigger than yours brigade.My own personal deepest dive and very very very carefully planned was a little over 100m, and can assure that was plenty deep enough for me and a 1990s Rolex SD.If I remember the deepest recorded dive just on scuba gear was in the Red Sea quite a few years back now ,by a guy called Nuno Gomes total depth was just over 318m perhaps now broken.


Now it only took him about 20/50 minutes to reach that depth,but because of breathing different gasses at that depth and pressure.It then took him little over 12 hours with all the safety stops to finally return to the surface safe, and without any form of decompression treatment.Now at these extreme depths,there are several diving related problems to overcome nitrogen narcosis, decompression sickness, oxygen toxicity,sheer dehydration and the different affects of the gases when changing over tanks containing the different gas mixtures.Now while breathing the high helium mix past around 60M the gas wants to leave the blood while the nitrogen wants to rush in.

Now this dive would have not been possible without a huge back up and very careful planning. Gomes is in a very small group of guys that have gone over 250m with just scuba gear.Plain fact there have been more guys to go to the moon,that have got past 250m underwater just on scuba. But most recreational divers today stick to around 30m- 40m max depth on just air.Some more technical recreational divers would go to perhaps 120m but for this type of diving you must be very experienced with plenty of planing and backup.So today the dive ratings on watches are a bit of a joke as they will never be used by man or superman, perhaps they make them today because they can and little more.

Gret information man. Thanks


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[Tokyo Time]

My Sub gets wet but deep is subjective.

[dysondiver]

bang on Peter ,,, and i think i read somewhere that 90% of the life in the sea lives in the first 12 meters too.
I have done the 120s in the past , but the times and effort are just not worth it for recreation, most now is 60m range as there are a good few wrecks in these parts that are fairly intact still.
Do i take a Rolex , ,,, nope. There are better tools these days.

[Dyim]

A few feet

But that includes hot tub, swimming pool, and real ocean!

[cataby]

deepest I have gone is 155 with my serti 16613. Have about 6 weeks total time diving ( around 1000 hours dive time, quit keeping track of every dive about 6 years ago). Watch has been on every dive with zero issues.

[Case61]

Recreational diver, never deeper than 100 feet.

[OmegaJJH]

Originally Posted by dysondiver

and i think i read somewhere that 90% of the life in the sea lives in the first 12 meters too.

Well that's a very interesting fact!!!!

[OmegaJJH]

Originally Posted by dysondiver

Do i take a Rolex , ,,, nope

Not so sure about this bit.

As Peter has said, our Subs are far more capable than us. Plus we have insurance.

[dysondiver]

Originally Posted by OmegaJJH

Not so sure about this bit.

As Peter has said, our Subs are far more capable than us. Plus we have insurance.

two shearwaters on the breather ,,, spare on my wrist , and a bottom timer in my pocket that i have never had to look at ,,, leaving a selection of vr3s and liquid visions at home ,,,
all i will say , and ive said plenty of times before ,,, if you really want to go dive with a sub , at least put a lanyard on it , only a couple of quid , but what a fantastic back up for a spring bar etc.

[Abdullah71601]

Originally Posted by dysondiver

two shearwaters on the breather ,,, spare on my wrist , and a bottom timer in my pocket that i have never had to look at ,,, leaving a selection of vr3s and liquid visions at home ,,,
all i will say , and ive said plenty of times before ,,, if you really want to go dive with a sub , at least put a lanyard on it , only a couple of quid , but what a fantastic back up for a spring bar etc.

A friend has fashioned a bit of bicycle inner tube into a watch "band" that he puts over the watch and bracelet. A cutout exposes dial and bezel. He says it's comfortable over his wetsuit. It certainly looks very secure.

[dysondiver]

Originally Posted by Abdullah71601

A friend has fashioned a bit of bicycle inner tube into a watch "band" that he puts over the watch and bracelet. A cutout exposes dial and bezel. He says it's comfortable over his wetsuit. It certainly looks very secure.

now thats an idea ,,, like it ,,

[sebastien1975]

65m is my deepest with my SD4000, using various gas mixes.
But i generally stick to 30-40m - plenty enough to see at that depth.

[Bobby Bushcraft]

I got PADI certified in 1991 and It's funny most divers today have fancy dive computers of digital dive watches. Rolex only for me. The deepest I have been is 95 feet

[Flstfirider]

I have had mine down about 120 feet.

[Mick P]

Chaps

I am in the last week of an eight week stay in Spain and I have spent a lot of time swimming in the Med.

I only jump in off a 10 ft high cliff and probably go down about 6ft for a few seconds before rising to the surface.

I would think that I am in the top 1% for using my Sub in the sea.

Of course in the evening when I am nibling prawns in a local restaurant, the waitresses all lust at me because of the Sub I am wearing, which is why most men buy them in the first place.

Of course, with the wife sitting opposite of me, my success rate is zero.

Regards

Mick

[Abdullah71601]

My Explorer has been to 65 meters and my SD to 95 meters. My camera housing is only rated to 100 meters, and I don't really want to test that, so 95 is it for me.

The vast majority of my dives are 20-30 meters. Most of the things I like to photograph are in that range. An occasional wreck will take me deeper, but 30meters finds quite a bit of fauna.

[SemperFi]

About 3 inches washing the dinner dishes.

[peterskinner]

Originally Posted by SemperFi

About 3 inches washing the dinner dishes.

Me too!

[Mick P]

Originally Posted by SemperFi

About 3 inches washing the dinner dishes.

That probably puts you in the top 10%.

[mrricks]

My Submariner 1680 has been down to 200 feet, but only for a few minutes as you need a lot of air to make a slow ascent.

Most of my dive time has been less than 60 feet deep.

[Bakasana]

I dove DEEP into a bowl of Pho the other day... the furthest I ever went with my Sub. :)

[the_Hunter]

I touched the drain in the deep end of the pool once..

[Dr. Prunesquallor]

Just to add to padi56 comments:

The VAST majority of scuba (recreational diving) is limited to around 130 feet. This is also known as "no deco" diving meaning if you have to surface from depth, you can without special decompression procedures to prevent "decompression sickness" (the Bends).

Even so, there is a time/depth relationship that divers need to follow to avoid problems. You could plan this before the dive, but if you deviated from that plan, you would have to recompute it underwater. "Traditionally" thus involved waterproof cards, grease pencils and a dive watch.

Luckily, dive computers came along that measure depth and time profiles and real-time compute your no-deco status. Really good ones cost $1000 or so.

So one could have a good dive computer and a backup for the fraction of the cost of a mechanical dive watch.

I look at dive watches as an indication of robust waterproof status an a rotating bezel for non-chronograph type timing. As a serious dive tool, their time has passed.

Flaming accepted.


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[vman]

Originally Posted by Dr. Prunesquallor

Just to add to padi56 comments:

The VAST majority of scuba (recreational diving) is limited to around 130 feet. This is also known as "no deco" diving meaning if you have to surface from depth, you can without special decompression procedures to prevent "decompression sickness" (the Bends).

Even so, there is a time/depth relationship that divers need to follow to avoid problems. You could plan this before the dive, but if you deviated from that plan, you would have to recompute it underwater. "Traditionally" thus involved waterproof cards, grease pencils and a dive watch.

Luckily, dive computers came along that measure depth and time profiles and real-time compute your no-deco status. Really good ones cost $1000 or so.

So one could have a good dive computer and a backup for the fraction of the cost of a mechanical dive watch.

I look at dive watches as an indication of robust waterproof status an a rotating bezel for non-chronograph type timing. As a serious dive tool, their time has passed.

Flaming accepted.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

+1

I have sold all my "dive" or "tool" watches as you call them for that particular reason. For $1.5K I can buy a nice dive computer + mechanical gauges for backup. The purpose of such tools is to answer the most basic questions I need to survive under water:

1. How much no-deco time do I have left?
2. What's the air pressure?
3. What's my depth?

If I ever come up with another $8K to spend on something for diving, that'll be a dowpayment for a rebreather.

[Abdullah71601]

Originally Posted by Dr. Prunesquallor

Just to add to padi56 comments:

The VAST majority of scuba (recreational diving) is limited to around 130 feet. This is also known as "no deco" diving meaning if you have to surface from depth, you can without special decompression procedures to prevent "decompression sickness" (the Bends).

Even so, there is a time/depth relationship that divers need to follow to avoid problems. You could plan this before the dive, but if you deviated from that plan, you would have to recompute it underwater. "Traditionally" thus involved waterproof cards, grease pencils and a dive watch.

Luckily, dive computers came along that measure depth and time profiles and real-time compute your no-deco status. Really good ones cost $1000 or so.

So one could have a good dive computer and a backup for the fraction of the cost of a mechanical dive watch.

I look at dive watches as an indication of robust waterproof status an a rotating bezel for non-chronograph type timing. As a serious dive tool, their time has passed.

Flaming accepted.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You are absolutely correct for the infrequent diver (or vacation diver).

I have two Shearwater Petrels I use for deep technical diving, it's hard to beat the dynamic response to actual conditions that they provide. But for square profile dives less than 18 meters, I use a manual depth gauge and my Sea Dweller. FWIW, timing deco stops are more intuitive for me with a watch than a digital timer.

Photography yields a lot more square profiles than a typical recreational diver might have. I might sit on a Goby for 15 minutes while he cycles through his routine. A hovered in one position on a groupers patrol for 20 minutes at 30 meters once to capture the right shot (never quite got it either).

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