ucfdiver
Contributor
How about this.....if the watch breaks, ascend and add 5 minutes to your last bottom time **gasp**. I had a timex last me over 200 dives, and it came from walmart.Go ahead. Maybe it will for 5,10, even 20 dives. However if you look at most watches on the market today you'll see in their user manuals that unless they are rated for 200 meters they are not recommended for scuba diving. So the question arises- What happens if it conks out at 75 feet and you for some reason don't realize it? No biggie- you do a safe ascent and you're done for the day since you don't have an accurate time for your dive to figure your ending pressure group. All you did was waste the money you spent on the dive, your buddy's time assuming someone will dive with you when you are to cheap to spend an extra 30 and get a casio gshock that is rated to 200 meters. It never ceases to amaze me how little proper planning and gear selection is covered in OW classes. Darwin loves questions like this. Why not just buy personal gear at walmart? So what if the glass is not tempered it will still work, right? And if the fins are plastic you still saved 50 bucks! Why not make the bc out of a couple garbage bags? May last a couple dives even. Cheaper than the real thing. Sheeeesh!
I'm guessing you work on commission at a local dive shop?