A freediving watch is a necessary piece of equipment for any serious freediver, just as a computer is to a scuba diver. The best freediving watch will help keep you safe by taking the guess work out of diving while helping you improve performance.
Dive watches can track your dive time as well as surface intervals, so you can avoid the illnesses associated with diving. Others can also you assist you in your training. The most basic models track your times and depths while the more advanced versions include compass navigation, wireless air integration for scuba diving and other features to plan and track your dive.
Here at The Adventure Junkies, we want to help you make the most of your freediving. That’s why we’ve created this guide to finding the best freediving watch to help you spend less time on research and more time in the water.
For more of our top freediving gear recommendations, check out the Best Freediving Fins.
QUICK ANSWER – THE BEST FREEDIVING WATCH
1. SUUNTO D9TX
2. TUSA IQ1204
3. TUSA ZEN AIR
4. SUUNTO D6I
5. SHERWOOD AMPHOS
6. OCEANIC F10
7. MARES SMART APNEA
8. TUSA TALIS
9. OCEANIC GEO 2.0
10. MARES SMART
COMPARISON TABLE – THE BEST FREEDIVING WATCHES
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FREEDIVING WATCH REVIEWS
SUUNTO D9TX
BEST FOR: Advanced freedivers who also are technical and/or commercial divers
MODES: Air, Trimix, Free Dive, Gauge and Watch
MEMORY: 80 hours
BATTERY: Cr2450 Lithium Battery
PROS: Outstanding quality, durable, offers trimix, titanium housing, electronic 3D compass for better navigation
CONS: Very expensive, more scuba diving related functions than freediving
TUSA IQ1204
Check out the latest price on:
BEST FOR: Environmentally-friendly divers
MODES: Air, Nitrox, Gauge and Free
MEMORY: 30 dives
BATTERY: Solar Power Rechargeable
PROS: Solar power battery, eliminating the need to replace the battery, calculates surface intervals for freediving
CONS: Use as a regular watch can wear down the battery, so the solar power may get frustrating if worn continuously
TUSA ZEN AIR
BEST FOR: Scuba and Freediving
MODES: Air, Nitrox, Gauge, Free Dive and Watch
MEMORY: 24 dives
BATTERY: Computer: CR2450 Lithium Battery, Transmitter: 3 Volt CR2 Lithium Cell
PROS: Advanced design, air integration for scuba
CONS: Not as much memory as other watches
SUUNTO D6I
BEST FOR: Breath hold training, serious divers
MODES: Air, Nitrox, Free Dive, Gauge and Watch
MEMORY: 80 hours
BATTERY: Cr2450 Lithium Battery
PROS: Wireless air integration, stylish watch
CONS: Can be a bit conservative, locks onto freedive mode for 24 hours
SHERWOOD AMPHOS
BEST FOR: Serious scuba divers wanting freediving modes
MODES: Air, Nitrox, Gauge, Freedive and Watch
MEMORY: 24 dives
BATTERY: User Replaceable CR2430 Lithium Battery
PROS: Air integrated for scuba diving, eliminating pressure gauge and hose
CONS: Pricey
OCEANIC F10
BEST FOR: Interval training
MODES: Freediving and Watch
MEMORY: 99 dives
BATTERY: User Replaceable 3 volt CR2430 Lithium battery with expected battery life of 300 hours
PROS: Clear markings, repetitive depth alarms ideal for training
CONS: Not a good choice if you want to use it for scuba diving
MARES SMART APNEA
BEST FOR: Freediving only
MODES: Freediving
MEMORY: 9 dive sessions (up to 99 dives)
BATTERY: Lithium battery with 200 hours
PROS: Hydration alarms, alarms to measure speed of ascent and descent, practical, data can be downloaded to PC or Mac
CONS: No frills, basic freediving measures only
TUSA TALIS
Check out the latest price on:
BEST FOR: Freedivers wanting a stylish watch outside of the water
MODES: Air, Nitrox, Gauge, Free Diving and Watch
MEMORY: 24 dives
BATTERY: User-Replaceable, CR2430, 3V Lithium
PROS: Nice style white option to come in white, comfortable, gas switching computer for up to two gasses for scuba and nitro diving
CONS: Not much memory for logging dives over a longer period of time
OCEANIC GEO 2.0
Check out the latest price on:
BEST FOR: Advanced divers, nitrox divers
MODES: Watch, Air, Nitrox, Gauge and Free
MEMORY: 24 dives or 99 free dives
BATTERY: CR2430 lithium battery that can provide up to 300-dive hours
PROS: Oceanic online class available to learn how to use it as well as simulator training, stylish and durable
CONS: Can be a bit technical learning how it works
MARES SMART
Check out the latest price on:
BEST FOR: Freedivers wanting a stylish watch outside of the water
MODES: Air, Nitrox and Free-Dive
MEMORY: 36 hours
BATTERY: User Replaceable CR2430 Lithium Battery
PROS: Ergonomic design, dual time zones, alarms, and calendar in watch mode, colour choices
CONS: Locks into free dive mode for 24 hours as safety precaution – good concept but there’s no manual override, watch straps not long enough to fit over wetsuit
HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST FREEDIVING WATCH
1. AUDIBLE ALARMS
Like a stopwatch, an audible alarm is essential not only for training but also for safety. You can set surface interval alarms and dive depths alarms to hear both on land and underwater.
Some watches also allow you to set alarms for other aspects such as speed, breath hold training and hydration reminders. Depth alarms are especially important when freediving in murky waters where it’s not as easy to determine depth.
2. OPERATING MODES
Some freediving watches are solely for freediving or spearfishing, but most now incorporate other operating modes to cater to scuba diving. Common modes on many free dive watches include air, nitrox, gauge and of course, freediving.
Your choice will depend on what kind of diving you are most likely to do. If you are a regular scuba diver and don’t want to pay for two watches, choose a model which offers both modes.
3. OPERATIONAL DEPTH
The operational depth is how deep you can take your watch down and find it still functioning. Most dive watches have depths of at least 330 ft (100m). Some may go beyond this, which may be especially important if you do a lot of technical diving as well as freediving.
4. DIVE LOGS
This is how many dives you can log and store on your computer at a time. If you want to be able to track your progress and dives over a longer period of time, then you might want to opt for a watch which allows more than 24 dive sessions to be logged.
5. CLEAR MARKINGS
When you look down at a watch, can you see the markings clearly? For some people, bigger is better compared with a compact design which is hard to read. You need to be able to easily glance down at your watch and see what the readings are without straining your eyes or thinking too hard. Each to their own, but this should be an important consideration when choosing a watch.
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