Why do we need a freediving watch?

A freediving watch (computer) is one of our best friend underwater.

Many divers use a dive watch or dive computer while scuba diving, but why would a freediver or spearo need one?

Do freedivers and spearos need a freediving watch?

The answer is very simple and short.

Yes…Because it can save our life.

A freediving watch will assist you under sea and keep you from doing something foolish.

When going diving it is easy to lose track of how deep you go. Leave it up to the dive watch to keep track of this automatically.

Generally we know the temperature of sea when we go diving. But knowing the different temperatures at different depths will be a good experience for us for future.

For example if we hit a fish at a certain depth, it helps to know what temperature it was caught at so we can add new points to our  fishing knowledge bank.

Imagine finding the best fishing spot, but never being able to find it again…

Many dive watches system is able to save GPS coordinates and point you in the right direction. You will never lose that fishing spot ever again..

Some freediving watches are equipped with a heart rate monitor. Some of them have it displayed all the time and some have it displayed only in certain dive modes (gauge mode).

When it comes to the accuracy of the heart rate monitor, the dive watches are accurate since the diver isn’t using their hands to stroke the same way a swimmer does.

Finally, most freediving watches are able to sync with your phone or computer. In this way, you will be able to share and backup your dive data between your devices.

Whether you are a freediver or scuba diver, it’s smart to have a dive watch.

You can use it to count your dives, know when you have to return to the surface to catch a breath, track surface intervals, and keep track of your CO2 levels. Don’t bother keeping track of how long you need to stay on the surface, let your dive watch tell you that. Plus, your freediving watch will show your surface intervals in big clear numbers while on the surface, which is much better than your memory.

Usually, dive watches come with internal memory for saving your dive information. Some dive watches allow for expansion cards, like microSD cards. If you are a diver that likes to track all their dives, having a watch with a bigger storage memory is best.

It’s always recommended to backup your dives on your computer in case you break or lose your watch. It comes down to personal preference how many dives you choose to log.

You don’t want to choose a band that is too stiff or one that may hurt your wrist when you wear it. Most dive watches come with bands made from a polymer.

Some freediving watches come with a metal band and these need to be sized for your wrist when you purchase it. If you decide to put the metal band over your wetsuit, chances are it won’t fit, that’s why it’s preferred to use a non-metallic band.


The size of the watch usually refers to the size of its screen. The bigger the screen, the more information it will be able to display at once. It’s annoying to start pressing a button to be able to see the temperature or to switch to the screen that is indicating your current depth. A big screen is able to solve that problem.

Expensive dive watches will come packed with a lot of interesting features and it will have a better build quality than a cheaper one. However, having a cheap freediving watch is better than not having one since they still had to go through a quality control protocol.

Just make sure the cheap dive watches have the basic functions like surface intervals, a stopwatch, and the ability to track your alarms.