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365 Posts
Hi everybody!
This is my first post after the meltdown.
We heard a lot of great and stunning stories about U1- and U2-extreme tests (thanks very much, Tim! ;-) ), but maybe some of you might wonder how the U's perform when you use them in the environment they were mainly constructed for, i.e. underwater.
I live in Switzerland, so unfortunately there is no sea just around the corner but we have a lot of beautyful deep lakes. These lakes offer a high variety of awesome divespots but it has to be said that the conditions are usually rather harsh: water temperatures are quite low throughout the year (even in summer, water temperatures at 30 meters depth rarely exceed 6 degrees celsius) and visibility is often rather poor. At this cold temperatures, it can happen that battery-powered equipment (such as dive computers) simply fail. Thus for me, a reliable mechanical dive watch is not just a nice gadget but also an important backup instrument.
A year ago, when I saw the U's for the first time, I thought that I finally found the perfect dive watch... and I was absolutely right! ;-) Unfortunately, I couldn't decide between the U1 and the U2, so I had to buy both of them! O| Nevertheless, for this reason I was able to dive-test both of them.
First I need to mention that BOTH watches perform excellent underwater. The cases are "bulletproof" and although I already dinged against various hard objects, there are absolutely no signs of wear (even though the cases are not tegimented). The fat bezel is easily ajustable even with thick drygloves. The same does also apply for the big crown. Legibility is perfect in both watches under any light conditions, although here you find little differences: On the one hand, lume is slightly better in the U1, but on the other hand the pointed arrow hands of the U2 are a bit easier to read under bad light conditions. So I guess there is a draw between the two watches. Another difference between the two U's is the crystal: while I prefer the look of the domed crystal of the U2, I must admit that I prefer the flat crystal of the U1 underwater. The flat crystal allows the time reading from a slightly flatter angle. Although the difference is no huge, this could be important because your viewing angle is already limited by the dive mask. Acuracy of both watches is very good and was never affected by the cold water temperature (as you probably all know, both U's are treated with Sinn's special temperature resistant oil, although Sinn does not point this out in the U1 specs).
The biggest problem of the U's are their strap with the huge deployment clasp. While I really like the look of it, there is no chance wearing the watch over a clumsy drysuit with that style of strap. So I fitted my U's with a nice aftermarket rubberstrap with a regular "belt-style" buckle . Because The strap was still too short, I bought myself a second strap an built a strap extention out of it (will post some detail pics later). Now I'm able to wear the watch even over the thickes drysuits.
The deepest dive I did with one of the U's (it was the U1) was about 45 meters deep (ca. 150 feet). At this depth, it is always pitch black even during day time and water temperature is between 4 and 5 degrees celsius. The U1 performed without any problems and legibility was excellent even under this extreme light conditions. Nevertheless, this was not the most extreme dive I took my U1 with me:
A couple of days ago I went ice diving, under the frozen surface of a lovely little mountain lake (altitude: 1600 meters above sea level). While I didn't worry about the cold water temperature per se, I was a bit concerned if the U1 will be able to handle the big temperature changes: from the warm wrist to the freezig cold air, then into the ice water and after that back again to the wrist under my warm winter jacket. But the U1 handled the big challenge perfectly and surprisingly there was no fogging problem at all, eventhough the U1 is not fitted with the U2's dry capsule and argon gas technology! It seems that the excellent viton gaskets made a really good job in keeping any moisture outside the case so far!
On this day, I saw one dive computer and two battery-powered Citizen dive watches fail just because of the low water temperatures. Thus, IMHO nothing beats a good mechanical movement under very harsh conditions! ;-)
So both watches are excellent divers. But when you could only choose one, which one would you choose?? :-S
Well, after prefering the U2 in the beginning, the U1 turned out to be my favorite. The U1's stunning clean and simple dial just won over the cool tech features of the U2. And the U1 tech specs have proven to be far more than I'll ever need. Nevertheless, the U2 might be the better allround tool watch (if I would live in the great white north like Tim, I would definitely stick with the U2...! ;-) ). Decisions, decisions..., but the good thing about it is: no matter what U-model you choose, you can't go wrong! :-D
Cheers,
Beedoo
Finally, I try to attach some pics of my ice diving day (hope it works; it's the first time I try post some pics...).
Hightech meets tradition: my dive computer next to the mechanical U1.
![]()
The entrance hole. You don't feel much of the cold trough your divesuit,
but when you put the head underwater it's like a punch in the face! ;-)
![]()
The entrance hole from underneath. Some fellow divers are waiting their turn.
![]()
This is my first post after the meltdown.
We heard a lot of great and stunning stories about U1- and U2-extreme tests (thanks very much, Tim! ;-) ), but maybe some of you might wonder how the U's perform when you use them in the environment they were mainly constructed for, i.e. underwater.
I live in Switzerland, so unfortunately there is no sea just around the corner but we have a lot of beautyful deep lakes. These lakes offer a high variety of awesome divespots but it has to be said that the conditions are usually rather harsh: water temperatures are quite low throughout the year (even in summer, water temperatures at 30 meters depth rarely exceed 6 degrees celsius) and visibility is often rather poor. At this cold temperatures, it can happen that battery-powered equipment (such as dive computers) simply fail. Thus for me, a reliable mechanical dive watch is not just a nice gadget but also an important backup instrument.
A year ago, when I saw the U's for the first time, I thought that I finally found the perfect dive watch... and I was absolutely right! ;-) Unfortunately, I couldn't decide between the U1 and the U2, so I had to buy both of them! O| Nevertheless, for this reason I was able to dive-test both of them.
First I need to mention that BOTH watches perform excellent underwater. The cases are "bulletproof" and although I already dinged against various hard objects, there are absolutely no signs of wear (even though the cases are not tegimented). The fat bezel is easily ajustable even with thick drygloves. The same does also apply for the big crown. Legibility is perfect in both watches under any light conditions, although here you find little differences: On the one hand, lume is slightly better in the U1, but on the other hand the pointed arrow hands of the U2 are a bit easier to read under bad light conditions. So I guess there is a draw between the two watches. Another difference between the two U's is the crystal: while I prefer the look of the domed crystal of the U2, I must admit that I prefer the flat crystal of the U1 underwater. The flat crystal allows the time reading from a slightly flatter angle. Although the difference is no huge, this could be important because your viewing angle is already limited by the dive mask. Acuracy of both watches is very good and was never affected by the cold water temperature (as you probably all know, both U's are treated with Sinn's special temperature resistant oil, although Sinn does not point this out in the U1 specs).
The biggest problem of the U's are their strap with the huge deployment clasp. While I really like the look of it, there is no chance wearing the watch over a clumsy drysuit with that style of strap. So I fitted my U's with a nice aftermarket rubberstrap with a regular "belt-style" buckle . Because The strap was still too short, I bought myself a second strap an built a strap extention out of it (will post some detail pics later). Now I'm able to wear the watch even over the thickes drysuits.
The deepest dive I did with one of the U's (it was the U1) was about 45 meters deep (ca. 150 feet). At this depth, it is always pitch black even during day time and water temperature is between 4 and 5 degrees celsius. The U1 performed without any problems and legibility was excellent even under this extreme light conditions. Nevertheless, this was not the most extreme dive I took my U1 with me:
A couple of days ago I went ice diving, under the frozen surface of a lovely little mountain lake (altitude: 1600 meters above sea level). While I didn't worry about the cold water temperature per se, I was a bit concerned if the U1 will be able to handle the big temperature changes: from the warm wrist to the freezig cold air, then into the ice water and after that back again to the wrist under my warm winter jacket. But the U1 handled the big challenge perfectly and surprisingly there was no fogging problem at all, eventhough the U1 is not fitted with the U2's dry capsule and argon gas technology! It seems that the excellent viton gaskets made a really good job in keeping any moisture outside the case so far!
On this day, I saw one dive computer and two battery-powered Citizen dive watches fail just because of the low water temperatures. Thus, IMHO nothing beats a good mechanical movement under very harsh conditions! ;-)
So both watches are excellent divers. But when you could only choose one, which one would you choose?? :-S
Well, after prefering the U2 in the beginning, the U1 turned out to be my favorite. The U1's stunning clean and simple dial just won over the cool tech features of the U2. And the U1 tech specs have proven to be far more than I'll ever need. Nevertheless, the U2 might be the better allround tool watch (if I would live in the great white north like Tim, I would definitely stick with the U2...! ;-) ). Decisions, decisions..., but the good thing about it is: no matter what U-model you choose, you can't go wrong! :-D
Cheers,
Beedoo
Finally, I try to attach some pics of my ice diving day (hope it works; it's the first time I try post some pics...).
Hightech meets tradition: my dive computer next to the mechanical U1.
The entrance hole. You don't feel much of the cold trough your divesuit,
but when you put the head underwater it's like a punch in the face! ;-)
The entrance hole from underneath. Some fellow divers are waiting their turn.
