Note: Earlier this year, one of my favorite humans on the planet, Frank Affronti, wrote an excellent review of the Nodus Sector Deep, and I encourage you to read it here before you start with this long-term review.
A Retrospective Look at the Sector Deep
It is no secret that the Nodus Sector Deep was a reaction to some of the most laughable tendencies of the watch industry and that of its customers. Like many other consumer goods fields, most products being offered must appease some sort of aspiration. Whether through brand recognition or a lifestyle, companies will compete for your hard-earned dollars with products you will never use as they are presented. Most drivers never take their sport utility vehicles off-road or tow. Most dive watch owners never take their watches into the swimming pool, let alone diving. There is nothing wrong with this. We as humans are comforted in having tools and items that can perform at levels that we may never achieve yet still aspire to on some level.
The team at Nodus decided a while back to take their popular Sector line of timepieces and make the most extreme dive watch possible with the diminutive 38mm same case. With its water resistance boosted to 500m from the Sector Dive’s 100m, the Deep became noticeably beefier but did not suffer wearability issues. The added thickness elevates the crown, thus making it less likely to be impacted by a wetsuit. In fact, to my eye, the Deep’s proportions, with its overhanging bezel, made it the perfect dive watch.
After a full dive season with the Sector Deep, we at the Watch Clicker decided to release a long-term review. In this review, you will not only learn about how the Deep performed in complex diving environments but also get a glimpse into the world of diving and learn that watches are, in fact, indispensable tools for diving professionals. As a result, this review may be a little longer than your standard review, even because we will not be covering traditional aspects such as dimensions and the materials used – see the note above. But you will finish this review learning more about this watch and what a dive watch offers you and a professional diver, and it will give you a better idea if recreational diving is for you.
Nodus Sector DEEP Specs | |
Case Width 39mm | Lug-to-Lug 47mm |
Case Thickness 13.6mm | Lug Width 20mm |
Wrist-to-Crystal 11.5mm | Weight 170g |
Water Resistance 500m | Strap Bracelet |
Crystal Sapphire | Lume Super-LumiNova BGW9 |
Movement Seiko NH35 | Price $599 |
The Bezel
Let’s delve into the dual-scale DLC bezel, a reliable companion in your diving adventures. Over months of diving with the Deep, I found both scales to be incredibly useful, never encountering any issues with legibility. Even if you find the font size small, a quick glance will instantly connect the hour scales with the minutes. As consumers, especially those familiar with dive watches, we’ve been conditioned to relate these two scales, presented alongside each other for years – the hours on the dial and the minutes on the dive bezel. In practice, I found the hour scale handy for timing events and incidents that lasted longer than an hour, such as surface intervals.
Before we cover the most essential factor of this bezel and how it was beneficial in a working dive environment, let us discuss the overhanging nature of the bezel. Sure, it can be knocked out of place with more ease when compared to a bezel that is more flush with the case. But, after my first dive, I became aware of this and compensated accordingly. I spaced out the Sector Deep further away from my primary dive computer and the cuff of my drysuit and checked that it was in its correct place before setting off.
What this bezel, thanks to its loud and crisp audible tone when used, did better than most was reassure and calm down new dive students. Diving is a sport that is filled with anxiety. Most students who sign up for scuba diving classes are unaware of this until they get in the water. They suddenly realize that they are relying on rental equipment, which is their life support system that is of unknown age and condition, and that drowning is one of the most commonly feared ways of dying.
With this in mind, over the years, I have seen an understaffed dive instructor team have to leave one or more students in the open water or the pool on the surface as they were falling behind the rest of the class. The instructors usually do this to ensure that the rest of the group is ready to move on and will return to the struggling student(s) when they can. When this happens, the student who is struggling is more than likely to be highly anxious, and being left alone can be terrifying for them – even if they are left standing in the shallow end of a pool. Their minds start getting congested about the possibility that they are afraid of the water, and then they are riddled with guilt for falling behind the rest of the group. After that, they start beating themselves up for spending hundreds of dollars on the classes and equipment rentals while dedicating an entire weekend towards something they may never be able to accomplish. Then, some attribute their ability to dive with their ego. Thankfully, this can all be avoided by one thing – making sure that they know that you care, that they are a priority, and that they will receive extra attention.
After hearing the loud clicks of the bezel of my Sector Deep being set, one student asked, “You have a timer?” This student was suffering from equalization and dive-related anxiety issues.
“You betchya I do,” I responded after setting it. Both of us were floating with our BCDs (buoyancy compensation devices) inflated in a man-made lake on a beautiful summer afternoon. I had just promised another instructor to look after another group for a few minutes while she tended to a trio of students and covered their series of missed skills exercises. “I’ll be back in 7 minutes,” as I said this, her posture immediately relaxed, and her smile and eyes widened with excitement fuelled by hope. The comfort of knowing she would never be out of my mind, even if she were out of sight, was greeted with a giant smile.
“Thank you so much!”
“You’re very welcome,” I said before setting off to see the larger group and bringing them to her as the seven minutes approached.
Scenes like this repeated themselves every weekend; for every large class, there are at least one or two students who fall behind the rest of the group. But the bezel was not the only aspect of Sector Deep that was used to calm down and train students.
Legibility
The Deep’s Citizen ProMaster-inspired hands also proved critical in training students. When dealing with students who suddenly realize they are afraid of the water, correctly diagnosing the exact reason is vital. Some students have a fear of closing their eyes while underwater. Some have a fear reflex to having their peripheral vision restricted by their scuba mask – most people call this feeling claustrophobia. Still, it has to do with the compounding of stressors and task loading in an alien environment. Lastly, some have a water-related trauma that they have never fully dealt with until the moment they are your student.
On one occasion, I worked with a single student for two straight hours, and by timing his ability to stay underwater while conducting various tasks, we could ascertain that if left with nothing to do, he would be reminded of an early childhood near-drowning incident they had. I would time every attempt, mark it on my slate, and show him. On a few occasions, he noticed that he could stay down longer if he were timing their time underwater while reading the calming mechanical second hand sweep of the Sector Deep.
A legible set of hands can go a long way if used properly, and this provides a lesson that all of you should know. If you are in a demanding environment, having a good set of tools with you will never hurt. It will likely be used and help your day go by easier. So, if you come across another review, article, or post that states that divers no longer dive with watches, for they have computers, that is pure fiction. It is up to you to equip yourself properly for a dive environment, and often, over the course of this year, every dive professional I encountered who was not wearing a watch came to rely on me for the time.
The Crown
Everyone’s scuba diving experience is different and unique. All you need for affirmation on this point is to look at how varied and different every dive professional has their gear set up. Even amongst storied and professional dive groups/associations that preach a level of uniformity for the gear being used, if you look closely, you’ll see a diverse world of varying approaches to diving.
Very quickly, I learned that my habit of wearing my watch on my right wrist/arm would become the norm as the season progressed. I already mentioned the dive slate in this article, and due to being right-handed, I have it strapped on my left arm so I can use my right hand to write on it. Also, factoring that my primary and backup dive computers cannot be worn on the same arm because their compass sensors interfere with each other forces my watch on my right arm. It’s just a matter of available real estate on my arms. Note: I am working on a solution for this, resulting in this no longer being a factor as of 2024. This made the Sector Deep’s left-hand crown positioning surprisingly useful.
Over the years, I have encountered several dive watches whose crowns become unscrewed when caught on a wet or dry suit. Some tend to come unscrewed as they adjust or move throughout the dive. There are a couple of factors that contribute to this. First is how long the travel is for the crown’s threading before the gasket becomes disengaged. The second is how firm the “bite point” is for the crown first to come disengaged. Lastly, if these two are insufficient if worn on the opposite arm design, the uphill gradient from one’s wrist to one’s forearm exaggerates this and will further increase the chances of the crown becoming unscrewed. This can and has happened when worn on the correct wrist as well.
First, the left-hand-drive (LHD) orientation of the crown on the Sector Deep alleviated the last of these known issues, and the thread travel for the crown and the solid bit point ensured that this was one of the most secure dive watches on the market for those who wear their dive watch on their right wrist/arm. I tried a couple of Tudor Pelagos LHDs recently, and surprisingly, the wobbly crown on the Nodus outperforms the Tudor in all aspects.
The DLC
With the upcoming release of the fully diamond-like carbon Sector Deep, the performance of the DLC bezel may interest you. Almost every occasion, the bezel encountered a hard surface; it removed pieces from the other object while remaining unscathed. This included large pieces of metal, the backplate of my BCD, and one door jam that nearly had to be replaced because of the impact. Only on one occasion was the bezel scarred, and that was when I set up a dive site underwater. At some point, the watch came into contact with a rusted metal pillar, and the damage went unnoticed until the end of the day. This is not your grandfather’s diamond-like coating treatment. The DLC Nodus uses is built to last. However, if you do somehow scratch it, it looks amazing. At least half a dozen watch enthusiasts either came near or successfully climaxed upon seeing the scratched bezel on my Nodus Sector Deep.
Other Factors
Some other factors did not impact my dives, such as the lume, for I did not go on a single night dive this season, nor the bracelet, for I used extra-long exposure suit straps. The case’s weight, size, and overall shape also had no impact.
What did have an overwhelming impact was that the Sector Deep does not look like jewelry to most civilians, and the Nodus brand name does not immediately conjure up a price tag starting at five figures. At the start of this dive season, I wore my trusty Omega Seamaster 300, and on almost every occasion, it attracted some unwanted attention. When it came to working with students, it became a distraction. When it came to other divers, it caused friction. The Sector Deep just showed up, did the job, and left without a fuss. My only recommendation for future Sector Deep models is to redesign the hour and minute hand to be simpler. This would further aid in making the timepiece non-descript and less eye-catching.
Final Thoughts
Writing about an industry filled with unnecessary products, brands selling lifestyles that are not attainable, and some just outright lying about their watches, from where they are made to what they are designed to do, can make one feel disgruntled. It can also make one dissociate from the brands and their consumers who follow what they are marketed to and treat it as gospel. However, the team at Nodus, having made a statement piece with the Deep, has shone a light on the fallacies and ridiculousness of the industry. All the while making a tool perfect for working in a dive setting. Nodus’ success with the Sector Deep is well deserved, and this brand has once again given me a reason to smile and be hopeful about this industry.
Check out more Nodus reviews at The Watch Clicker here
Check out the Nodus website here
