Freestyle FS85008 Precision 2.0 Classic: A Stylish Entry-level Dive Watch
It can be hard for those of us who are looking for the best tough watch there is without giving up on style. Some of the most rugged watches are not fashionable and many stylish watches are not durable.
It can be hard to find something that is practical and beautiful, that covers form and function both. Freestyle Men’s Precision 2.0 Classic Dive Dual Time Watch seems to come close in satisfying both needs. But does it make a good buy? Let’s see.
Is Freestyle Men’s Precision 2.0 any Good?
Gorgeous Look
Freestyle Precision 2.0 Classic is one extremely attractive watch. Black face with white dial and numerals, the mineral crystal dial window, and blue illumination all make it for an elegant watch. By its looks, it is definitely a watch you could wear out to a fancy event.
It also comes with a wide range of useful features: date window, lap time, alarms, dual times, even a compass, and the previously mentioned luminosity. It is also 200 meters (660 feet) water resistant, so is the perfect watch for divers, surfers, or anyone who likes to be in or around water.
However, these qualities alone does not necessarily qualify the Freestyle Precision 2.0 classic as one of the best dive watches. Do check out our pick of the best dive watches you can get for $500 if nothing but the ultimate is what you are looking for.
Large Casing
It looks fantastic, has incredible functionality, and is tough as nails, but it is not all perfect. First, it is very big, huge even. This can be either a pro or con depending on your own personal style.
I like big watches myself, but this one is pretty large. Its thickness is particularly less than ideal. Big faces intrigue me, but so does sleekness, and sleek this watch is not. Though perhaps sleekness often does not come in pair with the best tough watch.
Issues You Want to Note
There are on top of this some design issues. The digital and analog times are very difficult if not impossible to sync up. A minor issue maybe, but if you’re obsessively compulsive about such things as I am, it can be quite a distraction.
I could see this feature ending up useful, however, for anyone that needs to keep track of two different time zones. Anyone who travels regularly or has loved ones living far away might deeply value this feature.
What seems to have no useful interpretation, however, is the absolutely giant size of the hour hand which ends up obscuring the digital time window for almost half of the day. It’s hard to use the digital display component to keep track of another time zone when you can’t see it half the time.
The size of the hour hand goes along with the sometimes clunky yet still satisfying aesthetic of the watch, but it is definitely a case when form sadly limits function. And even when the digital display is not being blocked by the analog hands, it’s difficult to read except in the most ideal and perfect lighting conditions. The slightest wrong angle makes it nearly impossible to see.
These limitations of the digital display’s legibility, along with its being nearly impossible to sync with the analog time, makes this feature of the watch practically useless. I almost feels like it is just a gimmick. And it’s important to think about the quality of the display when you are searching for one of the best dive watches you can find for yourself or your water-loving friend.
In the End
As you can see, Freestyle FS85008 Precision 2.0 classic dive watch is a beautiful watch but it comes with a number of usability flaws.
If you are simply looking for a watch that is going to earn you compliments when you wear it on your wrist, this might be one of them. But if you are expecting a lot of in terms of functionality, this might not be a wise investment.
Bonus: If you have $200 to spend, which would be the toughest analog watch you could pick?
Image credit: Khairul Nizam
