The market of spearfishing and freediving watches is separated in two, Chinese low cost and very low reliability products, which are very affordable, but the value for money is still not worth the price, and European design and manufactured solutions, that are made to last. We really want to suggest only this part for our readers to consider in their shopping list.
This part is then separated into very expensive top quality solutions that go beyond 800€ or more, with a ton a very useful, but sometimes even excessive, functions, and the also top quality ones that are though much more affordable and inside the 300€ price. In this range a new winner has arrived, the Mares Sirius Hunter computer watch. As already anticipated, this new Excellence has been already tested by the Apnea Passion International Team and has been elected unanimously the 2025 Best Choice winner. Let’s see all the amazing features of this new product by Mares Pure Passion.
Light and resistant materials
Grilamid case
First thing to notice of the Mares Sirius Hunter is the nice robust design of the case. It is made in Grimalid. Such material is a high-performance PA12 polyamide known for being very lightweight, impact-resistant, rigid, and stable against UV exposure and temperature changes. The total weight of the case measured by Apnea Passion is 51.5 grams, extremely light!
Gorilla Glass watch crystal
The crystal of the Mares Sirius Hunter is in Gorilla Glass. This material is the most advanced solution used on mobile phones and smart watches to obtain the lightest weight united to an excellent resistance to damage, cracks and scratches.
Silicone strap and steel buttons
The buttons, two as in the previous Mares Smart Apnea, which make it very simple to access the menu, are in high quality stainless steel. Definitely a higher level than many cheap Chinese watches.
The watch strap is in soft silicone, very smooth and nice at the touch, for a very comfortable feel when worn directly on the skin.
Dimensions and weight
Good dimension case
The nice and quality looking design of the case has good dimensions. The width measured by Apnea Passion is 52 mm, while the height is 61 mm including the 4 extensions to connect the straps. The thickness of the case is 17.7 mm.
Big resistant crystal
The crystal is also big for nice readings. The entire crystal has a diameter of 40 m, which includes the circular printed crown indicating the functions of the buttons and the “Mares” and “Sirius Hunter” names. The area with LCD indications is instead 34 mm in diameter, a good 3 mm more than the Mares Smart Apnea.
Wide, durable and extendable strap
The silicone strap is 25 mm wide and 3 mm thick as minimum value, which makes it resistant and durable. The total length of the standard strap from end to end including of course the case is 25.5 mm, a sufficient length for everyday use and medium thickness wetsuits and gloves.
It is possible to buy an extended strap to use it with thick Winter wetsuits. Great option! Also, it is possible to buy different colour straps to substitute the with the standard black one.
The strap has a very handy fast connection system to the case.
Really light
Especially when you dive you don’t want too much weight on your wrist. The Mares Sirius Hunter weighs as a whole 85.2 grams, much lighter than many low quality Chinese products.
High readability screen
The LCD Chip-on-Glass technology screen ensures clear and easily readable data. Such technology is designed to ensure visibility even in challenging diving conditions. This is a key element and a top quality solution for the Mares Sirius Hunter.
User friendly and key functions
The Mares Sirius Hunter wins the Best Choice also for the very user friendly functions menu and the presence of all the key ones. No quite useless indication of Taravana alarms, which today are still not precise and set to recovery times which are well beyond normal safety parameters. Instead, the Mares Sirius Hunter has all the functions for spearfishing, freediving and also pool training.
Spearfishing and freediving
What do we need from a dive computer watch for freediving and spearfishing basically? Dive time, surface time, water temperature, and maximum depth. All this is present on the Mares Sirius Hunter, in a very simple and user friendly menu.
A key data that all spearos really love to have at the touch of a button during their very long spearfishing sessions of many hours is the time of day. Seems crazy, but many dive watches make it quite tricky to read the time when the dive function is activated. With the Mares Sirius Hunter you simply press the button on the top right and the time of day display appears. When you press it again you are back in a second to the dive screen. Simple, and fantastic!
Data LOG and App via Bluetooth
Of course we also want to see al the registered data after our freediving or spearfishing session, and this is also easy with the LOG function. For every dive you can check all the above data and the number of your dive. It is also very nice to have an immediate indication of your average descent and ascent speed simply at the touch of a button. The speed is not always present immediately on dive watches, so this is a plus.
The Mares Sirius Hunter can record data of over 10 hours of diving sessions at a sampling rate of 0.5 seconds. The complete graphs of each dive can be seen on the Mares or SSI Apps downloading all the information simply using the Bluetooth connection. This solution is absent on practically all dive watches of the same price range. We will present and analyze the App and its functions in a following article.
Pool training
Another key element present on the Mares Sirius Hunter are the training in the pool functions such as Chrono, Lap Count, CountDown and CountUp. The Chrono and CountDown permits you have to simple classic timings, which permit you to measure lap times and apnea times, like static apnea (Chrono), or simply give you the right timing to start each session of a training (CountDown). With the Lap Count you can register the number of laps in your swimming sessions.
With the CountUp you have a very specific function. It allows you to set two different intervals which alternate for up to 99 times. You can set the timer, at first defining one interval, then the other, followed by the number of repetitions. You then start the timer. Once the first interval has been reached, the second interval will start and there will be three short beeps. When the second interval has been reached, there will be one long beep and the first interval starts again, while the REP (repetitions) counter increases by one. When you get to the end of the REP, there will be three long beeps.
Battery
The charge of the Mares Sirius Hunter is ensured by a CR 2450 battery, a very ease to buy product. It permits between 200 to 300 hours of diving time. The Mares Sirius Hunter has an indication of the battery life on the display, with three possible statuses. If the indication is not visible the battery has good charge. If the battery symbol appears full there is charge for some more spearfishing and freediving sessions, but battery should be changed soon. Partially filled blinking battery symbol indicates the charge is not sufficient for more sessions and should be changed immediately. Battery charge can also be checked in the Info section of the menu.
As with most non-rechargeable dive watches, it is possible to change the battery personally, simply unscrewing the rear cap using a coin. It is not a difficult process for those who are handy. Still, in case of damage Mares does not recognize the Warranty (2 years).
