Citizen Promaster Diver Unboxing – The BN0151-09L

I just picked up my latest present to myself from the post office – a brand new Citizen Promaster Diver BN0151-09L. This is the blue-toned variation of Citizen’s inexpensive Eco-Drive dive watch, the black dialed model being the BN0150-28E.

I picked it up from Amazon.com and got it in just a couple days, you can check current pricing here.

[infobox title=’Citizen Promaster Diver BN0151-09L Review’]You can check out my full review by clicking here – Citizen Promaster Diver BN0151-09L Review.[/infobox]

Come along with me as I unbox it and give my first impressions!

The first thing that may surprise you on receiving the new Promaster Diver is the size of the box. If you’ve ordered very many sub $200 watches you know that most of them come in a tiny watch box just large enough to fit the watch on a pillow and the paperwork.

In comparison, the box here for the BN0151-09L is huge! What could Citizen possibly be sending me that needs this large of a box?

Oh I see – Citizen has sent along a small SCUBA tank. But where’s the watch?

Taking the tank out of the box, you find that it is in fact made of light weight plastic. A manual booklet and warranty/registration information sit behind the tank at the bottom of the box. The manual is pretty thick, due to including the following languages: English, Dutch, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Japanese.

On top of the plastic SCUBA cylinder is a model of an old first stage. I’m not familiar enough with the vintage SCUBA equipment to say for sure what regulator this is based off of, but it looks like an original Cousteau. Hopefully someone will chime in in the comments. 

Citizen Eco-Drive instruction manual and registration booklet

Pulling up on the regulator you find that the tank slides open, revealing the Citizen Promaster Diver BN0151-09L sitting inside, wrapped around a black foam block.

Pulling the watch from the tank-case we get our first look at it. The Citizen Promaster Diver follows the ‘tuna can’ style of dive watch design – the case is a perfect circle, with lugs and crown/crown guards stuck on.

First impression? I already like this watch. A lot. I keep telling myself I’m going to buy watches, wear them for a few weeks to do a review, and then sell them on. So far the selling them after reviewing part of that equation hasn’t happened. We’ll see if I can let go of the Promaster after only a few weeks…

Citizen’s diving straps always include some helpful information for divers: on the left in white is the depth in meters, and then on the right in yellow is the no-decompression time limit in minutes. This is how long a diver can stay at a certain depth and still do a direct ascent to the surface, without having to worry too much about getting decompression sickness (the bends).

I love the big, bold hands on Citizen divers. Especially the distinctly colored minute hand, very useful for using the timing bezel. 

The case back features the Citizen globe logo and information about the model. It’s all printed on, rather than engraved.

Sitting on the wrist for the first time, the Citizen Promaster Diver is comfortable, and the rubber diving strap looks pretty good in blue. While a 43mm diameter is occasionally too big for my smallish wrists (6.75″), the short lug to lug length helps it sit right. The watch also isn’t very thick, at only 12mm.

Well, that’s it for the unboxing. It’ll be a few weeks before I put the full review of the BN0151-09L together. I’ve got a dive trip planned for Presidents Day Weekend (Feb 15 – 19) up to British Columbia, and the Promaster Diver is going to be my primary watch on that trip. 

Stay tuned!

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Citizen Promaster Diver BN0151-09L Specifications

• Citizen Eco-Drive quartz movement
• Solar-powered – no battery changes needed
• Aluminum unidirectional divers timing bezel
• 200 meters water resistance
• Mineral crystal with anti-reflective coating
• 43mm case diameter (48mm including crown)
• 12mm thick
• 20mm lug width
• Polyurethane band featuring diving no-decompression limits
• Date function at 4 o’clock

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