Garmin Descent MK2

[stuartv]

I am a perdix fan, truther, whatnot, but I find it impossible to believe this without stating why all the features of the upcoming MK2 if it has AI would not beat the pants off a teric?

I am talking features not reliability or bulletproofedness

If they come out with a Mk 2 that has AI that uses PPS transmitters, then clearly, obviously, it will beat the pants off the Teric on Features. Anybody who tries to debate that would have to be completely drunk on Shear-Aid.

However, there have been and are plenty of computers that beat the Teric on features. That doesn't mean it's a dive computer that is worth a hoot.

Reliability and customer service ARE important.

But, usability is also hugely important. The Oceanic Geo/Atomic is a great computer, with just about any feature you would need - if you just look at the feature list. But, go read some reviews and see how MANY, MANY people say that the menus make it a real pain in the butt to use. Note: I have 2 Terics and I also have an Atom 3.0, which was my very first dive computer.

Usability translates into things like how easy it is to do a gas switch when you want to. And how easy it is to switch to the correct gas.

I use to have a Seabear H3. It did everything my Perdix (that I had at the time) did (except AI). But, one annoying that about the H3 was that any time I splashed with a deco gas, it would sit there prompting me to switch to the deco gas, during my descent, until I got past the MOD of that gas. All my Shearwaters were/are smart enough not to do that. That is an example of usability.

There are many different factors that work together (or don't!) to make a computer's usability either "High", "Low", or somewhere in between. I only gave a couple of examples.

The reason Shearwater computers are so highly regarded is because they generally have all the features any diver needs, PLUS unbeaten customer service, unbeaten reliability, and unbeaten usability.

A Descent Mk 2 might win on features. But, only time will tell how it stacks up on usability, reliability, and customer service. And, since it has no history, and the Mk 1 really has comparatively little history, it will really need to do a STELLAR job on all fronts to REALLY compete with the Teric.

I have not dived with a Descent. I don't know how the usability compares to a Teric. My only point is that comparing only the features of 2 dive computers is a poor way to make a choice between them.

ps. If they do release a Mk2 and it has AI that is compatible with the AI transmitters I have (the PPS ones that Shearwater, Oceanic, Aqualung, Hollis, etc. use), I will almost certainly buy one. But, if I did not have a dive computer at all, and was just buying one, I would absolutely buy a Shearwater. No way I would trust my one and only dive computer to a company that is relatively unproven in making dive computers. And especially not Garmin. I've been a Garmin customer continuously for around 20 years. I've been treated well by their customer service, but their firmware is virtually always buggy and rarely gets any fixes. At least, not in the 6 or 7 (or more?) GPS's I have owned.

 

[NAUI Wowie]

If they come out with a Mk 2 that has AI that uses PPS transmitters, then clearly, obviously, it will beat the pants off the Teric on Features. Anybody who tries to debate that would have to be completely drunk on Shear-Aid.

However, there have been and are plenty of computers that beat the Teric on features. That doesn't mean it's a dive computer that is worth a hoot.

Reliability and customer service ARE important.

But, usability is also hugely important. The Oceanic Geo/Atomic is a great computer, with just about any feature you would need - if you just look at the feature list. But, go read some reviews and see how MANY, MANY people say that the menus make it a real pain in the butt to use. Note: I have 2 Terics and I also have an Atom 3.0, which was my very first dive computer.

Usability translates into things like how easy it is to do a gas switch when you want to. And how easy it is to switch to the correct gas.

I use to have a Seabear H3. It did everything my Perdix (that I had at the time) did (except AI). But, one annoying that about the H3 was that any time I splashed with a deco gas, it would sit there prompting me to switch to the deco gas, during my descent, until I got past the MOD of that gas. All my Shearwaters were/are smart enough not to do that. That is an example of usability.

There are many different factors that work together (or don't!) to make a computer's usability either "High", "Low", or somewhere in between. I only gave a couple of examples.

The reason Shearwater computers are so highly regarded is because they generally have all the features any diver needs, PLUS unbeaten customer service, unbeaten reliability, and unbeaten usability.

A Descent Mk 2 might win on features. But, only time will tell how it stacks up on usability, reliability, and customer service. And, since it has no history, and the Mk 1 really has comparatively little history, it will really need to do a STELLAR job on all fronts to REALLY compete with the Teric.

I have not dived with a Descent. I don't know how the usability compares to a Teric. My only point is that comparing only the features of 2 dive computers is a poor way to make a choice between them.

ps. If they do release a Mk2 and it has AI that is compatible with the AI transmitters I have (the PPS ones that Shearwater, Oceanic, Aqualung, Hollis, etc. use), I will almost certainly buy one. But, if I did not have a dive computer at all, and was just buying one, I would absolutely buy a Shearwater. No way I would trust my one and only dive computer to a company that is relatively unproven in making dive computers. And especially not Garmin. I've been a Garmin customer continuously for around 20 years. I've been treated well by their customer service, but their firmware is virtually always buggy and rarely gets any fixes. At least, not in the 6 or 7 (or more?) GPS's I have owned.

Awesome post. I agree with everything you say. I am just thinking that for a second computer I would love a MK2 if it has AI and is easy to use. My first dive computer a couple years ago was a royal pain and every couple months when i did a dive trip i forgot how to use it. It was the worst. I think its a zoop something....god I would love to put that junk under a tire and run it over. I may just do that once I buy another backup to my perdix

 

[Derelict]

I have a Perdix and a Descent. They ran the same deco profiles. The descent is fantastic, I like the fact that during deco it shows the seconds along with the minutes, so you know exactly where you're at, unlike Shearwater where sometimes 1 minute of deco can be 3 minutes and there's no way to tell. The feature I didn't like was that it kept giving me warnings about my o2 CNS at 90% and telling me to ascend immediately, even though I still had 10 minutes of deco. It then told me it was above 100% CNS. Minor annoyance but a pretty unnecessary feature in my eyes. The other minor issues was it prompting deco cylinder changes again when surge kept pushing me down a couple metres, but you can tell it to never ask again, and the other one being 3m last stop is locked in, can't change it.

Otherwise, absolutely fantastic computer. Really smart too under the water.

 

[stuartv]

I have a Perdix and a Descent. They ran the same deco profiles. The descent is fantastic, I like the fact that during deco it shows the seconds along with the minutes, so you know exactly where you're at, unlike Shearwater where sometimes 1 minute of deco can be 3 minutes and there's no way to tell. The feature I didn't like was that it kept giving me warnings about my o2 CNS at 90% and telling me to ascend immediately, even though I still had 10 minutes of deco. It then told me it was above 100% CNS. Minor annoyance but a pretty unnecessary feature in my eyes. The other minor issues was it prompting deco cylinder changes again when surge kept pushing me down a couple metres, but you can tell it to never ask again, and the other one being 3m last stop is locked in, can't change it.

Otherwise, absolutely fantastic computer. Really smart too under the water.

Good feedback. There are some issues you mentioned that I would definitely take as issues of "usability".

Side note: On the Perdix, it should show a thin blue bar just under one of the labels in the top row. That bar lights up in 4 segments - one every 15 seconds. Obviously, it's not as exact as showing seconds. But, it takes up a lot less screen real estate. It adds no "clutter". And, I don't know. For me, it really satisfies my desire for having something more fine than just a display of number of minutes.

I'm not sure how that connects to the other point about 1 minute can be 3 minutes. Even if it showed seconds, I don't see how the 2 things relate. And, in my experience, when 1 minute turns into 3, it's because I have the Shearwater set for a last stop of 10 feet and I have actually stopped at more like 20. When else do you see it say 1 minute and then take 3 minutes to clear you?

 

[Derelict]

Good feedback. There are some issues you mentioned that I would definitely take as issues of "usability".

Side note: On the Perdix, it should show a thin blue bar just under one of the labels in the top row. That bar lights up in 4 segments - one every 15 seconds. Obviously, it's not as exact as showing seconds. But, it takes up a lot less screen real estate. It adds no "clutter". And, I don't know. For me, it really satisfies my desire for having something more fine than just a display of number of minutes.

I'm not sure how that connects to the other point about 1 minute can be 3 minutes. Even if it showed seconds, I don't see how the 2 things relate. And, in my experience, when 1 minute turns into 3, it's because I have the Shearwater set for a last stop of 10 feet and I have actually stopped at more like 20. When else do you see it say 1 minute and then take 3 minutes to clear you?

That's what I was talking about. But with the Descent showing the seconds, it sometimes slows them down so you can see that exactly. I had a friend who had forgotten to turn off his 100% and his time was changing really slowly.

 

[Jay]

If they come out with a Mk 2 that has AI that uses PPS transmitters, then clearly, obviously, it will beat the pants off the Teric on Features. Anybody who tries to debate that would have to be completely drunk on Shear-Aid.

I hope I’m not excessively drunk on the Sher-Aid ... but ... I have to say SurfGF is such a powerful feature.

Also SW deserve kudos for the innovation, and for their future innovations via free FW updates.

 

[RobPNW]

I want to use my stimulus check on a new computer. Let's go already Garmin!

 

[Peter Bomberg]

Doesn't anyone here have a contact at Garmin? I don't but hoping, just a glimmer of hope would be nice

 

[Ben_3]

I bet the virus will delay any new announcement..

 

[vjb.knife]

I have a Descent and would like to speak to Garmin's customer service, versatility and reliability. I have had the Descent for about a year without problems. Between my wife and I, we have 4 other Garmin products besides the Descent and we have had at least 3 others. These include bicycle computers, fitness watches, car GPS, and handheld GPS and we have owned them for at least 12 years. We have never had any type of failure or malfunction with any of them. A few years back I worked at REI and sold Garmin products as well as helped customers when they had problems with them. It was few and far between that any of them had a problem other than user error. I had to call Garmin customer service a few times and they were great. The other nice thing about the Descent is that it has functions for numerous other activities besides SCUBA Diving. It will link to a heart rate monitor and other bicycle accessories. It has the ability to track, record, save and send by Bluetooth to your phone running, walking, swimming, exercise, golfing, paddle boarding, etc. I do not think many if any other dive computers can do this.