How is the Descent for backcountry navigating? Mapping capability? I hike more than I dive but am intrigued at the idea of having a single device on my wrist to do "all the things!"
New Garmin Dive Computer: Descent G1
- Thread starter scrane
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
AgentKooper
Registered
Gatorfish
Registered
The MK2 has navigation, tracking and mapping functionality. The G1 has them as well but in a more limited fashion, ie doesn’t hold as much data so you have to upload each area prior to your trip. Both pair with the Garmin Explore App. I haven’t fully explored these features. But have used the tracking and maps on hikes.
The MK2 also has the Golf course feature and pairs with garmin golf app. I don’t play golf but apparently you can load courses and it will tell you distance.
spchampion
Registered
Excellent. I used my Mk2i for a 3-day backpacking trip last summer along the CDT in the Weminuche Wilderness, and it was flawless. I actually carried my older Oregon handheld and didn't turn it on once. The entire package of data and mapping you get in the Descent's "Hike" mode is outstanding for backpacking, especially if you've prepped a navigation route ahead of time (which I did).
That said, if you were planning something off-trail or trailblazing, I would only recommend the Descent as a backup (the same holds true for any watch-based GPS). The maps on a touchscreen handheld GPS are more usable for orienteering without a trail or preplanned route. The Descent is definitely adequate, but the lack of a touchscreen makes it a bit harder to use.
AgentKooper
Registered
I've had my Descent G1 Solar for a week now, and here are my impressions. I haven't had a chance to dive with it yet, so I'm focused on the general smart watch aspects for now.
Coming from an Apple watch that needed recharging at least every 24 hours, I'm loving the Garmin's battery life. I wore the Apple while sleeping, so there was never a convenient time to charge it, often resulting in me wearing a dead watch for half the day until I could get to a charger
It's been exactly seven days since I put a full charge on the Garmin after unboxing it, and it still has 43 percent battery life remaining. According to the Garmin battery life estimator, that translates into 9 more days. I've been playing around with different settings with GPS, pulse oximeter, etc., so have been using more battery power over the past week than I expect to during a typical week going forward.
The solar charging capability is pretty cool. A couple times over the past week I've found myself sitting on the couch with a bright square of sunshine next to me coming in through the window, so I've removed the watch and put it in the sun. About an hour each time, resulting in a couple extra days of charge, according to the battery indicator. I also was out in the sun for 2-3 hours at a soccer game and at the end of the day my battery life was at the same percentage it had been at when I woke up.
There's watch face widget that tracks solar intensity captured by the watch, and it's been entertaining to watch that while out walking the dogs, driving, working in the yard, etc. It seems to capture full intensity through windows, which is nice.
The watch display took some getting used to after the bright, colorful Apple display, but that's the tradeoff for the excellent battery life. The black and white Garmin display feels a little old school, but it's still easy to read and looks good. Reading the tiny widget displays at night using the backlight can be a challenge to my 50-year-old eyes. I'm curious to assess the screen visibility while diving, but the critical info on the dive screens seems to be in font large enough that I don't expect it to be a problem.
This is my first Garmin, so the watch functions and five buttons presented somewhat of a learning curve, but it all seems pretty well thought out, and has been easy enough to master. The (200 page!) manual is comprehensive and clear. Besides diving, there are a lot of other functions I haven't had a chance to check out yet (navigation is the big one), so I'm looking forward to keep learning what it can do.
In terms of aesthetics, I like the size and styling. I got it in hurricane blue, and it fits my wrist perfectly -- not too big, not too small. With its 45mm circumference, it's the same height as my Apple watch, but it's wider, and I like the way it looks on my wrist better.
My only real complaint so far is that the weather widget kind of sucks. It's not clear to me where the watch draws its weather data from -- it's always a few degrees off from the weather app on my iPhone, and -- far worse -- it seems to lag significantly enough behind actual conditions so as to be fairly useless. This is something that has generated a lot of online complaint. My settings are all as Garmin says they're supposed to be, but the data is still unreliable. Not a deal-breaker, but pretty annoying.
All in all though, I wanted a watch that could track fitness and sleep metrics, that I didn't have to worry about charging very often, and that could function as a backup dive computer. So far it's looking like a winner on all counts. I've got some dives coming up over the next three months, and look forward to posting more impressions then.
Coming from an Apple watch that needed recharging at least every 24 hours, I'm loving the Garmin's battery life. I wore the Apple while sleeping, so there was never a convenient time to charge it, often resulting in me wearing a dead watch for half the day until I could get to a charger
It's been exactly seven days since I put a full charge on the Garmin after unboxing it, and it still has 43 percent battery life remaining. According to the Garmin battery life estimator, that translates into 9 more days. I've been playing around with different settings with GPS, pulse oximeter, etc., so have been using more battery power over the past week than I expect to during a typical week going forward.
The solar charging capability is pretty cool. A couple times over the past week I've found myself sitting on the couch with a bright square of sunshine next to me coming in through the window, so I've removed the watch and put it in the sun. About an hour each time, resulting in a couple extra days of charge, according to the battery indicator. I also was out in the sun for 2-3 hours at a soccer game and at the end of the day my battery life was at the same percentage it had been at when I woke up.
There's watch face widget that tracks solar intensity captured by the watch, and it's been entertaining to watch that while out walking the dogs, driving, working in the yard, etc. It seems to capture full intensity through windows, which is nice.
The watch display took some getting used to after the bright, colorful Apple display, but that's the tradeoff for the excellent battery life. The black and white Garmin display feels a little old school, but it's still easy to read and looks good. Reading the tiny widget displays at night using the backlight can be a challenge to my 50-year-old eyes. I'm curious to assess the screen visibility while diving, but the critical info on the dive screens seems to be in font large enough that I don't expect it to be a problem.
This is my first Garmin, so the watch functions and five buttons presented somewhat of a learning curve, but it all seems pretty well thought out, and has been easy enough to master. The (200 page!) manual is comprehensive and clear. Besides diving, there are a lot of other functions I haven't had a chance to check out yet (navigation is the big one), so I'm looking forward to keep learning what it can do.
In terms of aesthetics, I like the size and styling. I got it in hurricane blue, and it fits my wrist perfectly -- not too big, not too small. With its 45mm circumference, it's the same height as my Apple watch, but it's wider, and I like the way it looks on my wrist better.
My only real complaint so far is that the weather widget kind of sucks. It's not clear to me where the watch draws its weather data from -- it's always a few degrees off from the weather app on my iPhone, and -- far worse -- it seems to lag significantly enough behind actual conditions so as to be fairly useless. This is something that has generated a lot of online complaint. My settings are all as Garmin says they're supposed to be, but the data is still unreliable. Not a deal-breaker, but pretty annoying.
All in all though, I wanted a watch that could track fitness and sleep metrics, that I didn't have to worry about charging very often, and that could function as a backup dive computer. So far it's looking like a winner on all counts. I've got some dives coming up over the next three months, and look forward to posting more impressions then.
I ordered the Fenix 7, and will just use my existing dive computer. I'm hoping to get to play with it soon!
Thanks for the extremely detailed review. Could you post side by side photos with the Apple watch for size comparison?
AgentKooper
Registered
Sure, here you go.
EDIT: The Garmin appears way more blue in these photos than it does in person. It’s more subtle and grayish than it looks like here.
Size comparison between the Garmin Descent G1 & Shearwater Teric. On a side note I will say that the Teric is hands down a way better dive computer if you only focus on the dive functionality. If however you just use your dive computer to monitor depth and NDL, then the G1 is fine. This isn't a review post so I won't go into the pros and cons of each computer. Personally I use the G1 as a backup should my trusty Teric fail + I use it for all the other smartwatch capabilities.
The thing that I feel is the most unique to the Garmin series of dive computers is the ability to activate the Garmin inreach mini remotely on the surface without having to take the inreach out of its waterproof case. A couple of things less to worry about when you are in a jam.
Similar threads
