Are you a serious scuba diver who needs a high-quality diving watch?
If so, you have come to the right place because we’re going to review a high-quality and super functional diving watch from Garmin.
Garmin Descent MK2
The Garment Descent MK2 diving watch is more or less a full-scale diving computer.
This option is not cheap, but it comes with some of the most and best features you could imagine in any diving watch.
Who is This Product For?
The MK2 is designed for extremely serious divers who want the best for every dive.
This is a super high-end dive watch with a massive price tag, but with that said, you get what you pay for, and what you get here is the ultimate in durability, quality, and functionality.
What’s Included?
Included with the MK2 are an extra-long adjustment strap, the charging cable, and documentation.
Overview of Features
So the Garmin Descent MK2 has an insane number of features that we can talk about, which is why the features section will be the main focus here today.
We will do our best to list them all and to not miss anything!
Build Quality and Battery Life
First off, let’s take a look at the basic specs.
For one, you get a sapphire crystal lens with a stainless-steel bezel and a fiber-reinforced polymer case.
What is important to note is that this unit is very impact-resistant, and in terms of diving, it can go as deep as 100 meters (around 330 feet).
The MK2 an excellent battery life of:
- Up to 16 days in smartwatch mode
- Up to 50 days in the battery saver mode
- Up to 15 hours when using GPS + Music
- Up to 48 hours when using GPS
- Up to 80 hours in dive mode.
When it comes to both durability and battery performance, you will be hard-pressed to find a better dive watch than this.
Capabilities and Functionalities
The MK2 features a variety of dive modes to accommodate both single and multiple gas dives (including trimix and nitrox), as well as gauge, apnea hunt, apnea, and closed-circuit rebreathing.
This unit also allows you to add additional screens for each dive mode that features the field you need to see.
This unit allows divers to track their entry and exit points using advanced satellite connectivity.
On that same note, the MK2 enables you to pair with inReach satellite communicators.
You can store and review data for up to 200 dives and use the Garmin Dive app to share your info.
The MK2 provides you with advanced training metrics that include running dynamics, heat and altitude adjusted VO2 Max, a recovery adviser, and more.
This unit has an extra feature that helps you keep on pace with a grade-adjusted guidance system.
The MK2 comes with various sports apps for everything from scuba diving and swimming to rowing, skiing, golfing, biking, and more.
For instance, this diving computer can provide you with full MTB dynamics if you are mountain biking.
There are also a wide variety of animated workouts to help you get going.
This unit also comes with so-called surf-ready features, various features design for surfers, with the ability to use Surfline Sessions, an app that records every wave for later viewing.
Quite honestly, there is almost too much for us to list here, so let’s just finish this section off with a quick list of the remaining features that we have not yet covered.
- Topography maps
- Ski maps
- ABC surface sensors
- Wrist-based heart rate
- Comfortable silicone strap
- Pulse Ox sensor
- All-day respiration
- Advanced sleep monitoring
- Recovery time
- Daily workout suggestions
- Turn-by-turn navigation
- Round-trip routing
- High-quality safety features
- Store up to 2,000 songs
- Garmin Pay contactless payments
- Connect IQ Store
- Smart notifications
As you can see, the Garmin Descent MK2 comes with so many useful features, many for diving and even more for various other sports.
This is more or less an all-in-one fitness tracker, diving watch, GPS, and computer rolled into one fantastic package.
Tutorial
The Garmin Descent MK2 has many features and functions, and to put them all to use, you need to know what you are doing.
For this reason, here we have included several tutorial videos on how to get started with the Garmin Descent MK2.
[su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODY0MRYxY_g&ab_channel=GarminPhilippines”]
Pros
- High-quality display
- Superior durability
- Can dive deep
- Great battery life
- Good safety features
- Tons of functions
- For diving and many other sports
Cons
- Very expensive
- It can be hard to read in the dark
Alternatives
If the MK2 is too expensive for you, there are more affordable options. However, how close they get to the MK2 in terms of quality is questionable.
That said, if you are looking for cheaper alternatives, both the TEKMAGIC 10 ATM Digital Submersible Diving Watch and the Orient Men’s Kamasu Stainless Steel Japanese-Automatic Diving Watch are good ones to consider.
TEKMAGIC 10 ATM Digital Submersible Diving Watch
Orient Men’s Kamasu Stainless Steel Japanese-Automatic Diving Watch
Conclusion
Although the Garmin MK2 may be very expensive as far as diving watches go, the simple reality is that it is one of the very best in the world.
