With the imminent release of the Descent Mk1, a watch designed specifically for underwater diving, it’s even more clear that Garmin is doing a great job cornering the market on high-performance watches built for both serious athletes and dedicated recreationists.
The Descent Mk1, which Garmin will bring to market by the end of this year, gives recreational, technical, and free divers a spate of on-wrist tools to plan dives and gather in-dive data.
Both in and out of water, wearers can access info including dive time, ascent/descent rates, decompression data, and temperature. The Mk1 also packs a heart rate monitor, a gyroscope, and a 3-axis compass. (Users can access the watch’s GPS system out of the water, but not when diving.)
Descent Mk1 diving watch
The device supports single-gas, multigas, gauge, and apnea diving, including nitrox and trimix. It works for dives up to 100 meters and has a battery life of approximately 40 hours when in dive mode.
The brand will release two Descent Mk1 styles: one with a stainless-steel bezel and silicone band, and a premium version with a titanium bezel and a scratch-resistant titanium bracelet.
As expected, they don’t come cheap—the stainless steel version will be priced at $999.99, while the titanium iteration will set shoppers back a whopping $1,499.
(Top: Another view of the Descent Mk1 diving watch)
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