Garmin Descent MK2

[waterone]

Personally, I would never care to monitor other divers gases, I guess this could be something if you were an instructor. Of course, instructors have been dealing with this issue forever, without direct monitoring.

I think its a cool thing for my kids but I cant really seeing any dive shop spending a ton to put these on student setups. All the shops I have ever been to have cheap student gear..

 

[scubadada]

I simply can't imagine any resort that would invest in this technology, not just now, ever

 

[waterone]

I simply can't imagine any resort that would invest in this technology, not just now, ever

At this point probably not but if they add more feature sets down the line and give a hell of a discount....maybe.

 

[Dillon914]

Hey guys,

I have my hands on a MK2i, and I just wrote a review about it, and how it compares to the MK1, and the Teric.

https://www.divetech.com/post/review-of-the-garmin-descent-mk2i

Let me know if you have any questions on it, and I'll do my best to answer them.

Tony

So is the only difference between the MK1 and MK2 (not with AI) the oxygen sensor ?

 

[SavDiver]

So is the only difference between the MK1 and MK2 (not with AI) the oxygen sensor ?

That and some of the faces have changed, I have the descent mk1 and some of those faces differ. I do like the no-fly time on the top right side that keeps with the face no matter what. The no-fly time only works on one of the watch faces. I think for the price of the unit with air integration ill pass. Considering that the baseline is around $1400 USD I think Garmin is gonna find out real fast that it won't sell as fast because of the price. I love other Garmin products but I don't believe the air integration is worth $1400 to upgrade from my mk1. I'll just switch to my peredix if I am that desperate for AI (which I trust more than my mk1 for some deco diving)

 

[Dillon914]

That and some of the faces have changed, I have the descent mk1 and some of those faces differ. I do like the no-fly time on the top right side that keeps with the face no matter what. The no-fly time only works on one of the watch faces. I think for the price of the unit with air integration ill pass. Considering that the baseline is around $1400 USD I think Garmin is gonna find out real fast that it won't sell as fast because of the price. I love other Garmin products but I don't believe the air integration is worth $1400 to upgrade from my mk1. I'll just switch to my peredix if I am that desperate for AI (which I trust more than my mk1 for some deco diving)

I’m mean at this point I’ll try to snag a sweat deal on an MK1 that might still hold its value for another 5 years until or if the MK3 is out

 

[waterone]

So is the only difference between the MK1 and MK2 (not with AI) the oxygen sensor ?

From the video posted earlier-
1/3rd Larger display
Added customizable data fields
New deco and safety stop screen
New buttons
Garmin pay
Music streaming
Updated heart rate and added pulse
Better battery

 

[vjb.knife1]

Hey guys,

I have my hands on a MK2i, and I just wrote a review about it, and how it compares to the MK1, and the Teric.

https://www.divetech.com/post/review-of-the-garmin-descent-mk2i

Let me know if you have any questions on it, and I'll do my best to answer them.

Tony

Nice review. I have a Garmin MK1 that I use occassionally and my Wife actually uses it more on dives than I do. I like the MK1 but might get the MK2i. Thanks for the info and taking the time to share your experience. Some of the instructors at one of the local Dive shops here did some testing of the MK2i some months ago and they seemed pretty positive about it. Between my Wife and I we have 2 Bike computers a handheld a car gps and 2 watches made by Garmin and have had zero issues with over 10 years or so of use. They do everything we need them to do and more and do it well.

 

[TuckerIdaho]

The 2 computers are almost identical, in size, shape and weight.

There is a NOTICABLE difference in weight and the screen on first look has more real estate.

 

[Divetech Cayman]

There is a NOTICABLE difference in weight and the screen on first look has more real estate.

I would disagree on this. I've sold my MK1 so I can't weigh it, but it looks and feels the same. However 'feel' is pretty arbitrary, so let's look at the Garmin website:

Descent MK1 is
51 x 51 x 17.8 mm
steel with silicone band: 101 g
titanium with silicone band: 94 g
titanium with titanium band: 145 g

Descent MK2:
52 x 52 x 17.8 mm
silicone band: 99.6 g
titanium band: 160.3 g

Within 1 x 1mm size and at most 5.6 grams of weight. That's close enough to call them identical. For comparison, I just weighed one of my backplate wing nuts, and that is 8 grams. I doubt anyone could pick up the 2 computers and discern one was heaver than the other by feel.

Screen is bigger of course - 30.4mm on the MK1 compared to 35.56 mm on the MK2i. 1/3rd more screen area sounds like a lot, but honestly, you don't notice a 5mm diameter increase, unless you hold them side by side.

Tony