We found the best shop with low prices - to make it easy for you to buy the gear you want. ✅ Garmin Descent G1: get.divein.com/Garmin-G1 You support the channel when you buy through those links as we earn a small commission from the web shop. This is at no cost to you. If you have any questions about the fins in this video - just drop a comment below. We try to answer all questions within 24 hours.
I am a surfer, freediver and spearfisherman, I practice these activities for several months a year without interruption. I've already had 2 Garmin watches in the past, a Vivoactive and an Instict Solar Surf, but when the G1 came out I truly believed it was the ultimate smartwatch for my activities. I was sadly very disappointed! It seems to me that it has some incredible flaws and I don't understand how they haven't been improved or eliminated by their testers/athletes! The surf mode is very inaccurate, on a 15/20 waves session it detects a couple of them at most, with completely wrong speeds like 70/80 kmh on some of them. So if I decide not to activate the surf mode in my sessions, the smartwatch behaves even worse by activating the apnea mode at every single duckdive or when i fall off the board, putting the gps into operation and consuming battery, so I find myself having to stop and save the apnea session many many times to go back to the watch. In the summer I train a lot with open water swimming... terrible! The gps is very inaccurate, in fact, a couple of breaststroke strokes or a pause of seconds are enough to lose the signal and therefore invalidate the training data: total distance, time every 100 meters, etc. (for swimming, training takes place in the Italian province of Imperia, not in Burundi...) I was told by Garmin customer service that I should swim with a buoy and attach my watch to it to get the desired accuracy... The tide mode, another very useful thing for surfers, records data for only 3 future days and is promptly canceled if the smartphone is not nearby, should I go surfing with the phone? I repeat my complete disappointment with this 650 euro watch (Solar version), any athlete trying it would have realized these defects and reported them to improve it, probably they don't do enough tests on their products before putting them on the market. I would definitely not recommend it!
Madonna ma fa cagare , non si può disattivare il risveglio automatico quando rileva un’attività? Grazie del feedback comunque, mi hai fatto rivalutare molto l’idea, cerco uno sportwatch che faccia il suo lavoro con un occhio particolare all’apnea
@@paul9659 non si puo' disattivare, già contattato assistenza Garmin e mi hanno confermato, quindi ogni volta che ti fai un bagno in mare/tuffo/surfata nel mio caso, la modalità apnea si attiva di continuo, cerca il gps, consuma batteria e tu devi stoppare, salvare, attendere ed uscire con un paio di conferme dalla modalità! Dopo 5 minuti si ripresenta il problema insomma una rottura di c... tremenda
Fully Agreed, I had to purchase a dive computer as mine just died and no choice but to buy something at the airport, and this Garmin Descent is a big pile of SH... Worst design and product ever. There is plenty of data they collect but it does NOT communicate with the APP. So you end up having to enter manually all your activities which is what an excel spreadsheet woudl do better. There is also no History communication so no nice graph of you sleep pattern in th eapp, even though all the data are available on the watch. The face watch is plain ugly, no colour. When diving, the numbers are too small you cannot see or understand anything it says, it's quite dangerous actually and I ended up doing buddy with someone to have the same dive pattern. To avoid being only negative, the only think I like is the bracelet, I think they invested in a good silicon there. i will never purchase again a Garmin product as I am so upsat about this crappy watch.
Thanks for sharing your experience! I thought it was THE watch! I had a Fenix 5S which died after a winter surf while my applewatch 4 is still working... the battery is awful and the all tactile is a pain in a rainy and water environment. I guess I will still look around for the ultimate one :( thanks again for sharing your experience!
thanks for the review was thinking to switch to this watch but I'll skip it now. I have forerunner 745 and it has same gps issues when swimming. Altimeter is also completely random.
I've used G1 non-solar for a few recent dives and I must say it's very accurate. Screen super clear under water even in a dirty lake where I barely saw my buddy's fins not even a metre away from my face. Never tried G1 solar but heard the screen is not as clear as the cheaper non-solar!
@@awesomeagnihotrisvlog WTH does "serious" about diving mean? They have the same diving features besides the air integration.. More expensive doesn't mean more serious. is CCR and trimix not serious enough? Jesus ...
@@marios4all Please forgive me my friend…you’re absolutely right i thought Mk2 was a dive computer first and then a fitness watch …unlike the G1 which is a fitness watch first and then a five watch ..I was wrong
@@awesomeagnihotrisvlog The way I see it is that they are both dive computers first, and then activity watches. Hence their name. What you pay for in the mk2/mk2i is the colour display, the better construction and the air integration in the "i" version. For the rest, they'll run the same functions and the same algorithms as far as diving is concerned. No need to forgive you as there are no hard feelings :P I just triggered with the more money=more serious statement :P
Nice Video! hey , how did you setup the comptuter to read in meter and Celcius degrees? I just bought one and is in Farengeight and FT. (I cant find were to change it.
Hi Rodrigo, It's not as easy as it should be. To change from Farengeight to Celcius: Go to the Weather APP hold the "up" button, go into settings, and pick Celcius To change from Feet to Meters: Hold the "up" button, go to System - Format - Units.
My basic problems is that I can't have at first screen of spearfishing 4 or 5 elements, like I have at freedive. It has only 2 and does not allow me to change it. And that about surface timer. After the last dive the timer continues counting until the next even if the next games after days.
Are there different layouts for the apnea and apnea hunt or is that only with the main screen? I think you can change the info it shows in apnea modes, correct?
Does it have the Stealth mode like Mk2 ? If it's there you will find it in the controls menu, when you press and hold the "light" button (maybe it's disabled and you have to add it)
@@DIVEindotcom what you describe is diving in "Silent mode" and not the Stealth mode. The stealth mode doesn't affect the sound. When you enable it the watch stops saving any GPS locations and shuts down every transmission. Any connectivity to Bluetooth and other sensors is not possible during this mode. The image for this feature is a Stealth bomber (it looks like the B-2 spirit)
@@ΓεώργιοςΜπρίνταλος I can see I miss read your question. I can not find any Stealth Mode on the G1. From what I can read it's only a feature in the Tactical series.
Please I need advise !! I started swimming workout in the pool with proper setting of my Garmin descent. Always reading my distance zero 😖. Where is the problem
Is it possible to synchronize the tissues load between this and the Mk2 ? For example if you dive with one of them and at the next dive you want to take the other one, or even both of them... It has to be a way to sync the first dive to the second watch so it will know how much dissolved gas you already have...
Great question, although I can't see the reason why you'd need both. I couldn't see my old data from the MK2 on the G1. All the data is on the phone app. Ill try it out next time I have both computers out diving.
@@DIVEindotcom sometimes you need to have a backup dive computer which os capable to calculate accurately as your primary.... For example at a deep deco dive... In this case case you want both to ha synchronised tissue load and have the same settings (Gradient Factors). Next day you might want to take one of them at a shallow dive and then next day to take both again... So they must me sync at any time you wish!
@@DIVEindotcom Garmin let you sync activities, steps , Heart rate and fitness metrics by enabling the "Physio TrueUp" , but is very unlikely that it can sync tissues load with this one. Garmin has to make some updates at the Descent models... It's almost one year since the last update of the Mk2
@@ΓεώργιοςΜπρίνταλος i have a few friends as padi instructor and none of them take 2 computers on their dive. Yes they have a backup one, in case something went wrong but never use them at the same time tho. Even one of them are highest level of instructor but he only uses dive computer to check deep, navigate and safety stop. He stopped logging his dives long ago. So i dont see a point of using 2 computers at the same time
@@HungVo-gk3si I am an instructor too and I happen to fond AI feature useless, some other people may find useless for a divewatch to have sport smartwatch capabilities! In general every person likes or dislikes different things... It happens for to have the Mk2 and I can tell you that I prefer it's screen underwater so I will always take that on a demanding deco dive, but sometimes you want to teach in a pool or you gonna have one or two single gas dive for the day , or even you need to travel at a higher altitude some hours after a dive... The G1 is very comfortable and perfect for that reason (I know it because I constantly change to my instinct at the end of the day) So why not the G1 to be capable to sync it's tissue data with the Mk2? As we already know they can sync their fitness data and I think that will be the next feature that will connect all the descent models and will take them to the next level!! The bad news here is that Garmin is very slow at updating the descents and this might take a long long time .....
Hi i am current using the Garmin Instinct now and just want to check for the G1 does shows barometer and altimeter data for above sea levels? Like if i take it on a hike up the mountains? thanks.
i think it should work pretty well as a backup in fixed po2 mode. it has auto setpoint switching with configurable depth and BO mode- basically everything you need
The only thing I dont like is that you cant still create New glances. And some data are a bit small to read under water (reason to create new glances) And Solar is not that good. I always end up charging with cable. I left it at sunlight for 30 min the checked charge % and it was actually less. So...
Yes, solar is not worth much. The only place I see it working is in battery safe mode and if you're out in nature using it for an extended hiking trip.
Nice video, maybe a stupid question but I like the watch but I doesn't dive. Is it possible to delete al diving stuff? (Activities etc) can you check that for me please? Regards Pim
Thank you guys I know but i like the looks of this watch more. And this one does have sapphire. And yeah you have to look at it all day long that's why :D:D
@@d3athman01 I have a better idea. You just need to start diving 😜 You can add other activities in the top. You'll still have the dive apps, but further down, and your favorite once in the "favorite" place.
And with no graphics in the apps, no maps, no music… so no, it’s not the same. I own this and the fénix 7 and have different features. Descent mk2 would be same as fénix + diving features.
I would ask: is proud Russia not able to produce auch thing themself? But the question ia valid also for comple western world which is producing electronic things in Asia...
![Top 10 Best Dive Computers in 2025 | Tested while Diving [Side-by-side] #scuba #divecomputer](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4kxeB6tR4oo/mqdefault.jpg)
We found the best shop with low prices - to make it easy for you to buy the gear you want.
✅ Garmin Descent G1: get.divein.com/Garmin-G1
You support the channel when you buy through those links as we earn a small commission from the web shop. This is at no cost to you. If you have any questions about the fins in this video - just drop a comment below. We try to answer all questions within 24 hours.
Thanks for the first review of the G1, been waiting for this. Good job!
Thanks for watching!
Screen easy to look inside the water
Water temperature was 4 degrees! Wow more of the watch in action please
It was so cold the camera froze :)
I am a surfer, freediver and spearfisherman, I practice these activities for several months a year without interruption.
I've already had 2 Garmin watches in the past, a Vivoactive and an Instict Solar Surf, but when the G1 came out I truly believed it was the ultimate smartwatch for my activities.
I was sadly very disappointed! It seems to me that it has some incredible flaws and I don't understand how they haven't been improved or eliminated by their testers/athletes!
The surf mode is very inaccurate, on a 15/20 waves session it detects a couple of them at most, with completely wrong speeds like 70/80 kmh on some of them.
So if I decide not to activate the surf mode in my sessions, the smartwatch behaves even worse by activating the apnea mode at every single duckdive or when i fall off the board, putting the gps into operation and consuming battery, so I find myself having to stop and save the apnea session many many times to go back to the watch.
In the summer I train a lot with open water swimming... terrible! The gps is very inaccurate, in fact, a couple of breaststroke strokes or a pause of seconds are enough to lose the signal and therefore invalidate the training data: total distance, time every 100 meters, etc. (for swimming, training takes place in the Italian province of Imperia, not in Burundi...)
I was told by Garmin customer service that I should swim with a buoy and attach my watch to it to get the desired accuracy...
The tide mode, another very useful thing for surfers, records data for only 3 future days and is promptly canceled if the smartphone is not nearby, should I go surfing with the phone?
I repeat my complete disappointment with this 650 euro watch (Solar version), any athlete trying it would have realized these defects and reported them to improve it, probably they don't do enough tests on their products before putting them on the market.
I would definitely not recommend it!
Madonna ma fa cagare , non si può disattivare il risveglio automatico quando rileva un’attività? Grazie del feedback comunque, mi hai fatto rivalutare molto l’idea, cerco uno sportwatch che faccia il suo lavoro con un occhio particolare all’apnea
@@paul9659 non si puo' disattivare, già contattato assistenza Garmin e mi hanno confermato, quindi ogni volta che ti fai un bagno in mare/tuffo/surfata nel mio caso, la modalità apnea si attiva di continuo, cerca il gps, consuma batteria e tu devi stoppare, salvare, attendere ed uscire con un paio di conferme dalla modalità! Dopo 5 minuti si ripresenta il problema insomma una rottura di c... tremenda
Fully Agreed, I had to purchase a dive computer as mine just died and no choice but to buy something at the airport, and this Garmin Descent is a big pile of SH... Worst design and product ever. There is plenty of data they collect but it does NOT communicate with the APP. So you end up having to enter manually all your activities which is what an excel spreadsheet woudl do better. There is also no History communication so no nice graph of you sleep pattern in th eapp, even though all the data are available on the watch. The face watch is plain ugly, no colour. When diving, the numbers are too small you cannot see or understand anything it says, it's quite dangerous actually and I ended up doing buddy with someone to have the same dive pattern.
To avoid being only negative, the only think I like is the bracelet, I think they invested in a good silicon there.
i will never purchase again a Garmin product as I am so upsat about this crappy watch.
Thanks for sharing your experience! I thought it was THE watch! I had a Fenix 5S which died after a winter surf while my applewatch 4 is still working... the battery is awful and the all tactile is a pain in a rainy and water environment. I guess I will still look around for the ultimate one :( thanks again for sharing your experience!
thanks for the review was thinking to switch to this watch but I'll skip it now. I have forerunner 745 and it has same gps issues when swimming. Altimeter is also completely random.
I understand you said the screen is clear, but is it in daylight on a sunny day, and is it clear in dark waters ?
Yes, it's not as clear as the Sherwater, Oceanic+(Apple Watch Ultra) or the Garming mk3i, but still easy to read.
I've used G1 non-solar for a few recent dives and I must say it's very accurate. Screen super clear under water even in a dirty lake where I barely saw my buddy's fins not even a metre away from my face. Never tried G1 solar but heard the screen is not as clear as the cheaper non-solar!
Added that you don't get that much extra power, saving that 100$ might be worth it.
Does the solar option justify the jump in price?
No. We have the solar hear, but If I were to buy one now I would not go for the Solar.
Would you recommend the G1 or the Mk2 overall? the G1 has a much better price, but the Mk2 looks more sleek, easier to read and use
If you are serious about diving get the MK2 I otherwise G1 should be more than enough for recreational divers
@@awesomeagnihotrisvlog WTH does "serious" about diving mean? They have the same diving features besides the air integration.. More expensive doesn't mean more serious. is CCR and trimix not serious enough? Jesus ...
@@marios4all Please forgive me my friend…you’re absolutely right i thought Mk2 was a dive computer first and then a fitness watch …unlike the G1 which is a fitness watch first and then a five watch ..I was wrong
@@awesomeagnihotrisvlog The way I see it is that they are both dive computers first, and then activity watches. Hence their name. What you pay for in the mk2/mk2i is the colour display, the better construction and the air integration in the "i" version. For the rest, they'll run the same functions and the same algorithms as far as diving is concerned.
No need to forgive you as there are no hard feelings :P I just triggered with the more money=more serious statement :P
@@marios4all cheers 👍🙌
Do you know if its possibile to show Tide levels in the main screen
Nice Video! hey , how did you setup the comptuter to read in meter and Celcius degrees? I just bought one and is in Farengeight and FT. (I cant find were to change it.
Hi Rodrigo,
It's not as easy as it should be.
To change from Farengeight to Celcius: Go to the Weather APP hold the "up" button, go into settings, and pick Celcius
To change from Feet to Meters: Hold the "up" button, go to System - Format - Units.
@@DIVEindotcom Thank you!! I just follow all the steps and did work!! thanks again.
Hello do you know how I can stop the surface timer?
It never stops counting, and I imagine it's spending more battery.
After a dive?
My basic problems is that I can't have at first screen of spearfishing 4 or 5 elements,
like I have at freedive. It has only 2 and does not allow me to change it.
And that about surface timer.
After the last dive the timer continues counting until the next even if the next games after days.
Thanks for your information
Glad you liked it!
Are there different layouts for the apnea and apnea hunt or is that only with the main screen? I think you can change the info it shows in apnea modes, correct?
I believe the only difference is the hunt mode is silent :)
Does it have the Stealth mode like Mk2 ?
If it's there you will find it in the controls menu, when you press and hold the "light" button (maybe it's disabled and you have to add it)
Yes, it's possible to switch to stealth mode where you only feel the vibration and no beeping. It's a really nice thing.
@@DIVEindotcom what you describe is diving in "Silent mode" and not the Stealth mode.
The stealth mode doesn't affect the sound. When you enable it the watch stops saving any GPS locations and shuts down every transmission. Any connectivity to Bluetooth and other sensors is not possible during this mode.
The image for this feature is a Stealth bomber (it looks like the B-2 spirit)
@@ΓεώργιοςΜπρίνταλος I can see I miss read your question.
I can not find any Stealth Mode on the G1. From what I can read it's only a feature in the Tactical series.
@@torbenlonne963 yes it's only in the tactical series but for some reason they put it in MK2 as well!!
Please I need advise !! I started swimming workout in the pool with proper setting of my Garmin descent. Always reading my distance zero 😖. Where is the problem
You need to set the length of the pool.
Hi, what about lenght of strap, is ok for dry suit or i have to buy any extension strap?
It comes with an extension strap.
THere's an extension strap in the box. And it's really easy to change.
does it show real time depth or just at the surface
While diving? Yes, you can shift and have it show the time while you're diving.
Is it possible to synchronize the tissues load between this and the Mk2 ?
For example if you dive with one of them and at the next dive you want to take the other one, or even both of them... It has to be a way to sync the first dive to the second watch so it will know how much dissolved gas you already have...
Great question, although I can't see the reason why you'd need both.
I couldn't see my old data from the MK2 on the G1. All the data is on the phone app.
Ill try it out next time I have both computers out diving.
@@DIVEindotcom sometimes you need to have a backup dive computer which os capable to calculate accurately as your primary.... For example at a deep deco dive... In this case case you want both to ha synchronised tissue load and have the same settings (Gradient Factors).
Next day you might want to take one of them at a shallow dive and then next day to take both again... So they must me sync at any time you wish!
@@DIVEindotcom Garmin let you sync activities, steps , Heart rate and fitness metrics by enabling the "Physio TrueUp" , but is very unlikely that it can sync tissues load with this one.
Garmin has to make some updates at the Descent models... It's almost one year since the last update of the Mk2
@@ΓεώργιοςΜπρίνταλος i have a few friends as padi instructor and none of them take 2 computers on their dive.
Yes they have a backup one, in case something went wrong but never use them at the same time tho. Even one of them are highest level of instructor but he only uses dive computer to check deep, navigate and safety stop. He stopped logging his dives long ago. So i dont see a point of using 2 computers at the same time
@@HungVo-gk3si I am an instructor too and I happen to fond AI feature useless, some other people may find useless for a divewatch to have sport smartwatch capabilities!
In general every person likes or dislikes different things...
It happens for to have the Mk2 and I can tell you that I prefer it's screen underwater so I will always take that on a demanding deco dive, but sometimes you want to teach in a pool or you gonna have one or two single gas dive for the day , or even you need to travel at a higher altitude some hours after a dive... The G1 is very comfortable and perfect for that reason (I know it because I constantly change to my instinct at the end of the day)
So why not the G1 to be capable to sync it's tissue data with the Mk2?
As we already know they can sync their fitness data and I think that will be the next feature that will connect all the descent models and will take them to the next level!!
The bad news here is that Garmin is very slow at updating the descents and this might take a long long time .....
Hi i am current using the Garmin Instinct now and just want to check for the G1 does shows barometer and altimeter data for above sea levels? Like if i take it on a hike up the mountains? thanks.
dont it's a pice of shit.
this is basically instinct chasis with changes
Has anyone used it for rebreather diving? How well does that Work?
We have note, and the screen is really small so I don't think I'd want to use it for rebreather diving.
i think it should work pretty well as a backup in fixed po2 mode. it has auto setpoint switching with configurable depth and BO mode- basically everything you need
@@DIVEindotcom why would screen size matter?
I didn't hear anything about air integration
This model does not offer air integration.
No, and this might be the biggest con of the G1. There's no air integration.
Get the Mk2i
How to changes from ft to meters?
Click and hold the "up key" (middle to the left) and go down untill you find "System" - then go to "format" and here you find "units".
anyone can answer me pls?? can i use this watch for freediving?? or it's a bad choice for freediving??
Yes you can. It’s really good for freediving, as well as diving.
@@DIVEindotcom thank you so much :)
The only thing I dont like is that you cant still create New glances.
And some data are a bit small to read under water (reason to create new glances)
And Solar is not that good. I always end up charging with cable.
I left it at sunlight for 30 min the checked charge % and it was actually less. So...
Yes, solar is not worth much. The only place I see it working is in battery safe mode and if you're out in nature using it for an extended hiking trip.
I can't find anywhere the difference between G1 and Mk1... Anybody knows?
Size, layout of the screen. Price.
Does it come with longer strap?
Yes, there's booth a short and lock strap. It's easy to change with the quick lock system.
Can you add the tides glance to the main watch face, in place of the heart rate one you currently have?
Hi Cynfelyn, Yes, that's possible. I just added it there with no issues.
This or solar?
This one is the Solar, but it's not charging that much.
@@DIVEindotcom how long does it lusts the battery normal use daily
Nice video, maybe a stupid question but I like the watch but I doesn't dive. Is it possible to delete al diving stuff? (Activities etc) can you check that for me please?
Regards Pim
Watch is based on garmin instinct. Better of getting that one then....
Buy the "instinct 2 solar" it doesn't have the dive apps and it costs half the price of the Descent G1
Thank you guys I know but i like the looks of this watch more. And this one does have sapphire. And yeah you have to look at it all day long that's why :D:D
@@d3athman01
I have a better idea. You just need to start diving 😜
You can add other activities in the top. You'll still have the dive apps, but further down, and your favorite once in the "favorite" place.
Thank you guys. I will buy the instinct 2 solar that's the best option. And I will consider diving in the future!!
Is this basically a fenix 6 with diving features without a color display
And with no graphics in the apps, no maps, no music… so no, it’s not the same. I own this and the fénix 7 and have different features. Descent mk2 would be same as fénix + diving features.
@@agusbal9367 I mean't the fenix 6 pro 😂😂
Didn’t remember the fénix 6 no pro! My mistake!
9@@agusbal9367
😊
:)
Great, bro! I'm from Russia, we won't have anything left here soon, can you sell them to me?
I would ask: is proud Russia not able to produce auch thing themself? But the question ia valid also for comple western world which is producing electronic things in Asia...