Garmin Descent G1 Solar Black

I love it. First priority was finding a fitness and sleep tracker to replace an Apple watch that I was sick of having to charge every 24 hours. I'd also been wanting a backup dive computer, so the G1 seemed a good option. As a health tracker, it's been great -- providing more detailed and better organized data than my Apple. I wear it 24/7, always with the heart rate monitor on, and tracking GPS runs and walks daily. With that usage, I'm getting about two weeks per charge, which seems great to me after years of having my Apple watch die on me mid morning if I forgot to charge it after waking up every day. I have the solar model, and If I'm out in the sun for a few hours, that seems to buy me an extra day of charge. My big caveat is that I haven't dived with ... MoreI love it. First priority was finding a fitness and sleep tracker to replace an Apple watch that I was sick of having to charge every 24 hours. I'd also been wanting a backup dive computer, so the G1 seemed a good option. As a health tracker, it's been great -- providing more detailed and better organized data than my Apple. I wear it 24/7, always with the heart rate monitor on, and tracking GPS runs and walks daily. With that usage, I'm getting about two weeks per charge, which seems great to me after years of having my Apple watch die on me mid morning if I forgot to charge it after waking up every day. I have the solar model, and If I'm out in the sun for a few hours, that seems to buy me an extra day of charge. My big caveat is that I haven't dived with it yet, so I can't review that capability at this point. I've familiarized myself with the single tank rec dive functions I need, and it all seems pretty well thought out. I've got four dives in the Indian Ocean coming up next month and am looking forward to trying it out. This is my first Garmin watch, and there was a bit of a learning curve to figuring out how to navigate the four-button interface, but the downloadable manual is good, and you can find the answer to any confusing issue with a quick google search. I've had it about a month now, and everything is second nature at this point. So I guess I disagree with the reviewers who found it overly complicated. It also feels well-made and durable to me. No issues yet, and I guess time will tell.

Amazing watch

Perfect combination between a dive computer and a smart watch. Wasn’t planning to wear my dive computer everywhere but G1 does so much that I end up using it for my daily exercises as well. One of the best feature is that G1 can last longer than most dive computer or smart watch. If I were to pick a disadvantage of G1, it would be the small watch surface. However, big number mode makes it easier to read and access essential data during dive. G1 is perfect for those seeking a smart watch for frequent active use and a dive computer for 3-7 day liveaboard trips.

Complete night and day - love my G1 Solar

Had an Apple Watch ultra. Dive subscription software was buggy and customer service needed some work.Got the G1 Solar and didn’t think I would like it since I’m quite heavily an Apple fanboy. Boy was I wrong. Garmin dive software completely blows the Ultra out of the water! Could not be happier. Have worn it 24x7 for 3 weeks and I think I charged it once. The nylon band add on makes it that much more comfortable. In and out of the water.Garmin, well done!!!

Disappointing screen on an otherwise great dive watch

I bought this watch in preference to a cheaper dive watch from Suunto, mainly because I already have other Garmin products( one less app to learn) and I could use it on diving drips without having to take another smartwatch along( it has a wrist based heart rate monitor). Everything works well but be warned that, although the watch is about 42mm wide, there is a large black area around the screen , the actual working part is a small square about 22 mm wide and a little round accessory screen about 7 mm which eats into the main screen’s area. I have presbyopia ( yep - old age catches us all if we’re lucky enough) and the numbers are hard to read in anything other than very bright light and almost impossible underwater. Also it uses the older larger charging cable ... MoreI bought this watch in preference to a cheaper dive watch from Suunto, mainly because I already have other Garmin products( one less app to learn) and I could use it on diving drips without having to take another smartwatch along( it has a wrist based heart rate monitor). Everything works well but be warned that, although the watch is about 42mm wide, there is a large black area around the screen , the actual working part is a small square about 22 mm wide and a little round accessory screen about 7 mm which eats into the main screen’s area. I have presbyopia ( yep - old age catches us all if we’re lucky enough) and the numbers are hard to read in anything other than very bright light and almost impossible underwater. Also it uses the older larger charging cable ,with a big clip that grips the whole watch ,that Garmin basically abandoned a few generations ago on their smartwatches ( maybe because it’s a dive watch and needs bigger contacts further apart) but you have to schlepp that around too. The battery seems to last well, the data is easy to access via the Garmin Dive app and that seems to talk to the Garmin Connect app pretty seamlessly ( I’m a technophobe and I got it to work on my iPhone quite quickly). Only other quirk is that in hot weather the Garmin wrist based HR monitor over reads my HR quite badly - but they all do that! So you may need a chest strap if accurate HR is important to you.So basically it does what it says it will -mostly well. Just get something else if you can’t wear bi-focals while diving or want to see the watch underwater.The photo shows the watch in a darkish area with the backlight on 100 %

Get it!

The do anything go anywhere watch. If you’re like me and have endless hobbies, this is the watch. Paired with a nice leather strap it’s classy enough for a night out. In the water and on land it does it all amazingly. I work in the dive business and constantly recommend it. The battery is stellar. Yes it’s a fairly basic screen, but who needs pictures and colors, it’s a watch, you can read messages coming through, see who’s calling, can do tap to pay, it does everything you could ever want and it is so nice having to charge it minimally

Great dive and sport watch combined, affordable

I love the Garmin Descent G1 Solar watch. I use it for both SCUBA diving and also other sports, eg hiking, cycling, skiing, standup paddle boarding (SUP), running, gym. Great battery life! For some reason the button press / selection feels a little sluggish (delays by a fraction of a second) compared to my Garmin Fenix 7 Sapphire Solar and Garmin Epix (gen 2). But it is only a fraction of a second delay. The dive features and dive logging is an awesome addition with good dive information. The G1 is much more affordable compared to the Mk2i dive watch. Highly recommended!

Incredible so far!

I bought this to use as a smartwatch with my iphone, a workout tool, and a recreational dive watch/ backup tech watch. The smartwatch functions are nowhere near what an apple watch can do when paired with an iphone and are probably still not even what my samsung galaxy watch was able to do, but most importantly for me it gives me an audible and haptic alert every time I get a notification. That's pretty much the extent of my requirements for a smartwatch. As a workout tool it is awesome for running/ jogging with GPS measurement and constant heart rate monitoring. As a dive computer it is also great. I've only used it for a recreational dive so far but it functioned flawlessly. Battery life is incredible compared to both the Apple and the Samsung. With one dive, ... MoreI bought this to use as a smartwatch with my iphone, a workout tool, and a recreational dive watch/ backup tech watch. The smartwatch functions are nowhere near what an apple watch can do when paired with an iphone and are probably still not even what my samsung galaxy watch was able to do, but most importantly for me it gives me an audible and haptic alert every time I get a notification. That's pretty much the extent of my requirements for a smartwatch. As a workout tool it is awesome for running/ jogging with GPS measurement and constant heart rate monitoring. As a dive computer it is also great. I've only used it for a recreational dive so far but it functioned flawlessly. Battery life is incredible compared to both the Apple and the Samsung. With one dive, multiple workouts, and days of just wearing as a smartwatch I got about 20-25 days before I had to charge it. Great product.

Nice as a backup dive watch

The initial G1 Solar that I got mysteriously died on me when I went to charge it after my first dive trip with it. Garmin refunded my purchase, and I bought a second one, which I've used on two subsequent trips. The watch itself functions well, integrating with my iPhone to deliver messages and track activity. The screen is small and hard to read in bright sunlight or dark conditions. The dive functions work well, but just aren't comparable in readability to my Shearwater Teric or my son's Descent MK2i. I keep the G1 on my BCD near my shoulder, so generally don't refer to it during dives. However, I do use the logging functions and really like the GPS location, which isn't available on my Teric.

The Descent is Decent

My fourth Vivoactive HR's touchscreen stopped responding. I reviewed several Garmin options, another vivoactive, Instinct and Descent. As I recently completed my scuba certification I decided on the Descent Solar.It does have a ton of features and ConnectIQ library seems to continue to grow. Without the touch screen, all the options are a little more difficult to get to and operate. The buttons have multiple options depending on momentary or long presses. I am still getting used to which button does what.I have not yet used the dive features but am worried I will not be able to see the display clearing under water.

not meeting the normal standard of Garmin

I have no used it for a few weeks and, though being a long time Garmin fan and user, my impression have been far from satisfying. Main things:- The watch is restarting itself during every pool training. Suddenly. Which means, I simply have to restart the recording and end up with a divided trainings.- it was measuring the pulse at first but during my last pool trainings it's reading my pulse any longer.- On the other hand, it's been showing the pulse when put on a 7mm wetsuit, which I assume is simply not possible, thus completely false.- comparing it to my previous watch Fenix5, it also feel like a kids watch, far away from the robust Fenix feel.all-in-all, this is not a watch that I can recommend.