Shearwater Teric

Garmin, will the "issues" with the Descent be fixed or should we just give up and move on to a dive computer like the new Shearwater Teric?

I have personally spent hours on the phone with Garmin Tech Support, sent in numerous emails including one to the CEO, and I keep getting promises that the issues are being addressed and that our input matters. But when it comes to action, Garmin has been sorely lacking. And lets not bring up the piss poor communications Garmin has with their users. You might be sensing some frustration here, and rightly so.

So how about an update, with a plan to address the numerous issues I and other users have reported.

0 atj777 over 6 years ago

It is also not a watch style, there are no watch style dive computers I know of that provide real time heart rate.

Other than the Garmin Descent Mk1 which provides real time heart rate through the wrist sensor.

I have used it with my drysuit and it works fine. I just have to slide the wrist seal a little farther up my arm to accommodate the watch.

0 Mark_H20 over 6 years ago

I have been unable to keep the wrist seals far enough up my wrist, and damaged one seal which is not cheap on a DUI Drysuit.

0 atj777 over 6 years ago

I only did it to show that it worked. I'm not really interested in my heart rate while diving. It was interesting to see (after the dive) that my heart rate barely increases during a dive - around the equivalent of a slow walk - but beyond that I can't see much value in the data.

0 profunditas over 6 years ago

I only did it to show that it worked. I'm not really interested in my heart rate while diving. It was interesting to see (after the dive) that my heart rate barely increases during a dive - around the equivalent of a slow walk - but beyond that I can't see much value in the data.

That is interesting. Mine (and I know another person) decreases , sometimes to as low as 40 bpm. Would be interesting to know if it's true or not.

Otherwise, I agree it is gimmick, without real value.

0 atj777 over 6 years ago

That is interesting. Mine (and I know another person) decreases , sometimes to as low as 40 bpm. Would be interesting to know if it's true or not.

Here are the two dives:
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2737519917
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2739996081

On both dives I got as low as my normal resting HR (~55bpm) and a bit lower but the highs were only around walking pace. For reference, on a run I get over 175bpm.

0 profunditas over 6 years ago

Here is one of mine:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2590812784

The rest of parameters are similar to yours, resting and max heart rate, On this dive it goes as low as 33bpm. Wonder if it is mammalian dive reflex or Garmin's inconsistency?

0 stina.2fast4u over 6 years ago

Brand new diver here and have to admit I was very excited when I saw that Garmin had a dive computer. I come from many years of using the forerunner line for multisport and they have always treated me well and responded promptly when I had any issues.

First I thought it very odd that there wasn’t a lot of information on folks using the MK1 (besides a few YouTube videos that didn’t even cover actually using the watch).

Secondly, there was not really a lot of documentation on it on their website. So, I started searching for bad reviews or posts that say to avoid it and stumbled across this thread.

Over the the last few months has the situation improved or should I still avoid it like the plague?

0 profunditas over 6 years ago

You shouldn't be putting full trust in reviews as you don't know who is writing them and their mental / emotional state when writing.

For me it is a good instrument, but I look into it as a diver lifestyle watch. I golf, bike, run and do plenty of other activities this watch covers reasonably well.

If you're looking into watch-like dive computer you have a choice between Descent, Suunto DX or Shearwater Teric. Most of scuba manufacturers have their own branded computers, but those should be avoided like plague (Scubapro might be an exception) as those one stop shops of today are rather distributors than manufacturers. Suunto is badly stuck in 2000s, unreliable and with poor support. Had Stinger, D9 and D6 and none of those was good. When you end up paying $100 for D9 strap or similar amount to change the battery (with pressure testing and o-ring kit), you realize it is not a good deal even if you got it for free. So, stay away from Suunto. Shearwater Teric is a great dive computer, friend has it and does diving related activities better than Descent. Not that I care, but Teric also has an optional gas integration, good for novice divers, another point of failure for the rest of us. Shearwater is great for diving, but not usable for anything else. I do lot of exploratory diving and find GPS on Descent useful. Both Descent and Teric are good instruments, which one to chose depends really on your requirements.

0 atj777 over 6 years ago

Over the the last few months has the situation improved or should I still avoid it like the plague?

The Descent Mk1 is a perfectly good dive computer. I am very happy with mine and I have no problems recommending it as a primary dive computer.

Like you, I have been using Garmin products for a number of years. Unlike you, I have often found the level of support from Garmin somewhat lacking, particularly with minor issues. I know if I had a major issue I would get full support.

There are a few balanced threads on Scubaboard: https://www.scubaboard.com/community/forums/computers-gauges-watches-and-analyzers.17/ which you might find useful.