Hi all,
I´ve been reading this forum ever since I got my MK1, and after a few months of using it, I´m finally ready to share my two cents on it:
Aesthetics:
I really like the look and feel of it, Even though it has a quite large display, it feels comfortable almost at all times. It would be nice to choose what color the outside bezel would come in, instead of just getting the silver one as the standard (you can see the scratchs and marks already taking a toll on it).
Button navigations and settings:
The buttons feel sturdy yet responsive, and navigation is quite natural. I wish all the settings in the watch could be changed through the app, but a lot of them don´t, even after syncing: like the distance units in golf for example (even after setting them to yards in the app, it remains in meters in the watch. And its frustrating to go into the sytem settings in the watch to change them once you are in the middle of a hole).
Diving:
Loved the double tap feature to sync between screens, it would be very handy to have it available in the spearfishing mode as well. I found the three standard conservation modes of the algo to be extremely conservative (put me in deco in the very first dive I did), but really like the "create your own" option. However, I couldn´t find any bibliography on what the numbers in this setting actually mean, so I just played with the numbers throught 17 dives in Malpelo (Colombia) to try to match my Oceanic Geo 2. I got close, but couldn´t quite match it. I think I left it at 54/99, which is still more conservative than the Oceanic.
I was on a live-abord in the middle of the ocean so there was no internet nor cellphone signal, and couldn´t sync the watch with my phone. I found that to be very frustrating, and would love to see a work-around either in the Garming connect app, dive mate, or another third party app. Also, while waiting to get on the boat after a dive, apparently the watch went below 1.5 mts, and a new dive started. Since I couldn´t sync, I tried deleting the activity straight from the watch, but there was no option to do so.
Also, in the stats of a dive, it will show you minimum temperature, and average temp. I think average temp is a useless stat, and would much rather like to see min and max temps. Being able to access the depth and temperature profiless directly from the watch is quite nice when you can´t sync it with your phone.
Spearfishing:
I found the "spot marking/saving" feature would help me a lot of time while trying to find previously saved points, but navigating back to them proved very challenging in the conditions we have down here in Chile (strong currents and windy). There is no navigation option to a marked spot (or "take me there") once you enter "speafishing" mode, and swimming while keeping your arm over the water is very inefficient and energy draining. Also, zooming in and out, while trying to land right on a previously marked spot/rock is very time consuming as well. I wonder what the refreshment cycle (in seconds) on the GPS is (I thought it was in "real time"), as I kept missing a certain marked spot in every single direction once I was very close to it, which seemd quite odd.
Golfing:
I loved how accurrate the measurements are, it really saves a lot of time and improves your game. However, the automatic shot detection feature is errant, specially on the first shot of every hole, as it hasn´t recorded more than half of my drives in over 4 rounds of golf. Also, I find it hard to believe that the Garmin TruSwing sensors aren´t compatible with one of Garmin´s most expensive watches out threre, if not the most expensive. The stastistics in the app are very useful, albeit not very reliable.
It would also be very neat to be able to map your own golf course (while wearing the watch, or though an app or something), or update a hole which measurements may have changed recently.
Running:
Realy liked the personalized screens and alarms. Would like to see the "auto pause" feature kick in faster, as it seems to take 3 to 5 seconds to activate.
Sleep sensor:
I love to check my sleep every morning. I wonder why it won´t consider naps though, doesn´t it work with the heart monitor and gyroscope? Then why wouldn´t it track sleep every time you actually sleep? I think it works with "regular" sleep hours at night time, because I have taken naps longer than some night´s sleep, and it wouldn´t count the naps as sleep, and yet it tracked a 2 hour sleep night on a plane...
It would also be great to know what stat/measurement is considered REM, light, and deep sleep.
Steps sensor:
I find it doesn´t count steps in real time, and that it seems to go by dozens or so. Also, it has counted steps while I´ve been driving...
Miscellaneous:
I love the fact that there is a wide range of screens, widgets, add-ons and so forth to choose from. Activities like boating/navigating, open water swimming and apnea are also quite cool. The battery draining rate is quite good, and I can go several days without having to charge it, which is nice. The challenges, and the awards are also very fun to keep track of.
Accesories:
I found the watch bands to be quite nice, but there are very few colours to choose from. I was amused that there wasn´t a white one (great for diving), or camo ones. Also, it would be great to have professional looking bands you can take to work, or wear with a suit and tie (I think there is a brown leather 26mm one that looked promising).
Software updates:
The very first time I synced it with Garmin Express it downloaded version 8.0. I really hope the updates and improvements keep rolling in periodically, as I would hate to see such a large investment become just an expensive outdated toy.
I would like to end by saying that even after all the little details here and there, I´m loving the MK1 and plan on keeping it for a long while. I hope this post was fun to read, and I´m looking forward to participating in this community.
Until next time!
