If anybody out there is wondering if it is worth it to upgrade their MARQ from Gen 1 to Gen 2, here is my experience. It may help someone to forge their own opinion.
I relied on my MARQ Gen 1 Adventurer (Née Explorer) for three years. I ordered the Gen 2 Adventurer in late February 2023, and received it mid-March 2023. I received my watch according to Garmin's website estimate (2-3 week shipping + 2 days delivery).
1/ The first cool thing is the new hybrid QuickFit strap. The full leather of the Gen 1 was elegant. It is what made the titanium look the best but it was not practical when running or hiking (lack of stability on the wrist and sweat absorption ruined the leather).
I ended up using the silicone one most of the time which was a pity. The new "Tundra" Leather/FKM combines the best of both words for me since it is elegant and useful during exercise.
Note that you can elect to only upgrade the stap if you want, they fit on the Gen 1.
2/ The charger is way better. Not only it is USB-C, it is also magnet based. The Gen 1 used an annoying jaw mechanism where you had to make sure the back teeth were aligned with the metal connectors on the back of the watch. It was a pain to use. Now the magnet guide toward the location which results in a satisfying "click".
3/ The last reason for the upgrade, but the most important one, is the screen. A photo tells it all.
The Gen 1 (on the right) has backlight enabled and it still a far cry of the Gen 2 (on the left) quality. Note that I use a lot of colors in my watchface but you can configure that to something more sober. I was worried with the display turning on on-demand (you can overwrite that but always-on lowers both battery and display life). I was worried it would be buggy but it is actually not a problem. The watch detects writs movement and turns on immediately. You just have to give it a counter twist before going toward you to trigger the wake up. It is actually pretty cool and it now muscle memory and magically works.
So for me, that was a very nice upgrade. The Gen 2 addresses the only issue I had with the Gen 1 (the dim screen). I was willing to tolerate the Gen 1 because of the quality of the watch and its battery life but it looks like with the Gen 2 I can have the best of two worlds, a great screen with great battery life.
Now, what do I do with my Gen 1? I am going to keep it on display on my desk. Maybe you can't tell from the photos but it has a few scratches here and there. These happened when encountering the granite of The Hulk on a climbing adventure. One of the many times my MARQ contributed to my safety.
Fab
