It just occurred to me that I’ve had a MARQ Expedition for just over a year now. I wanted to do a review for anyone who was looking into it or thinks it might already be outdated. BTW - it's not outdated.
TL;DR:
I LOVE this watch and would buy it again in a heartbeat. It works great, looks amazing, and will stand the test of time. It’s a part of me and my identity and I am never without it.
Usage
I have worn this watch almost continuously for over 370 days now, only taking it off for periods to charge, at which point I wear my old Vivoactive 3 for those 2ish hours. With this MARQ, I’ve put on hundreds of miles on bikes, running, walking, snowboarding, spartan races, and swimming (pool and open water). I have also been on several multi day backpacking trips and excursions into wilderness. I have done intense yardwork and landscaping activities. And I’ve traveled to many places - this watch always comes with me. In business meetings I feel confident and comfortable with this on.
I had always been a fan of nice timepieces and own a few, but was drawn to this for its looks and it’s functionality as a fitness tracker. It’s definitely more of a lifestyle tracker though, and I haven’t worn any of my nice analogues since I purchased this and don’t miss them one bit. They sit in a drawer, most with dead batteries!
As for cost - it’s more about value. Reliability, functionality, durability, and visual appeal are worth the price tag. Cost per wear is already below $5/day and I hope to get many years from this.
Battery
I am on this watch all the time, pressing buttons, doing activities, checking weather, etc. In high usage situations I typically get 2.5-3 days of battery. If I don’t use it often, 5 days. I’m happy with that. And btw, I usually charge it at 10-15%, so it could go longer if I let it.
The biggest issue I’ve seen with battery drain is dependent upon the watch face. I love the WorldFace by Julien’s Lab but it’s sucks the battery about 30% more than anything else.
Titanium Bezel
There’s been a lot of talk about scratches and dings on the bezel. It is titanium, so that’s unavoidable. Honestly, after a year of HEAVY use - the bezel looks great! I don’t even notice the small little scrapes on there, if anything, they add character. I don’t think they take away from it at all. Here are some closeups, but I can hardly see any dings with my naked eye.
Straps
I have five straps but primarily wear three.
- The brown leather it came with still looks clean and wears comfortable. Much nicer to wear than some stiffer leather bands on my nice analogue watches. I've worn it hiking A LOT because I find it looks pretty rugged and fits nice and tight, which I like. Looks amazing in a suit, btw. There are some sweat stains on it, but only on the bottom side:
- The black silicone still looks good and is comfortable. This is the one I usually wear for activities, and probably wear the most. It's in good shape and I like how it fits to the bezel.
- I have a few other colorful 22mm silicone ones that I wear when I’m feeling funky or want to match my bike or some neon colored shoes:
Screen Size
I really like the screen size, way less clunky and obnoxious than some of the larger Fenixs. It’s classier than them but just as sporty. It fits well on my wrist and doesn't look huge and obtrusive. I can also read it just fine.
Looks
Speaking of looks, I feel like I’ve been complimented on this watch 5 times more than any other watch I’ve worn combined. Seriously, it looks good and can be as rugged looking or classy or sporty or funky as you want.
Looks great in a suit, t-shirt, swim trunks, or cycling gear. I appreciate that I don’t need multiple devices for different situations.
Accuracy
I find that some of the features are dead on:
- Heart Rate - I usually wear a tri, but it's very accurate, even when swimming.
- Elevation - Typically VERY close, maybe a few feet off sometimes.
- GPS - Have had a few glitches after updates like everyone, but that gets patched. It’s pretty accurate and I don’t need it down to exact 1-2 feet from where I am. It’s generally 5-10ft if I zoom in on a map which is fine. When I put in a trail for hiking, it’s dead-on accurate as long as the trail is. (I usually grab trails from AllTrails.com)
- Open Water GPS - Mind boggling good! I was very surprised.
- Pulse Ox - I assume it is correct, I live in Denver, Colorado and am very active. I'm usually between 95-100%.
- Sleep - Probably my biggest gripe, It usually can't tell I am awake unless I am up and moving. It also doesn't track when I am awake and laying still at 3am stressing about work. It thinks I am sleeping. No way to edit that, but that is more an issue with Garmin Connect than MARQ.
- Body Battery - Wicked good. Truly knows when I am burned out and tired.
- Stress - This took some time but now it really reads me well. It's not perfect, but it's close. Really thinks I am stressed every time I drink alcohol.
- Temperature - I know it gets distorted by body heat, but I wish there was a workaround. I use a tempe for most things.
- Speed - Completely accurate if I compare known distances to pace, so I assume it is always accurate. Really fun for snowboarding and cycling.
Functionality
No issues. Slick. Buttons feel great to press and aside from some weird hiccups after updates (that usually get patched quickly) I have had no problems. Music with Spotify is great and it pairs with three different headphones I've used with no problems.
Durability
As stated above, I beat this thing up!!!! It is tough and will likely last for years! I hope it does and I hope Garmin keeps updating it with new features. I’ll wear this watch for a long time if they let me. If they stop updating it, I’ll just stubbornly never let go until I have no choice. 
Watchfaces
I have a few I like:
- WorldFace by Julien’s Lab
- This is Fine by ftrimboli (pic above)
- Crystal by PixelPathos
- The Universe by Garmin
- Christmas Juniper by Garmin (loved these during the holidays)
- And the standard beautiful faces that come with.
What it is Missing
TBH, not much!
- I do wish it had solar charging, but if I’m on longer excursions I find I can bring a battery pack and that suffices. A full day of hiking sees about 30-40% battery drain, so no big deal. I am also glad it is not as big as the solar charging watched.
- Step tracking in activities. Come on, this is a simple feature in lower end devices. I still have step tracking, but not in activities.
