Garmin Descent Mk1 — case dimensions and design

Garmin · 2017

Descent Mk1Size, Dimensions & Wrist Fit

Case Width

51mm

Thickness

17.8mm

Battery

30 hours

Weight

101g

The Garmin Descent Mk1 sits best on flat wrist widths of about 54–73mm (≈ 14.4–19.5cm wrist circumference). Adjust the slider below to check your wrist.

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The Descent™ Mk1 in short

The figures that decide whether this watch suits you, pulled out of the full specification sheet further down.

Rated for 30 hours of use per charge.
101g on the wrist. Heavier than 90% of the 51mm watches we have weights for.
1.2” (30.4 mm) diameter display.
Takes 26mm bands, so third-party straps fit without an adapter.

Does the Descent Mk1 fit your wrist?

Drag the slider to your wrist width and see the Descent Mk1 overlaid at true scale. Lug-to-lug — not case diameter — decides whether a watch overhangs your wrist.

Fit tool

Watch Fit Tool

For sports watches, lug-to-lug (L2L) is what matters most — it decides whether a watch overhangs your wrist. Bulky is fine; overhang is not.

Your wrist

≈ 146.9mm around

Garmin Descent™ Mk1

Case 51.0mm · Lug-to-lug 51.0mm · Thickness 17.8mm · 101g

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Sweet Spot

51mm on a 55mm wrist

Understated Balanced Sweet Spot Bold Overhang ⚠

Across the wrist it works — 2.0mm spare each side — but adds close to half your wrist's own depth again — expect it to snag cuffs and doorframes.

On a 55mm wrist the sweet spot is 47–53mm lug to lug. This one is 51mm.

How to Measure

Measure where you wear it, just below the wrist bone. Either of these works — the tool converts between them.

1. Flat width — arm flat on a table, palm up. Measure straight across the top of the wrist, bone to bone, ignoring the curve down the sides.
2. Around — a tape, or a strip of paper marked and held against a ruler, snug the whole way round.

Complete Wrist Measurement Guide →

Against one you know

Leather: Attaches at the lugs, so the case back rests on your skin. Thins and softens with wear. Typical figures, not this model’s own.

Show the measurements

Across the wrist2.0mm spare each side
Fills the wrist without reaching the edge.
Off the wrist17.8mm off the skin
Adds close to half your wrist's own depth again — expect it to snag cuffs and doorframes. (17.8mm case, back against the skin)
How it seats~8.8mm under the rim
Wide enough that the edge of the case back lifts clear of the skin.
Weight on the wrist101g
Substantial without being a burden — the usual weight of a steel watch on a wrist this size. (1.8g per mm of wrist)

Happy with the fit? Check current availability for the Descent Mk1.

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2D Dimension Schematics

The Descent™ Mk1 drawn to scale — from above, and in profile against the wrist.

Highlight

From above — true scale

From the side — how far it sits off the wrist

Garmin Descent™ Mk151mm · 17.8mm thick

3D preview

Garmin Descent™ Mk1 on a wrist

On an arm sized to your own wrist — the view a product photo never gives you.

Open 3D try-on

Shapes are built from published measurements, not manufacturer 3D models — accurate proportions, generic dial.

Descent™ Mk1 battery life

The runtime the manufacturer publishes for everyday use.

Smartwatch30 hours

How the Descent™ Mk1 ranks on battery

Against the 296 Garmin watches in our database, ranked on each figure Garmin publishes.

Everyday use19 days#137 of 285
GPS tracking20 hours#174 of 267

See all 296 Garmin watches ranked by battery life

What size band does the Descent™ Mk1 take?

Lug width

26mm

Any 26mm strap fits, so you are not restricted to Garmin's own bands. Quick-release pins let you swap without tools — check that a replacement lists 26mm and quick-release before buying.

Shop 26mm bands

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Descent™ Mk1 specifications

The figures that decide a purchase, followed by every line Garmin publishes.

Battery life: Dive mode: Up to 40 hoursWatch mode: Up to 19 daysSmartwatch mode: Up to 10 daysGPS/HR Activity mode: Up to 20 hoursUltraTrac™ mode: Up to 30 hours
Display: 1.2” (30.4 mm) diameter
Resolution: 240 x 240 pixels
Case material: fiber-reinforced polymer
Bezel: stainless steel or titanium
Glass: sapphire crystal
Strap: silicone or titanium
Storage: 16 GB

Full specification sheet

204 published lines across 21 groups, unedited

Overview

Family: Garmin

General

Battery life: Dive mode: Up to 40 hoursWatch mode: Up to 19 daysSmartwatch mode: Up to 10 daysGPS/HR Activity mode: Up to 20 hoursUltraTrac™ mode: Up to 30 hours
Display Size: 1.2” (30.4 mm) diameter
Case material: fiber-reinforced polymer
Color display
Lens Material: sapphire crystal
Bezel Material: stainless steel or titanium
Memory/History: 16 GB
Strap material: silicone or titanium
Display resolution: 240 x 240 pixels
QuickFit® watch band compatible: yes (26 mm)

Sensors

GPS
Compass
GLONASS
Galileo
Gyroscope
Thermometer
Depth sensor
Accelerometer
Barometric altimeter
Garmin Elevate™ wrist heart rate monitor

Additional

Additional: Air integration: no

Product Info

Main SKU: 010-01760-00
Product ID: 568181
Product Name: Descent™ Mk1
Release Date: 10/31/2017
Product Variation: Silver Sapphire with Black Band

Clock Features

Timer
Stopwatch
Time/date
Alarm clock
GPS Time Sync
Sunrise/sunset times
Automatic daylight saving time

Diving Features

PO2: Up to 2.0 with customizable deco PO2 setting
Tides: yes (via Connect IQ™)
Backlight: yes (configurable time and intensity; auto-on at depth)
Gas mixes: Air, Nitrox and Trimix up to 100% O2. 1 bottom gas and up to 11 deco and/or backup gasses.
APNEA mode
Deep Stops: yes (using custom gradient factors)
Gauge mode
No fly time: yes (with 24hr countdown)
Safety Stop: yes (customizable off/3min/5min)
Dive planner: yes (basic NDL + multi-gas deco planner)
Multi-gas mode
Nitrox support
Trimix support
APNEA hunt mode
Alerts & alarms: Audible and vibration alarms for ascent rate, PO2, CNS/OTU, NDL, deco, gas switching. Customizable (up to 40) audible and/or vibration per dive mode, based on depth or time
Single-gas mode
3-axis dive compass: yes (with adjustable heading, quick change to 90R, 90L and reciprocal). Indicates degrees and direction back to set heading
Auto start/end dive
Decompression model: Bühlmann ZHL-16c with gradient factors
Missed Deco Lockout: yes (can be disabled prior to dive with user acknowledgement)
Custom end-dive timeout: yes (20s to 10 m)
Customizable conservatism: yes (low/medium/high or custom using gradient factors)
Surface diver status widget: yes (surface interval, N2/HE loading, CNS, OTU and tissue compartment status)
Automatic altitude adjustment
Residual Tissue Loading Reset: yes (on the surface with user acknowledgement)
Dive ascent/descent rate indicator
Dive activity maximum operating depth: 100 meters
Sync dive log to Garmin Dive™ Mobile app
Automatically saves dive entry and exit locations

Boating Features

Available Boating Profiles: Boating

Cycling Features

Courses
Race an activity
Power meter compatible
Compatible with Varia™ lights
FTP (Functional Threshold Power): yes (with compatible accessory)
Speed and cadence sensor support (w/sensor)
Cycle Map (routable cycling-specific street map)
Bike lap and lap maximum power (with power sensor)
Compatible with Varia™ radar (rear-facing radar)
Compatible with Vector™ and Rally™ (power meters)
Compatible with Varia Vision™ (head-mounted display)
Alerts (triggers alarm when you reach goals including time, distance, heart rate or calories)

Golfing Features

Digital scorecard
Garmin AutoShot™
Round timer/odometer
TruSwing™ compatible
Auto CourseView updates
Yardage to layups/doglegs
Hazards and course targets
Green View with manual pin position
Preloaded with 43,000 courses worldwide
Yardage to F/M/B (distance to front, middle and back of green)
Stat tracking (strokes, putts per round, greens and fairways hit)
Measures shot distance (calculates exact yardage for shots from anywhere on course): automatic

Running Features

Run workouts
Race predictor
Foot pod capable
Running dynamics: yes (with compatible accessory)
Lactate threshold: yes (with compatible accessory)
Trail run auto climb
Performance condition
Stride length (real time): yes (with compatible accessory)
Vertical oscillation and ratio: yes (with compatible accessory)
Ground contact time and balance: yes (with compatible accessory)
GPS-based distance, time and pace
Cadence (provides real-time number of steps per minute)

What You'll Love

Training status

Activity Profiles

Gym: Strength and Cardio Training, Indoor Rowing
Swim: Pool Swimming, Open Water Swimming, Swimming/Running
Cycling: Biking, Indoor Biking, Mountain Biking, Triathlon
Outdoor recreation: Hiking, Climbing, Mountain Biking, Skiing, Snowboarding, XC Skiing, Stand Up Paddleboarding, Rowing, Jumpmaster, Tactical

Swimming Features

Pool swim workouts
Drill logging (pool swim only)
"Repeat on" rest timer (pool swim only)
Basic rest timer (up from 0) (pool swim only)
Stroke type detection (freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly) (pool swim only)
Pool swim metrics (lengths, distance, pace, stroke count, swim efficiency (SWOLF), calories)
Open-water swim metrics (distance, pace, stroke count/rate, stroke distance, swim efficiency (SWOLF), calories)
Heart rate from external HRM (real-time during rests, interval and session stats during rests, and automatic heart rate download post-swim): yes (with HRM-Tri™, HRM-Swim™ and HRM-Pro™)

Tactical Features

Dual grid coordinates

Outdoor Recreation

Tides: yes (via Connect IQ™)
TracBack®
Sight 'N Go
Back to start
Fish forecast: yes (via Connect IQ™)
Explore Nearby
UltraTrac mode
Vertical speed
GPS coordinates
Area calculation: yes (via Connect IQ™)
Elevation profile
Projected waypoint
Total ascent/descent
Future elevation plot
Distance to destination
Sun and moon information: yes (via Connect IQ™)
Point-to-point navigation
Preloaded road and trail maps
Bread crumb trail in real time
Downloadable cartography support
Barometric trend indicator with Storm Alert

Daily Smart Features

Calendar
Connectivity: Bluetooth® Smart, ANT+®, Wi-Fi®
Find My Phone
Find My Watch
VIRB® Remote
Weather forecasts
Smart Notifications
Smartphone compatibility: iPhone®, Android™
Controls smartphone music
Pairs with Garmin Connect™ Mobile
Text response/reject phone call with text (Android™ only)
Connect IQ™ (downloadable watch faces, data fields and apps)

Activity Tracking Features

TrueUp™
Move IQ™
Step counter
Floors climbed
Calories burned
Distance traveled
Intensity minutes
Garmin Connect™ Challenges app: yes (optional Connect IQ app)
Move alerts (displays on device after a period of inactivity)
Auto goal (learns your activity level and assigns a daily step goal)

Workout and Training Plans

Cardio workouts
Strength workouts

Health & Wellness Monitoring

Sleep: yes (advanced)
Hydration: yes (in Garmin Connect™)
Fitness age: yes (in app)
Women's health: yes (in Garmin Connect™)
Resting heart rate
Abnormal heart rate alerts: yes (high and low)
Wrist-based heart rate (constant, every second)

Training, Planning and Analysis Features

% HRR
% HR max
HR zones
HR alerts
Shortcuts
Manual lap
Auto max HR
Auto scroll
Finish time
HR calories
Voice alerts
Custom alerts
Physio TrueUp
Recovery time
Training load
VO2 Max (Run)
Course guidance
Training effect
Virtual Partner
Race an Activity
Advanced workouts
Interval training
Garmin Live Segments
Strava Live Segments
GPS speed and distance
Configurable lap alerts
Customizable data pages
Touch and/or button lock
Activity history on watch
Downloadable training plans
Training effect (anaerobic)
Manual multisport activities
Customizable activity profiles
Auto Pause® automatic timer halt
Auto Lap® interval tracking feature
Round-trip course creator (running/cycling)
HR broadcast (broadcasts HR data over ANT+® to paired devices)
HRV stress test (measures your heart rate variability while standing still, for 3 minutes, to provide you with an estimated stress level; the scale of this is 1 to 100; low scores indicate lower stress levels): yes (with compatible accessory)

Alternatives to the Descent™ Mk1

Watches that cover a similar amount of wrist, with the measurements that separate them.

Descent™ Mk1 — Frequently Asked Questions

Will the Garmin Descent Mk1 fit my wrist?

The Garmin Descent Mk1 looks balanced on flat wrist widths of roughly 54–73mm (about 14.4–19.5cm circumference). Drag the slider above to check it against your own measurement.

What size band does the Garmin Descent Mk1 take?

26mm. Any 26mm strap fits, so you are not limited to Garmin's own bands — look for a quick-release fitting if you want to swap without tools.

How long does the Garmin Descent Mk1 battery last?

Garmin rates it at 30 hours per charge in everyday use.

How does the Garmin Descent Mk1 battery compare with other Garmin watches?

At 19 days in everyday use it ranks #137 of the 285 Garmin watches in our database — the top 48% of the range. The full ranking, including GPS and power-saving figures, is on our Garmin battery life comparison.

Is the Garmin Descent Mk1 thick for a 51mm watch?

At 17.8mm, thicker than 96% of 51mm watches — it will sit noticeably high on the wrist. Thickness, not case width, is what decides whether a watch catches on a shirt cuff.

What other watches are the same size as the Garmin Descent Mk1?

Huawei Watch D, Omega Seamaster Chrono-Quartz, Tissot Lepine Mechanical all sit within half a millimetre of the Garmin Descent Mk1's 51mm case, so they cover the same amount of wrist.

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