Popular Science Names Garmin Dive Tech Best of 2021

Each year Popular Sciencenames the year’s top 100 innovations that represent significant technological advancements and “solve unsolvable problems” — and this year, the Garmin Descent™ line made the cut. The magazine announced  that it dubbed the Garmin Descent™ Mk2i dive computer and Descent™ T1 transmitter Best of What’s New in the Sports and Outdoor category.

The Descent T1 transmitter and Descent Mk2i watch-style dive computer (each sold separately) monitor up to 5 tanks for pressure, air consumption rate and remaining air time for multiple types of diving. The two devices communicate using SubWave™ technology, a Garmin-developed, sonar-based communication that allows for revolutionary data sharing and air integration underwater.  Sound like magic? Our engineers assure us it’s not — read this blog post from earlier this year where Garmin engineers DeJuan Gailes, Paul Earl and Adam Demicco, all of whom helped to develop SubWave, explain just exactly how it works.

Popular ScienceEditor-in-Chief Corinne Iozzio said the Best of What’s New Awards celebrate “the year’s greatest feats of human ingenuity — the steps towards safer, healthier, more-sustainable, and happier days ahead,” and that’s just how we feel about the Garmin Descent lineup. Just this year it’s helped a scuba diver discover an artery blockage, a philanthropic organization collect more than 8,000 pounds of trash (and counting) from Lake Tahoe and a freediving photographer safely dive with orca whales. We’re proud, to say the least.

To learn more about the award, read Garmin’s press release here. To start shopping, view the Descent Mk2i here and the Descent T1 transmitter here.