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In-depth Review of the Garmin MARQ 2 Captain

When it comes to marine GPS smartwatches, Garmin is no amateur. For years, they have targeted surfers, yacht captains and boaters with their innovative range of Garmin Quatix watches and the original MARQ Captain which became a must-have tool for many on and off the water. Now coming aboard is the new Garmin MARQ 2 Captain watch, a sleek a stylish timepiece that is just as much a dedicated first mate as it is a smartwatch for formal occasions. It features a gorgeous exterior and a hull full of new and exciting boating features including an app that literally lets you steer the boat from your wrist! Let’s take a look…

BOATING FEATURES

The Garmin MARQ 2 watch collection, which we have explored in detail here, currently showcases five different designs with each one targeting its own wearer. As the name suggests, the Garmin MARQ 2 Captain sets its sights on marine enthusiasts whether that be yacht owners, sailors or simply those that like to spend time by the water. With that in mind, you can expect to find a huge range of boating smartwatch features within including a Regatta Timer, an app perfect for those that compete in marine racing. The countdown timer can be synchronised with the official race countdown while GPS time to burn calculates your ideal position.  Also ideal for sailors is the Garmin SailAssist feature which creates a virtual starting line to time the perfect start.

The Garmin MARQ 2 Captain smartwatch also impresses with Stream Data. This means you can view all the data you need on your wrist including water depth, engine RPM, wind, custom data and more when you connect the boating watch to your ship’s compatible devices. The Man Overboard feature allows you to mark man overboard with a single press and gives you a directional arrow and distance countdown to make a swift recovery. There’s also Fusion-Link Audio system so you can control your onboard entertain from your wrist, waypoint marking, tack assist and BlueChart® G3 charts which supports premier coastal charts featuring integrated Navionics® data. Undoubtedly one of the coolest features found on the Garmin MARQ 2 Captain is Autopilot Control. Even when you’re not at the helm, you can control the movement of your boat through the autopilot app. Change heading, engage pattern steering and follow a GPS route while you sit back and enjoy the view.

CASE, DISPLAY & STRAP

A huge headline for the new Garmin MARQ 2 Captain watch is the introduction of the AMOLED touchscreen display. This follows the launch of the EPIX 2 earlier this year which also employed the crisp readability of AMOLED. Believe us when we say the 390 x 390 pixel resolution is a huge upgrade on the original MARQ Captain and it makes browsing the mass of features within effortless. The display is guarded by domed sapphire crystal glass and walled within a lightweight 46mm grade 5 titanium case. The case is then paired with a blue ceramic insert bezel decorated with Regatta timer markings and a nautical-inspired striped French jacquard-weave strap. As a marine GPS smartwatch, the Garmin MARQ 2 Captain obviously maintains its 100 metre water resistance.

FITNESS & NAVIGATION FEATURES

For when you’re off the water, the Garmin MARQ 2 Captain watch offers an array of clever features to get you focused on your health and wellbeing. Like the original MARQ series, you’ll get the wrist based heart rate monitor, Pulse Ox sensor. advanced sleep tracking, stress tracking, the Body Battery Energy monitor, preloaded sports apps, Garmin Coach and PacePro technology. A new feature is the Health Snapshot app which lets you log a two minutes session to record stats like your heart rate, Pulse Ox, respiration and stress and generates a report based on the information. You can also gain deeper understanding of your overall health with HRV status, training readiness, running power, real time stamina and VO2 max.

A brand new feature for the Garmin MARQ 2 Captain watch is the jet lag advisor, a handy tool for any boating enthusiasts crossing time zones. This feature is designed to reduce effects of jet lag with guidance on light exposure, sleep schedule and exercise. Other health and wellbeing apps include animated workouts, Visual Race Predictor, daily suggested workouts and recovery time. As for navigational features, I’m sure you can imagine Garmin utilises the same high levels of technology here including preloaded TopoActive Europe maps now equipped with SatIQ technology for even better positioning accuracy than before plus improved battery life. There’s also golf and ski maps and a new NextFork feature which lets you see what’s around the bend on your selected hiking trail.

BATTERY LIFE

With up to 16 days of battery life in smartwatch mode, the Garmin MARQ 2 Captain outperforms its predecessor with an additional 4 days. This is made even more impressive when you learn of the power-hungry nature of an AMOLED display. In smartwatch mode with energy saving, you can push this up to 21 days and while using GPS, you can expect up to 42 hours of battery life.  The watch also ensures up to 14 days in GPS Expedition mode.

SOCIAL FEATURES

Keeping you in touch with loved ones while you’re out at sea, the Garmin MARQ 2 Captain is equipped with smart notifications for emails, texts, and alerts when you pair it with a compatible Android or iOS smartphone. The boating smartwatch also comes equipped with the Garmin Pay contactless payment solution so you can breeze through checkout lines and pay for your shopping with a simple swipe of the wrist. Lastly, you have storage for all your favourite music including access to streaming apps like Spotify, Deezer and Amazon Music as well as storage for up to 2,000 songs.

If you’d like to learn more about the Garmin MARQ Captain Gen 2 watch and to shop the full range of MARQ 2 watches for yourself, head over to the Jura Watches website here. Alternatively, get in touch with the team by calling 01335 453453 or send us a message at help@jurawatches.co.uk.