The Grey NATO – 147 – Designing The Garmin Descent With Patrick Danko
With the hopes of much more SCUBA diving on the horizon, this episode fits the theme of World Ocean Week with plenty of dive-related topics and a special interview with the man that helped to create Garmin’s high-tech and multi-talented Descent dive and multi-sport watch.
Please welcome to the show Patrick Danko, who has been working with Garmin since 2005 and, after learning to dive with his wife, helped to spearhead the Descent program. The boys dig into dive computer culture, how to design a dive computer that is also a full-time watch, and Patrick offers both a complete breakdown of the new Descent MK2’s impressive feature list along with his love of wreck diving and some of the sites he has on his wishlist.
Aside from the interview, James debuts a silly new segment, Jason has a snazzy new spring bar tool, and Final Notes offers a specifically ocean-based theme. Don’t forget to check out the new notes platform on Substack at notes.thegreynato.com. Feel free to leave a comment and subscribe if you want the show and notes delivered to your inbox. As for this episode, all you have to do is press play!
1:36 notes.thegreynato.com bit.ly/2T8TImZ
3:10 Our New Logo from Matt Ludvigson (@lattmudvigson) bit.ly/3wd9agG
8:10 Hassler Instruments Bolt Action Spring Bar Tool MK1 bit.ly/2TcOZAH
13:03 Jason’s Seiko 7002 bit.ly/3ccmCcx
14:04 James’ Rolex Explorer II bit.ly/3pAJDvl
15:40 Everest Rubber Strap bit.ly/2VlZEIW
16:00 Garmin Descent MKII bit.ly/3zfbw0s
23:01 Garmin Fenix 6S bit.ly/3cOt33X
41:47 DEMA show bit.ly/3xdaAHN
54:46 U352 bit.ly/3csR4zc
55:44 Scapa Flow bit.ly/3w9UEGo
57:20 Shadow Divers amzn.to/2Ok2l6H
57:25 Submerged amzn.to/2RD6FVF
57:30 Into the Planet amzn.to/3zhJJMA
59:05 Garmin Outdoor on Instagram bit.ly/3csRXrw
101:10 The Urchin Diver via VAER watches bit.ly/3cv8ew4
1:03:41 Perpetual Planet: Heroes Of The Ocean (via Rolex) bit.ly/3gd6avf
Fantastic episode! I literally was just looking at the 43mm Descent Mk2 yesterday. What timing!
Other than a cheap Mi Band (which I mostly use as a silent alarm) I've never gotten into the smart watch thing, but this interview has been looking through the Garmin catalog. I'm tempted to pick up a Fenix 6S or maybe one of their 40mm models. Having Spotify on my watch is weirdly attractive.