This wrist-mounted dive command center provides access to all of Garmin’s dive functionality—including trimix and rebreather modes—with a large format display and simplified four-button operation. The menus have a tile-like layout, which makes for easy access when utilizing touchscreen controls topside. The richly colored 3-inch display earned excellent and very good scores for reading, even in direct sun.
The dive display ensures vital decompression info is always visible on the left side of the screen. The other two-thirds of real estate are home to customizable secondary data fields—including a mini compass window—and data pages. When paired with a T2 transmitter and other compatible SubWave products, the computer can be used to track other divers, send and receive preset messages underwater, and navigate back to Garmin’s new S1 surface communication buoy.
It also has a built-in LED flashlight. Alerts are clear and use attention-grabbing vibrations. Dive logs are rich with data including a scrollable dive profile. Taking top scores across the board, the X50i was a favorite of test divers and is our Testers Choice for air-integrated computers.
