WeDrive: Garmin watch for truckers boosted by long battery life

Let’s start off with the most impressive feature I found. 

For those of you who own smartwatches and fitness trackers, how often do you charge the device? I have to charge my Apple Watch every day. Uniquely, the Garmin 2 Dezl Edition boasts a battery life of 21-28 days. Let me say that again for those wanting to reread it: It stays charged for more than 21 days. I was blown away. 

This extended battery life means that with water resistance, thermal resistance and durability for rough handling, I don’t have to take it off for nearly a month. However, if you use a Garmin 2 Dezl Edition and run GPS 24/7, your battery life will fall to about seven to eight days. But that’s a week longer battery life than my current watch. 

The device also includes multiple global navigation satellites for any adventure or activity you can think of, even skydiving. This really was a game changer. 

I will toss this out to those who are runners, go to gyms and participate in sports and other activities. This watch has it all for you. It supports workouts in your cab, biking, walking, skiing, surfing, running, CrossFit, you name it. It monitors activities I never even thought of. One thing to note is that I compared the activity features to my own device and the numbers are much higher on the Garmin 2 Dezl Edition. 

For those like myself who lack a high physical activity level, the watch includes ways to improve activity and what areas need the most attention. Sensors monitor your oxygen levels, heart rates, blood pressure and workout times, as well as recovery times and sleep patterns, and it can even determine your eating habits and stress levels. This Garmin 2 Dezl watch tells you how much power you put to the road running on foot just like the gauge on your dash tells you how much horsepower you put to the ground from your truck. 

Don’t let me lose you here yet because the features may seem a little overwhelming, especially if you are not a techy person. But it’s honestly easy enough that if I can figure it out without calling a dozen people in a day or two, so can you.

Now that I have your attention, let’s get into why we are reviewing the Garmin 2 Dezl Edition and the added features for truck drivers. 

The first is the GPS capability. Not only can it be connected to the Garmin Dezl OTR GPS and the Garmin Dezl Headset through the Garmin Dezl app but the Garmin 2 Instinct can function on its own. You can use your watch while you are out of the truck and still receive text messages, emails and the normal smartwatch features as well as GPS capabilities. While on home time, you are able to receive emails from dispatch, check your dispatch locations and mileage and run your hours on the Garmin 2 Dezl without ever leaving your family on your nights off. That’s pretty sweet.

Here’s another feature that we all will love. Garmin now gives us a way to keep up with our drive time, our 30-hour breaks and 10-hour breaks by just looking at our wrists and alerts. You have the capability to start your break right on your Garmin 2 Dezl and it will alert you as well as display a countdown, the time you will complete your drive time and when your break is over. 

Did I mention that you can get your Prepass Weigh Station notification on your Garmin 2 Dezl Edition? You can also set up your rewards cards with Love’s and Pilot Flying J’s and redeem your points right from the smartwatch. The Garmin 2 Dezl can handle contactless payments. For those times at truck stops when you don’t want to carry your wallet or handbag, you can pay with your watch.

There are also features on the Garmin 2 Dezl to help relax. For instance, if you are stuck in traffic on Interstate 10 in downtown Los Angeles on a Friday afternoon, your watch can spot a spike in your stress levels and will prompt you to do a breathing activity. It will notify you when your stress level rises but also when your body is optimized for energy and you are ready to go to work. It also sends alerts for when you are tired and need to shut down. This is done through data gathered from things like your heart rate, stress levels and how you slept last. Sometimes we become complacent and ignore what our body is telling us, I know I do, and I think reminders not only keep us healthy but also keep us and everyone around us safer.

My overview is that the watch’s rugged durability stands out as its top feature and the function buttons on the sides speak highly of the design. The features that have become standard to us on smartwatches are all covered but with many additional features on the Garmin 2 Dezl Edition. The added capability for truck drivers is helpful to each driver who operates a truck. It doesn’t matter if you are local, regional or an OTR driver, these all will work for you. It also doesn’t matter what commodity you haul or what kind of trailer you pull, it covers those of us who don’t leave the seat very often in our day to flatbedders and heavy haulers throwing tarps, chains and straps. Its capabilities of monitoring drive time and breaks give us a little more freedom from feeling as though we are tied to our trucks at all times. And the driving time and monitoring of break times isn’t connected with any function like an ELD or any other HOS device. It is a helpmate to alert us and help us on our own as a feature. 

I am impressed with the Garmin 2 Dezl Edition for truck drivers. The cost of the 2 Dezl at $399.99 isn’t bad at all and is much less than other comparable smartwatches. 

Now I want one too!

For more information, click here.