Instinct 2 Solar, Tactical-Edition, Rugged Outdoor Watch with GPS, with Solar Charging Capabilities, Built for All Elements, Multi-GNSS Support, Tracback Routing and More, Black

I purchased this watch on a great sale earlier this year to replace a fading Samsung galaxy watch. I have no regrets purchasing this watch after having it for several months. There is a steep learning curve in using this as it is so much different than my galaxy watch. It is not a touch screen and you use physical buttons only. This was annoying at first, but I've gotten use to it and I actually prefer the physical buttons. I didn't realize how many times I would accidentally press something on the touch screen during the day. There are so many functions on this watch. I would recommend watching instructional Youtube videos to help. Initial setup of the watch to your phone isn't great. It took several times and getting the phone app to synch correctly was cumbersome. However, once it was synched I haven't had any issues since. I purchased the non-solar watch due to the price as the solar was still very expensive. The battery life is great. You don't realize how annoying it is to charge your watch every night or keeping track of your watch battery so it doesn't die on you. Carrying charging cords is annoying. It's great to go on vacation and not have to worry about bringing or forgetting your watch charger. I've turned off a lot of battery draining settings on my watch and it says it will get 31 days of battery life. You have to keep in mind though if you use the GPS or anything that uses the GPS this will drain the battery very quickly. I mainly use it for working out, hiking(GPS), receiving text messages, timers/stopwatch. These activities will drain my watch a bit, but I don't have to charge my watch for several weeks. Amazing! Like I said you will have to adjust the settings to get the best efficiency for your watch. There's almost too many things to adjust. The GPS is somewhat accurate. I've been on multiple long hikes at Zion park and Bryce Canyon and it was kind of accurate. My wife has a Apple watch and my two boys have a Garmin Forerunner 55 and 245 and each one of us had different readings. I just assumed my watch was the most accurate, but when I looked up the GPS map on one hike it was all over the place and not that accurate. I'm not sure if that was because we were in a canyon and the GPS signal was too weak. The heart rate monitor and O2 sensor seems accurate. I use the different work out settings on this watch almost daily. It is much more expansive and descriptive on the app than the Samsung Galaxy. There is so much more data given. As a fitness tracker it is so much better than the galaxy or Apple watch. Since you don't have to charge the watch I can take advantage of the sleep tracker. I'm not sure how accurate this is, but its nice to use. The weight of the watch is minimal. I don't think it's heavy for the size of the watch. It's definitely bigger than my old Galaxy watch. I like the big watch face as my eyes are getting old and reading the time is getting more difficult. The watch faces are customizable, which is a surprising feature. There are many choices and you can download new ones thru the Garmin app. I do miss answering calls thru my Galaxy watch. I was able to talk thru my watch on the Galaxy. You can answer calls on the Garmin, but it has no speaker/mic so you need your phone next to you. You can reply to text messages with pre-programed answers. I also miss using my watch to pay at the cashier. The base Instinct 2 watch does not have the Garmin pay option. I have a Samsung phone so if you have a Galaxy watch it will unlock your phone automatically if you are within a certain distance. I didn't realize that I'd miss this feature until I had to unlock my phone every time I picked it up. It is waterproof so you won't have to worry about swimming or getting it wet. Apple and Samsung say their watches are waterproof, but I've heard one too many stories about water issues with these that I would always take my watch off if I got in the water. It's definitely rugged and durable. I already have a lot of scratches and scuffs on the watch and band. I have a screen protector, which is a must. I've had to replace the screen protector, but they are cheap and replaceable. The cost of these smartwatches are too much to risk damaging it. I only wish that the longevity of smart watches was greater. I have an old solar casio G-shock that is almost 20 years old and it's still working. I would definitely recommend this watch to someone who is active and wants something different than Apple/Samsung. I can't see myself ever going back to one of those watches again.

First of all, know what you are getting with this watch. I have had several Garmins, most recently a Forerunner 965, an Apple watch, and a Coros Pace. Here’s what you get with the Instinct 2S: 1. Always-on, MIP display. Not colorful or even bright, but always accessible at a glance without having to flip your wrist. 2. Small size. It is small and lightweight. Will only fit smaller wrists and the display size means only basic metrics can be displayed at all times. I don’t need to see my heart rate, my miles run this week, or my Garmin vo2 max at any given moment. 3. Long battery life. The solar charging works ok, but you’ll get 2 weeks or more if you’re using it regularly. 4. No touchscreen. I don’t want one, I know the Garmin buttons and how to drive one. I bought the watch to track my road and trail running and so I can simply see the time on my wrist when I look. Tired of huge AMOLED displays with a bunch of metrics I can’t read in time before the display shuts off. I don’t even want that much data available at once, I can look on the Connect app and see all I need. Always-on mode for an AMOLED always seems to come with the cost of a rapidly dead battery. You might be different from me. If you want a bright colorful display, touchscreen, and AI training metrics, get a 65 or 70 series Forerunner. If you want an always-on MIP display but also a big watch face with a lot of metrics AND insane battery life, Enduro 3 is the one. If you want a smaller (and cheaper) Enduro 3 with less metrics on the watch face, Coros Apex is worth a look. I think that’s it. The worst this thing will see is a 50k trail run, and it isn’t even getting started when that is complete.

I’m extremely happy with this watch. It looks amazing on a woman’s wrist — sporty, clean, and not too bulky at all. I was a bit worried it might look too big, but it fits perfectly and actually looks very stylish. I wear it every single day, both for workouts and daily activities. Everything works flawlessly — no bugs, no freezing, no connectivity issues. GPS, activity tracking, and notifications are all accurate and reliable. The battery life is excellent, which was one of the main reasons I chose this model. It’s very comfortable to wear all day and doesn’t feel heavy on the wrist. The build quality feels solid and durable, yet still lightweight. Overall, this is a great everyday watch that combines functionality, durability, and a clean design. I would definitely buy it again and highly recommend it, especially for women looking for a rugged but good-looking smartwatch.

About a year ago I got my first watch, the Instinct 1. I got it for running and biking mainly but also wanted something to track heart rate, steps, etc. It needed to be tough as my hands usually get pretty beat up from my job, working on my car, whatever. Well it was a great watch, awesome for keeping track of my pace during my workouts, and never scratched it somehow. I wore it everyday and I have never wore a watch before buying it. A year passed and I was considering this upgrade, but wasn't sure if it was worth it. Well now that I have it, I can say it is well worth it. I love this watch. Everything about it is improved from the first model. The heartbeat sensor and gps is better which is a big thing for me. Battery life is longer. There is many more options/tracking on it, things I didn't even think i cared about but now having them I'm glad I do. I happened to be messing around with it one day and noticed the golf activity option, which I didn't know it had or how helpful it was on the course haha but I use it everytime I go out now and it's super easy. There is lots of customization for the layout of the watch and what you want tracked as well. Within the Garmin app you can look over everything and change everything about your watch. Overall this was an awesome purchase and I would recommend to anyone that has an active lifestyle that needs something tough and reliable.

Great watch that does everything I need.

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I bought this for running, but it instantly became a classic for everyday life and even at night. The fitness and health insights are valuable, even if they don't qualify as medical knowledge. The device is very rugged and the battery lasts weeks (probably months if I didn't use the GPS for tracking my trail running and mountain biking). I do regret I didn't get the solar version because I'd probably never need to charge it, since I'm outside a lot. There are many cool and useful watch faces for download. The monochrome screen looks traditional in a 1990s way, a bit like the dashboard on an old Mercedes: no-nonsense, every pixel purposefully exploited. I recently got a HEMSUT nylon velcro band and it's a big improvement on the silicone bracelet regarding comfort. The software is highly configurable so there's practically nothing to complain about: everything can be tweaked. For me, the monochrome screen and lack of touchscreen are actually pros, not cons, so it's a no-brainer for me. Think about those two things first, if you're hesitating.

The Garmin Instinct 2 solar is my perfect idea of how a smart watch should be. I don't want a smart watch that works and behaves like a miniature smart phone and just replicates almost everything what a smart phone does. Therefore, I am not looking for features that exist on most other smart watches. Rather, I am looking at features that only can be accomplished by a watch and not a phone, and the Garmin Instinct fits my requirements perfectly. The Garmin Instinct 2 is able to track and monitor all my health and exercise stats which I can easily view on my phone via the Connect app. I also hate the idea of having to charge another device every few days. However, with the Garmin Instinct 2 solar, I only need to charge it every 3 weeks or so, which is absolutely great! The only feature that I wish it had was the ability to play music offline. Overall, I am very happy with this purchase.