Garmin Instinct 2 Rugged Outdoor Watch with GPS

60 reviews for Garmin Instinct 2 Rugged Outdoor Watch with GPS

1. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   John G. Sobetzer – March 10, 2024

   4.0 out of 5 stars

   fine as watch, more uses really untested by me

   The watch keeps time and provides a heart rate measure which I have found useful. There are many other functions available but I just can’t invest the time and habit to make them useful given the many steps it takes, and once I lose the main screen I can end up in screen hell if the back button doesn’t get me home. I’m just not smartwatch “literate” and while buttons are better than touch screen out on the trail, especially for someone who needs readers, getting to strange screens on the trail makes it worthless. One note on a function I have tested. Like most barometric altimeters this one needs to be calibrated before use but the watche’s automated method isn’t very accurate, and inputting the correct one from a map gets me into screen hell. I can use it to measure relative change but barometric altimeters also need corrections for deviations from an idealized air temperature pressure column. I know how to do these having used a manual Thommen for years, but most users don’t, which can lead to incorrect readings that get blamed on the watch unfairly. Needing to pull readers out on the trail in all kinds of weather just isn’t feasible.

   One person found this helpful

2. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Southern_Kel – March 10, 2024

   4.0 out of 5 stars

   Female watch

   This watch was labeled as unisex but by the size, it is definitely female

3. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Santiago Forero Raguá – March 10, 2024

   5.0 out of 5 stars

   Excelente

   Gran equipo

4. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Tom Gunter – March 10, 2024

   5.0 out of 5 stars

   Impressive

   Bought for my grandson he loves it.

5. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Lolo – March 10, 2024

   5.0 out of 5 stars

   This is the fitness smart watch you need.

   Super light weight all day wear! Can’t really notice it through the day. The fenix models are heavy and uncomfortable compared to this one. If you can live without a color screen and fancy watch faces, yes you can. LCD screen is super readable and you can choose reverse dark or light faces. Fitness options are insane, unless you’re a tri athlete. Most use is constant heart rate feature along with daily goals and stress tracking. GPS works effortlessly when needed.Synced to iPhone no problem, default watch setting are pretty solid. No touchscreen, which is actually nice for some.Garmin connect app is far superior to other fitness apps.Remember your phone that is always with you has a nice color screen with maps and apps and games😅 Maps apps and games mostly suck on watches and are novelties at best. Except the gps fitness tracking, which…. You look at on your phone after it syncs anyway.Does have basic mapping and track back mapping. Battery life is crazy long, one main reason I wanted this. Solar appears to help keep battery going. Been wearing for almost a month and charged 2x but it’s never been below 70% even after a week or more. Charges full in less than an hour.Cons: can’t separate sleep and do not disturb mode. If you set sleep from 10a-7a, that’s your option for timed Do not disturb.LCD screen is square but Garmin trims the corners for the solar panel overlay. Some text ends up in corner and partially obscured.If you’re thinking Casio, they don’t have anything that compares to this. They have a single function heart monitor for the same price which has static lcd display and no where near the other functionally at this price. Smaller get the S, bigger get the X. I’m 5’11 160 this is the right size at 45mm.

   20 people found this helpful

6. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Jay Read – March 10, 2024

   5.0 out of 5 stars

   The watch is awesome!

   I have owned a few Garmin Fenix watches and didn’t really like them because of their size and bulk. I love this watch: it has everything you need and is really comfortable.

7. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Arthur – March 10, 2024

   4.0 out of 5 stars

   Takes a little time to learn buttons and functions but watch is working well so far.

   Syncronization with the phone app (Connect) has gone well. Not really useful for weight lifting as it doesn’t know when you have completed a set. Good for stationay bike, ellipitcal and road biking. I’m still learning about the Training Readiness function. I was surprised to find that I had ordered this from a secondary supplier and not directly from Garmin. This was an unpleasant surprise. Would have liked to have had more of a warning when placing the order. Could be an problem if there should be a warranty issue. Have been extremely disappointed with the Fitbit products so almost anything would have been an improvement. They (Fitbit) have a long way to go to understand retailing.

   4 people found this helpful

8. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   ChristianChristian – March 10, 2024

   5.0 out of 5 stars

   Hermoso

   Fue un regalo de cumpleaños, y esta muy bueno se ve un reloj de calidad, tiene buenas funciones y al parecer sensores y demas funcionan y leen super bien

9. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Ruth May – March 10, 2024

   5.0 out of 5 stars

   Amazing

   Long battery lasting. Easy to read and use. Great quality. Durable and strong. Love everything about it and all it does. Don’t have anything bad to say about it. Stays connected to the phone and doesn’t disconnect unless the phone is restarting.

10. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    A Singing Wolf – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Rugged and reliable

    I purchased this smart watch for my partner’s birthday as a way for him to monitor his fitness routine, basic health stats, and outdoor adventures. He’s avoided wearables and always regarded them with heavy doubt/scrutiny, but this watch really won him over. It replaced his basic “tell-time only” watch and he has been super happy with it.Out of the 3 months he’s had it, he’s only had to put it on a charger twice due to the solar charging aspect. It’s also very rugged for outdoor activities and looks incredibly similar to the basic watches he used to wear. However, he can now get instant text alerts, smart camera alerts, and all his health data in record time. He sleeps with it on and sometimes showers with it as well. He’s had no issues and loves that it’s not a noticeable or fragile feeling wearable (he’s an outdoorsy type and an engineer so he’s much more into practical function than flash/style). This is a wonderfully designed, easy to use watch for those that want something different than the “fancier” wearables while still getting all the benefits. All that to say, he’s now a believer. 🙂

    4 people found this helpful

11. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    D. Levi – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Great GPS watch

    Got this as a gift for my wife, who is big into hiking. She is generally pretty tech averse, but has had no issues using it, and really loves it.

12. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Caitlin Deaton – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Perfect gift

    I bought this for my husband and he loves it!

13. 

    Rated 4 out of 5

    Amazon Customer – March 10, 2024

    4.0 out of 5 stars

    Great except for

    I bought this for my son. He had it for less than 3 months before I had to purchase a replacement band. Other than the band tearing, it functions well.

14. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    GinHou – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Nice upgrade

    My son had used Fitbit for years but we had seen some degradation in quality (Versa 2) and so I bought this one for him (he’s 14) as an upgrade for Christmas. He loves it. Sturdy, waterproof, great for tracking an athlete – little tricky on set up but he was able to figure it out after a day or two and now loves it!

15. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Amazon Customer – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Buen dispositivo para iniciar en triatlón.

    Reloj liviano, de buen apariencia, resistente. Lo he probado por 1 mes en aguas abiertas dulces, bicicleta MTB en páramo y ruta con buen récord de rutas. La batería tiene una duración aproximada de 7 días con entrenamiento diario de 90 a 120 minutos y uso continuo durante la noche para registro de calidad de sueño.

16. 

    Rated 4 out of 5

    chiefwino – March 10, 2024

    4.0 out of 5 stars

    Nice watch but the band is small

    Overall a very good and versatile smart watch. Still working through the various functions and options. Only minor negative is the band is sized for a small wrist ~7in, had to get a larger band to wear comfortably for a big guy.

17. 

    Rated 4 out of 5

    J. Wade – March 10, 2024

    4.0 out of 5 stars

    It’s a pretty good watch with a few issues

    To be honest, I don’t like watches. My entire life, I’ve never been keen on wearing rings, necklaces, watches, or adornment of any kind. However, I play a *lot* of disc golf, and UDisc (an essential disc golf app for scorekeeping, finding courses to play…that sort of thing) works with Garmin smartwatches and apple watch only I believe. Now, I don’t like watches, but I want to easily keep score without having to pull my phone out of my bag after every hole. And on that front, for the sole reason I bought this watch, it is a massive success and I couldn’t be happier.I chose this watch – 45mm electric lime non-solar – because I wanted something with a little bit of color to offset the almost uniformly dark clothes I wear and I don’t have a problem plugging it in for an hour once every two weeks or so (the GPS while playing chews through battery life). I chose the Instinct 2s because I wanted something a bit more rugged. I don’t want to be terrified I’m going to break it.As for the only negative I am aware of, the heart monitor is *wildly* inaccurate, at least while wearing it where a watch as far as I’m aware is typically worn – on the back of my wrist. I was just going for a brisk walk and I pulled up the Garmin Connect app and I was shocked to see how my heart was up over 130bpm. Now, I’m trying to get back into shape, but there was a time not so long ago where I worked out regularly, and I know what that feels like, and it didn’t feel like my heart was going that fast.I stop walking immediately, put my fingers up against my carotid artery, and say, “Hey Siri, set a timer for 15 seconds”. 19…20…21…….22. So, between 84 and 88 bpm. Why does the watch still have me up over 120? I don’t know if I should flip the watch over to the inside of my wrist or what if I want accuracy there. One thing I do know, though, is to not take this thing’s word as gospel when it comes to my heartbeat. Going to buy a dedicated monitor for that.This watch is great on the disc golf course, though, which is why I bought it, so I’m happy with this purchase all the same.

    17 people found this helpful

18. 

    Rated 4 out of 5

    Majesty8 – March 10, 2024

    4.0 out of 5 stars

    Nice watch!

    Nice watch: great features and fairly easy to understand on how to operate. The size is perfect for my small wrist.Granted because of its smaller dial, the more information you want shown on the watch face, the smaller the font and you’d have to squint to read. But, comes with the territory.The strap seems a bit flimsy: it’s comfortably soft, but scared it could tear easily if caught on something, especially with the work I do.I’d still recommend it though. Watch is packed full of features and the app is great too.Update: So far, so good. It’s much easier using the app to check out the chock full of features the watch is able to measure.One of the main reason I bought the 2S is the solar charging ability. It’s an important feature I look for in timepieces simply as it’s a pain going around to replace watch batteries. I understand certain features drains the battery, and I minimized certain features it has to conserve power. Anyway, under ~5 hrs of direct sunlight, it yielded ~20% charge. Window charge on a sunny day didn’t yield anywhere close, but I really like the app’s ability to measure the charging intensity. Because of the watch’s solar limitations, I have not gotten a full 100% charge when I left it out in direct sunlight all day on weekends.

    5 people found this helpful

19. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Mark Areef – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Great watch specially for surfers,

    The Garmin Instinct 2 Surf Maverick is an impressive addition to Garmin’s lineup, catering specifically to surfers . It’s water-resistant capabilities make it an ideal companion for water sports enthusiasts. With preloaded surf activity profiles, tide data, and dedicated surfing metrics, including wave count and ride distance, it offers comprehensive insights into surfing sessions.

20. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Gonzalo – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Nice watch

    Nice watch

21. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Tim Grabowski – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    No heart rate

    Doesn’t matter what watch I wear , none of them record my heart rate or sleep . Got to put it on really really tight to get any tracking . I’m surprised that it reads my steps . Nice watch , just over priced by about 100 dollars

    One person found this helpful

22. 

    Rated 3 out of 5

    Caraptor – March 10, 2024

    3.0 out of 5 stars

    From a watch enthusiast perspective, needs improvement

    This will be a simultaneous review of the Garmin Instinct 2 and the Garmin Fenix line, my particular model being the 6 sapphire. There are already plenty of in-depth technical reviews and videos out there, so my comments will be directed to the watch enthusiast like me, looking to step into the world of smart watches, without going Apple Watch, or looking to upgrade from a non-gps ABC watch. Also, if you’re super sold on the various training aids, gps integration, etc., then my comment probably won’t matter.I purchased these watches, in an effort to find an outdoor adventure watch with GPS capabilities and real time weather data. I no longer own either, and here’s why:Garmin Fenix 61. Extremely difficult to read in low light without pressing the backlight button, thus largely failing to offer the time-telling convenience a wrist watch is supposed to provide.2. Inability to respond to texts from an iOS device, even with pre-scripted responses.3. Inaccurate weather info. This one really bugged me, because I wanted at-a-glance, realtime weather on my wrist. I’m not sure where Garmin sources their weather info from, but it was rarely correct. On top of that it was extremely slow to reach out and grab updated weather info. There were times when the temp was off by as much as 10 degrees, causing me to constantly refer to an alternative source (my phone) to double check. The barometer was also usually off, even after calibrating. (My Suunto Core, for comparison’s sake has always had a remarkably accurate barometer, though it’s onboard thermometer is entirely useless on the wrist.)Garmin Instinct 21. Unlike the Fenix, the display was not an issue. The instinct 2 has the best negative display I have ever seen on a watch, and you can even switch it over to positive.2. However, like the Fenix the inability to respond to iOS messages was a bummer and3. Weather data was untrustworthy.So if you’re a watch nerd like me, looking for a rugged adventure smart watch, I’m not sure Garmin is really there yet. Neither of these are particularly good “smart watches.” Both are too limited in their communication capabilities for iPhone users. The Fenix is hardly even a good watch. Robust and beautiful, yes, but difficult to live with indoors due to the screen dimness. It’s just too expensive to be a direct sunlight only watch. And as to the weather data, why can’t Garmin just let you choose which weather widget to sync to on your phone? At a bare minimum, the weather data issue should be fixed. Had it worked, I would have kept the Instinct 2.As mentioned, if you want a gps enabled fitness watch, and don’t care about the shortcomings I’ve mentioned, either of these would work, but I think the real value is the Instinct 2.As it stands, both of these watches left me wondering, “Why not just purchase a handheld Garmin GPS with an inherently larger screen for times when I need Garmin gps features? Or why not buy an Apple Watch for the premier smart watch experience and add the Workoutdoors app to it? Ultimately I put All Trails on my phone, and a regular watch on my wrist.

    34 people found this helpful

23. 

    Rated 4 out of 5

    Benjamin Ranck – March 10, 2024

    4.0 out of 5 stars

    Great watch, great features

    The features were fantastic. Everything was great except the display is hard to read for me. The limited coloring for me made it so I couldn’t read it without my 1.5 reading glasses. Had to return it but got the Epix. Same features, color display. Much better. So is a great watch though if you don’t have issues reading it.

    One person found this helpful

24. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Craig H. – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Best thing I have done for my health

    I do a variety of activities and this captures all of them. I like that I can monitor what heartrate zone I am in while performing an activity. I also like that when done I can see how much recovery I will need. This has been an invaluable aid to being active every day and building fitness without over doing it. The function I find questionable is Strength. For anything heartrate based this can’t be beat. The swim function I like a lot too as it captures everything I need. I hand carve wood objects like bowls and spoons and for this I use the Cardio setting to capture the work that I do while making something. I was surprised to see just how much sanding drove up my heartrate. I suffer from migraine and know that stress causes them for me. With this watch I have been able to moderate my efforts to prevent them from triggering an episode and obviating the need to consume medication, saving me money and pain. The data generated also has helped me see what I did when one takes me by surprise. The watch gives me a suggested workout every day, which I follow. It only gives run or cycling recommended times but it does tell you when to do intervals. I like that I only have to recharge it about once a month.

    3 people found this helpful

25. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Rogue Disciple – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Much better than my last “Smart Watches”

    My Samsung watch died a little while back. Was nowhere satisfied with that watch due to battery life and bloatware,This watch looks like it has about a 30 day batter life which means I can recharge it less often. Also the associated app is much better. Tracks all the information I wantIn addition, I like the look of the polymer case (very similar to the check “dumb” watch I was wearing. Add in the fact that, with the extended battery life, I am able to wear it to bed to get sleep readings.

    2 people found this helpful

26. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    c j – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Reliability of the information it provides in the app

    I love my Garmin Surf Solar instict 2 watch. Only thing I do not like is that sometimes it is slow to catch up in the GPS mode. And it makes it where my watch is not recording all of the waves I am catching.

27. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Daniel – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    A huge upgrade

    I bought this because I had 2 Samsung Galaxy watches fail on me prematurely in a row, and I was tired of Samsung’s watches. This watch is a massive improvement in health and fitness tracking and accuracy, and I have no concerns about a touchscreen failing and falling off from the glue softening.The button controls are intuitive and make sense; I don’t think I’d ever go back to a touchscreen watch again. Whether the screen is covered in water or sweat, it still works every time. The amount of fitness tracking features Garmin has is much better. My heartrate is more accurate, and it gives you better sleep data, as well as your HRV, which Samsung doesn’t give you at all. Garmin Connect is great for plotting cycling routes, and the GPS data is spot on in most cases.My #1 gripe about Garmin is that you can’t record a ride from the cell phone app, you have to use a Garmin device. I plan on buying a Garmin bike computer because having to take my hand off the handlebar to look at my watch to check my speed is getting annoying, but being able to record from your phone app would be nice, even if it causes a decrease in location accuracy.

    4 people found this helpful

28. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Marlon Noriega – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Excelencia

    Cumple con todas mis necesidades

29. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    JamieJamie – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Love it!

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    I’m a Garmin fan, I had the Vivomove before my husband upgraded me to the Instinct. I can do a lot more with this watch but it’s still very user friendly and easy to use. The only complaint I have is that the band is really long and wraps all the way around my wrist, nothing an aftermarket band can’t fix!

30. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Prison Mike – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Upgraded from the Solar Tacitcal

    Months later, and still holding strong. I upgraded from the 1st Gen tactical and honestly aside from battery and a few sensors being faster, no difference. If you have the money and are like me where you want the newest tech, go for it, if not the OG solar can do about 85% of the same stuff. I have noticed the heart rate, steps, and GPS to be a lot more accurate. The breath rate actually is a nice touch, I monitor all of that for when I’m working to find my “Normal” work day so I know when to add caffeine.

    4 people found this helpful

31. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    The Data MasterThe Data Master – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    The OCR Review

    I wanted a watch that I would be able to use on my OCR Runs. I also hike a lot and loved the idea of the garmin series because of the ability to download GPX maps to it. Lastly, I use the Virtual run feature with Zwift and it is way more responsive than a footpod. I decided on the Instrinct because I felt it was more durable than the other Gamin models due to it’s design and reputation for being so. I also love the monochrome aspect of it. It extends battery life and gives it more of a watch feel and less of a smart IOT toy.I used this watch at a Spartan sprint, a Spartan Super, a F.I.T. challenge, and 2 Savage races and this thing is *durable*. Not a scratch on it. The pictures are from after one of those 2 Spartan races. The band is a pain to clean afterwards if you are a neatfreak. I use a moist Q-Tip and gently rub back and forth. The milage was on point of what the signage said (we are no considering the penalty laps XD). If you are looking for a watch for Obstacle Course Racing or maybe even something else rugged like mountain climbing or if you are an athlete who happens to fall a lot, I highly recommend this watch and it’s variants.P.S. I do not have a screen protector because another OCR racer has a non instinct Garmin and told me I don’t need to worry about the screen breaking and she was correct.

    One person found this helpful

32. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    JosieJosie – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    For Small Wrists

    I have a small wrist. I was really worried that the 40mm would be too large but it’s perfect, I can even fit it around my ankle on the last strap hole for when I can’t use it on my wrist.As for Data, I’m still feeling around to get the hang of it. I need to calibrate my steps which is a cool feature for accuracy. The sleep cycles are so-so to be expected with any of these device, I notice there are some inaccuracies. The body battery though is pretty accurate. When my battery is low I feel it. It even tracked me through a sinus infection and it was interesting to see how my HRV dipped and my pulse ox was low when I slept as well as it rise with my recovery.I mainly bought for hiking trips, although I did not buy the solar- the battery life is good. 13/14 days with the pulse OX on at night only. If I went on a day hike with elevation I would use the pulse ox all day and the battery life would be more like 7 days and GPS shortens the battery even more. With all the features on, and GPS I bet you could expect to get about 18 hrs with constant GPS. So many ways to optimize the battery though and you probably won’t use all those features all at once. If you feel like you will, then get the solar.Watch is rugged and not smart watch looking at all which is what I wanted.

    4 people found this helpful

33. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Jeffrey Watkin – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Great rugged trail running watch

    I love this watch. It works as expected and is super comfortable. I upgraded from the Forerunner 235 and I find this one much more comfortable and provides me with much more data. It is also very rugged. As someone who trail runs, works on a farm, and does construction work, this watch is great for every day use as well as tracking my exercise. Only downside is that the text can be small on the screen if using one of the watch faces with many data fields. For price and functionality, I highly recommend it.

34. 

    Rated 4 out of 5

    Matt – March 10, 2024

    4.0 out of 5 stars

    About the perfect “basic” smartwatch

    Size: This was one area I thought it would be ungangly, but it’s not. I got the 44mm version and it’s surprisingly slim, about like a Casio Pathfinder. It’s not as slim as a Galaxy or Apple Watch, but it’s not huge.Band: The band is good, a bit of give, end to end holes, and a properly angled latch to help prevent it from coming off under pressure.Screen: The screen is easily viewable in the bright sun and in the dark with the backlight. It’s only black and white, but it isn’t a power sucking OLED screen, though it means the maps are very basic.Battery life: As a smartwatch it’s been a week and has used 15% power, with the always on pulse measurement. Granted I got the solar version which helps keep it topped up, but 3-4 weeks as a smartwatch, less if you use GPS, but I would say the advertised times are accurate.Watch faces: You’re somewhat limited by the screen choice, but there are several nice included ones and there are more which can be downloaded from the Garmin Connect IQ Store (more on that below).Glances: Scrolling up and down from the watch face you can choose to display the weather, heart rate, barometer, and more. Most I find quite useful, and you can remove the ones you don’t like.Sleep, step, and heart rate tracking: In line with my previous Galaxy watch, but more accurate. Shaking a bottle of juice doesn’t add steps, for example.GPU Accuracy: It’s within 3 feet of my Garmin Montana, so it’s accurate. It doesn’t show GPS accuracy, sadly.Software: This is the area which really lets the watch down. Garmin Connect IQ syncs slowly and doesn’t (currently) pair with Google Fit. You are also required to use the Gamin Connect IQ Store to not only download new watch faces, but to CUSTOMIZE downloaded faces as well, which seems daft.All in all it’s a great watch that I’m not regretting buying over a Galaxy Watch 6. I’d recommend it over a Fitbit, or the original, ASIN B07HYX9P88, if you’re unsure, though you miss out on the Instinct 2’s refinements, such as a higher res screen.

    4 people found this helpful

35. 

    Rated 3 out of 5

    Jeff – March 10, 2024

    3.0 out of 5 stars

    Too bulky many even as a 2S.

    I had purchased and returned the original Garmin Instinct Solar when the Instinct was new. I returned it because it just wasn’t ready for prime time. It was too bulky, the software was a little buggy and not terribly friendly, and the solar was of very limited utility 99% of the time. I.e., more expensive than it delivered.Then comes the Instinct 2. The software is much improved and they offer a smaller 40mm version. These are improvements, so I bought an Instinct 2s. It is still too big – the primary reason I bought it. I also have a fitbit. The instinct is better, but I won’t wear something that big.On the positive side, courses and navigation now works. It simply didn’t on the first one. I used it today on a 21 mile bike ride. I was able to build a course easily in the Garmin Connect app, transfer it to the Instinct 2s, and use it. If I strayed from the course, it kept navigating rather than completely loosing its way as the first Instinct did. That was actually of some use.The longevity of a battery charge can be managed well by turning functions on and off. It has good GPS, good sensors for compass and altimiter.I recommend not paying for solar. You would need the solar charge capability under very limited circumstances. For my purposes, solar is an expensive capability that won’t get used because it does not work well. If I want more battery life, I can get more days than I would need on a week long hike and still use the GPS from time-to-time by turning off functions that aren’t needed. Solar works if you make a point of holding it just right when you are in the sun – which I don’t and you probably will not. It did not give the battery enough boost to make the capability and cost worthwhile. I could sum it up by saying that it is well thought out, but it is still a gadget with a lot of stuff that I don’t really need and it is still larger than I want to wear on my wrist all the time.Some of these comments apply to smart watches in general: I’m a health and fitness conscious old man who still bikes, jogs, and runs the stadium stairs. And even I do not need a heart beat monitor or a blood oxygen monitor. Those things don’t provide my exercise purpose with any essential information and the measurements are inaccurate anyway. My wife and I walk briskly enough to raise my pulse to about 120. A couple of days ago, the Garmin was telling me my pulse was 160 during a walk. It was clearly out in left field. It seems to be accurate if I am sitting still and sometimes goes crazy when I am active. My fitbit snd the Instinct rarely agreed on heartbeat except when sitting still.Sleep quality measurment is inaccurate. I suppose it can give you a trend and is a reasonable measure if you look at it everyday, but I know if I slept well last night compared to the night before. The watch doesn’t make me any smarter.I also have a fitbit charge 5. There is good agreement between them for things that are directly measured by GPS – speed and distance. But there can be large differences between heart beat, sleep quality, and calories burned. These are calculated by algorithms rather than measured directly.So it just comes down to not wanting to wear something that is as bulky and experimental as this device is.Here is what I would really like from Garmin, and they are the company that should do it. Make a watch for people like me who have paid attention to fitness most of their lives and have become smarter about it than the current state of fitness monitoring devices. Give us the following:Reduce the size by getting rid of pulse and O2 sensors. Give it a very accurate GPS capability that also measures altitude – as they do for their aviation products (that is a great, accurate capability). Let me load maps and routes. Barometric pressure can be useful, but isn’t at the top of the list. I.e, give me an accurate navigation device. Give it a large battery. Call it the ‘Navigator’.Then I’m a customer. I would like to have blood pressure, but no one has figured that out.I wanted to like the Instinct 2s – and it is better than the first one. But i returned it.

    47 people found this helpful

36. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Jude – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Very sturdy, great stats for health

    Love the stress and sleep stats and recommendations. Made very well, rugged, but yet not huge, with small band. Battery life incredible, even though Bluetooth is on constantly, lasts at least 5-6 days.I need to read the manual to figure out how to start a specific activity, in order to capture my GPS map and mileage of my individual hikes – which was easier on my old Garmin tracker.

37. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Pakdoc – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Little Watch BIG Tech

    I really like GARMIN products as they tend to be higher quality with fewer bugs in their technology & this little watch proved it again. I wear it all the time & it does everything you want a watch this smart to do at least in my opinion. It’s HR function lines up with my other EDGE computers albeit a little slower but does reach agreement. I like a small face watch so this band was a tad short but still fastens with just a little tag end but a replacement band is $50 so not worth it as it gets the job done.

    One person found this helpful

38. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    CsrCsr – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Gran reloj a gran precio

    es un gran reloj, tiene todo a un gran precio y luce muy bien

39. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Eduardo LopezEduardo Lopez – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Everyday smartwatch

    It makes me happy to charge my device every 20 days, not like the other brands. The GPS is precise and helps you track your activities but also with basic things like steps, hearth rate and sleep quality

40. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Fausto Ortiz Berduo – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Best watch

    Good for everything, doesn’t die everyday like an Apple Watch lol

41. 

    Rated 4 out of 5

    Isa – March 10, 2024

    4.0 out of 5 stars

    Perfect except for heart rate monitor

    Once you figure out how to set up everything, it works really well. The only critique is the heart rate monitor which seems to be over what it should. And thus anything else that relies on the heart rate readings is somewhat unreliable.Fits really small wrists!

42. 

    Rated 4 out of 5

    mary – March 10, 2024

    4.0 out of 5 stars

    Not sure the SUN helps charge this watch

    I bought this watch b/c my Garmin Forerunner 45S’s battery stopped keeping a charge. This Solar Garmin boasted 28 days of battery life. I did a little test to see if the ‘solar’ capability actually charged by the power of the sun. After keeping the watch in direct sun for several hours, the charge did not change at all. I am doubtful this watch can even be charged in the sun. BUT…the battery life is longer than my Forerunner. The numbers / info are really small to read on the face of the watch. LOTS of features; 1/2 of which I don’t understand or use.

    2 people found this helpful

43. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Lynne – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Great watch with so much extra

    Bought as a gift, and they love it, looks great function is awesome, does so much, bought it for hiking but it’s become an everyday item.

44. 

    Rated 4 out of 5

    Joseph Ellsworth – March 10, 2024

    4.0 out of 5 stars

    Love this watch durability and the ant compatibility

    One issue I have had with fitness watches is their heart rate sensors all become erratic during heavy sweaty workouts when you most need it to be accurate. With ant capability and a polar arm band this watch delivers very accurate heart rate under the most challenging conditions and it is properly reflected in the watch automatically. I have owned 4 fitbits all of which died due to my active lifestyle so having a watch that appears to be as durable as a G-Shock. Fitbits poor durability forces me to avoid their devices even though I love their app. The fitbit devices are where I first noticed heart rate detection issues during hard workouts. My models don’t didn’t have ant capability so I had to wear a separate chest strap that didn’t integrate so the calories consumed were wrong.I tried amazefit for over a year and liked the watch but the heart rate detection was even worse than Fitbit and it didn’t have ant so that device went into a door.I find this watch needs to be charged every 5 to 6 days or it goes into energy conservation mode. This happens sooner if you have several long workouts. The battery life is way better than my last Fitbit especially when I have several multi hour workouts. I personally will never consider a Google watch until they can match a week battery life including several workouts.I really miss the PAI score from amazefit and feel it is a critical health management feature that Garmin needs to add to remain competitive. This is one missing feature that will tempt me back to try other devices when this one reaches end of life.I still end up using the Fitbit calorie counter for food consumption because I like their bar code scanner. Garmin tells you to use my fitness pal for the same but it is crippled on the free version and I couldn’t test the bar code scanner without paying which I would bet Garmin gets a commission on. Garmin needs to improve this aspect of their software so there is a bar code enabled calorie counter built into their software for free. Without this feature it will put them at a serious competitive deficit for people trying to do while health management. Again this is a feature that could get me to switch brands.

    7 people found this helpful

45. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    john seegers – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    SO FAR SO GOOD!

    Had an older version of this about four years ago and it was a piece of garbage. I mean I literally threw it in the trash. I was hesitant to try another one but SO FAR I’m glad I did. Sort of intuitive-ish functions. Instant satellite pick up. 3 taps of one button and you are off on your walk. Good buzz for each mile completed. Syncs just fine with Garmin Express. Nice to have my walks/hikes/bikes all in one place. I don’t use any of the “advanced” features or “health” features. SO FAR so good – I am quite happy with this purchase. Oh and it is not humongus so it fits my skinny old man wrist quite well.

46. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Chandler WitterChandler Witter – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Awesome Product!

    This is an excellent product! Iwoukd definitely recommend it. It has great battery life, is easy to use, and doesn’t distract me like a lot of smartwatches might.There are only two things I wish were different, 1) I wish that the battery days remaining estimate calculated based on how much light it actually receives on average. It seems to calculate based on optimal lighting conditions. 2) I wish the watch had topo maps, even simple ones. That said, I still recommend the watch!

    One person found this helpful

47. 

    Rated 4 out of 5

    Ashley PollardAshley Pollard – March 10, 2024

    4.0 out of 5 stars

    Great purchase

    I’ve had this watch now for about a month. At first, I was a little disappointed that it doesn’t have a color screen and that it’s so lightweight (I equated lightweight to sub par quality). I’m now really enjoying the watch, even with no color! My favorite features so far is the breathing activity and being able to track my respirations. This is very helpful for my panic attacks. I also like being able to track/log my workouts.Overall, I would recommend this purchase to others.

    One person found this helpful

48. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    AlexisAlexis – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Excellent

    Excellent watch. Just i have 3 days with it but. I’m Happy with my self gift. Has all i need it’s a sports watch . I like all measurements tha it has. For the sleep it showed me the same that was happening. This week I’ll try it at the gym and some out work out. I founded a issue that was resolved and it was the BT connection fair after it got update i followed the Garmin recommendations and for now all is ok. Maybe in a few days I’m gonna update my comment to talk about of work out behaviors.

    One person found this helpful

49. 

    Rated 4 out of 5

    Jordan chapman – March 10, 2024

    4.0 out of 5 stars

    Great apple watch replacement

    I would break apple watches every year. This watch does everything i meed it to and it doesn’t need a charged for a very long time. It works pretty seamlessly to my iphone for music, better then the iwatch. The watch faces that come on it didnt have everything i wanted so i had to create one using a third party website and that was kind of a pain.Its a small trade off for having a more durable and better looking watch then the i watch.

50. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Ed – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Practical beyond compare

    The basic features (GPS, ABC, heartrate, etc.) are all there and very well done at that. For those who want more from their wearable, this watch has that, too. It’s got so many features that I can’t even find them all.

51. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Ryan Whitehouse – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Everything you need, nothing you don’t.

    The Instict series sites essentially at the bottom of Garmin’s smartwatch lineup. It’s a monochrome screen, controls are via buttons rather than touch, and it’s not a mini-phone for your wrist. That said, I’m really not sure any of those are a bad thing, and in some cases, for the better.The monochrome LCD screen is easy to read in bright sunlight, something that can’t always be said for color TFT touchscreens (or the brightness has to be maxed, zapping the battery in a hurry). It also has battery life measured in weeks, not hours. It’s also “always on”, so you don’t need to waggle your wrist or tap it to wake the screen up to check the time.I’ve never been a fan of touch interfaces on a watch. Some brands handle it better than others, but given the form factor, you’re trying to either poke miniscule icons, or are just going rough swipe gestures- which can too easily be done accidentally. A few dedicated buttons are clear, easy to use, and accidental inputs are quite rare. The Instinct has five- one functions generally as as “OK”, one is “Back”, two are up/down for menus, and the third generally functions as a menu/options for whatever screen or activity you’re on. It’s surprisingly intuitive to figure out.GPS accuracy I’ve found is excellent, and only take a tiny hit when in “max battery GPS” mode, which uses only 1 of the 2 possible antennas and takes location data less frequently. Heart rate data also is quite accurate, and seems minimally affected by moisture/sweat. You also don’t have to have the watch strapped on uncomfortably tight to get consistent readings, as I’ve found with some other devices. As long as it’s not totally flopping around, you’ll get good readings. It can take Pulse Ox readings as well, although this feature is disabled (on “manual test only”) by default as it gives a bit hit to battery life.The companion app I found is easy to use and gives robust data about recorded workouts or activities. It also allows you to configure (most) watch settings, but for some reason a few can only be adjusted on the watch directly. This isn’t a big deal, and after initial setup, you won’t be needing to touch these much, if ever. That said, unlike a lot of smartwatches, the app or a phone link isn’t totally essential. The watch can function entirely on it’s own as it has GPS built in (some other watches rely on the GPS in your phone, so away from your phone, they can’t do much beside count steps and tell you the time). You can choose to get notifications from your phone on the watch, and being it lacks a speaker or mic can’t dictate responses, but you can choose to send a few canned responses like yes/no/can’t talk now/I’ll get back to you soon, ect without having to stop what you’re doing or fish your phone out.There is a separate app- the main one is Garmin Connect, but there is an “app store” called Garmin IQ where you can download extras like mini-apps for different sports or activities not built in, different watch faces, and even some basic games. I didn’t find much of interest there, it seems more aimed for their higher-tier watches with more capabilities, but you can sort by what watch you have and it will only show content that’s compatible with yours, a nice touch. The watch face has 12 pre-sets to choose from, 6 each in both “dark on light” and reverse “light on dark” patterns. Each preset then be further customized to change what each data field displays from dozens of options.The Instinct 2 does support Garmin Pay for contactless payments, though this does require a link to the phone- and Garmin Pay only supports a couple of the major CC’s. I don’t use this feature (I very rarely use it on my phone either), to me it’s just as fast/easy to pull a wallet out and tap the card, than pull my phone out or tap through a few menus on my watch to pull up a payment. But, it’s there if you want it.Also nice is the Instinct line comes in 3 sizes- the “S” 40mm, the standard 45mm, and the “X” 50mm. The S and standard are functionally identical, aside from the standard having a bit larger battery and thus longer life. The X adds a mini flashlight feature, but I carry a EDC light anyway- which is far brighter- and 50mm watches I find a little too chonky for my taste. Some reviews complained about the default band not being hinged, although I think this would only be a concern if your wrists are substantially slimmer or thicker than normal. For the vast majority of people, it will be fine. I find it perfectly comfortable to wear 24/7 and the very fine “notches” give a lot of adjustability to get the fit just right. There are other bands you can get from both Garmin and third parties, including one with hinged pivots.You also get the option of solar, which enables “unlimited” battery life in theory, but in practice, this won’t be the case for most people. Garmin makes this claim assuming the watch gets 3 hours of moderate sun exposure a day, and in “smartwatch mode” only, i.e, not using the GPS. The watch does soak up meaningful charge off solar- a 1 hour bike ride on a very bright day I noticed a 3% increase on the battery- which is about how much it does down each day just in smartwatch mode with 24/7 HR monitoring on. So it recouped a day of battery in only about an hour, cool! It does function, but riding a bike has the watch face directly facing up- other activities like walking/running will net much less exposure (you can check a graph of the last 6 hours), and even on a sunny day, only net a trickle of power. 1 hour of GPS usage also takes about a day’s worth of standby time, so if you plan to track activities routinely, don’t expect a watch you “never” have to charge”. Even if you do so seldom or never, unless you consistently spend several hours outdoor every day, chances are you will still need to occasionally charge it. Still- compared to most smartwatches that need charging every couple days, if not every day, the Instinct offers stellar life. Fresh off the charger, mine reports about 30 days of battery. Using the GPS for a few hours a week to track some jogging, I find realistically, I get between 2-3 weeks before the battery is down to 10% or less and it starts asking for the charger. I’m sure the solar contributes to that, but I don’t imagine it added more than a day or two. If you don’t spend a lot of time outdoors, or live in a location that’s overcast- or you wear a jacket a lot- you can probably skip the solar option and save $100. If you live in a sunny climate and spend a decent amount of time outdoors, the solar can help stretch the battery and net you an extra few days before charges. While I don’t doubt the “unlimited” claim is technically possible, it would require foregoing most of this watch’s main features (GPS) almost entirely, and spending a fair bit of time outdoors on sunny days.It does use a proprietary USB charger cable, which pulls about 0.6 watts while charging (so even the most basic 5w charging brick from an old iPhone, or a USB port on a computer, will charge this just fine). The charging is relatively brisk. A full charge from ~5% to 100% took only about 90 minutes (it seems to gain about 1% charge per min), so if you need a quick top up, just a 10 minute plug in can net you another couple days of battery.All in all, this is a fantastic smartwatch/fitness tracker for people who value simplicity and phenomenal battery life. It doesn’t offer the dozens/hundreds of activities to track like some others, and offers only the basics for phone connectivity. It also doesn’t cost a thousand dollars. You get three sizes, several special editions that include some specialty capabilities/apps, several colors in each size, and the option of solar or not.

    161 people found this helpful

52. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Michael D. Hott-barhamMichael D. Hott-barham – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Awesome watch!

    I have had the watch for 2 weeks now with zero complaints. It does everything I need in a watch and then some. It does a great job of monitoring heart rate and counting steps, and lots of other things I am still learning, like HRV and pulse ox. There are plenty of faces to choose from, and they are all customizable, so that I can have just the data I want on there. For example, the one I am using shows me time, date, weather, battery, heart rate, and steps. The watch itself is very easy to operate, and very easy to see, indoors or outside in sunlight. Battery life is outstanding. Have not charged it since it’s initial charging 2 weeks ago, and it shows still 9 days left, and that is with using GPS on average 45 minutes a day while recording my afternoon walk, and recording my morning workout as well (non-GPS workout). and the app is really great! Very easy to use, and find the information I want to see. I can find connections and challanges from the app, and best of all, I don’t have to pay for a premium membership (Like some othe fitness apps) to use all of the features. Garmin figures that owning their products is enough, and hey do not nickle and dime you to death. Thank you Garmin! This is my first Garmin, and I believe I will probbaly be a Garmin guy from now on.

    2 people found this helpful

53. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Sriram Sethumadhavan – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Love Battery Life, Accuracy and watch faces

    I returned an apple watch 9, Samsung Galaxy 6 Watch, Fitbit Sense to pick this one. Swapped out its strap to a lightweight fabric strap within first hour of use. I have used it for ~23 hours a day for last 3 weeks with mobile notificatons turned off. This watch is a gem. Measures Steps, HR and Sleep duration well. I am few days away from my 2nd Charge ever. Wish garmin sells these watch with Fabric straps at a nominal price. (1/5th of watch price for a strap is ridiculous)

54. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Jollyroger Hobbies – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    I love this watch!

    So I come from wearing a Casio Solar Atomic (not smartwatch) for over 7 years. At the time of this review I have been wearing the Garmin Instinct 2 Solar (45mm) watch for 11 months. The Casio was a true solar watch and I never replaced the battery, not once in 7 years and when I gave it to a friend after I moved to this watch it still showed full battery. HOWEVER that was NOT a smart watch. There is a point to me bringing that up and it has to do with a previous reviewer. But I will get to that point in a minute. Comparing the size and weight to that old watch I was quite surprised. I expected this watch to be bigger and heavier. However it was neither. This 45 mm Instinct is about the same size as the old Casio but it is much lighter. The band is silicone which is very flexible and comfortable while still being strong. It has two excess band holders which I thoroughly love! Now I have worn a watch since I was about 6 or 7 and could tell time. I am 43 now so you do the math. It all that time my biggest pet peeve about watches is that excess band sticking out and catching on EVERYTHING! The band would come out of those old holders or it would catch on something. it was just a fact of life. Enter Garmin, they give you two excess band holders. one old style slip and slide that you can slide into any position and one on the end that is same type but adds a notch that fits into the excess band and locks it in place! No more catching it anything! OMG I can’t get over such a simple and wonderful feature!!!! Now for the watch itself. Lets talk battery/solar and then we will get to features. So the face of this watch is a Solar panel. the outer ring takes in 85% of the solar light while the center watch face itself takes in 15%. The battery has a great capacity compared to other smartwatches. Another reviewer stated that she owned a Casio watch exactly as I had and got this watch, now she has to charge it often and her old watch she didn’t that makes this watch trash. How wrong that is. Is it possible to use the solar panel to keep the watch charged and never need to plug it in? YES! However that means shutting off every feature that you want this watch for including smartwatch mode. If you used it EXACTLY like the Casio watch and it got the minimum amount of sun every day then yes, you could achieve an infinity battery. However you wouldn’t pay this kind of money not to use it right? so lets be realistic here. I’ll tell you how I use MY watch and what kind of battery life I see. I use smartwatch mode which includes receiving text messages from my phone and sending canned replies often. I also have the heartrate monitor on 24/7. However I do have the Pulse ox turned off. I had it on constant the first day I received my watch and I watched the battery go from being measured in days/weeks to hours! it said my battery would be dead in less than 24 hours so I turned that feature off! My watch goes on Sleep/do not disturb mode for bedtime each night so I don’t receive texts and have it wake me. Also backlight goes to 5% at night. I also use the gps at least once a week sometimes twice for about an hour during walk/hikes. In the summertime I am outside alot and get way more sun than the wintertime so this timeline is during then. I realistically on my settings see a battery life of 26 days on a full charge. However due to gps and everyday usage I on average have to plug it in to charge it every 21 days. ( I charge it at 15% or 2 days left) Now my sister has the Instinct 2 40mm watch size and she uses hers like mine with roughly the same settings and she has to charge hers typically every 14 days. So an additional 7 days and an additional gps time is the difference between the 40mm version and the 45mm version if anyone is curious. So realistically the solar panel is a subsidiary battery charger not meant to charge the whole battery (though it can be used that way if the watch is turned off and placed in the sun all day during when you cannot charge it via power supply). the panel subsides the need for a full battery charge more often. I do believe the non-solar versions battery life are measured in hours or a few days. not the amount that this one gets. So the solar version really is worth it! I have seen in the summertime when I was in the sun alot, I have seen my watch actually charge an extra day or two. Watchface: Now this watch comes with some chooseable watch faces. However by using a separate program, you can build your very own watchface from the ground up! I love it. I have everything that I want to see at a glance on my watch face. The the rest accessible by sub menus. Gps is very accurate and tracks everything well. No complaints here. Now I could go into detail about every feature and be here for another 10 pages but I do believe I have hit the most questions asked and the high points of this watch. If you are doing research on this watch then you already know about all the features it has.In conclusion this watch is now my favorite. it is very comfortable to wear, very usable and just plain wonderful. I have no idea how I have lived life without it. Sad thing is, I now can NEVER go back to a plain old watch like my old Casio.

    10 people found this helpful

55. 

    Rated 4 out of 5

    Dirk T – March 10, 2024

    4.0 out of 5 stars

    Great, lite product but really too expensive

    I really like this watch. I wanted the solar version but they sent something different. Still there are many features I like and it is easy to use.The good:Many sports coveredUsually accurate heart rateMeasures sleep cyclesVery sturdyVery very lightSeems to work pretty well in the waterThe badMy vision is not great and it can be very hard to read the small details without glasses as the screen is small and crowdedSometimes the heart rate monitor is off and no idea why or why it fixes itself the next dayQuite expensive

    3 people found this helpful

56. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    dougjc – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Very nice adventure watch

    I’ve used for about 2 weeks. I’ve owned a garmin vivosport in the past for some comparison. I decided to buy the 40mm non-solar version. I did this for 2 reasons; I’m not a big fan of big watch faces & I find even smaller watches are uncomfortable to sleep with. Since I wanted to utilize the sleep stats, smaller would be better for me. My wrist is just under 7 inches, so I was concerned whether the 40mm would fit. It fits OK, I have about 4-5 holes left after the tong. If your wrist is 7″ or bigger, I would go with the 45mm. Although I have not tested battery life, the display shows the following. HR/OX all day (3 days), HR all day/OX while sleeping (7 days), HR/no OX at night (21 days), No HR/OX (30 days). Obviously running more gps apps would greatly reduce battery life.I’ve used the downhill ski, nordic ski, strength & cardio apps, they work well. The GPS finds satellites quickly, much better than the vivosport. The HR accuracy seems far superior. Starting & saving fitness apps is easy with the gps button.To get the most out of this watch, you need to use the garmin connect app on you phone. Its a good app & makes viewing the day easy.I really like that the watch can connect with my garmin inreach to send messages or SOS directly & easily from the watch. The watch also connects easily to the garmin explore phone app map.I find the watch controls pretty intuitive after a bit of use. The only one I really use much is the gps button to start an activity.If you want a somewhat less expensive fitness/adventure watch, I dont think you can do any better than this watch. It may not be the right choice for very serious training, but its very good for an active person who works out regularly &/or wants to track their activities.

    39 people found this helpful

57. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    MS Hiler – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Nice long battery life.

    I really like this smartwatch. I read some other reviews which complained about the battery life becoming really poor after just a short while of receiving this smartwatch. I’ll confess, that I did experience a sudden and drastic drop in battery duration not long after getting the watch. However, I discovered the sudden shortening of the battery life was directly tied to my changing the “Pulse Oximeter” measuring option from manual to “During Sleep.” As soon as I changed the option back to “Manual” the battery duration jumped back up to normal.So far, I’ve recharged my watch only about three times since getting it around the first of December, 2023.One thing I didn’t like was the charging port on the watch is not covered in any way, so it is always open and susceptible to getting dirt and sweat in it from my skin. I don’t know why Garmin doesn’t provide a simple covering for the charging port. I bought some additional charging cords which came with several charging port covers which fit exactly to eliminate any chance of mucking up the charging port. Also, the charging cable provided with the watch is far too short. The replacement cables I bought are about three times longer which makes it much more convenient when charging.Overall, the functions of this smartwatch (and I’m still learning about ALL the functions) are great. I recommend this.

    One person found this helpful

58. 

    Rated 4 out of 5

    CaptainKudzu – March 10, 2024

    4.0 out of 5 stars

    Great watch for the money

    I’ve had my Instinct 2 for about a month now. As a former Fitbit user, I love it. The watch is very capable and battery life is phenomenal. When I first charged it, it showed 28 days. With a few tweaks to brightness, etc. it’s normally about 24 days to a full charge. Using the GPS reduces this, but not markedly so.The menus seem confusing at first but are not hard to learn. They can be reconfigured to your personal preferences with little to no difficulty.Some obscure functions can be a little hard to find, but YouTube videos are a big help in both setting up the watch and learning how to use it. Watch face can be changed but the Instinct 2 has fewer face and app options than other models. One thing missing is Garmin Pay, which is not available on the nonsolar Instincts.Another feature that I miss from my Fitbit is the total daily mileage along with steps and floors.Features that I do like include weather, health snapshots, altimeter, compass, barometer, sunrise and sunset times, and the ability to get phone notifications and calls (although the procedure for screening notifications is a bit wonky for Apple).All in all, it’s a great watch and very capable, especially when compared with more expensive models. It’s great for running, hiking, walking and a variety of other sports as well as being a good timekeeper. I’m very happy with it. For me, the extra cost of Solar isn’t justified since battery life is already so good.

59. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Christopher Davis – March 10, 2024

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Great for heavy training

    I enjoy this watch for long distance running. The features are great for the price point and it’s extremely durable and damage resistant (definitely the first watch I’ve not had to rip off before responding as a fire fighter). Fantastic for running, hiking, kayaking, walking or other outdoor activities. My one complaint would be the strength training workout mode has a very limited mix of machines, so if you’re doing a gym circuit that involves specialized equipment you’re going to be doing your best to find dumbbell and body weight exercises to record in their place. However if this were to be expanded I do enjoy the map of muscle groups it generates after and would begin to record my strength training on it again.

60. 

    Rated 4 out of 5

    Shawn OShawn O – March 10, 2024

    4.0 out of 5 stars

    Nice watch

    Said I would never own a “smart watch” but so far I love it. I really like the features I can use but having a iPhone I can’t use all the watch offers but it works for me. I originally settled for the 2s (40mm) but glad I did. I am a small guy & didn’t want to own another large watch like previous watch. It was a Mudmaster that was 55mm that looked like I was wearing a wall clock on my arm where the Garmin 2s fits perfectly. I did order a different band that hasn’t arrived yet but I rarely use stock bands anyway.