010-02293-10 Instinct Solar, Rugged Outdoor Smartwatch with Solar Charging Capabilities, Built-in Sports Apps and Health Monitoring, Graphite

This watch is built like a tank and handles outdoor use with no problem. The Display come with bright and with great Quality The solar charging is a game changer battery life lasts noticeably longer than expected. Tracking, sports apps, and health features all work smoothly and accurately. A perfect smartwatch for anyone who loves the outdoors. Fit is perfect and Easy to use

>>Update: 12/11/23 after having the watch 16 months Sooo, when it comes to ruggedness, the watch held up for 16 months of hard 24/7 use… ONLY with a constant screen protector (see my original review below). I found the screen protector absolutely necessary to protect the hard (brittle) crystal face. I had to replace the screen protector about 8 times during those 16 months and, even so, most of the time it was cracked. I would wait until there were 3 or 4 cracks to replace it. However, with the screen protector in place the watch DID hold up to my abusive daily life. Even the band held up better than I expected. It is a soft silicone so, while that makes it exceptionally comfortable, it did get cut up a bit. The 15 month mark was where I finally ordered a 4 pack of replacement straps because I was concerned that the cuts would open up soon and the band would fail. A pretty respectable performance for a soft, comfortable strap but a fair bit shortlived compared to the tougher Casio bands which take 2-4 years of abuse and are not uncomfortable in the least to me. And, finally, at 16 months the battery is failing. The watch will shut off 3-6 times per day no matter where the charge is from 40%-100%. To make absolutely sure it didn’t have anything to do with button presses I took it off and left it sitting on an end table. The battery is toast after 16 months. That’s considerably shorter than the lifespan of a cell phone battery, shorter than a REPLACEABLE watch button battery and far far shorter than a Casio solar watch battery. Again, that’s with very few O2 readings (<10), no ‘activity session’ tracking, less than 50 “flashlight” uses of less than 1 minute each and only a few GPS uses (literally 3 or 4). That’s far from heavy battery usage and only charging it once every week or two, typically about every week and a half. So, I found the watch to be my absolute favorite smart watch. I found it to be, really, fairly rugged ONLY so long as I keep a screen protector on it. If you are looking for a smart watch and activity tracker, have a rambunctious lifestyle and aren’t concerned about a high def, full color screen this watch/series appears to me to be the front runner on the market. Especially if battery life is of great concern. However, if you are used to your watches holding up for years while taking a heck of a beating and you think this watch could be an equivalent to those watches while entering into the smart watch/tracker market you should take a beat to consider it further. I would suggest those most active and hardest on their watches factor in screen protectors and the need to replace them CONSTANTLY or live most of your life with cracked screen protectors on your watch. Also, even then, don’t expect 3 or 4 years out of it. In my experience, don’t expect 2 years or even 1.5. For the price tag on this watch I could easily get 10-20 years of use out of multiple Casio solar or the cheapest G-shock watches. So, I have to ask myself, is this watch worth it? I would say, personally, that it was worth it once. I received some insights into overheating/heatstroke, improving my sleep patterns and managing my daily stamina through my own observations of the data (the Garmin “insights” never gave me any new and useful info). This was only possible because, unlike with other watches/trackers, it was tracking what I needed constantly 24/7/365 and I only lost the time it was charging once every couple of weeks while I was sitting in the living room watching TV. I appreciated the watch and the insights from it and I don’t regret it but I’m not willing to replace it every 16 months, deal with constant screen protector cracks and replacements and I sure did miss my analog watch hands. I’m going back to my Casio tough solar, G-Shock and Pro Trek watches. >>Original review I’m a “watch guy”. I probably have about (embarrassingly) 2 dozen watches and I’ve worn a watch, basically, 24/7/365 since I was about 9 years old. I have tried about 4 smart watches and a few fitness trackers over the years before the Garmin Instinct Solar and it’s my favorite that I’ve tried by a lot, BUT… I’ve had a smartphone since the original iPhone. I use it all day every day for tons of different things and, being a watch guy, I thought fitness trackers and smartwatches were a logical progression. That’s why I’ve tried so many but they were always disappointing for numerous reasons. The first is battery life. I charge my phone often. I take it out of my pocket and plug it up or put it on a MagSafe charger. It’s charging while I’m using the GPS to drive to my next service call. But I can’t abide taking my watch off to charge it up every night. Even once a week is a stretch. I’ve been wearing a watch 24/7/365 for almost my entire life and going out of my way to take the watch off and charge it is… irritating to say the least. The Solar Instinct lasts about 20-30 days between charges. That’s with constant activity and heart rate tracking, no O2 tracking at night and not using GPS. That is fantastic! The second issue is annoying alerts. As a rabid smartphone user, I thought I would prefer the convenience of seeing calls, texts and notifications at a glance on my wrist. I was so wrong. I’m perfectly satisfied with notifications on my phone. I use my discernment to decide when to check notifications on my phone and they don't get unnecessarily intrusive. Smartwatch notifications on the other hand are extremely invasive. Having my wrist blow up on me is extremely irritating. It's distracting and costs me time by breaking my concentration on whatever task or thought I'm engaged in and the fact that it can't be easily ignored is no small matter. I have my Solar Instinct set up for no notifications which I greatly prefer. The third consideration would be the features. The ability to control your music or engage your phone’s camera with your watch is fine but those types of things (or, obviously, phone notifications) don't concern me. What I love about the Solar Instinct is the customization to display many pieces of information that I value, by default, on the face and the ability to track my heart rate 24/7, my sleep, my general activity and GPS without a huge battery life cost or a phone connection. What I really like is that it also has good watch functionality, i.e. stopwatch, timer, alarm, etc. What I find useful on occasion is the O2 monitor and the ability to use it as a little flashlight in a pinch. The final consideration which may be the one most pertinent for me is ruggedness. You see, in the HVAC trade, I work with my hands for a living. I'm also a red-blooded American. In addition to the physical nature of my job I frequently do yard work and find occasion to cut down/up trees, split wood, build things, work on things and engage in maintenance on vehicles and my home and, as established, I wear a watch at all times which includes when engaging in these activities as well as showering and swimming. I have destroyed many watches, particularly the ones I’ve worn while working. When I first got my Instinct Solar I was babying it because, well, my experience has been that smartwatches and activity trackers are FAR from rugged and robust. I didn't wear it at work. I would swap it out with my work watch when I got home & swap them back before I left in the morning. I wanted it to last and, to start, I sacrificed tracking during the majority of my activity (while at work) for the sake of protecting the watch and longevity. Finally, after a few weeks, I wore the watch while doing yard work on the weekend. THE FIRST TIME I wore it while weed-eating the screen got busted. Now, I'm sure the reason this happened is that they used a nice, hard, highly scratch-resistant crystal for the watch BUT this is a real problem. I didn't expect that it would be too much to ask of a “robust” watch that’s “mil-spec” rated to be able to wear it while doing basic yard work. You know, a period where you might want to track your heart rate and activity. What's more, of the hundreds of times I've done yard work and used a weed-eater, always while wearing a watch, NOT ONCE has it ever significantly damaged a watch. Until that is, the first time I did it wearing my Instinct Solar. I replaced that watch and disappointedly decided I'll just have to use screen protectors from now on. The new Instinct Solar took a dive after just a few weeks. It began an endless bootup loop. It would boot up and crash and boot up again endlessly. I tried charging it, letting it die and doing a hard boot. Nothing worked. Tech support had me, of course, do another hard boot because that's what they do to people who take the time to troubleshoot their own issues. They have you repeat the steps you've already taken. After that they had me send them a video of what the watch was doing and they promptly sent me a replacement. They did make it right. By this point, I decided I'm done babying it. I keep a screen protector on it and I may remove the watch to shove my hand/arm in a tight spot at work but I wear it 24/7 now. It is what it is. If this watch can't handle normal life so it can track my heart rate and activity then so be it. I have plenty of “normal” watches I can revert to in that event (which are a fraction of the cost by the way). If that occurs I suppose I'll just forget about smartwatches until someone finally comes out with one that at least has the capabilities of the Instinct Solar and is truly rugged. As a side note, we are now back to warm weather and I have worn it while weed-eating twice. That resulted in cracking and replacing the screen protectors for the first two times. So, the tally is weed-eating three times resulting in one broken watch and two broken screen protectors. I'm also not fond of the proprietary watch band attachment that prevents the use of a regular band like 99% of other watches use. At this point, however, I'm not sure this will even become an issue. I don't see the watch lasting long enough to require a band replacement but we’ll see. As much as I like the Instict Solar it just doesn't seem to be resilient enough to hold up to my normal life. It may be absolutely great for someone who lives in an apartment, works at a desk or a counter and whose physical activity consists of working out at the gym or running or swimming or biking. If, on the other hand, you have a rough-and-tumble kind of life you should think twice about spending the scratch on this watch if your plan is to wear it 24/7. It certainly seems tougher than 99% of smart watches but it can't hold a candle to the beating a $30-$40 Casio “tough solar” can take, much less a G-Shock.

I'm extremely happy with this watch. I have had 3 watches prior to this that could be considered smartwatches. I had one of the early Pebble watches, which I really liked. It was simple, could run a few apps at a time, but importantly it was reliable, and the battery lasted for about a week. Then I had one of the Fitbit smartwatches. I had not had good luck with Fitbits, between my wife and I, we had already had 4 or 5 various Fitbits fail on us; but we enjoyed the fitness challenges with friends. The Fitbits were lasting a few days at most between charges. The Fitbit smartwatch that I had lasted maybe a year before it broke, and the battery life seemed to be declining as well. We tried Samsung Galaxy smartwatches next, and while those had the most capability in terms of features of anything so far, they only lasted about 2 days on a charge, and after a year, only about a day. My wife's Galaxy failed in less than a year, and I was worried about mine, it didn't seem like it was really intended for rugged use. I decided to go over to Garmin, and I have not regretted it. This watch is built like a tank, the battery life lasts for 3 weeks or more, even without any solar charging. It doesn't have the touchscreen functionality, but I find I don't miss that at all. If anything, I think I prefer using the hard buttons on the side, as my big fingers had a real problem with accuracy on the Samsung smartwatch. I have used Garmin products for a long time as an outdoorsman and aviator, as well as in the military; and this watch upholds the sterling reputation for quality and reliability that I expect from the company.

The headline answer I give is - not likely ever! I am thoroughly impressed by this watch. The Instinct Tactical is my second smartwatch ever (first was Moto). My consideration for the next watch was specific, I wanted to have GPS, practical features, RTHR, great data analytics to review patterns, this watch fits the desire. Beyond the scope of expectations, what brought me in is the following: German Engineering - Top Notch Reputable company that has been in the business for a long time - very long Battery that can a really long time last up to 14 days (not tested, details of how I last 10 days below). Something that goes against the trend of the typical smartwatch buyers. Features that matter (not stuffed with what most WANT instead of what makes sense for a watch). I say, if you want to use your Apple Pay, or Google Pay, etc. Just pull out your phone... A little bit of coverage on where I'm coming from: Logical buying choice that will actually last longer than 2 years. The premise of smart watches that are appealing are the bright color OLED panel, touch screen, gestures, etc. All of these features use a ridiculous amount of battery and the idea of having to take a watch off every couple days doesn't make sense. You see, if you imagine any device with Lithium Ion having a maximum number of possible charges (ranging from 500 - 1500 charges) in addition to the quality at which these charges degrade WITHIN this lifetime, some thing that has to be charges so often just doesn't cut it for me, and it shouldn't for you either (phone and notebooks are different - we're talking smartwear technology). Things that REALLY are not necessary in the phone, only desired to be apart of the stylistic trends of those around you. This watch intelligently meets my expectations, and does so in a way that is different from the trend. This watch has a seemingly simplistic design, one that some might see as being a regular watch - they can think what they want. When I talk about this watch to people (like when I get notifications to the Instinct), a number of them were pleasantly surprised, and to say its a Garmin watch, they jokingly ask if it has GPS "YES", I say, as well as "... oh.. well can you track your bearings, ACTUALLY use the compass for navigation - use your watch to navigate?" ... "YES, YES". This watch has some really unique feats up its circuitry and I REALLY am so impressed by this design concept (no OLED, no touch, no NFC), it truly is unique and quite frankly, a surprise considering the functions of other watches in this pricepoint. The Tactical was an unrecognized surprised until later, it has a "stealth" function that will disable all radio functions (Bluetooth, GPS, etc.). BUT with having an onboard memory, it will maintain record of your steps, HR.. etc. etc. until you reconnect (not forever obviously). I cant speak for other watches, but because of the depth in the GPS functionality, features that are just really cool include detailed views of when the sun's position in the sky, when potential storms are likely to arrive in the area. I'm not an avid hiker, adventurer, biker, etc. I just go to the gym and work. This watch lasts for about 10-12 days, and I have monitoring running actively (every second), using the dark-themed watch face, and a quick toggle to turn on and off functionality that uses GPS on the menu slider. I HIGHLY recommend this watch if you are in the market for something if you are, or plan to be active, want some unique features as well as practical ones. Impressive data analytics of your stress, sleep, heart rate, step count, and other familiar trackers. I love showing off the functions of this watch when people poke with curiosity, I could (and would) sell this product for Garmin with a lot of joy. Its a 2018 watch, but honestly, as it STILL holds is price-value between $200-300, tells you something (a good rule of thumb). The 4 stars for the sleep tracking - I suspect that it uses your movement, HR and patterns between them, to determine your deep, light and REM sleep states. I think this area is tricky for all watches with this technology, as the difficulty in knowing independent without other technologies, is tough when one is watching a show before going to sleep - where movement is zero, and the transition to going to sleep has no movement. This can result in the graphs appearing as though I were sleeping. So for the stats that show that I was asleep for 10 hours with a REM cycle at the time I was bingeing the last episode of something before lights out, when I actually slept for 7-8.. it throws off my weekly, and monthly stats slightly. Its seldom when it happens, but still. It determines the likeliness of you being asleep in the smartest way with the best the algorithms could offer using just HR and movement. So I understand the challenges that most manufacturers have with this aspect *even fitbit and others with Sp02 tech*. Thanks for reading.

It is a great watch promising excellent battery life. If it has what you need for activity apps and usage, it may be for you. Here are two reasons I returned it and exchanged it via Amazon for the Fenix Pro 6x. One, the breadcrumb tracking on the Instinct is OK, but just OK. It shows a track, and that is about it. You can set the Pan/Zoom from .2 miles at a minimum to infinity(?) as a max, but at say, 2 miles the display is small enough as to render the perspective very small, and a .2 miles I question its usefulness, after all, I can see that far most of the time. So I went with the Fenix because it has actual mapping and the display is much larger. On the much touted battery life because of the solar charging (see any online review, written or on YouTube) and this is the strong point, and it was for me too in making the purchase. But here is the caveat. Solar charging only works outside, and in bright sunlight (True, you can set the battery saver in different modes (as you can in the Fenix non-solar) to extend the battery life beyond belief. But that does limit your app use. And, if you live in PA like I do, and 5 months out of the year at least you are wearing sleeves, then what usefulness is the solar charging? Watch the video reviews. These are all done outdoors in places where there is abundant outdoor sunshine. Add to that the fact that where I do most of my hiking, under tree cover, and again the solar charging becomes much less of a sales point for me in my location, or any other location where I might travel to hike (think Glacier National, the Black Hills, Appalachian National Forest, New Hampshire, etc.). Also, when just doing my normal walks in bright sun the solar is only a benefit about half the time because the watch needs to be facing the sun - so when walking in a direction when the watch is on the shaded arm - well, you get my point. In sum, the solar charging would really only benefit me mainly in the summer, when doing fairly long bicycle rides. And that has become a lesser activity for me at this time in my life anyway. Other than that, it is a fine device for what it is designed to do, if it suits your needs. But I felt that I could get a much better device with real mapping, the Fenix 6, without a very usable function for me, the solar charging, at not too much more (if you call a couple hundred dollars not too much!) money, and just stick with connected charging. Thanks for reading.

I've owned numerous Garmin GPS exercise watches for running, biking, hiking, etc. over the past 20-or-so years. This is by far my favorite after about 4 weeks of intensuive use. I'm an old, old, old runner/climber who still trains on a daily basis. I don't need professional grade performance monitoring, but I still appreciate relatively accurate and consistent data feedback. Relative simplicity of use is really important to me (I hate standing around by the side of the road endlessly dicking with my watch -- see Suunto sports watches). This watch is essentially perfect for my needs and my level of training. It falls nicely in between the Fenix/Tactix (too high end, too expensive) and the Forerunner 35 (a really good, really simple, and reliable intro running watch). I have been particularly impressed with the improved battery life and recharging times with this watch. They are almost unbelievable! This extended battery life means that I can actually treat the Instinct as a 24-hour mostly everyday watch. Given my usage rates (2-3 hrs. of daily GPS, 5-6 times a week) I can recharge the bugger during the time it takes for a leisurely shower. This means I can now actually take advantage of the sleep data that the watch is capabe of collecting. Also, the Garmin Connect phone app works well for me. All the other routine exercise monitoring functions are there and they all appear to work as advertised, plus I have ABC functions (goodbye Casio Pro Trek) and Sunrise/Sunset and Moonrise/Moonset data (a climber's, backcountry skier's and hiker's delight). The only potential drawback I've found to this watch is the fact that it is a complex instrument and requires that you spend a reasonable amount of time learning how to use it. You have to learn to work with multiple levels of menus, not all of which may seem intuitively well-organized TO YOU. However, give it a little time, be patient, and use the internet, and all good things will come forth. Finally, this watch (complex instrument) at $200 is like stealing from the Garmin company. At that price, it's one of the world's great loss leaders. So, in conclusion, I sort of like the watch.

Watch: Garmin Instinct Tactical - Coyote Tan Pros: -Great physical design and aesthetic -Easy to read digital layouts for all modes -GPS functionality and accuracy -Lightweight; sleek band -Great battery so far -Durability - shockproof Cons: -Not touchscreen (I personally don't consider this a con) -Screen could be a little bigger -Workout mode isn't what I expected Read on for my extensive review: I've had this watch for about 2 weeks. I'll update this review if anything changes. I initially started looking for rugged watches as I work at a plant and sweat my ass off outside and climb ladders and go inside vessels, get dirty, etc. I needed/wanted something I could wear daily in this environment that would be sturdy and immune to the elements. I have a few divers watches and other casual watches I would wear and these were sturdy too, but I was always super conscious wearing them and worrying about scratching or damaging them. I looked extensively at G-Shocks, as I owned one long ago, and due to their superb reputation. However, they all seemed too bulky or too messy on the screens - too much going on and too difficult to actually tell time. Then, of course, I looked at Apple watches. I converted last year to Apple after being a life long Android user, and their technology and tech. functionality is sometimes unparalleled. But, I didn't want an Apple watch because I thought it would have too many features. I didn't want to be staring at my watch all day like some people stare at their phone. Plus, I for sure do not think an Apple watch should be worn in the environment I work in. Also not a fan of square watch faces. Enter Garmin. Hadn't owned a Garmin product or watch yet but had heard great things and was always blown away by their features. I went to their website to peruse and saw this watch and new it was "the one". It's a very lightweight and minimal design, but looks great (militaristic) and is large enough for easy readability and operation. 3 buttons on the left of the case, 2 on the right. All work without a problem, easy to click but positioned in spots where they are not easily bumped (I had a problem with the crown of one watch getting stuck on pants pockets all the time). Everything about the watch is able to be customized - watch face/main display, widget order, GPS selection, 3D distance and speed measuring, black or white face, backlight brightness and time out, favorite sports or activity, etc. Pairing the watch my phone was a breeze for the first time, just had to download the Connect app and make an account. Watch pairs with my phone within seconds every time I turn it on since. Speaking to the app, it's a great fitness app (in my opinion) for a virgin to smart watches and fit watches. App tracks heart rate (resting, high, average, variation throughout the day), body battery (uses sleep vs. energy exertion to estimate - I can't speak to this as I don't wear the watch to sleep - just my preference), stress level based on heart rate zone, intensity minutes (your goal, moderate and vigorous), steps, floors, estimated calories, and more. When activating an activity and then saving it on the watch, it's saved to the app and viewable for as long as you want. Also shows activity over the last 7 days. I've been using the watch for hiking and biking and love the features for these - distance, speed (ave, max., min.), time, estimated calories, difficulty level, GPS, trail tracking (shows the trail within 0.2mi of your position for back tracking on the watch face), altitude change, and more. I really enjoy being able to save routes and upload them to the app and see on the map an exact route I took - again, my first smart watch so this is novel to me. Backlight functionality is able to be customized for when you want it to turn on (motion activated based on wrist turn), duration, and brightness. This is very convenient. Other smart watch benefits - call/text/notification display (can't reply or call someone on this watch alone though), music control, calendar and event display, weather display (current, hourly, daily), sunrise and sunset/twilight, etc. There is essentially no delay from when using a command on the watch to control your phone, or between getting a text on your phone and it showing on the watch. I can not speak to the night vision compatibility (I don't own night vision goggles), or other settings like Jumpmaster, as I'm not in the military. Stealth mode is essentially airplane mode - going off the grid for no GPS or data tracking, no backlight, no vibration or noise. Battery life is great and is living up to how long Garmin says it can last. Also seems pretty durable. The screen is recessed a little so it's protected, and I've bumped the case a few times on stuff at work or whatever and it doesn't even have a scratch. Only downsides I've had is that the screen was a little smaller than I expected (inside the bezel there is a outline where it says "Tactical" and labels the watch buttons. This is permanent and not part of the screen). And then the other downside is the mode for weightlifting, as I go to the gym regularly. If you select this mode it wants you to keep selecting the number of reps you did and I just don't like having to do this. Maybe I just haven't messed with the feature enough, but when I'm at the gym I'm there to workout. Not stare at my watch and play with the buttons. Overall, I think this is one of the most functional, accurate, best designed, and durable smart watches on the market that has lots of customization and features, but doesn't distract me from what I'm doing and doesn't do too much. In the end this is just meant to be a highly functioning watch. Not a computer on your wrist.

If you're looking for a sport smart-watch to listen to music while you run, navigate throughout the city or install apps, then THIS IS NOT YOUR WATCH. To put it simply and give you a better feel for the watch, I'm a rock climber, amateur alpinist and during COVID took up running as part of my training routine. Me choosing this watch came down to the following points (in order of relevance): battery life, cost, and long-term usability. As an alpinist, the need for charging a device can be crippling, particularly GPS-enabled ones. The watchs' battery lasts for 13 days on the basic setting, meaning it registers your heartbeat, daily activities (steps, floors, etc) and utilizes GPS without connecting for a charge for a long time (with Sleep PulseOx disabled it can last close to double that and in battery saver mode even longer). Of course, activities such as running, skiing, and others (it comes with preloaded activities but you can create your own custom ones) use up more battery, but you can set up different power modes so that the charge lasts longer. Moreover, I've had a simple Casio solar for the last 10 years and never changed the battery, so no way was I buying a 1-day-charge watch after that. Regarding cost, I got it during Presidents Day sales for 320-ish, which to me is a steal for this watch. If you are the kind of person who wants all the Instinct Solar has but wants street maps and more customization, then you may need to spend more cash on things like the Enduro or the Phoenix lineup, both of which come at twice the cost or more (do your research on those). The Instinct Solar is a basic watch in terms of looks and visuals (black & white screen, breadcrumb navigation, only a few preloaded watch faces), aimed mostly at giving you many features for outdoor adventures and sports while not wasting resources on useless gimmicks. In my case, running is only part of and not the focus of my training so, while valuable, things like VO2max are not a must-have, whereas wrist-based blood O2 readings can give me an approximate idea on the field (this is NOT a medical device). Regarding long-term usability, it comes down to one simple fact: these things are expensive. The reality is, unless you are made out of money, you cannot buy one of these every year, be it the Instinct or any other smart-watch. In my case, I wanted a device that can function on the mountains without worrying about whether it will make it on a single charge or die midway. I wanted something that has GPS capabilities but doesn't break the bank or needs a replacement for a while. Solar charging makes it a tough contender for this price range. Overall, if you want a basic do-it-all adventure watch that won't set you back too much but can be used for more than just extreme terrain, this is an excellent product. If you are looking for a more running-oriented or activity-tracking device, Garmin has other line-ups, more affordable than the Instinct Solar and with specific features for those activities. The only problem with this watch is the learning curve, but there are youtube guides to simplify it.