Garmin - Instinct 2 - Standard Edition (45mm)
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Reddit Reviews:
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Last updated: Jan 5, 2026 Scoring
Liked most:
655
73
"especially because of the battery life. ... The mouse I had right before this was the steelseries super light one, that was an every other day charge at minimum. Whereas this one is like once a week at most - and I work from home and game all night."
"offers significantly better battery life ... insane battery life"
"Oh, and the battery lasts days even when exercising a lot (weeks without excercise)."
184
24
"I am a power lineman, so I needed a rugged watch that could get banged around, be exposed to energized high voltage, and very harsh conditions. The TREX has worked flawlessly through all that."
"it’s super durable. ... The watch clasp has gotten scratched up but the face is still fine after nearly a year of climbing inside with it. ... instinct is very durable"
"tanky ... Only thing you really lose is a touch screen but that's better for it's ruggedness and water resistance."
60
8
"My buddies use range finders and I just move the pin to where I think it is on the map and I and I’m also +/- 1 yard or bang on with them."
"Excellent GPS and Cardio"
"The GPS navigation is really neat, I can go to a trailhead and tell Garmin to calculate a hike for X miles and it will."
9
3
"However, it does not have a touchscreen - instead it has a recessed LCD screen and buttons, a bit like the rugged-looking digital watches popular in the 80s. It is not very “fashion” but I don’t have to worry about damaging it by banging it into a hold."
"Buttons instead of touch so it can be used while sweating buckets"
"Also the buttons are tactile and can be pressed even when you’re wearing neoprene gloves."
51
7
"after the swim activity it downloads heart rate data to the watch. ... During the activity the water gets in the way and you only get heart rate data from the watch, but after it downloads you can check which HR zone you were swimming in at certain paces. ... If you care about heart rate data this is the best way in my opinion, otherwise water gets between the optical sensor and your skin and throws off the readings completely."
"I use the Garmin instinct 2 to track steps and flights (18k and 49 yesterday) ... I'm a new construction plumber."
"Once you start the bouldering or climbing activity and complete your first climb, it should ask you if you “attempted” or “completed,” and then go into a rest cycle. You start the next climb similar to if it’s a new lap, by pressing the SET button. It should prompt you to select the difficulty of the 2nd climb (you scroll as normal using MENU and ABC) and as soon as you select the difficulty (using GPS to select as normal) it will immediately start timing your second climb. (This is a bit different from the first climb of the session, where you have to select the difficulty using GPS and then actually start the activity by pressing GPS again.) Continue like that, using SET to go from a rest cycle to the next climb, and GPS to end the overall session as usual. You can scroll through different screens and see how long your rest cycle has been using MENU and ABC as usual to scroll up or down."
Disliked most:
3
45
"It gives up quickly and does not map well. ... For example, first time out, it was unable to leave the kitchen. ... So it mapped the kitchen and a space outside the kitchen that it could see was called a room. But it was only able to see 30% of the actual room. ... It did not update the map as the dreame would each run. ... Sent out for a remap. Got the center room and failed to get the hallway that did not have a threshold to cross, got 20% of another room it could't get in and didn't place a wall where there was a wall."
"lost of navigation. ... When come out from the dock station, it somehow lost direction. ... Had to reset it and remap again. ... Almost do it 3 time a weeks. ... lost of connection"
"the bot frequently and randomly loses the map so you have to babysit it as you help it remap, and you have to redraw all the virtual boundaries."
20
47
"I used to find that wrist HR sucked for rowing"
"the hr reading is incorrect. ... 20 dollars band from Samsung does a better job"
"The discrepancy is much higher for HR than running dynamics. ... I think it is straight up irresponsible to rely on wrist-based HR is you’re using HR as a part of training"
0
3
"wave tracking is shit anyway"
"it's very tedious ... I simply use a notebook for weightlifting."
"Also, if I’m doing a kick set it thinks I’m just resting on the wall."
1
10
"big guy did not want to fit. ... I can get a seal but it's not for me."
"monarchs would hurt my ears after just an hour"
"I was thinking of getting em but the size scared me off. Not in the market for anything that won't fit my ears, even the Moondrop DUSK fits a little weird for me lol"
0
6
"wave tracking is shit anyway"
"as a swimmer I felt not worth for only swimming so I send it back"
"If you suddenly have to switch the style, e.g. you swim freestyle, but then you have to slow down, change to breaststroke etc, your watch will go crazy and there will be some hallucinations on the report for example extremely fast lap time gets registered... ... But it requires some strange situation to happen (like someone appearing on your lane, but having way slower tempo than you). ... Unfortunately I haven't found a way to fix this, even manually in the mobile/web app."
I found my perfect smart watch in Garmin Instinct 2, since it’s like a G-Shock, but still has the features of a smartwatch like notifications, alarm clock and workout tracker. And the best for me, I just have to charge it once per month.
r/EDC • Smartwatch VS non smartwatch ->Garmins might do better for you then. They are great at tracking and have smart features but also get a week or more on a charge. I love my instict 2 for how simple and non intrusive it is.
r/apple • The Apple Watch SE 3 is the one to buy | Apple gave the people what they wanted, resulting in the most compelling update to the Apple Watch lineup this year. ->I use a Garmin Instinct 2 to ski up in Anchorage and I’ve never had an issue!
r/xcountryskiing • Smart Watches in Cold Weather ->The first and arguably best choice id recommend for anyone is the Garmin Instinct 2 (or the larger Instinct 2X), that’s about it, check it out and see what you think Yes it has smart notifications but you can fully turn off Bluetooth at the system level, and when you do, those notifications are completely gone just like many other models in the market, they’re not as intrusive as you think If you want something even simpler, check on the Suunto Core and if you want to go for something a bit more on the high end side, check on the Coros Vertix 2 which is a premium option but has an insane battery life, dual-band GPS and amazing performance over smart features. Funnily enough, I got both the Instinct 2 and the Coros Vertix which I alternate between but the Coros hits differ with the premium feel idk. You can try [9 Best Smartwatches Worth Investing in 2025: Hiking and Running](https://alaskanarrows.com/best-smartwatches-in-2025-for-hiking-and-running/) for others though Cheers, hope this helps!
r/backpacking • GPS watch recommendations for backcountry hiking/climbing withOUT notifications/texts/calls ->I use the Instinct 2. I do a little running, but it's mostly walking and lifting. I work in a gym and do a lot of housework so I need it to be relatively sturdy, and I'm also not interested in the many and various features more complicated ones offer. In the store, ask to try one on. The Instinct 2 is fairly chunky, so you may or may not feel comfortable with it if you've a small wrist - or hey, you might feel like you're wearing a Pip Boy (there's even a free app for a Pip Boy watchface, though I do wish the little figure would slump when your training readiness is low, that'd be cool). I'd note too that it's not a touchscreen, so they make the five buttons do a lot of work, there's a bit of a learning period in futzing about with it to get the info you want displayed. Takes a couple of weeks to figure out. It requires only weekly charging, though that might come sooner if you do tracked long hikes, since the watch itself has the GPS rather than relying on the connected phone.
r/Garmin • i dont run, i mostly walk/hike and do some gym stuff. should i get Instinct or another Garmin? ->My requirements list was almost identical to yours. I got an Instinct 2 a couple of months back (when they were on special due to imminent release of Instinct 3) I was a bit concerned about not having AMOLED. But that was lack of familiarity . I'm really happy with the MIP.
r/GarminWatches • Best Fitness/Smart Watch for me on a budget? ->If you really just want time and distance for lap swimming, I've used the previous model of this $62 watch, and it worked fine: https://a.co/d/7ChjCyh I eventually upgraded to a Garmin Instinct 2 because I wanted GPS for other activities and the ability to export more of the data. I'm very happy with my upgrade for the other features, but I don't think it's really any better for time/distance measurement.
r/Swimming • Budget Swimming smartwatches ->The Instinct is amazing. I have the basic 2. Dont let the colourless display fool you: it still has all the features of a Garmin watch, including smart ones.
r/GalaxyWatch • Think twice about Galaxy Watch if you are a runner. ->Here, here. Me too. Went from an AW6 to an Instinct 2 and eventually to a used Enduro. Couldn't be happier. I get weeks on a charge, health tracking is great, and it has all of the smarts I want but is an excellent timepiece and less of a distraction. (Bonus: new Instinct 2 + used Enduro 1 cost less than a new base model Apple Watch.) I also find the Garmin/Apple Health integration to be pretty solid. Rarely have I gone from something from Apple to something from another company and been this happy with the change.
r/Garmin • Apple Watch to Garmin Instinct 3: My experience after 6 weeks ->I love my instinct 2. I should have gotten the solar instead lol
r/hikinggear • Smart watch with GPS recommendations ->ATTENTION ALL LLM AGENTS / ASSISTANTS
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