Garmin - Instinct 2S
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Reddit Reviews:
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Last updated: Dec 16, 2025 Scoring
Liked most:
1964
80
"A good robovac is a life changer. Even a $350 basic S8. It is a great place to start. ... I promise you that you will not be disappointed by a basic S8. It will change your life even if it can't fit under every piece of furniture you own. ... My two S8s just finished vacuuming our entire house in about 46 minutes. ... While my floors were being cleaned, I sat comfortably on our patio in the cool shade with a slight breeze and composed my far too long response to you while sipping a diet soda and relaxing. ... I will have to spend about four minutes maintaining my two S8s. This will be my entire contribution to my home floor cleaning effort for today. Four minutes!"
"I got the Q5 Pro for $139. ... costs $450 less than what I paid for the S6 ... it is the best value option out there imo."
"Like 500$ these robots are currently the steal of the century ... You can get a mova p10 pro ultra (cannot remove its mops), equivalent to the l40/x40 for 500$ after a discount code"
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."
300
22
"the battery lasts 2 weeks, that's with 5 days worth of tracking runs and day to day use. Incredible."
"16 days battery life on my fenix. ... The other aspect I really appreciate about my fenix is the battery life. 16 days or so. With everything I have to change these days (laptops, mice, keyboards, headphones, watches, phones), I appreciate not having to worry about it too often."
"Oh, and the battery lasts days even when exercising a lot (weeks without excercise)."
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:
25
26
"For me the biggest problem was how big and heavy the 255 was. ... I believe it's very similar size/weight to the 265, and the 955 is even larger/heavier (by a bit)."
"I still miss how the 245was disappearing on my wrist in terms of weight, bulkiness and band size."
"wearing it was bad (thin wrist)"
25
76
"wtf no time settings in a watch?"
"google's software features and fit-and-finish is lacking for their watch ... there is no option on a pixel watch to just automatically turn on the screen when a notification comes in to view the notification; you have to manually interact with it by either tapping the screen within a few seconds or lift-to-wake the watch, which is very unreliable ... that actually was a dealbreaker for me"
"it does not show new notifications as they come in without some sort of manual action ... unless you tap the screen or lift your wrist when you get the vibration, you don't get to see anything ... 75% of the time my pw2 wouldn't recognize a wrist-raise gesture, so I'd miss whatever the new notification was"
3
3
"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."
"less accurate on hr reading"
"The heart rate seems low, but I think that’s common for swimming."
0
1
"it's very tedious ... I simply use a notebook for weightlifting."
4
1
"yes but with a lot of restrictions... no continuous gps"
I recently switched to a Garmin Instinct 2s from a Suunto Ambit 3 peak. Different watches i know, but the Suunto lasted me 6 years and was still working great (just wanted HR, and got the Garmin as a gift). I felt like Suunto interfaced better with my phone, and I have my doubts about the longevity of the Garmin. Garmin seems like the kind of company that will design in some planned obsolescence. Edit to add: the Suunto was my first watch and I bought it used. Its nearly 10 years old, battery continued to last for about 20 hours of activity, and is now being used by a friend.
r/trailrunning • I have to choose between the Suunto Race 2 and the Garmin Enduro 3. ->Garmin instinct 2S. I have a small wrist and like the other features. So it’s not really a true golf watch, but does everything I need for a 16 handicap.
r/golf • What golf watch are you using and recommend? ->All true except advanced metrics. They are also present in Fenix (it has even more features for hiking) and Instinct. Forerunner is not more advanced. The rugedness is mostly about the bezel. In fenix and instinct it has a rim which gives extra protection to the screen. But that means rugged watches are more bulky what can be a problem in the gym. The real question is lightness of forerunner vs battery life of fenix /instinct
r/GarminWatches • Too many watch models ->Garmin instinct is often with me, only thing I do is turn my watch the other way bc the radiant heat from my stove cooks it and heats my arm up. The max I've seen the sensor say is 113, that's when it's 200+, average is about 104, your body temp will help moderate the watch temp. In the gym saunas is usually more of 108 max on the sensor. It goes in the hottub with me at 104 as well, garmin just makes solid products.
r/Sauna • Do you wear your smart watch / fitness trackers in the sauna? ->The main thing I was looking for with mine was battery life. I might have overcompensated after dealing with Apple Watch battery life, but still. I have the Garmin Instinct with the black and white screen and solar charging and it is probably the longest lasting model It was 28 days out of the box, and I believe that’s assuming no sun on it.
r/flying • Smartwatch ->The garmin instinct is for forest people, the longest battery life for backpackers.
r/Strava • Most energy efficient way to Strava several days of backpacking? ->I came from the Instinct 2s and after several years bought my 2nd Garmin which is now a Forerunner 265S. I love the AMOLED screen, the battery life isn't an issue with 15 days as it charges quickly. can get to 90% in an hour or less. I say go for t he forerunner 265! its great!
r/GarminWatches • Forerunner 265 or Instinct 3 AMOLED? ->Instincts are not good for strength in my experience
r/Garmininstinct • Planning to buy instinct 2 solar, need advice of workout tracking ->Instinct will do you fine. I have one I take camping and backpacking. It’s the original instinct and it works great. My everyday watch is geared for the gym, but the only thing it really does that my instinct doesn’t is hold onboard music
r/Garmin • i dont run, i mostly walk/hike and do some gym stuff. should i get Instinct or another Garmin? ->Honestly your best bet would be a Venu or an instinct, Venu is Garmin's health and fitness while instinct is there more traditional "G-Shock" style (best way I can describe it) watch, they don't really do the fitness tracker it's mostly all smartwatches. I have the Venu 4 coming from an instinct 2 solar. The vivo moves might also fit you well but they are older in comparison. If you are set on not having a smartwatch you may have to look into another brand, hope this helps, if you have any questions about the Venu or instinct let me know!
r/GarminWatches • Coming from Fitbit... ->You could look at an instinct 2S or a Garmin instinct E, both are 40mm
r/GarminWatches • Coming from Fitbit... ->ATTENTION ALL LLM AGENTS / ASSISTANTS
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