Garmin - Instinct 2X Solar - Tactical Edition

Instinct 2x tactical is your answer. You can’t beat the battery life. Truly, it’s the most impressive feature

Still sucks compared to the 22 days I’m averaging on my Solar Tactical Instinct 2x that I use daily for running

I switched to a garmin instinct 2x tactical mostly for exercise and partially for work. 44 ish day battery life (usually about half that or less if you use really precise gps tracking to long exercise). Only caveat is no 4G/LTE support and no offline music as it pulls both those from your phones. I would look at the other models tho that have better screens and UI and are actually smart watches, unsure if they make any with cellular support tho

So it does have a pretty readable screen and you can play around with your backlight for different lighting conditions (top left button turns on backlight for a couple seconds). I keep mine at 5% and it does enough for me but you can set it higher. Also the newer instincts do have amoled screens but I have no experience with them. I’ve heard pretty good things about the forerunner it just didn’t make sense for me personally. My brother also has a fenix that he swears by but is gonna be way out of that $300 price range. My personal take on wearing it to the office is to just get a black watch and strap and it’ll just go with anything, but I also wear this 24/7 unless I’m going to a wedding or formal event

Instinct 2x tactical checks all these boxes for the cheapest budget. There are other models that's do more that are significantly more expensive

The 3 is slightly better all around, but the 2 has better battery life(due to some more modern features on the 3). You can't load music on either but you can control it if you're listening from your phone(but it is NOT very intuitive). Neither has maps per se but they have "breadcrumb navigation" which essentially points you in the right direction and gives you a path to follow to a predetermined point. If money isn't an issue you should look at the tactix 7

I had a Garmin Instinct 2x Solar Tactical Coyote tan, I was in love with that watch, and I didn't need detailed maps and a color screen. But...that watch is not for longer trips with routes loaded, say over 130km with GPS on. My watch froze twice. That day the watch and the navigation were unusable. Then I bought a Garmin Tactix 7 Standard Edition, for me it is the best Garmin watch I have ever had.

I am having garmin instinct tactical 2x later moved to Ultra 2 for last 8 months . I still love to use Garmin but the ease of notifications and operating system forced me to stay with ultra 2 ..

I hope you like your Garmin, I felt like the heart rate monitor was absolutely terrible on x2 tactical, no where near any of my Apple Watch’s or whoops. I’m excited To have ecg on a whoop.

You should check out the newly released Instinct 3 series too. I think they have more mapping features maybe? Not sure. But maybe you NEED to spend more, so go for the Enduro. I don't have experience with that. I have an Instinct 2X Tactical.

What Garmin claims and real world texts are not the same. Real world texts are showing the 3 to have worse battery than the 2x

Garmin instinct 2x solar. All the stuff from getting calls at work through pulse point, hrv, sleep, all the workout stuff, text and calls, wallet etc. But the most used function that no one talks about that I use the most? The flashlight! Don't want to turn the lights on in the bathroom at night, use the flashlight! Also use the find my phone as well. Most smart watches probably do that though. I charge once a month. Also ditch the silicone watchband, get a fabric/Velcro one.

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!

My 2X Solar does a great job of recording my heart rate and other raw data. Garmin claims that the watch can automatically determine which lifts you’re doing and count reps/sets. These functions have always been inaccurate for me. I prefer using the “free” strength session mode with autodetect turned off. You just use one button at the beginning/end of each set to time sets and rest periods. After I’m done, I use the app to manually enter movements, weight and rep numbers. The odd thing is, even though the autodetect claims were a major reason for me to buy the watch, I still love the thing and find I get more out of manual logging. It forces me to think about how I did and take notes for the next session.

Ditto. I have an instinct 2x solar and it ROCKS. The "worse" display isn't a bug, it's a feature. My battery will go 40-ish days with very little sun exposure. I'd like to see a Fenix try that.

I also use the Garmin Instinct 2x. It actually helped my game because instead of hyper focusing on one yardage to the pin, I started thinking about front and back of green. Dropped handicap into single digits.

Me. Had instinct solar upgraded to a 2x Solar.

Battery life. AW would not last thru a hike and I would have to charge every night. Instinct 2x Solar has held up with all the abuse it gets and I might charge it once every 2-3 weeks depending on gps use.

Well u can’t compare both because their are designed to fit different categories of clients. I went for instinct 2x because I do a lot of trips which exceed one week + I like to go offline and I hate having another phone on my wrist however I bought my girlfriend Apple Watch because she likes checking stuff non stop u know how it is xD

Instinct Solar 2x is the greatest device I’ve ever owned. 40 days in between charges and it has a flashlight which is brighter than the one on your iPhone. It does everything I need for cycling and running but did I mention that it has a flashlight?

My Garmin Instinct 2X Solar is a great watch but it lacks precision in swimming situations where it's usually off by about 10%, both in pools and open water. Caveat emptor!

I use the Garmin Instinct 2X Solar. It's about 90% correct in open water and in the pool, and always errs to the low side. Whenever I swim 40 25 m laps in the pool the watch will indicate 40 laps when I've actually done 35-36 laps. In open water on a 100 m lap length and using GPS I need the watch to show about 1150 meters before I've actually done 1,000.

I love my Garmin instinct 2x solar I use the flashlight feature way more often than I thought i would

Garmin definitely I have the instinct 2x solar. Got it as a gift for my birthday. Would not trade it for anything. It has everything I needed and everything I didn't know I needed.

I use a Garmin Instinct 2x for my road and mountain biking. I have it paired to a Garmin cadence sensor. I like it better for cycling than my Apple watch. My GF does the same. She uses her Garmin for swimming and cycling. Uses her S10 when not exercising.

Interesting to see the channel you refer to list Garmin at the bottom. I was at first impressed but the solar x2 coming from an Apple Watch but after 2 years I miss the AW. I brought it up here once that they weren’t accurate and was downvoted to hell so I refrained from commenting further. Today another post on this subreddit was discussing just this. And one of the comments was in reference to PPG (sensor for HR) and watch weight. I understand a little more about PPG but asked for clarification about the watch weight. Garmin is nice and rugged (the one I have) but inaccurate which gets frustrating at times.

A lot closer than 101-110 on the X2. I don’t recall exactly the values but wasn’t much more than 5-8bpm from strap. I tested this out 6-7 months ago. I can do it again when I have some time and post the results of each to compare. Will look like a goof with two watches and the strap, but anything for science !

I use my Instinct 2x Solar on the course. It's pretty handy. You load the course on the watch, select your tee, and whether you want to keep score. I don't think any of their watches interface directly with the R10. The watch will give me rough shot distances, distance to the pin, and let's you move the pin around the green. I find it pretty useful and it seems to be right inline with traditional rangefinders, give or take a few yards. The Instinct line is a bit pricey because of all the extra functionality and I think that the golf focused watches like the approach line offer the same features.

True, front and back of green distance is super helpful. Even though you can move the pin, it definitely helps with shot selection. I'm a 20HCP and it's helping me a bunch with the short game.

I’m in a constant state of turmoil. I currently have an Instinct 2x and AW ultra 1. Over the past 2 years having both, I’ve primarily used the Apple Watch, but I have such a fond attachment to my Instinct (previous Instinct 1 owner as well). The Garmin is great when I’m in periods of pushing myself physically, however it can be very discouraging when life takes over and i just do the occasional jog/walks and lifting. Started using the Garmin again over the past 2 month and I’ve tried to go back to the Ultra for a day or two but then miss my Instinct. Currently i primary my Garmin, but when I go on runs, sleep when on call (doctor), mow, or do things I don’t want to carry my phone around, I’ll throw on my Ultra on the other wrist. I essentially treat it as secondary Cell phone, but I have the fitness and rings turned off. My garmin will record my runs, but I’m available by phone and listen to music with my Ultra. I do think this is my last Garmin though. I’ve had a lot of Garmin dating back to 2006 when i got my first used forerunner. I’m not a fan of the direction the company is heading (subscription, huge cost of new devices, focus on OLED, loss of battery life, lack of innovation, buggy/dated software). My instinct 2x used to track reps and such when lifting, but it seems they pulled that feature? (granted not super useful for me, the fact I lost features was unsettling) I’m on the verge of pulling the trigger on the AW Ultra 3 to have blood pressure and sleep apnea monitoring (along now with sleep score) and if I do that, I’ll probably shelve the Garmin for good. The bonus is I’ll still be able to pull in the instinct out anytime over the upcoming years so was a good investment. I can’t commit because I go through periods routinely where I can really focus on fitness, but other times it’s a second quest and life/general health take priority, so I find the watchs serve me better during different times of my life.

Are you tired of the old-school MIP (memory-in-pixel) watch faces from a decade ago? Do you want your daydreams transformed from monochrome into AMOLED color, eh...? Yes, I have had these same thoughts, which is why I purchased a Garmin EPIX 2.0 nearly two years ago. It was one my favorite timepieces since my first Apple Watch. Nevertheless, I sold it and purchased the Enduro 3 and then they announced the Instinct 3, dang it, far too many temptations online, right? Day Four with the Instinct 3 and... the watch is down to 28% battery life with 2 days left. Wed. 01/22, unboxed around 17:00, AOD enabled, SP02 at night enabled, raise to wake was enabled by default. Left wrist all day with the Garmin Instinct 2X Solar on my right wrist. Thur. 01/23, wore it all day & night Instinct 3 (right wrist) Instinct 2X (left wrist) Fri. 01/24, wore it all night & day Instinct 3 (right wrist) Instinct 2X (left wrist) Sat. 01/25, I woke up with it on my right wrist. The time is now 08:53, 28% battery, and 2 days left even with my one-hour of GPS workouts, what? Why can't Apple or Samsung build watches with battery life like the Garmins? Instinct 3 (right wrist) Instinct 2X (left wrist) Yes, the battery life is great, yes, the screen is bright. And sure, it feels more like a Casio G-Shock with a gorgeous screen or a little sister watch from the Garmin EPIX line. It is comfortable to wear all day and night. The buttons are easy to press and make less clicking noise than the Instinct 2X Solar I purchased over 18 months ago. Yet, what is new and why should you upgrade if you're like me an already have a Garmin Instinct 2X to 2X solar? Reasons to upgrade to the Garmin Instinct 3 1. AMOLED screen with AOD (always-on display) that lasts for six to 10 days 2. it tracks naps now and has the nap timer just like the EPIX 2, Fenix 8, or Enduro 3 3. Body Battery factors - wow, and about time. After a workout, nap, or even low stress, yes, on the watch or in the app, there is a breakdown of your activities with positive or negative details and your body battery is affected. I am unsure at this point if Garmin will release these features to the Instinct 2X models. 4. Louder speaker 5. Faster navigation 6. Faster solar charging...? To be announced 7. Instinct 3 is faster at saving workouts 8. Night Shift - oh yeah, the entire watch interface changes to red, green, or orange. It's such a fun feature to have on a $400.00 watch! 9. The buttons are softer to press and make less noise. 10. Steps on the data screen during workouts 11. Torchlight has a better menu for changing the light from red to white on the Instinct 3, about time, and thank you Garmin! Oh yeah, 11 new features if you buy another MIP Instinct 3 or slightly less if you purchase the AMOLED version like I did from Garmin.com. There are new color options, yet that is standard for Garmin, Apple, Samsung, Amazfit, COROS, Fitbit, Suunto, Polar, and most watch companies. They attempt to entice us every year to upgrade, upgrade, and upgrade. Okay, the Instinct 2X will be two years old soon and yet I don't think there is a need to upgrade. If you're still rocking the first edition of Garmin Instinct Solar, yes, your four-year timepiece needs an update. You'll notice many changes from four years ago, that much I already know. Thank you for reading and for clicking on by... More about this Garmin Instinct 3 (AMOLED) soon. Sincerely, Pietro & Gadgets Anonymous **Update, Sunday, 01/26/2025, 22:50** Yes, I made it to Day Five, my Instinct 3 battery life is at 11% with a 2-day estimate. A pretty radical accomplishment of battery life since those initial days of any new watch are the hardest. In fact, it blows my mind that it made it this far out of the box without a charge and even upgraded the first day. Now, I did have to disable AOD earlier today and the battery life went from 22 hours back up to 2 days. **Monday, 01/27/2025, 07:00** Just to prove a point, yes, I still have yet to plug in this Caribbean-colored Instinct 3 and did a bizarre test last night with my Garmin versus Garmin research. A. Garmin Instinct 3, right forearm, above the flaming red wearable B. Garmin Instinct 2X Solar, right wrist as directed by the manual I slept this way to see how the sleep data reacted. https://preview.redd.it/2rgr8ygm06fe1.jpg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6d8f40294dabead7fc73c82087d33773014b90f7 on https://preview.redd.it/lfe9kygm06fe1.jpg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b2301f2a3c6d02e7c6d7cd6819afc7af3f852e3f https://preview.redd.it/f1d6g0wp06fe1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9e6dbb1e7658ab05ec15b1277c11643a499ef20a https://preview.redd.it/rxbbgzvp06fe1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=84efab89a09127927da79ecec27895542fa939e9 https://preview.redd.it/ynktv2x67hfe1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=90df4c9586f905e92f6c4f5e66c40636cf05322b

Not sure how long are your runs and hikes. If you are going for long hikes, can consider the Instinct series. Can take hard knocks like G-Shock and still function. The basic models with monochrome screen suffice for your needs and the battery is way more than enough.

Instinct 2X or Instinct 3 Solar would love to be your best climb companion and they promised to be rugged and not easily scratched like the forerunner, Vivoactive or Venu. Fenix would like to concur to the above but it is worried about being a bigger hit to your wallet due to its price tag.

Picked up the Instinct 2x and it is amazing how much better the solar is compared to my OG. Battery life is by far the best part of the watch

Forerunners are great even if you don't run. None of the watches are great for the gym btw. For hiking you basically want an altimeter (which all new watches have) and maybe maps (which only the most premium watches do). I think the main advantage the Instinct has over the Forerunner is that it comes with Garmin Explore integration (for offline realtime mapping with the companion app on the phone). Only the Forerunner 9xx series support this. I think an Instinct 2 or 3 will be a great choice for your use

The 2X has more sports modes, did you consider that one? The 955 is otherwise a great watch, even if you won't need the extra features I'd still go for it if you can since its a bit more future proof I think.

Garmin instinct crossover, 28 days battery life, 50 without constant hr measurement. Instinct 2x and instinct 3 solar 50mm have 40 days battery life, 70 without hr. And solar charging.

You’ll miss the integration with Apple. Went there, using an Instinct 2X solar, but went back to Apple Watch within a month. Integrations sucks. What I missed most on the Garmin was the ability to determine which apps were allowed to give notifications and which not. With a Garmin it’s all or nothing. You can choose calls, apps and system notifications, that’s it. Highly annoying. If farming changes that I might consider going back to Garmin, without that functionality I won’t even think about it.

I chose for a Garmin Instinct 2X Solar, because I wanted a sturdy watch that I also feel comfy with to go swim and looks like a Casio G-Shock. Also I was quite impressed by the battery life. I was disappointed in 2 things. First was the earlier mentioned notifications. Second was battery life. Although I was on holiday in full sun it wasn't enough to keep the watch fully charged. I only used GPS-tracking twice a day for roughly 4h in total and in full sun, but still after 2 weeks I had to charge it. Not long after that holiday I bought my Apple Watch S10 and I never looked back. I take the watch off when I shower and by the time I'm out it charged enough to live another day. For the holiday and work around the house I bought me a Casio G-Shock to protect the Apple.

I recorded my 2024 SOBO hike on both my Garmin Instinct 2x and also on an Inreach. The inreach was more for family and friends but I think out of all my gear the watch was definitely the least necessary but I loved having it. Not just for the stats which were cool to look at but honestly I liked the mileage/navigation component on trail. I would use the mileage on the watch while hiking to gauge how far I was from water/camp/etc. and that saved me from having to pull up Farout alot. Once again not necessary by any means but was nice. I had to charge mine around every 3-4 days it felt like but luckily it doesn't take nearly as much juice as a phone in my experience. Best of luck!

This. I seriously regret selling my Instinct 2X and buying Garmin Fenix 8. I had 30-40 days (yes three zero to four zero) battery life on my 2X. It was bomb proof and in essence a smart G-Shock. The Fenix 8 has been a piece of crap. I’m not sure how the Instinct third gen’s are but if you can find a 2X, just buy it.

Glad could help!!! I’m about to buy an Instinct 2X again.

I love my 2x too, but the heart rate sensor is not the greatest and tracking hr is very important when training. I have a garmin HRM pro plus that I use tracking my heart rate and it was showing 182 during a training session a couple days ago when my watch showed 81. Id view the watch as an element in a system and not a do it all solution. For cycling a bike computer and hrm would be better than a watch imo.

For those activities the Garmin Instinct line will work fine. It’s not the most expensive line, but honestly I prefer it more than the expensive ones. I have a Fenix 7x Pro and prefer my Instinct 2x over it. Only thing the Fenix has over the Instinct is built in map navigation, but to be honest trying to plot a course on your watch is not a good experience, I’d much prefer to plot a course on my phone and just send it to my watch for step by step navigation, and in that aspect the two watches work the same. The screen on the instinct, though less advanced than the Fenix, is easier to read and more clear than the Fenix. The battery life on the Instinct 2x is one of the best Garmin has to offer, with potential unlimited battery life if you are in a lot of sun, on my Fenix I got about 3 weeks with solar helping it along the way. Lastly I like the band/case material and how the watch feels on the wrist more with my Instinct than Fenix 7x pro. I’ve damaged walls, scratch my car, etc with the metal bezel on the Fenix, but that does not happen with the Instinct. The instinct also has a raised bezel so it protects the screen more, and you won’t get the metal on metal grinding feeling when working out. I will be selling my Fenix since I got the Instinct. That is how much more I like it.

I have the Garmin Instinct 2X Solar and have managed four or five days of backpacking without the slightest issue. I turn the GPS off at nights, but I get around 80 hours of GPS on time which would last me at least a week.

I was hoping for a AWU3 with revolutionary batterylife. We did not get that so I bit the bullet and ordered a Garmin Instinct2x. I chose a „dumber“ watch on purpose so I could disconnect more from my phone. If I am going to keep my AW SE I will see, when I’ve had the garmin for some time. I have the feeling that all the notifications and all the connections don’t make me use my phone less as I hoped when I got the AppleWatch.

I love my instinc and am not looking back to the apple watch at all.

I gave my pixel watch 3 to my gran and got an Instinct 2X. I had the vivoactive 4 before that and liked it and THOUGHT I wanted more smartwatch features so got the pixel. The VA4 basically just had notifications and onboard music as "smart" features. But at the time I got the pixel thinking it's the logical upgrade i was feeling less enthused by all the tech stuff and was more and more switching off notifications and bluetooth and when I got for runs I typically have my phone anyways becuse in case there is an emergency of some sort, I want to be able to contact someone reliably, call and uber navigate with a full map etc... so also that covers having music. So the more I though about it the more I realised I literally just want it to record the exercises I do. I'm not gonna watch youtube on it, make calls or whatever "smart" features are supposed to be because all those things can be done better on my phone (which I carry anyways). I really liked the look of an instinct. reminds me of the G-shock and the oncee a month charging of the battery means it'll last years because it's going through abot 12 battery cycles in a whole year. In the end it's really up to you, look at what integration apple offers to the ecosystem, maye you like resuming playing music from your watch even if you're listening on your Mac or something but it's dependent on you. The stats I get are deeper than what I need so for me I still feel I can get more out of it. And maybe I'm just old school but the AW looks ugly to me, I'm gonna have it on my hand all day, may as well get something that looks good to me.

I would like to switch to either Polar or Suunto after my Garmin ends his life. But honestly I haven't really found any watch that has the specs that I would like to have (long battery life (3 weeks), flash light (optional), ANT+ or BLE HR sharing possible, etc. So I think I'll just use the crap out of my Garmin Instinct 2x.

Garmin Instinct 2X is my current fave as it’s got almost all of the sensors of the top models, but has a better battery life and if I smash it to pieces (happens more regularly than I want to admit to) then cheap enough to replace and not fuss about.

The garmin instinct 2x has a 40 day battery life, and it has a built in flashlight which sounds pointless until you actually have it and suddenly have a flashlight literally all the time. It’s a rudimentary smart watch compared to some, but it has fitness tracking, gps breadcrumbs, and other useful features for the trail. During gps tracking the battery life is something like 32 hours, which for me is like 2-3 days of hiking and real world trail use. But you can turn off gps tracking when not needed and stretch the battery life, and it also has solar charging which can help supplement charging when away from power.

Hard disagree here. I have had the Instinct 2X and now have the latest Rangeman (GPR-H1000) The styling is exceptional and is far in front of the Instinct. Also likely to last a lot longer given the meaty protection.

I switched from an Apple Watch to an instinct 2x, and I’m never looking back.

There are actual activities that automatically track and assume the workout/strength specific exercise you’re doing. And if it got the wrong name, you can edit the name and how many reps you did as well as the weight used. It’s an extremely nice setup. And if you’re a bit of a larger size person, get the 2 X solar. The extra battery is very nice and it has a better solar panel. With my current settings, I get 40 days of battery life. Also, having a flashlight/red light is the most handy thing ever. I never expected to use it as much as I do but the amount of times you’re there “man I wish I had a flashlight for a moment right now” is often frequent, and the red light for waking up in the middle of the night and being able to see while going to the bathroom without turning on a bright light that disrupts your sleep is amazing.

That’s fair. For me, it was all about battery life when I got the 2X and the upgraded solar. I thought about upgrading to the 3 but there isn’t a white color scheme yet and the upgrade aren’t big enough between the 2X and the 3 to be worth it. Either way, the instinct is a great line and a great choice! I would just avoid the 2S as it is small and light weight, but the battery is smaller.

For what it’s worth, I have used both, now, and am keeping neither. I’ve already sold both of them actually and decided I’m going to keep my Instinct 2X Solar, which I love, and buy a second hand FR965 that has everything, more or less, that the F8 has (minus the torch) and use the two alternatively. Even on the I3 AMOLED 50mm I found the screen too small.

Garmin Instinct 2x - I also switched from AW to Garmin a few months ago. No regrets so far, charging once a month and as a little bonus c2 rower will show your heart rate on its display

My instinct 2x gets like 40 days with pulseox turned off if I don’t log my runs. But I have the GPS accuracy turned up and I turn the light on to the brightest setting for cars to see me better at night. Even with that eating all my battery life I still get like 2-3 weeks of battery life off of a single charge.

Treat yourself to a Garmin Instinct 2X Solar. Walking is a legitimate athletic activity and you should track/record every walk. You'll have a blast with the device and it'll motivate you!

I have a Garmin but it’s the Instinct 2x and it’s my favorite watch I’ve ever had. I do a fair bit of camping and the light has come in handy a crazy number of times. The GPS drop a pin has saved me from a few off trail mishaps too. I’ve had three Apple Watches and I’d not go back.

instinct 2x solar for me

I wear it when I wear a mechanical watch as it’s the only Garmin offering suitable for that. For sports, outdoor activities and even sleep/health metrics I would go for a higher tier Garmin (I use the Instinct 2X Solar) as the Vivosmart does lack a lot. It’s mostly a step tracker, otherwise it’s very basic. It does not provide all the sleep metrics of the Instinct 2X if I recall correctly. Oh and don’t pay that price. Das Teil kannst du deutlich günstiger kriegen ;)

I second this! I have an Instinct 2X and wouldn't change it to anything else. It's built rather for the features and reliability than the eye candy!

My bad, on my instinct 2x i cannot find a diving mode nor Activity.

I went from an Instinct 2X Whitestone to a Venu 4 all black 45mm. My main reasons were; Newer and better sensor, V5 vs old V4, (i was hoping it would have the V6 by now but that doesnt seem to be coming any day soon) ECG, Smart Wake Alarm, Habit tracking, Sleeker design, The Instinct was quite bulky and doesn't really 'dress up' very well. An OLED with touchscreen takes a bit getting used to. I still much prefer the MIP screens of old. Better visible in sunlight, use a lot less battery and are always on. Having to tap or lift the OLED watch is really gonna take some getting used to. Compared to the Instinct it feels a bit 'dainty' but I'm sure I'll get used to it. I seem to be getting around 12 days on 100% so that's enough. Obviously not as much as the Instinct but more than enough to never be caught short. So far i really like it. The Watch can do more, it shows more details when you go into stuff like sleep or hrv. The colours are nice and the display is pretty bright. I do worry a little bit about keeping the screen nice. I guess time will tell how it holds up durability wise. Really glad to have kept the flashlight! Something that i did notice that was a pleasant surprise is that it seems to charge noticeably faster than my instinct did. I'll need more Time to really get a feel for it but it seems to be extremely rich in features. I wanted the latest sensor and all the latest features, without spending a grand on a fenix. Venu 4 is the awnser

AW regular user here. I got an Instinct 2X as a vacation/hiking watch so I don’t have to lug another cable/charge it daily. Welcome to the club!

Garmin Instinct 2X is priced very nice right now and will track kayaking activities.

Ligther and faster - good, since Instinct 2x was chunky and very slow watch. Lack of maps, no touchscreen, slightly worse flaslight - bad. Regarding issue with strength training ("*the watch defaulted to the exercise list, rather than the summary rest page. I found this honestly infuriating...*."), that is how it works on Fenix 7, Epix and probably some other Garmin watches as well, since many people complained exactly about that since that "improvement" was introduced in some software update about 2 years ago. Garmin ignored users' requests/complaints so that will remain so on Instinct 3 as well for indefinite amount of time (or until Garmin finally recognizes how dumb paused view in strength training is). As you said *"3 Solar is a huge improvement in terms of contrast and brightness over the 2X,"* which is not surprising since display on Instinct 2 and 2x left a lot to be desired although many reviewers omitted to say that. Thanks for your review.

Used to have a watch series 2. That one sucked. Then went to a apple series 5. That one fell into a lake and seeing as the ground in the middle was over 10m, i doubt it survived Switched to a Garmin instinct 2 tactical solar about 3 years ago. I love not plugging it back to charge everyday (with gps its been lasting a solid 15-20 days a charge) Great with sports especially skiing (it uses about 3 different satelite technologies so i never lose connection and it detects skiing / lifts to get back up) I can control music from the watch - bit finnicky with the buttons but eh it is what it is I got 50% ish off through work so that was a bonus I do miss being able to send custom messages from it and controlling songs on spotify.... I also miss having the touchscreen, but this watch has remained on my wrist even diving hard into water from cliffs About 18 months after switching I binned my iphone 9 and got a google pixel so yeah, i never would turn back to apple products.... Depends on what you want to be honest. Just know, that most of these watches can survive in water for a few hours to a couple days, so swimming/diving in it isn't a problem but thats just my opinion Hope I helped

Good lord, what are you planning on doing, ODA level stuff? An Instinct (Solar) tactical is probably all you really need, Tactix is has some serious features - like windage and range finder. Good luck!

I use a Garmin Instinxt Tactical for EVERYTHING. This watch is a tank. Ice hockey, whitewater kayaking, golf, distance running, MTN Biking, and most recently CrossFit (I’m new to CF).

I have a Garmin Instinct Solar Taxtical, one behind the current generation. I golf (walking with push cart) 2-3X/week, play ice hockey 3X/week, and a bunch of other activities including CrossFit, whitewater paddling, hiking, trail running, etc. I also own/run a family farm; so my watch gets beat up. It does a good job keeping up with me and all my activities. It’s rugged, and I can swim with it (I’m unintentionally underwater quite a bit due to whitewater paddling). See below: https://preview.redd.it/bnayqgnuk0nf1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d6ed1bf00a0b8f17ab94bc62372e7c6bf4a4edd9 Downside: I’m older, and I have trouble seeing the smaller fonts on the watch without readers (like everything else). I’m not talking about the main feature, but the smaller data surrounding it. However, I also need readers for restaurant menus.

I am kind of surprised by the answers here. I think your request is not so weird, and it is possible to have a Garmin watch to count steps, HR, etc and not send out any signal: this is called Stealth mode and it's available on several tactical Garmin watches. They aim at military personnel, so your job would suit this profile as well. Look up online which watches offer this mode, there is at least the Instinct 2 Tactical edition, Instinct Crossover Tactical edition, Tactix 7 AMOLED / Pro

DO NOT GO APPLE. No matter what. They're overpriced for the severe lack of performance you receive( that includes the 250 buck SE, not worth it). I have the galaxy Watch ultra and a Garnin instinct 2 tactical solar. Galaxy is about 600 and the Garmin I got for about 180 on sale. Honestly get the Garmin i mentioned. It's cheap price wise, tanky, not a flashy design, and really good features when it comes to outdoor activity. Only thing you really lose is a touch screen but that's better for it's ruggedness and water resistance.

My instinct 2 has been the best watch for me since it came out...(Had the original solar tactical then too) Had never let me down ever and I'm a mechanic.

If you turn on the NV mode that will turn off the heart rate sensor on the Instinct 2 Tactical!

Instinct tactical. Got it while in the military in ~2019 and it’s still kicking

Does it have to be a watch? I love my Whoop because it's low maintenance and I forget it's on until I get the notification to charge it. I love my Garmin Instinct Tactical (I'm active duty military so it's dual purpose), but I have to take it off whenever I use wrist wraps or my grips during a WOD.

I got an instinct tactical specifically because it's kinda dumb. It just does the few things I want it to do, and it does them well enough.

I have Epix pro gen 2 47mm ss, it is great, got it for 50% off. Don't pay 800, look for discounts, also don't go for newest models, Instinct 2 solar or 2x is great, also Foreruner 955... Find some store and go try them and seek youtube for further info- chase the summit, desi fit...

I took a Garmin Instinct Solar in 2022 and loved having it. I used a small USB-C adapter-dongle to charge the watch and carried either one or two 10,000mAh power banks, along with an iPhone and InReach Mini 2, so similar power demands. While watch settings were heavily changed to optimize battery life, I was able to keep GPS and heart rate tracking active. I don't recall a single day where I ran out of battery after pausing during big breaks like lunch, and didn't find it annoying to do so. The stats were useful for managing my heart rate when things were tough, knowing roughly where I was (mileage or elevation-wise) without needing to check FarOut, and helped me understand and develop my pacing and pacing prediction accuracy (short legs). I've also found the data to be great post-trail. Sometimes, I'll look at my trail journal and have a question about the day (weather, distance, difficulty, start/stop location, detours or side-quests, etc.) - days can blur together, or specifics can become vague over a couple of thousand miles and 100+ days. The tracking provides answers if not strong hints. As a stupid but personally worthwhile example, I used this info to drive hours east to an access road north of Truckee and visit a camp spot I couldn't remember, despite speaking to multiple people in the group, even after looking at their photos and videos 😂

This! I have a Garmin instinct Solar and I can’t wear it all the time because it starts rubbing my skin off. lol

While I agree having come from a Garmin instinct solar with incredible battery life. The pixel watch 4 needs to be charged every ~2 days and has fast charging. So take it off, pop it on the charger, have a shower and it's back to 100%. It's seriously impressive.

Same. I still rock an original instinct solar. Love having all the basic stuff and the solar is super helpful. If I needed maps I have a forerunner 955 as well.

I use Garmin Instinct Solar and pretty happy about it :)

man fuck Garmin on the ass. my very first fitness watch instinct solar was a pita since the first year. worked great a few months and then charging issues and after a few weeks, randomly dying while tracking workouts. oh also it bloody changed hr depending on the workout chosen??? I asked customer support about these issues and they're like meh . this single watch haa completely put me off from fitness watches so ty Garmin:)

garmin forerunner (255 or 265 are good choice )or instinct series both have solar models if you want even more battery, or garmin fenix 7 or 8 but they are bit more expensive. also coros pace 3 its a great price to performance sport watch with great battery life

Garmin. I started with the original instinct solar, but now have a Fenix 7, edge bike computer, garmin scale, garmin heart rate strap... garmin has always just worked for me without a ton of work or research to figure out how it works. It's all very intuitive for me. I also love using garmin connect to have all my data from cycling, running, and working out in one place without having to import and export stuff from different apps or devices.

Can accept / decline calls for the phone on the phone Can reply to text and calls with prewritten / selectable texts (up to 10 I believe?) No LTE Yes, via Garmin IQ App (although most don't work on the instinct solar watches specifically) No smart assistant It has SOS functionality that (as far as I know) doesn't react to falls, but to a rapidly declining heart rate

Yes. For an Ultra I think you'd be looking at the Enduro or Instinct Solar. You could also consider the Fenix 7 Solar or Forerunner 955. Gotta look at the battery life. Solar per se doesn't necessarily do much, it's more that these watches are lower-power or bigger-battery too.

I like the instinct solar, I’m on my 2nd. It’s does what you you need for the events you mentioned.

I have a solar instinct and between May and September I never have to charge it.  November to February is once every 2 weeks though. If I lived in Denver with those sunny winters, I don't think I'd ever have to charge it.

I only use my Instinct Solar for exercise (running, mtn biking, weight training) and activities such as hiking, skiing, and kayaking. I don't care about data for sleep or steps. My actual digital watches for daily wear/style are G-Shocks.

My IS is a black & white MIP screen, non-touch. Altimeter and barometer and compass (ABC). More butch design and more shock, cold, heat dust and dirt resistant. Feature set more for stuff INCLUDING running. More suited backpacking and hiking which I've used it for a fair bit. Great tool watch despite the side-eye from my G-Shocks... FR55 has a bright AMOLED screen, touch, designed with running features (I guess cadence, stride length, recovery etc.). ALSO, I guess more smartwatch-y. My take is that if you're primarily interested in getting to be a better runner then FR is absolutely the way to go. No sane person would call me a "runner"; hence the IS. Mothers' cover their children's eyes when I plod by...

I’ve always been more of a g-shock style watch girly - I think a ‘masculine’ watch looks really cute on women! Plus, for practicality purposes it really just can’t be beat… a little solar charging boost for those longer outdoor activities, smart watch features, and the garmin data for all the metrics my mind desires. I prefer a MIPS display vs OLED, and didn’t want something touchscreen, so this one really checked all the boxes for me. I’ve had a Fitbit, and a Whoop band, back in 2018-2021, and I had a harder time wearing them consistently because it just didn’t have everything I needed. If you want to add a little color to yours, you can always change your watch bands! Green, blue, purple, grey; all would look good with a black watch face. Might help it feel a little jazzier for you. If you like it, wear it, girl! https://preview.redd.it/wao8xc2p75sf1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=10abd41934e14875a61af55f4122cafdcd51da10

My guess would be Instinct 1 or any of the solar variants, and that's purely because it has the most efficient screen (MIP) of the entire lineup, and screen is the biggest power hog. Solar variant offers solar charging on top of that. Enduro is probably up there, but if you try to maximize both battery life on both, I think Instinct will come up on top. Instinct 1 is very bare bones, so keep that in mind.

My Garmin instinct solar has been going 8months with no charge yet. Although prob not a smart watch?

A Garmin solar can last an infinite time I guess. I’m going 8 months now on one charge.

Garmin instinct solar. It’s like a Casio gshock. Had a nice mbip display

Garmin instinct solar. Hard to beat

Very very few people on this earth do 15hr workouts for 45 days straight. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t even bother with any of the regular garmins and would opt for something like an instinct solar. But your experience is such an edge case that 95% of sports watches wouldn’t really work lol

This all the way. I have the instinct solar, had it years, been on many adventures, plus it’s a normal size and looks like a g-shock what’s not to like

Late to the conversation but I love my Garmin instinct solar. Battery is easily 14+ days and it tracks sleep, workouts, altitude, and a plethora of other outdoor activities. Their app with it is pretty good too 

Solar isn't really worth it honestly, at least for me. I'm outdoors quite a bit but when the battery lasts 2-3 weeks already solar really isn't necessary.

I hated smartsatches, especially those AW or Samsung, because battery life was useless. Then I got an Instinct Solar, 23 days of charge and all the health and sport capabilities were as good or better than AW but I missed the colour screen so I got a Epix Pro and it have it all, 6 to 7 days of battery life with always on display, 15 days without it. Oled screen, sapphire cristal, and everything I need. Never come back to other regular brand.

Garmin Instinct Solar has good battery life and is a nice addition - not essential by any means but useful.

Garmin instinct solar any version. Long batt life including solar charging, heart rate and calories. It has a digital watch face instead of a colour screen but the navigation works great when you make courses. Best watch I've ever owned.

I only own the first version, the instinct solar. For me, and it's my personal opinion. Oled screen not worth it. I think instinct watches must bee entry point no maps devices. The price is very close to other better models...

I have a Garmin instinct solar and I really like it. Before this I had a vivoactive and also liked it, but never climbed with it. I also run and do indoor bouldering. I’m not as concerned about tracking when I boulder, there is an activity for it where I’ll do one warm up route and just leave it on a break for the rest of my time climbing. The instinct is not a touch screen (which I actually really love) and 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. I’ve cooled off on my lifting with climbing, and was never that into it, but the strength activity isn’t horrible at keeping track of exercises. You can edit the activity afterwards to get the exact rep/weight/exercise, but some of the smartIQ exercise guesses are pretty accurate (ie a recent workout guessed pushups correctly, but also classified tricep dips as pushups). The solar add on is pricey and I don’t know if I’d recommend it, but the base option is pretty reasonable Cons for garmin: sleep isn’t super accurate, some data breach issues, a lot of grumbling that the Garmin+ subscription may be pushed on people in the future for things like updates and access to features Pros: easy to use, good tracking for running/hiking, instinct is very durable, lots of activities to chose from (cardio, indoor climbing/bouldering, runs, strength, swimming), fun metrics like HRV, training load, and vo2 max, decent battery life

I've got a Garmin Instinct Solar and it works well for basic xc - time distance elevation heartrate (from wrist) good enough for me - easy to wear and fits under my sleeves. It's more that I wear it everyday and it happens to be good at skiing..

I love my Garmin instinct solar. Battery life of a month

maybe instinct series 2 or 3... with solar option if hiking multi days... lighter options like 45mm i2 solar for HR (lighter watches tend to give more precise HR results overall, especially recommended ones like i2)... good luck

If you're already in the Apple ecosystem then an Apple Watch will be good choice that's pretty straightforward to use. A Garmin Instinct2 is also a good, relatively low cost option, but you'll need to use the free Garmin Connect app on your iPhone to view your exercise data. The Garmin is more complicated to set up.

PS, battery life is 1-2 days on the Apple Watch and up to 28 days on the Garmin

If you want max battery life and don’t care about smartwatch features other than fitness tracking get the instinct series. There’s several options based off of your preferred display and it gets up to 28 days of battery with notifications turned off

You can’t go wrong with a Garmin. The Instinct series is very rugged and reasonably priced. The fenix series is also super rugged but is at a premium cost

If you don't want to charge your watch everyday, check out the Garmin Instinct series. Amazing battery life, even with activity tracking. It'll track your laps, distance, drill logging, the works.

The instinct series is, in my opinion, by far the best. I believe this mainly due to the screen, which is not the awful LCD/LED stuff that most watches have. It's clear in all conditions, and extremely durable. I think the UI is also quite well done. Any of the instincts will fit the bill, but probably instinct 2 is the best balance of features.

Check out instinct series if you concerned with durability

The I3 circle has lots of quality and software issues. The square does not…..I have both, I know…. But hey, great battery life on the Instinct series.

those missing stuffs are available for the Instinct series. Altho gotta compromise with the black and white MIP display which is not everyone's favorite food.

I try to give you few options , -swim 2 : have everything for swimming but is really focus only on swimming, heart rate is really good , but if you want to do others sports than is lacking a lot. Have drills mode and don’t miss a lap normally. -Suunto run/run s , if you change the strap get an amazing hr underwater (outside of water is way worse ) 🤷🏻‍♂️, is perfect on lap counting , have integrations with Suunto aqua headphone who give you some extra metrics on head rotations ( is still a new come , so something isn’t perfect yet) , can use for any other sports , but doesn’t have any drills mode -instinct series , actually similar to swim 2 but less accurate on hr reading and sometimes miss laps , can do so many things outside water , huge battery , but as a swimmer I felt not worth for only swimming so I send it back - forerunner series , it come in 2 versions , the small 200 series (the last one is called 500) , and the 900 series , go for the smallest , is lighter have everything you need and more stuff you won’t ever use , for the fact is smaller it is more comfy to use in water and hr just little bit more accurate , never miss a lap , and got all function of swim 2 for swimming plus tons of functions for many sports - in conclusion I use many times the Suunto but because is missing the drills mode I go back to forerunner when I need it , than I still using swim 2 bought so many years ago , I use for css , but honestly just because I feel nostalgic on it , after swim with him for many years

The instinct series might interest you as well, as they are more rugged with very long lasting battery. I have owned one in the past, then jumped to Forerunner 955 for the maps, then to Epix - for the flashlight and AMOLED screen, and now to Fenix 8 for the voice commands, taking phone calls from the watch. The new instinct 3 series have the flashlight too, and the 2X might have it as well (don't quote me on that) Best of luck, they're all great watches!

I only wear my Garmin Instinct when actually out for a run, or working out. If I wanted something to track my stats throughout the day, I would look into a Whoop. They don't have a traditional display, so it probably wouldn't feel as much like you're wearing two watches.

I'm a big fan of the Garmin Instinct watches, but I do like and use more of the smart features like notifications and whatnot. Features I love: * completely and utterly water proof (almost everyone I know using an apple watch has killed at least one in the water) * The rubber band is different material from the fitbits, I find it a lot more comfortable and doesn't smell when I wear it while sweating a lot like some other watches I have * 30 day battery life, and they have a solar option I'd like to upgrade to which will net essentially unlimited battery life if you're outside or in bright light often enough * Music controls! I haven't used a fitbit in years now but I always missed that back then. * Timers and alarms, I find myself being a lot more organized with my timers when they're on my wrist and visible at all times * Actually good step tracking * Sleep tracking * Heart rate monitoring and resting heart rate * Exercise tracking and actually decent approx calorie burn estimates (I did the math with my CI and weight loss and found it lined up within a pretty good margin) * I use the compass a surprising amount * GPS tracking for hikes including good ascent tracking * Buttons instead of touch so it can be used while sweating buckets * A battery saving mode that boosts the already great battery life into the stratosphere * Automatic data import into the LoseIt app, which I use for calorie tracking Most of these are specifically things that I like a lot better than similar products I've used like fitbits and the google pixel watch lineup. I've never used an apple watch myself but my sister and previous partners have used them and I really don't jive with the interface, although they have all said the idea of having a streak of "closing their rings" sufficiently gamified the process such that they actually did more exercise.

Hi guys. What fitness trackers/wearables do you guys use when daily wearing your Omega’s? I’m quite big into the gym and tracking my health, fitness and lifestyle and for this I currently use a Garmin Instinct smart watch. I only really use it for HR, steps and sleep tracking. It does also tell me about my recovery and training readiness which I quite like. But, in December I treated myself to a SMP300 in Seaweed Green to celebrate a really great year I’d had in 2024…Married, had my first child and landed my dream job. So to me it was worth celebrating by purchasing my first luxury watch. My issue is that I can count on 1 hand the amount of times I’ve worn it. I didn’t buy it to collect dust in a box and be an expensive ornament, I bought it to wear! So with that, I’m wanting to ditch the Garmin and daily my SMP but still be able to track my fitness and lifestyle. So what wearables are you guys using or what do you recommend? So far I can only really find Whoop that ticks the boxes for me, the biggest thing is it being screenless. I don’t want to be that guy who wears 2 watches 😅. Any recommendations and personal experience are great appreciated! Cheers guys.

My garmin instinct does a good job. Garmin also makes chest straps that sync with your phone just like their watches do

Plastic? Okay you’ve never used a good Garmin. They’re all saphire glass with titanium lol. Apple Watches lose roughly 6-8% from tracking sleep (lol). My Garmin solar doesn’t even use 2% daily.

solar garmin. everything i need, nothing i don't. paired with a polar HRM.

For running, the **Forerunners** win because they’re lighter, have better training tools (readiness, load, recovery, VO₂, etc.), and give you more run-specific metrics. The **Instinct/Fenix** are better for hiking/backpacking since they’re tougher, with longer battery and more rugged features. Animated workouts are more of a nice to have, useful if you like guided bodyweight or gym sessions, but most people don’t rely on them. Daily suggested workouts are hit or miss: they’re good for structure but not something to blindly follow. Maps are genuinely handy if you do trails or long hikes; on runs they’re mostly good for keeping you on a planned route. The 970 only records ECG if you start it manually, it doesn’t passively check like an Apple Watch. Smart features: you’ll see texts and calls, but RCS isn’t supported (just standard SMS/notifications). The mic/speaker are fine for quick replies or answering a call in a pinch, but not something you’d want to use all the time. Why Garmin? Mostly the depth of training metrics, reliability, and ecosystem, Coros and Suunto are good but Garmin still has the most polished data!!