Instinct 2X Solar

Have an instinct 2 x solar tweaked my settings and I get amazing battery life without using gps activity tracking I get more than the 40 day advertised battery life

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

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

Instinct 2X solar. Picked it for the battery life, solar charging, and flashlight. Don’t love the size but it was the best option with those features that fit the budget.

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

Instinct 2x solar ticks all these boxes for me except for size. It's a big watch but that suits me fine.

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!

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!