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Top Pros
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Reddit Reviews
WARxHORNGarmin Fenix. The 7X Pro is “older” so you can get it at a good price. If you’re a little more hard pressed for money a Garmin Instinct is a great option. Edit: I see you linked the Instinct 3 solar. That is a great option! If your fiance is a bigger guy they may be good with the larger size (51mm) which will give them a larger screen and longer battery life.
WOMBATBUCKETWhen it comes to your budget, Garmin's premier value offering is the [Forerunner® 165](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/1055469/pn/010-02863-20/#specs). It's sleek, well-made, has an AMOLED display, and has solid gym profiles: Strength, HIIT, Cardio, Elliptical Training, Stair Stepping, Floor Climbing. A step up from the FR165 is the [Forerunner® 265. ](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/886785/pn/010-02810-00/)It's right there at the top of your budget, has a more premium construction, but offers minimal additions to gym profiles compared to the FR165. For a more rugged offering, the [Instinct® 2 Solar ](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/775697/pn/010-02627-10/)is a great choice, and has the same gym profiles as the FR165/FR265. As a step up from the Instinct 2, The [Instinct® 3 ](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/1315317/pn/010-02934-00/)does everything the Instinct 2 does, but has a flashlight. And the flashlight is AMAZING. I use mine daily. For a sleek, lifestyle watch that also provides the same gym capabilities as every other watch, the [Garmin vívoactive® 6 ](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/1555457/pn/010-02985-02/)is a great choice. If the Vivoactive 6 doesn't quite scratch your itch, then the next step up from there at the top of your budget is the [Garmin Venu® 3](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/873008/pn/010-02784-01/#specs). It has a more premium construction than the Vivoactive 6, and it has the same gym/strength profiles as every other watch listed here. All these watches are under $450. Your considerations would be: 1. Do you want a middle-of-the-road watch with respectable gym capabilities? The Forerunners meet that criteria. 2. Do you want rugged, solar-charging capabilities and a design that looks good on a thick wrist? Check out the Instincts. 3. Do you prefer a premium build that looks great in the gym, at the opera, or on the beach? Go for the Vivoactive 6 or the Venu 3. Just in case you wanted ALL the data, here's a side-by-side comparison of these watches. You can toggle the "Show only differences" option for a more summarized view: [Garmin | Product Compare](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/compare/?compareProduct=1055469&compareProduct=886785&compareProduct=775697&compareProduct=1555457&compareProduct=873008) Have fun checking out your options--and early welcome to Garmin!
SixtyAteWhiskey68The day apple makes an actual ruggedized smart watch that can last longer than 2 weeks on a single charge is the day I’ll switch. Until then my Instinct 3S is my little pride and joy.
ccoates1279I have the outdoor Garmin 3 Solar so I do climb with it on. If it were any other watch I'd say no. I also wouldnt wear it crack climbing or anything lmao.
PohqEnduro 3 is simply the king of Garmin’s line up at the moment. No question. Unless you need the dive / speaker stuff I’d be going for that. The 7X PRO Solar sapphire is a great second. Instinct 3X Solar takes the third spot. I’m a bit sceptical of Garmins future, kinda feels like they have peaked with the enduro 3. MIPS could be gone. Garmin connect plus. MICROLED 8 Pro at 2k USD with a 4 Day Battery. The buggy firmware. The terrible way they have rolled out LTE / Satellite. Their best days may be behind them.
Aromatic_Advance_431Honestly, this takes me back to my Casio G-Shock days. I love this so much. It's like I have a real watch again! But it also vibrates and gives me text message previews and tracks my sleep and heart rate and all the other junk! I love it!
So, I really thought the screen would be easier to read with the high contrast black/white, but it's really not all that easy. I have 45 year old eyes, and I guess I need to get my prescription adjusted because I'm still having trouble reading the tiny print and icons. If I REALLY take my time to look, it's not bad and I can get it. But the condensed font they use, and the blocky lettering, though cool in an "old school" kind of way, is much harder to read than anything I had on my apple watch. With that said, I do like that it feels like I have an actual watch again. I missed my casio g-shock, and this is like that watch on steroids because it gets all the notifications and buzzes and tracks my sleep and everything else. I love that aspect of it. But I haven't found the perfect watch face yet for me. As a graphic designer, I would love to just design my own face. I'll have to look into how to do that. But long story short, the readability is far lower than an apple watch in every respect except in bright sunlight, when it's way better than apple watch aside from the size of the icons and text. Also, navigating the menus via buttons instead of the roller crown is kind of a pain in the ass. I find myself taking the watch off entirely and making my modifications in front of me with both hands, instead of keeping the watch on and using my right hand only to push the buttons with the watch on my left wrist. I'm not as enamored with it as I was when I first contemplated it. but that said, I'm going to stick it out and try to make the adjustments I need to to make it "mine". It kind of feels like getting a new linux installation setup just how you want it. Once you figure everything out, it's great. But getting there takes a lot of trial and error.
DryAssociation5454Ok, try instinct 2 or 3 solar 45mm
Ok, solar on i3 is worth it, your battery will last from 20-40days. Dont know for 165, couple of days maybe. Also, i3 having more metric than 165
45s>265>epix pro gen 2>instinc 3 45>vertical 2>255>enduro 3. That was my way. After couple years can say- 255/955 mips are one of best ever for lot of sports and mip lovers, their amoled sibilngs are also great. Instinct 2,3 also great rugged tanks. A little smaller screen for me (like 6-8 metrics for one screen during runs, ins.can go up to 4-5). F7 pro or 7x for bigger wrist, epix pro gen 2- fanstastic options but bulkier- just dont swim with them because buttons can get smooshy (mine did!). Flash and newest opt.hr great! Dont like too bright screens on vx1 and 970, and lame battety. Now enduro 3 comes in a way. It is truly fantastic. Smaller wrist about 17.5cm and it is not heavy like epix pro gen 2 47mm. Battery is 40days with little sun a day and 1h of gps 6 times a week. Crasy. Didnt now what to except, many here adore it, but now- I am one of them.
45s>265>epix pro gen 2>instinc 3 45>vertical 2>255>enduro 3. That was my way. After couple years can say- 255/955 mips are one of best ever for lot of sports and mip lovers, their amoled sibilngs are also great. Instinct 2,3 also great rugged tanks. A little smaller screen for me (like 6-8 metrics for one screen during runs, ins.can go up to 4-5). F7 pro or 7x for bigger wrist, epix pro gen 2- fanstastic options but bulkier- just dont swim with them because buttons can get smooshy (mine did!). Flash and newest opt.hr great! Dont like too bright screens on vx1 and 970, and lame battety. Now enduro 3 comes in a way. It is truly fantastic. Smaller wrist about 17.5cm and it is not heavy like epix pro gen 2 47mm. Battery is 40days with little sun a day and 1h of gps 6 times a week. Crasy. Didnt now what to except, many here adore it, but now- I am one of them.
255 is best, instinct if wanting rugged
FilterJoeI just switched a month ago from 4.5 years of Apple Watch Series 6 to Garmin instinct 3 Solar 45mm. I love it! The Apple Watch definitely had much more attractive watch faces that’s for sure. But in terms of practical use for fitness activities I prefer the garmin instinct 3 MIP display. It’s better in very bright sunlight. When it’s not legible in really dark settings, I just use the back light. Most important activities is easier than using the Apple Watch thanks to the button-driven UI. When I’m in the middle of a run on a bright day flipping through my metrics, the Apple Watch is quite difficult to use while the Garmin is easy to use and always legible.
If you like the G-shock look, Instinct 3 costs a little less and gives you everything you laid out in your original post. The three watches you mentioned all have extra features beyond the instinct 3 that you didn’t mention you actually would use. For whatever reason, Garmin charges a really huge premium for watches that have built-in maps. Also: if you get the instinct 3 solar model, and you rarely use it to track activities, the battery life can be infinite if you are outdoors in the sun a lot.
If I had a very large wrist and the prices were equal, I would go for the Enduro 3. But at 165mm or so, my wrist is not big enough for the Enduro 3. I switched from Apple Watch 6 to Garmin Instinct 3 a couple months ago. Given my extensive use outdoors and my wrist size, I am very happy with Instinct 3.
The instinct 2 solar has a solar panel over the main part of the display, which makes the display much less readable. If I were going to save money, I would get instinct 2 without solar which has much easier to read display. If you want solar, I get the instinct 3 whose solar panel is only on the outer ring. Was $300 for a few weeks Nov/Dec in USA. Not sure if it could be had for that much at the moment.
I'm not the only person in the world who thinks the Instinct 3 (or 2 without solar) is clearer. See this discussion (with pic): [https://www.reddit.com/r/Garmininstinct/comments/1ihhp71/instinct\_3\_vs\_2x\_screen\_display\_clarity/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Garmininstinct/comments/1ihhp71/instinct_3_vs_2x_screen_display_clarity/)
Sorry. My main point was clarity of display. Secondarily, Price: When I was shopping a couple months ago, the 2X was about the same price as the Instinct 3 solar 45 mm at around $300 each. So had I been willing to sacrifice the solar, I could’ve gotten an instinct 2 for much less money. It does not have the solar layer on top of the main display, so the display clarity is not much different from the instinct 3. But it is missing a few features that both the 2X and the instinct 3 have. The 2X clearly has some advantages over the instinct 2 beyond just the solar. As one YouTuber pointed out, 2x should be called the instinct 2.5! But if you’re shopping and the price of the 2X is about the same as the solar version of the 45mm 3, I would take the instinct 3. I personally prefer the 45 mm over the 50 mm anyway. I had been thinking about buying an instinct for over a year and balked at the price tag and 50mm size for the 2X. So when the instinct 3 price dropped to $300 I jumped.
Rankings by Use Case
Top recommendations from others in the same boat
Best for Chronic health condition management
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Oura - Oura Ring Series
Best for Elderly & emergency safety
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Apple - Ultra Series
Best for Extended battery life
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Garmin - Fenix 7 Series
Best for Rugged durability for extreme environments
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Garmin - Fenix 7 Series
Best for Running performance & coaching
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Garmin - Forerunner 255 Series
Best for Sleep quality tracking
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Oura - Oura Ring Series
