Garmin - Instinct Solar

I had a 1st gen solar, for like 1-2 days, the only thing I recall was that it took some time to get gps fix, even if updated, synced with garmin connect. Other than that it recorded stuff. Although I love the yellow one, would buy it as main watch today, but everyone has different exigences

Im still rocking the instinct solar gen 1. I love it for hiking/camping and having a backup gps which i can upload my .gpx maps to it. Or use it for the day paddleboarding and kayaking.

I use a gen 1 Garmin Instinct Solar

Garmin Instinct Solar. It's durable. I've had mine since '21 and use it at work, working on cars, backpacking, and yard work. Wear it every day, never take it off except to charge.

1 solar also works in the water. It's not super accurate. If you care about HR the HRM-pro or better (if in a pool environment) the HRM-Swim. Instinct is great but the 1Solar doesn't have save and download so I use my 5X in the pool most of the time. I use my Instinct open water. Neither watch is better or worse in the pool. Laps are accurate unless I do something dumb like swim more than 10m underwater per length. Even swimming non traditional strokes it's accurate on laps and swolf.

Then you have me, still using an instinct solar. I'll probably upgrade to a 2 (non solar) or a 2x at some point but no rush. I figure this watch has 2-3 more good years left.

I use a Fenix and and instinct. 100% accurate in the pool unless I'm doing under/overs (15m under, 10 over, 15 under, 10 over) then it will miss some laps. Most people aren't doing the legal 15m pullout (I do it to circumvent no underwater swimming) so this isn't an issue. Other than that, as long as I'm stroking with my arms, it rarely misses a length. I've had an Fenix 2/3/5x in the pool and mostly use my Instinct in open water because I don't mess with a HRM (wrist is fine, I don't care that much for the OWS and if I do I use my HRM pro).

Fantastic watch and value. Easy to read screen (monochrome mips) and great battery life. Definitely worth it.

Personally, no. I use other devices for maps. Seems like a watch is best as a backup. Instinct is great. Last forever, is accurate, rugged and fairly cheap.

Instinct Affordable, great for those activities. Incredible battery life, to the point I'm annoyed when I have to charge it every other or every 3rd day on longer (active trips, like backpacking and bikepacking) because I go a week normally. Readable (monochrome) in any light. Also has an oled screen if you prefer it.

Garmin instinct or Fenix. Logs everything including strokes, type of strokes, laps, heart rate.

Been using instinct solar 1 for three + years and I love it. GPS is sometimes a little slow to connect in some locations, but mostly works fine.

I have the first version and I still use it alot. I love mine.

OP don’t go out of your budget for a Garmin; unless you *really* need the features, it isn’t worth it. You don’t say what your needs are but assuming you’re a runner (as you’re planning on a forerunner 265), why not look also at the forerunner 165 or even the forerunner 55 (currently on offer here in the UK direct from Garmin at £140)? I started with a forerunner 35 which took me through Couch to 5k and beyond. It was great, did all that I needed and nothing more. I only upgraded to an Instinct (Solar v1) when I decided to swap my daily G-Shock for a Garmin. And I still now wear it all the time.

Yet perfectly usable for a lot of people, me in the past included. When I take it my watch off to shower it really doesn't matter if I put it on the table or on the (magnetic) charger. Unless you run ultramarathons an AW Ultra will have more battery life than you need. I have had more battery anxiety with a Fenix 6 than I ever had on my Apple Watch, because the Apple Watch always goes on the charger when I shower so I never actually look at the battery percentage, while with the Fenix 6 I had to actively check the battery periodically. Not an issue with Instinct 3 Solar. I switched to Garmin (I3S) again mostly for the sake of my mental health, but the Ultra is the best smartwatch on the market, if a smartwatch is what you want. Garmin is the best sports watch and that's what I currently want, but it's a real stretch to call it a smartwatch. Also, and very importantly, Apple severely underreports on Watch battery life, while Garmin is known for sometimes doing the exact opposite - my previous Instinct (1 Solar) was rated for 3-4 weeks yet it never did more than 10 days. My Ultra was rated for 36 hours but I regularly got 2 and a half days with AOD.

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

I don’t have the dilemma cause I just kept both lol But I don’t really wear my garmin instinct in the winter because it doesn’t fit very well under long sleeves. As for the data my whoop picks up sleep and naps better and it does a way better job of adding a workout after the fact if you forgot to start a workout. My garmin data is off if I forget to start it before.

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.