Garmin - Instinct® 3 – 50 mm, AMOLED, Tactical Edition

Are you active duty? Check with management first if you will be allowed to wear a smartwatch. Pricey but the Tactix 8 Solar/MIPS version has everything that you need in your list. Personally, I would lose the smart notifications and music requirement, and get the Instinct 3 tactical version. While it doesn't have topo maps, it does have a style of navigation similar to what you see in the Foretrex series where you can see waypoints and have a breadcrumb style line showing where you went.

The display aside, both watches are practically the same for me. Same HR sensor, same GPS capability. Both have a flashlight. Both have a killswitch. Both nightvision mode. If you want the best of the best, Tactix 8 has the advantage of: Scuba Diving capabilities (it has a dive computer), a colored screen that you can view Topo maps on and it has Sapphire glass. Personally, I would go Instinct 3 tactical since its way cheaper and I can easily buy another if I break it doing cool guy shit. If battery life is important to you, make sure you get the MIP version instead of OLED. [https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/1705221/pn/010-02934-50/#specs](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/1705221/pn/010-02934-50/#specs)

I3 tactical for field work/deployment, Tactix for leave.

Instinct 3 tactical or Tactix 8 solar. Tactix will hit all of your list, but the instinct 3 tactical will do most of it.

Instinct 3 solar tactical or Fenix 7x pro is what I use for weight lifting.

I went from AWU2 to Instinct 3 tactical and it’s been working out good for me. It calculates calories burned differently so that takes some time adjusting and getting used to. I work as a firefighter so AWU2 would always call someone when my coat was on so it’s nice to use a watch with health tracking. It’s not so much a “smart” watch other than providing notifications from your watch.

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.

You can look at Instinct 3 tactical. Rugged for your needs and definitely within your budget.

Another vote for the Garmin instinct 3 tactical

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

Ehhh a video review I was watching a guy had compared them Instinct 3 does have significantly better GPS battery according to the same review

You really should go for a rugged Garmin like Instinct or Fenix.

They definitely do, especially Instinct 3 Tactical. If you have more spare cash, look into Tactix 8. Also, you most likely knew by now; stay away from running and lifestyle watches. Forerunner is not tough enough for sports like rock climbing.

Garmin instinct 3 tactical is a great option in my opinion. I'm an 11b though I like how it has all those fitness features. I can pull a grid and elevation within a few seconds if I need to call for fire. It has the new rucking tracker in it. Like running/hiking/biking. But now you can add what weight you have in your ruck for a workout. They have a solar option also and it's decently rugged and not over the top.

I've got thinner wrists and it fits pretty comfy. They might have different sizes. I used to wear watches on the inside of the wrist also. It's basically the same. I charge mine every two weeks if I'm utilizing it a lot.

Okay so for all those asking how I found it and what it’s like etc, I thought I’d share my initial thoughts and conclusions... First off, when I opened it, wow. It is LIGHT. Around 10g lighter than my Instinct 2X Solar, despite the addition of a metal plate in the bezel. This thing is barely noticeable. And that’s a good thing. The 2X Solar was already delightfully light and this just improves that. It’s genuinely a beautiful looking and feeling watch in every way possible, providing the Instinct look is your thing - it very much is mine. After the usual setup stuff, I arrived at the watch face and got to sorting out all of my preferred settings. One thing I noticed is that the firmware it shipped with had some issues; only two watch faces, neither of which I could amend any of the data fields, the Sleep Coach function was not available either on the watch or in GC, and a few other little glitches. I checked for an update via Wi-Fi and the watch said it was up to date, but then I plugged it into Garmin Connect and a new firmware update was waiting, resolving all of the above issues and some other ones I hadn’t noticed yet. So once the initial OS update was done, the watch was working perfectly. I put it through the usual paces; went for a run, did some weight training, went climbing. I’m far from an expert, so I will assume that from an accuracy standpoint everything was as fine as the Elevate 4 sensor can manage (annoyingly, this does not have the Element 5 seen on other newer Garmin watches, despite costing £429 in the UK). One issue I found with strength training was that, if I was doing a workout I had pre-written and uploaded to the watch, after every set, the watch defaulted to the exercise list, rather than the summary rest page. I found this honestly infuriating, as during a rest between sets, seeing the set list is completely useless to me over a rest timer and what the next workout would be. I couldn’t find a way to fix this and, for my workout the next day actually just put my 2X back on to do it in as I couldn’t be bothered having to scroll all the way down my workout list after every single set. Maybe there is a way to switch that off, but I’ve looked and couldn’t see anything. No other Garmin watch does this, to my knowledge (I currently have an Instinct 2X Solar, a 2 Solar and a Fenix 8, none of which do this). So overall, this watch is honestly quite amazing. I love it. Love the subtle design changes, love the AMOLED screen, love that it still has a torch (one caveat on that, however, than I’ve not seen mentioned anywhere else; the torch on the Instinct 3 AMOLED is EVER SO SLIGHTLY DIMMER than that on the 2X. This was disappointing to me as the one on the Fenix is a lot brighter than the 2X, so I expected the 2 to be the same as that or at least the same as the 2X, but having testing it in different situations I can confirm it is a little dimmer). I like the addition of some of the Fenix’s services, like nap detection, Sleep Coach and a few other bits and pieces. It’s also HUGELY faster to stop/start activities and/or access sleep data etc. The main issues I always had with my 2X was how annoyingly sluggish it was at saving/deleting an activity. This is as fast as a Fenix and that’s a huge welcome. There are still a handful of things missing that would have been nice but not essential; Garmin’s Meditation activity is not on this watch whereas it is on most other lines by now and a few more. I’m not 100% set on keeping it yet. While the AMOLED is beautiful and nice to use, part of me does kinda miss the MIP display. Being able to glance at my watch to check the time without moving my wrist is nice, as is a screen not coming on every time I move while I’m watching a movie in dim light. But they’re not the watch’s fault, that’s my own likes and dislikes. As much as I prefer the 5-button layout to touchscreen, being able to touch the screen for some things is handy on watches like the Fenix and Epix, scrolling through graph data etc, so not having that possible on this did get mildly frustrating. Seems off having an AMOLED with no touch capability. Someone in the comments section nailed it when they called this a Forerunner 265 in an Instinct’s body. That’s exactly what this is and that’s why I initially got it. I loved the FR265 but hated how fragile it was, with the screen extending beyond the bezel. Alas, as much as I might like the look of AMOLED screens on watches, I don’t think they’re ultimately for me. From reviews and word of mouth, I see that the MIP on the 3 Solar is a huge improvement in terms of contrast and brightness over the 2X, so I may take a look at that. I’m also toying with the idea of an Enduro 3, though that’s one line of Garmin watches I’ve never ventured into. All in all, if you like Instincts and you like AMOLED screens, this is one of the sexiest watches imaginable. For me, I think I’m just not quite ready to move to AMOLED full time. I hope this helps some of you

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.