Garmin instinct 2 or instinct 2 solar.
You don't need instinct 3. 2 is cheaper than 3.
It has GPS to track run distance and pace and heart rate. But it does sometimes go into cadence lock as wrist heart rate does. Might do good to spend on a Garmin HR monitor.
Battery life is like 1-2 weeks if you're running daily using the GPS function for about an hour.
Are the higher models cooler? Yeah. Are the additional features worth 500-1000 more dollars? I personally don't think so.
I have had the Instinct 1 and 2 solar because of the bezel which protects the screen better in crashes. I haven't looked at the Instinct 3.
Just a warning, I had gotten a new Instinct 1 when the 2s came out. There was a software upgrade that seemed to basically kill my newish Instinct 1. I'm going to tinfoil hat based on this experience and suggest Garmin did this intentionally to drive sales to the new model. My point is that if you see a new Instinct 2 for a good price, be wary. Yes, I know this sounds paranoid. It's just based on my experience.
Just buy last gen's Fenix. I bought an Epix Pro earlier this month for $549, same price as the Venu 4. There have been sales for the Fenix 7X/Pro as low as $450 this year.
The Instinct 2 Solar is my daily, I forget that I'm even wearing it with the light weight and not needing to charge. It feels like a normal watch and I always know the time because of the always-on MIP screen which is more readable than a G Shock and doesn't require a gesture to wake. The Epix is for hikes due to the maps.
I think the cheapest Casio with MIP is the GBD200 at around $165. I bought my Instinct 2 Solar around $190 during Black Friday sales and it adds solar on top of the GDB200.
Definitely keep the Fenix 6X. My wife is still using a 6S and happy with it, I'm using an Instinct with a 7X for hiking.
Apple Watch is just way too distracting. The biggest problem isn't even the horrible battery life and having to charge every day, it's the feeling of being a complete slave to your phone.
Having a phone on your wrist just isn't good for your mental health with all the constant buzzing and notifications. It creates so much stress. Sure you can turn off most of the notifications but at that point you're just using a worse Garmin.
I’m pretty sure the Instinct 2 and 3 both use the same sensors and, internally, are quite similar. I bought a base model 45mm Instinct 2 at the tail end of 2024 to replace my AW6. Great move. I’ve been trying many Garmin MIP watches since but keep switching between the Instinct 2 and a Quatix 7 I snagged on sale.
The base Instinct 2 is a great and affordable introduction to Garmin. It often goes on sale for under $300CDN and is easily available at big box store, so you could try one new and return it if it isn’t your thing. (I’d bet you will keep it.)
The updated look (orange) and flashlight are the biggest changes with the 3, as far as I recall.. And OLED, if that’s of interest to you. Getting away from an OLED screen was one of the draws to the Instinct line for me.
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