Garmin - Instinct 3 Series

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.

Yes, the 3 should do everything the 2 does. I had the original instinct and upgraded to the 2. Went from less than a weeks battery life in only smartwatch mode and no GPS use to 3/4+ weeks. That's the biggest upgrade IMO. Features are largely the same between the 1 and 2. One of the biggest Instinct 3 upgrades is the AMOLED screen option. That will actually eat your battery faster than the instinct 2. If you're going for battery life and don't care for AMOLED screen, get the non-AMOLED and solar version for the same or potentially better battery life because apparently they also upgraded the solar efficiency on the 3.

My fully charged Instinct, after a 5 hour hike, would go from 28 days to 24 days of battery left. My Venu3 would go from 100% to 75%, so no, I would be fine without a charger over the weekend. Your AWU wouldn't be.

if he is working a lot in the rain, get him something with more than 2 buttons so he would be able to use the watch using only the buttons (without the touchsreen) if he needs to, something like a forerunner, or instinct (doesnt have a touch screen) or a fenix (but a fenix is one of the more expensive ones)

All true except advanced metrics. They are also present in Fenix (it has even more features for hiking) and Instinct. Forerunner is not more advanced. The rugedness is mostly about the bezel. In fenix and instinct it has a rim which gives extra protection to the screen. But that means rugged watches are more bulky what can be a problem in the gym. The real question is lightness of forerunner vs battery life of fenix /instinct

Had AW 6, 7, 10... Had Garmin Fenix 7 somewhere between AW... Now with Garmin instinct 3. ALl has pros and cons. none is perfect. For me it's great to switch from time to time... I would happily do the same between iphone and android, but the cost of switch in terms of software is crazy...

Instinct 2/3 are probably the best bang for Buck when it comes to solid long lasting hiking watches.

It's not really that great news, older models with more than 500 or so recharge cycles (2-3 year olds) have crap battery life, and ultimately every Garmin will have such poor battery life it's not worth it. I bought a used instinct a few years back and while the watch was in good shape , the battery barely made it through a couple of days ...and since these batteries are non replaceable it virtually means your watch is disposable.

Instinct 3 amo Getting 10 days with always on display, always connected to phone for weather.

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

https://forums.garmin.com/outdoor-recreation/outdoor-recreation/f/instinct-3/404601/instinct-2-45mm-solar-vs-instinct-3-45mm-battery-life It is not the only place that has done tests, and found it worse or just the same. The YouTube "reviewers" only state the Garmin spec and don't actually test it. Probably because they want to keep getting watches to review. Perhaps it has been fixed with firmware, but I find it interesting that you can't find anyone showing how much it has improved the battery life. If it really was that much more people would be talking about how it is improved. That has not happened.

My OG Instinct had body battery. That watch launched in 2018. I'd be shocked if all the new ones didn't have it.