5.0 out of 5 stars Rugged, packed with features, and unbeatable battery life!!!

D.D.J. · December 27, 2023

I'm extremely happy with this watch. I have had 3 watches prior to this that could be considered smartwatches. I had one of the early Pebble watches, which I really liked. It was simple, could run a few apps at a time, but importantly it was reliable, and the battery lasted for about a week. Then I had one of the Fitbit smartwatches. I had not had good luck with Fitbits, between my wife and I, we had already had 4 or 5 various Fitbits fail on us; but we enjoyed the fitness challenges with friends. The Fitbits were lasting a few days at most between charges. The Fitbit smartwatch that I had lasted maybe a year before it broke, and the battery life seemed to be declining as well. We tried Samsung Galaxy smartwatches next, and while those had the most capability in terms of features of anything so far, they only lasted about 2 days on a charge, and after a year, only about a day. My wife's Galaxy failed in less than a year, and I was worried about mine, it didn't seem like it was really intended for rugged use. I decided to go over to Garmin, and I have not regretted it. This watch is built like a tank, the battery life lasts for 3 weeks or more, even without any solar charging. It doesn't have the touchscreen functionality, but I find I don't miss that at all. If anything, I think I prefer using the hard buttons on the side, as my big fingers had a real problem with accuracy on the Samsung smartwatch. I have used Garmin products for a long time as an outdoorsman and aviator, as well as in the military; and this watch upholds the sterling reputation for quality and reliability that I expect from the company.

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite smartwatch BUT...

B. · April 30, 2023

>>Update: 12/11/23 after having the watch 16 monthsSooo, when it comes to ruggedness, the watch held up for 16 months of hard 24/7 use… ONLY with a constant screen protector (see my original review below). I found the screen protector absolutely necessary to protect the hard (brittle) crystal face. I had to replace the screen protector about 8 times during those 16 months and, even so, most of the time it was cracked. I would wait until there were 3 or 4 cracks to replace it. However, with the screen protector in place the watch DID hold up to my abusive daily life.Even the band held up better than I expected. It is a soft silicone so, while that makes it exceptionally comfortable, it did get cut up a bit. The 15 month mark was where I finally ordered a 4 pack of replacement straps because I was concerned that the cuts would open up soon and the band would fail. A pretty respectable performance for a soft, comfortable strap but a fair bit shortlived compared to the tougher Casio bands which take 2-4 years of abuse and are not uncomfortable in the least to me.And, finally, at 16 months the battery is failing. The watch will shut off 3-6 times per day no matter where the charge is from 40%-100%. To make absolutely sure it didn’t have anything to do with button presses I took it off and left it sitting on an end table. The battery is toast after 16 months. That’s considerably shorter than the lifespan of a cell phone battery, shorter than a REPLACEABLE watch button battery and far far shorter than a Casio solar watch battery. Again, that’s with very few O2 readings (<10), no ‘activity session’ tracking, less than 50 “flashlight” uses of less than 1 minute each and only a few GPS uses (literally 3 or 4). That’s far from heavy battery usage and only charging it once every week or two, typically about every week and a half.So, I found the watch to be my absolute favorite smart watch. I found it to be, really, fairly rugged ONLY so long as I keep a screen protector on it. If you are looking for a smart watch and activity tracker, have a rambunctious lifestyle and aren’t concerned about a high def, full color screen this watch/series appears to me to be the front runner on the market. Especially if battery life is of great concern.However, if you are used to your watches holding up for years while taking a heck of a beating and you think this watch could be an equivalent to those watches while entering into the smart watch/tracker market you should take a beat to consider it further. I would suggest those most active and hardest on their watches factor in screen protectors and the need to replace them CONSTANTLY or live most of your life with cracked screen protectors on your watch. Also, even then, don’t expect 3 or 4 years out of it. In my experience, don’t expect 2 years or even 1.5.For the price tag on this watch I could easily get 10-20 years of use out of multiple Casio solar or the cheapest G-shock watches. So, I have to ask myself, is this watch worth it? I would say, personally, that it was worth it once. I received some insights into overheating/heatstroke, improving my sleep patterns and managing my daily stamina through my own observations of the data (the Garmin “insights” never gave me any new and useful info). This was only possible because, unlike with other watches/trackers, it was tracking what I needed constantly 24/7/365 and I only lost the time it was charging once every couple of weeks while I was sitting in the living room watching TV.I appreciated the watch and the insights from it and I don’t regret it but I’m not willing to replace it every 16 months, deal with constant screen protector cracks and replacements and I sure did miss my analog watch hands. I’m going back to my Casio tough solar, G-Shock and Pro Trek watches.>>Original reviewI’m a “watch guy”. I probably have about (embarrassingly) 2 dozen watches and I’ve worn a watch, basically, 24/7/365 since I was about 9 years old. I have tried about 4 smart watches and a few fitness trackers over the years before the Garmin Instinct Solar and it’s my favorite that I’ve tried by a lot, BUT…I’ve had a smartphone since the original iPhone. I use it all day every day for tons of different things and, being a watch guy, I thought fitness trackers and smartwatches were a logical progression. That’s why I’ve tried so many but they were always disappointing for numerous reasons.The first is battery life. I charge my phone often. I take it out of my pocket and plug it up or put it on a MagSafe charger. It’s charging while I’m using the GPS to drive to my next service call. But I can’t abide taking my watch off to charge it up every night. Even once a week is a stretch. I’ve been wearing a watch 24/7/365 for almost my entire life and going out of my way to take the watch off and charge it is… irritating to say the least. The Solar Instinct lasts about 20-30 days between charges. That’s with constant activity and heart rate tracking, no O2 tracking at night and not using GPS. That is fantastic!The second issue is annoying alerts. As a rabid smartphone user, I thought I would prefer the convenience of seeing calls, texts and notifications at a glance on my wrist. I was so wrong. I’m perfectly satisfied with notifications on my phone. I use my discernment to decide when to check notifications on my phone and they don't get unnecessarily intrusive. Smartwatch notifications on the other hand are extremely invasive. Having my wrist blow up on me is extremely irritating. It's distracting and costs me time by breaking my concentration on whatever task or thought I'm engaged in and the fact that it can't be easily ignored is no small matter. I have my Solar Instinct set up for no notifications which I greatly prefer.The third consideration would be the features. The ability to control your music or engage your phone’s camera with your watch is fine but those types of things (or, obviously, phone notifications) don't concern me. What I love about the Solar Instinct is the customization to display many pieces of information that I value, by default, on the face and the ability to track my heart rate 24/7, my sleep, my general activity and GPS without a huge battery life cost or a phone connection. What I really like is that it also has good watch functionality, i.e. stopwatch, timer, alarm, etc. What I find useful on occasion is the O2 monitor and the ability to use it as a little flashlight in a pinch.The final consideration which may be the one most pertinent for me is ruggedness. You see, in the HVAC trade, I work with my hands for a living. I'm also a red-blooded American. In addition to the physical nature of my job I frequently do yard work and find occasion to cut down/up trees, split wood, build things, work on things and engage in maintenance on vehicles and my home and, as established, I wear a watch at all times which includes when engaging in these activities as well as showering and swimming. I have destroyed many watches, particularly the ones I’ve worn while working.When I first got my Instinct Solar I was babying it because, well, my experience has been that smartwatches and activity trackers are FAR from rugged and robust. I didn't wear it at work. I would swap it out with my work watch when I got home & swap them back before I left in the morning. I wanted it to last and, to start, I sacrificed tracking during the majority of my activity (while at work) for the sake of protecting the watch and longevity.Finally, after a few weeks, I wore the watch while doing yard work on the weekend. THE FIRST TIME I wore it while weed-eating the screen got busted. Now, I'm sure the reason this happened is that they used a nice, hard, highly scratch-resistant crystal for the watch BUT this is a real problem. I didn't expect that it would be too much to ask of a “robust” watch that’s “mil-spec” rated to be able to wear it while doing basic yard work. You know, a period where you might want to track your heart rate and activity. What's more, of the hundreds of times I've done yard work and used a weed-eater, always while wearing a watch, NOT ONCE has it ever significantly damaged a watch. Until that is, the first time I did it wearing my Instinct Solar.I replaced that watch and disappointedly decided I'll just have to use screen protectors from now on. The new Instinct Solar took a dive after just a few weeks. It began an endless bootup loop. It would boot up and crash and boot up again endlessly. I tried charging it, letting it die and doing a hard boot. Nothing worked.Tech support had me, of course, do another hard boot because that's what they do to people who take the time to troubleshoot their own issues. They have you repeat the steps you've already taken. After that they had me send them a video of what the watch was doing and they promptly sent me a replacement. They did make it right.By this point, I decided I'm done babying it. I keep a screen protector on it and I may remove the watch to shove my hand/arm in a tight spot at work but I wear it 24/7 now. It is what it is. If this watch can't handle normal life so it can track my heart rate and activity then so be it. I have plenty of “normal” watches I can revert to in that event (which are a fraction of the cost by the way). If that occurs I suppose I'll just forget about smartwatches until someone finally comes out with one that at least has the capabilities of the Instinct Solar and is truly rugged.As a side note, we are now back to warm weather and I have worn it while weed-eating twice. That resulted in cracking and replacing the screen protectors for the first two times. So, the tally is weed-eating three times resulting in one broken watch and two broken screen protectors. I'm also not fond of the proprietary watch band attachment that prevents the use of a regular band like 99% of other watches use. At this point, however, I'm not sure this will even become an issue. I don't see the watch lasting long enough to require a band replacement but we’ll see.As much as I like the Instict Solar it just doesn't seem to be resilient enough to hold up to my normal life. It may be absolutely great for someone who lives in an apartment, works at a desk or a counter and whose physical activity consists of working out at the gym or running or swimming or biking. If, on the other hand, you have a rough-and-tumble kind of life you should think twice about spending the scratch on this watch if your plan is to wear it 24/7. It certainly seems tougher than 99% of smart watches but it can't hold a candle to the beating a $30-$40 Casio “tough solar” can take, much less a G-Shock.

5.0 out of 5 stars A great product at a steal of a price

m. · December 23, 2019

I've owned numerous Garmin GPS exercise watches for running, biking, hiking, etc. over the past 20-or-so years. This is by far my favorite after about 4 weeks of intensuive use. I'm an old, old, old runner/climber who still trains on a daily basis. I don't need professional grade performance monitoring, but I still appreciate relatively accurate and consistent data feedback. Relative simplicity of use is really important to me (I hate standing around by the side of the road endlessly dicking with my watch -- see Suunto sports watches). This watch is essentially perfect for my needs and my level of training. It falls nicely in between the Fenix/Tactix (too high end, too expensive) and the Forerunner 35 (a really good, really simple, and reliable intro running watch). I have been particularly impressed with the improved battery life and recharging times with this watch. They are almost unbelievable! This extended battery life means that I can actually treat the Instinct as a 24-hour mostly everyday watch. Given my usage rates (2-3 hrs. of daily GPS, 5-6 times a week) I can recharge the bugger during the time it takes for a leisurely shower. This means I can now actually take advantage of the sleep data that the watch is capabe of collecting. Also, the Garmin Connect phone app works well for me. All the other routine exercise monitoring functions are there and they all appear to work as advertised, plus I have ABC functions (goodbye Casio Pro Trek) and Sunrise/Sunset and Moonrise/Moonset data (a climber's, backcountry skier's and hiker's delight). The only potential drawback I've found to this watch is the fact that it is a complex instrument and requires that you spend a reasonable amount of time learning how to use it. You have to learn to work with multiple levels of menus, not all of which may seem intuitively well-organized TO YOU. However, give it a little time, be patient, and use the internet, and all good things will come forth. Finally, this watch (complex instrument) at $200 is like stealing from the Garmin company. At that price, it's one of the world's great loss leaders. So, in conclusion, I sort of like the watch.

Garmin Instinct Petrol erfüllt Erwartungen

S.G. · June 9, 2022

Die Uhr hat meine Erwartungen voll erfüllt. Pulsmessung erfolgt relativ genau und zuverlässig. Der Höhenmesser hat ab und an mal Ausreisser, ist aber ansonsten auf 5 bis 6 Meter genau. Der Schrittzähler ist im Vergleich zu einer Samsung Smart Watch genauer. Das Mitteilungscenter für Anrufe und Nachrichten zeigt das mit einem kurzen Vibrieren und auf dem Display an. Wasserdichtigkeit ist auch beim Schwimmen im Meer zu 100% gegeben. die App nutze ich zwar kaum, aber auch diese funktionoert bisher fehlerfrei und die jeweiligen Trainingsziele werden zuverlässig ausgewertet. Material und Farbe sind sehr ansprechend. Keine Gerüche und hochwertige Verarbeitung. Gut gelöst ist die Arretierung an der zweiten Armbandschlaufe. So bleibt diese am Platz. Ohne GPS läuft die Uhr bei mir bis zu 2 Wochen ohne Laden. Die enorm vielen Einstellungen können einen schon mal verwirren, aber letztendlich fuchst man sich doch rein. Wenn mal versehentlich ein Knopf gedrückt wird kann das allerdings zu Konfusion im Display führen. Dann ist Anleitung lesen angesagt. Oder sich vorher mit allen Darstellungsarten befassen. Das habe ich leider noch nicht geschafft. Ich empfehle die Uhr zumindest denen, die eine robuste, hochwertige und hübsche Sportwatch mit allen für den Alltag wünschenswerten Funktionen haben wollen. Vorosrglich habe ich ein Panzerglas angebracht. Für mich ist der höhere Preis zur Konkurrenz auch gerechtfertigt. Daumen hoch...

All round fitness tracker, great value for money, not ideal as a smart watch

S. · October 17, 2020

EDIT: After a year of usage, I have absolutely no complaints. There is a minor issue, the sync with iPhone is a bit flawed, you have to connect, disconnect and then reconnect to sync successfully but this is a small flaw, you have to press a button twice, that is all. For me, the watch lasts a week before I have to charge (even after a year) which is good. I keep bumping the watch on hard objects and the watch is built sturdily. The edges of the watch screen tend to accumulate dust which I have to wash daily. Otherwise, this watch is a gem. Highly recommend.I am writing this review after 4 months of usage. I bought this watch for 21,840 ₹, the price in India right now would have increased because of higher tariffs.I use this watch primarily to track my runs/jogs. The watch is capable of tracking a coterie of activities like running, swimming, cycling, rafting etc. It gives you information on how much time was spent on the activities, calories burnt & the distance covered. It also has a real time heart rate monitor. I cannot speak of its accuracy as I haven't had a benchmark to compare it with. The watch also tracks your sleep. The watch also looks sporty and fashionable, if you dig that sort of thing. I got it in Seafoam rubber blue.The watch is supposed to be used in conjunction with the Garmin Connect app on your Android/iPhone. The app is easy to use and provides a lot of detailed stats that would be of interest to you, sleep time, stress levels etc. Again, the accuracy is difficult to ascertain as I don't have a baseline. You are supposed to connect the watch with the app via Bluetooth and it works flawlessly everytime and takes a minute to sync a days worth of data. The more activities you have, the more time it takes to sync.It's made out of a material which is sweat resistant unlike leather. You do need to wash the watch after a workout to remove the sweat. The watch is waterproof up to a certain depth and I wash it daily with tap water and have faced zero issues.I did face an issue wherein I had to factory reset the watch once because the watch screen was constantly changing. In my four months of usage that only happened once so it didn't bother me that much.I have hit the watch accidentally on hard surfaces quite a few times and the watch is built like a tank, so no damage at all.I only have to charge the watch once a week and it lasts for that duration easily. I use it for 1.5 hours to track activities everyday. I presume most of the battery is expended because of GPS usage.I don't use this watch as a smart watch and I don't think it is meant for that. Although you can keep it synced to your phone, I choose not to do that because of privacy concerns.Overall, I higly recommend this watch as a full fledged activity tracker. I wouldn't recommend this if you are looking for a smart watch although it could be used as one.

Slechte GPS, slechte hoogtemeting

H. · October 4, 2023

Een GPS horloge dat totaal niet geschikt is waarvoor het bedoeld is nl. een outdoorwatch. Zowel de GPS als de hoogtemeting zijn ronduit slecht! Hartslagmeting aan de pols is tijdens inspanning ook slecht, maar het horloge is verder wel als fitness tracker te gebruiken.

Muy versátil y practico

D.L.S. · January 20, 2022

Es un reloj muy bueno para iniciar con las actividades multi deporte. No es tan especifico para triatlón para no es continuo el cronometrare ni el cambio es automático entre una disciplina y otra. Sin embargo, puedes programar todo lo que gustes hacer de manera individual y registrar y exportar los datos almacenados tanto a la app de garmin como a Strava sin mayores complicaciones. Es ligero, versátil, da fácil uso, y hasta ahora cumple con todas mis expectativas. Ideal para la gente que quiere iniciar en muchas actividades tanto indoors como outdoors.Lo recomiendo mucho.

Plus je l'utilise et plus je l'adore ♥

H.P. · November 5, 2022

Peu importe l'usage que vous souhaitez faire avec une montre intelligente, cette montre peut tout faire.La montre est pas fait cheap, le design est superbe et elle est confortable à porter. Pas encombrante ou lourde sur votre poignet.Il y a tellement de réglages et de possibilités avec cette montre que c'en est impressionnant. Et pour ceux et celles qui ont commenté comme quoi elle est compliquée pour rien, je leur répond ceci; Prenez le temps de lire votre guide et vous allez vite comprendre comment ''jouer'' avec et comment la mettre à votre goût avec les réglages que vous aimez et en moins de 2 semaines, vous allez vous en servir les 2 yeux fermés! Les gens veulent toute tout cuit et tout de suite et sans efforts de nos jours.À ce prix-là, cette montre vous offre une panoplie de réglages et gadgets, il est donc normal que prenne plus que 30 minutes pour voir et comprendre tout ce qu'elle peut accomplir. Personnellement, cette montre est le meilleur investissement pour ma santé et un excellent outil motivateur !Ça ne fait pas 5 jours que je l'utilise pour écrire tout ceci. Je l'utilise chaque depuis Juillet 2022 et j'ai zéro regret de mon achat, au contraire, plus je l'utilise et plus je l'adore. Le GPS est sur la coche !Y a pas de comparaison à faire avec les autres montres plus bas de gamme et plus ''à la mode'' à 200-300$ genre Fitbit Versa ou autres.Overall 6 étoiles sur 5 !