Instinct 2, Rugged Outdoor Watch with GPS, Built for All Elements, Multi-GNSS Support, Tracback Routing and More, Graphite - 010-02626-10

The Instict series sites essentially at the bottom of Garmin's smartwatch lineup. It's a monochrome screen, controls are via buttons rather than touch, and it's not a mini-phone for your wrist. That said, I'm really not sure any of those are a bad thing, and in some cases, for the better. The monochrome LCD screen is easy to read in bright sunlight, something that can't always be said for color TFT touchscreens (or the brightness has to be maxed, zapping the battery in a hurry). It also has battery life measured in weeks, not hours. It's also "always on", so you don't need to waggle your wrist or tap it to wake the screen up to check the time. I've never been a fan of touch interfaces on a watch. Some brands handle it better than others, but given the form factor, you're trying to either poke miniscule icons, or are just going rough swipe gestures- which can too easily be done accidentally. A few dedicated buttons are clear, easy to use, and accidental inputs are quite rare. The Instinct has five- one functions generally as as "OK", one is "Back", two are up/down for menus, and the third generally functions as a menu/options for whatever screen or activity you're on. It's surprisingly intuitive to figure out. GPS accuracy I've found is excellent, and only take a tiny hit when in "max battery GPS" mode, which uses only 1 of the 2 possible antennas and takes location data less frequently. Heart rate data also is quite accurate, and seems minimally affected by moisture/sweat. You also don't have to have the watch strapped on uncomfortably tight to get consistent readings, as I've found with some other devices. As long as it's not totally flopping around, you'll get good readings. It can take Pulse Ox readings as well, although this feature is disabled (on "manual test only") by default as it gives a bit hit to battery life. The companion app I found is easy to use and gives robust data about recorded workouts or activities. It also allows you to configure (most) watch settings, but for some reason a few can only be adjusted on the watch directly. This isn't a big deal, and after initial setup, you won't be needing to touch these much, if ever. That said, unlike a lot of smartwatches, the app or a phone link isn't totally essential. The watch can function entirely on it's own as it has GPS built in (some other watches rely on the GPS in your phone, so away from your phone, they can't do much beside count steps and tell you the time). You can choose to get notifications from your phone on the watch, and being it lacks a speaker or mic can't dictate responses, but you can choose to send a few canned responses like yes/no/can't talk now/I'll get back to you soon, ect without having to stop what you're doing or fish your phone out. There is a separate app- the main one is Garmin Connect, but there is an "app store" called Garmin IQ where you can download extras like mini-apps for different sports or activities not built in, different watch faces, and even some basic games. I didn't find much of interest there, it seems more aimed for their higher-tier watches with more capabilities, but you can sort by what watch you have and it will only show content that's compatible with yours, a nice touch. The watch face has 12 pre-sets to choose from, 6 each in both "dark on light" and reverse "light on dark" patterns. Each preset then be further customized to change what each data field displays from dozens of options. The Instinct 2 does support Garmin Pay for contactless payments, though this does require a link to the phone- and Garmin Pay only supports a couple of the major CC's. I don't use this feature (I very rarely use it on my phone either), to me it's just as fast/easy to pull a wallet out and tap the card, than pull my phone out or tap through a few menus on my watch to pull up a payment. But, it's there if you want it. Also nice is the Instinct line comes in 3 sizes- the "S" 40mm, the standard 45mm, and the "X" 50mm. The S and standard are functionally identical, aside from the standard having a bit larger battery and thus longer life. The X adds a mini flashlight feature, but I carry a EDC light anyway- which is far brighter- and 50mm watches I find a little too chonky for my taste. Some reviews complained about the default band not being hinged, although I think this would only be a concern if your wrists are substantially slimmer or thicker than normal. For the vast majority of people, it will be fine. I find it perfectly comfortable to wear 24/7 and the very fine "notches" give a lot of adjustability to get the fit just right. There are other bands you can get from both Garmin and third parties, including one with hinged pivots. You also get the option of solar, which enables "unlimited" battery life in theory, but in practice, this won't be the case for most people. Garmin makes this claim assuming the watch gets 3 hours of moderate sun exposure a day, and in "smartwatch mode" only, i.e, not using the GPS. The watch does soak up meaningful charge off solar- a 1 hour bike ride on a very bright day I noticed a 3% increase on the battery- which is about how much it does down each day just in smartwatch mode with 24/7 HR monitoring on. So it recouped a day of battery in only about an hour, cool! It does function, but riding a bike has the watch face directly facing up- other activities like walking/running will net much less exposure (you can check a graph of the last 6 hours), and even on a sunny day, only net a trickle of power. 1 hour of GPS usage also takes about a day's worth of standby time, so if you plan to track activities routinely, don't expect a watch you "never" have to charge". Even if you do so seldom or never, unless you consistently spend several hours outdoor every day, chances are you will still need to occasionally charge it. Still- compared to most smartwatches that need charging every couple days, if not every day, the Instinct offers stellar life. Fresh off the charger, mine reports about 30 days of battery. Using the GPS for a few hours a week to track some jogging, I find realistically, I get between 2-3 weeks before the battery is down to 10% or less and it starts asking for the charger. I'm sure the solar contributes to that, but I don't imagine it added more than a day or two. If you don't spend a lot of time outdoors, or live in a location that's overcast- or you wear a jacket a lot- you can probably skip the solar option and save $100. If you live in a sunny climate and spend a decent amount of time outdoors, the solar can help stretch the battery and net you an extra few days before charges. While I don't doubt the "unlimited" claim is technically possible, it would require foregoing most of this watch's main features (GPS) almost entirely, and spending a fair bit of time outdoors on sunny days. It does use a proprietary USB charger cable, which pulls about 0.6 watts while charging (so even the most basic 5w charging brick from an old iPhone, or a USB port on a computer, will charge this just fine). The charging is relatively brisk. A full charge from ~5% to 100% took only about 90 minutes (it seems to gain about 1% charge per min), so if you need a quick top up, just a 10 minute plug in can net you another couple days of battery. All in all, this is a fantastic smartwatch/fitness tracker for people who value simplicity and phenomenal battery life. It doesn't offer the dozens/hundreds of activities to track like some others, and offers only the basics for phone connectivity. It also doesn't cost a thousand dollars. You get three sizes, several special editions that include some specialty capabilities/apps, several colors in each size, and the option of solar or not.

I purchased this watch on a great sale earlier this year to replace a fading Samsung galaxy watch. I have no regrets purchasing this watch after having it for several months. There is a steep learning curve in using this as it is so much different than my galaxy watch. It is not a touch screen and you use physical buttons only. This was annoying at first, but I've gotten use to it and I actually prefer the physical buttons. I didn't realize how many times I would accidentally press something on the touch screen during the day. There are so many functions on this watch. I would recommend watching instructional Youtube videos to help. Initial setup of the watch to your phone isn't great. It took several times and getting the phone app to synch correctly was cumbersome. However, once it was synched I haven't had any issues since. I purchased the non-solar watch due to the price as the solar was still very expensive. The battery life is great. You don't realize how annoying it is to charge your watch every night or keeping track of your watch battery so it doesn't die on you. Carrying charging cords is annoying. It's great to go on vacation and not have to worry about bringing or forgetting your watch charger. I've turned off a lot of battery draining settings on my watch and it says it will get 31 days of battery life. You have to keep in mind though if you use the GPS or anything that uses the GPS this will drain the battery very quickly. I mainly use it for working out, hiking(GPS), receiving text messages, timers/stopwatch. These activities will drain my watch a bit, but I don't have to charge my watch for several weeks. Amazing! Like I said you will have to adjust the settings to get the best efficiency for your watch. There's almost too many things to adjust. The GPS is somewhat accurate. I've been on multiple long hikes at Zion park and Bryce Canyon and it was kind of accurate. My wife has a Apple watch and my two boys have a Garmin Forerunner 55 and 245 and each one of us had different readings. I just assumed my watch was the most accurate, but when I looked up the GPS map on one hike it was all over the place and not that accurate. I'm not sure if that was because we were in a canyon and the GPS signal was too weak. The heart rate monitor and O2 sensor seems accurate. I use the different work out settings on this watch almost daily. It is much more expansive and descriptive on the app than the Samsung Galaxy. There is so much more data given. As a fitness tracker it is so much better than the galaxy or Apple watch. Since you don't have to charge the watch I can take advantage of the sleep tracker. I'm not sure how accurate this is, but its nice to use. The weight of the watch is minimal. I don't think it's heavy for the size of the watch. It's definitely bigger than my old Galaxy watch. I like the big watch face as my eyes are getting old and reading the time is getting more difficult. The watch faces are customizable, which is a surprising feature. There are many choices and you can download new ones thru the Garmin app. I do miss answering calls thru my Galaxy watch. I was able to talk thru my watch on the Galaxy. You can answer calls on the Garmin, but it has no speaker/mic so you need your phone next to you. You can reply to text messages with pre-programed answers. I also miss using my watch to pay at the cashier. The base Instinct 2 watch does not have the Garmin pay option. I have a Samsung phone so if you have a Galaxy watch it will unlock your phone automatically if you are within a certain distance. I didn't realize that I'd miss this feature until I had to unlock my phone every time I picked it up. It is waterproof so you won't have to worry about swimming or getting it wet. Apple and Samsung say their watches are waterproof, but I've heard one too many stories about water issues with these that I would always take my watch off if I got in the water. It's definitely rugged and durable. I already have a lot of scratches and scuffs on the watch and band. I have a screen protector, which is a must. I've had to replace the screen protector, but they are cheap and replaceable. The cost of these smartwatches are too much to risk damaging it. I only wish that the longevity of smart watches was greater. I have an old solar casio G-shock that is almost 20 years old and it's still working. I would definitely recommend this watch to someone who is active and wants something different than Apple/Samsung. I can't see myself ever going back to one of those watches again.

First of all, know what you are getting with this watch. I have had several Garmins, most recently a Forerunner 965, an Apple watch, and a Coros Pace. Here’s what you get with the Instinct 2S: 1. Always-on, MIP display. Not colorful or even bright, but always accessible at a glance without having to flip your wrist. 2. Small size. It is small and lightweight. Will only fit smaller wrists and the display size means only basic metrics can be displayed at all times. I don’t need to see my heart rate, my miles run this week, or my Garmin vo2 max at any given moment. 3. Long battery life. The solar charging works ok, but you’ll get 2 weeks or more if you’re using it regularly. 4. No touchscreen. I don’t want one, I know the Garmin buttons and how to drive one. I bought the watch to track my road and trail running and so I can simply see the time on my wrist when I look. Tired of huge AMOLED displays with a bunch of metrics I can’t read in time before the display shuts off. I don’t even want that much data available at once, I can look on the Connect app and see all I need. Always-on mode for an AMOLED always seems to come with the cost of a rapidly dead battery. You might be different from me. If you want a bright colorful display, touchscreen, and AI training metrics, get a 65 or 70 series Forerunner. If you want an always-on MIP display but also a big watch face with a lot of metrics AND insane battery life, Enduro 3 is the one. If you want a smaller (and cheaper) Enduro 3 with less metrics on the watch face, Coros Apex is worth a look. I think that’s it. The worst this thing will see is a 50k trail run, and it isn’t even getting started when that is complete.

About a year ago I got my first watch, the Instinct 1. I got it for running and biking mainly but also wanted something to track heart rate, steps, etc. It needed to be tough as my hands usually get pretty beat up from my job, working on my car, whatever. Well it was a great watch, awesome for keeping track of my pace during my workouts, and never scratched it somehow. I wore it everyday and I have never wore a watch before buying it. A year passed and I was considering this upgrade, but wasn't sure if it was worth it. Well now that I have it, I can say it is well worth it. I love this watch. Everything about it is improved from the first model. The heartbeat sensor and gps is better which is a big thing for me. Battery life is longer. There is many more options/tracking on it, things I didn't even think i cared about but now having them I'm glad I do. I happened to be messing around with it one day and noticed the golf activity option, which I didn't know it had or how helpful it was on the course haha but I use it everytime I go out now and it's super easy. There is lots of customization for the layout of the watch and what you want tracked as well. Within the Garmin app you can look over everything and change everything about your watch. Overall this was an awesome purchase and I would recommend to anyone that has an active lifestyle that needs something tough and reliable.

Great watch that does everything I need.

Thumbs up

I bought this for running, but it instantly became a classic for everyday life and even at night. The fitness and health insights are valuable, even if they don't qualify as medical knowledge. The device is very rugged and the battery lasts weeks (probably months if I didn't use the GPS for tracking my trail running and mountain biking). I do regret I didn't get the solar version because I'd probably never need to charge it, since I'm outside a lot. There are many cool and useful watch faces for download. The monochrome screen looks traditional in a 1990s way, a bit like the dashboard on an old Mercedes: no-nonsense, every pixel purposefully exploited. I recently got a HEMSUT nylon velcro band and it's a big improvement on the silicone bracelet regarding comfort. The software is highly configurable so there's practically nothing to complain about: everything can be tweaked. For me, the monochrome screen and lack of touchscreen are actually pros, not cons, so it's a no-brainer for me. Think about those two things first, if you're hesitating.

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