Garmin Instinct Solar Tactical, Solar-powered Rugged Outdoor Smartwatch with Tactical Features, Built-in Sports Apps and Health Monitoring, Black

10 reviews for Garmin Instinct Solar Tactical, Solar-powered Rugged Outdoor Smartwatch with Tactical Features, Built-in Sports Apps and Health Monitoring, Black

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Jay – April 10, 2024

   This is everything i wanted in a smart watch. it does enough, it doesent do swirly graphics, funky noises, call long lost aunt aggy or calculate your weight on mars.What it does do, firstly the surf version i bought in the white/marine blue looks awesome. I wanted something other than the generic black watch, got one of those. This ticks that box perfectly. Garmin has as much clout as samsung and apple in this badge snobbery universe. But i think it has a little extra here and above all, its still a watch. Not a phone extension, a genuine use on the wrist tell the time watch.Other reviewers bemoan the apps you have to download to use it. Maybe im different but it makes sense to me, connect to use the watch with your phone, connect iq (effectively garmins wearable app store) for the tide app i needed finishing with the navigation app. I dont see issues with any of them. Seems logical to me, they are nicely self contained, easy to use (basic to some i suppose) but does what it says on the tin.Actually using the watch, like i said its a watch, just has more functions. None of that silly swipe business that used to send my old huwawei into palpitations when it rained. Its all button based and a good thing too. The buttons are logical and only needs a day or 2 to be very comfortable with what does what. Anybody who has used one of the function loaded casio G shocks will be very comfortable. Its not as butch as a g shock but is still not a shy flower. Doesent catch on your cufs and the strap is really comfortable. Things like weather, position, compass, mapping, storm warning, blood gas, pulse, exercise it just never ends. How they got it all in i don’t know.All the functions do take a bit of figuring out and to be honest the manual is, no other word for it crap, it is very much a quick start guide. If you buy one, set yourself down in front of the lap top with a coffee and use the online manual on the garmin website to go through everything. The vibrating alert seems a bit too much at first, especially if you get several alerts at once but when you think on it, if your diving/surfing/biking it prob needs to be a little heavy handed to get your attention and you can turn it off.The icing on the cake, the simply ridiculous battery life. Mine is a solar and it would appear if you spend a reasonable time outside without pushing the watch too hard you might charge it once or twice a MONTH. I have had mine 3 days now and obviously have been like a kid with a new toy. Worn it 24hrs a day and its just dropped off of full on the battery indicator. The others need to listen to this.The screen looks blocky compared to an apple watch but it has a no business look i feel. The screen is a black and white pixel screen. Like the kindle screens, prob why the battery lasts so long. Perfectly suits the needs of the watch.Ultimately i love it, i was not intending to use even half the functions, thinking most to be gimmicks like the huwawei. For the most part i bought it for its looks and the little boy inside loves the gadgets. Now i have it, those gadgets are actually real useable functions not remotely gimmicks and i will be using them.10/10(Just to add)After owning the watch for several months now the only negative is you need to wash the watch regularly as its white.On holiday in kos, I left the UK with 28 days charge. 5 days into the holiday I had 41 days. Love this watch.

2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Mick DunnMick Dunn – April 10, 2024

   I bought this watch in Dec 2020, so it’s had 2 years and 4 months of everyday use! I’ve wated a good length of time to review it to hopefully give you a good idea of how robust the watch is etc. Not after a weeks use!!I use the watch everyday without fail and pretty much wear it 24/7 unless I’m charging it! Mainly I’ll record hikes, including mountain hikes and the odd bike ride, so this is when I’ll record the activity via the built in GPS, then download the activity to the Garmin app and Komoot.I used the watch to record hiking activities extensively last year whilst travelling in our campervan, spending 3 months in France, 3 months back in the UK, then 3 months in Spain. So what I’m saying is that the watch is used a lot.The battery life is fantastic, not using the GPS, I’ve had a couple of weeks out of it with battery power left over, I think I’d get up to 3 weeks. When the GPS is activated it will last all day, I believe up to 16 hours. I’ve spent all day on mountains in the UK, Spain and France and there’s always been plenty of life left in the battery once the activity has ended.The watch is not bad to look at and is very clear and simple to use, it also sits nice on the wrist and is very light.The only gripe I have is the fact you can’t see the steps on the face during a recorded activity, it just means you have to wait until you’ve finished.Overall I love the watch, it’s been totally reliable and the best Garmin I’ve had by far. I would definitely buy another.

3. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   99reg99 – April 10, 2024

   I have had this watch for about a month and so far Pleased with it.The size of it is quite chunky but it does a lot.Watch display shows time, date, battery remaining power and sunrise and sunset times.Most of the features of the App appear on the watch and this is customisable. The App has a few additional features such as hydration which is helpful to allow you to record your intake and importantly not forget how much you have had.Heart rate monitoring is good and accurate from what I have seen.Body battery I am not so sure about, just had 7.5hrs sleep but my body battery only went up +4.Stress levels is a nice feature which could help to determine what you do that causes stress throughout the day.Intensity minutes records your activity and gives you a goal each day / week. I find this useful and motivating.Step counter is good and I have found it to be pretty reliable.Sleep monitor gives you a view of your sleep pattern light, deep, REM and awake.You also get detailed views of today, yesterday and the last 7 days. You can then select an option to view up to 4 weeks of detail.Overall I think this watch / tracker / monitor is very good for the price. The fact it has GPS and will track your routes on a map is probably the best feature for me.Update as of Jan 2024 – battery life is still good. I get about 11 days use on one charge.My only issue with it is for daylight savings and travelling abroad. I have found it quite difficult to adjust the main clock and GPS setting the time has at times take a very long time.

4. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Liam CottonLiam Cotton – April 10, 2024

   Previously had fitbit watches but got this when the last one broke. This watch seems to be durable and simple to use. It took a bit of getting used to using to in understanding how to work the watch. It’s comfortable and has plenty of adjustment. The GPS appears to be pretty accurate and others sy the heartbeat monitor is pretty accurate for a watch.However the strap on the watch isn’t that long and may be a bit of an issue for some people. The units for the app and watch are either metric or imperial, meaning you can’t have distance as kilometres and weight in pounds.Overall the watch is great value for money and I look forward to using garmin products instead of fitbit from now on.

5. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Have a good day – April 10, 2024

   I already have a fancy time piece or two, what i needed was a strong, accurate and durable watch to exercise in and be fairly accurate at recording my heart rate.- hr – it’s not a chest strap, but 95% of the time is 5 bpm within a manual reading during exercise so I can’t fault it. Use it during HITT, weights and general cardio, as well as football 5 a side.- build – seems super durable which was essential given how clumsy i am. Banged it, dropped it, kids claw at it, not so much as a scratch. Built like one of those old army nokia phones that were indestructible. Couple of people have iphone watches and the screens on them are always breaking at the slightest of knocks or drops!- features – loads. I don’t use them all but its nice knowing they’re there if needed- smart watch? – if your priority is exercise then this is the one for you. If you want to use it to ring, view texts etc don’t even bother.- app – seems ok, gets the info i want. Can it do more? I’ve no idea, does what i need it to (show hr over a session, on a graph etc, keeps track of days trained on a calander).- Battery – took this on holiday with me, went to the beach etc and all was fine. It had 16 days on it (battery saver mode on), a week later it still had 16 days as it had been charging via the solar panels. Probably had 2/3 hours of sun on it maximum a day but probably didn’t even need that. I only use the hr and features when training, otherwise i just use it as a everyday sturdy watch.There’s probably loads more you can do on this watch that I’ve not even looked at, i wanted a watch for training and something that wasn’t going to break when I’m out with the family etc. Love the watch and it hasn’t disappointed. I did look at another model that was double the price, glad i bought this one instead!Charging point is odd though, why not usb c? Only flaw i can think of reallyUpdate : i now use the gps for cycling which seems accurate and useful.Hr can give inaccurate results if the strap is too loose, something to be mindful of. Tighten it up slightly and it’s good to go

6. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   The Peakster – April 10, 2024

   I owned a Garmin Edge bike computer for years chiefly for its all-day battery life and had deferred investing in a watch because I didn’t want the faff of recharging every evening. Having taken the plunge with the Garmin Instinct Solar I couldn’t be more happy with it because it’s neat and stylish on the wrist and the battery normally lasts around 20 days between charges. It is so convenient and accurate I’ve just sold by clunky old Garmin Edge and use the Instinct all the time. It syncs automatically via bluetooth with my iPhone and uploads all the data to the Garmin Connect app which in turn uploads to my Strava account as well.To be fair, I don’t leave the night sleep monitor on nor do I use the blood oxygen analysis – I mainly just use it to record distance, effort and heart-rate on cycle rides and walks. The GPS function is only active when I’m cycling or doing a new walk. I’m therefore only using about 20% of the watch’s facilities but I also use it for telling the time! (There is a guy on YouTube who makes dozens of very concise and instructive videos on this specific watch so if you want to explore all the bells and whistles please check him out).This watch looks and feels cool and stylish without verging into Startrek transponder territory. I’m very pleased with this purchase.

7. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Leonie – April 10, 2024

   WOULD RECOMMEND!My partner got it for himself and has never taken it off! He says it’s great, comfortable and lasts forever. It’s easy to adjust the size and looks great with any outfit.

8. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   BJM – April 10, 2024

   I had a Fitbit Versa which was fine but this is much better with allot more functionality

9. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Paul – April 10, 2024

   It’s what I wanted for some time, simple, easy and good quality.

10. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Istvan Varga – April 10, 2024

    ok