let me spare you 15 min of rant he doesn't like the small writing, he does not do well during training because of the UI and he believes he's not in the target market for this watch. the rest is just .. a list of specs and a lot of : yeah.. i guess aa ahggg maybe obviously aghh uuggg aa and aaa mm and aua mma and aa like and .mmma like aaa aonnaa aaa on aa yeah you know is like yeah
I’ve had a couple of Fitbits, a couple of other Garmins, a couple of Apple Watches, this is my favourite one yet. I don’t want the screen to look impressive, I want it to be functional and not require charging every few days. I’ve no complaints at all, I’ve beat the crap out of it and it’s still fine. Friends all seem to love their Apple Watches but I don’t like how often my phone vibrates for irrelevant crap, I don’t need my wrist to do it too!
dude its impossible to have this "unlimited" battery life. it's a commercial announcement impossible to get. can you really direct the watch 3 hours / day to a 50000lux sun? this is the condition to have "unilimited" battery life. in this case it is easiest to plug it on an electrical socket
@@gamez1 lol dude ive literally had unlimited battery life with mine. Just turn it off and it charges even quicker in the sun. Honestly I hardly ever plug it in to charge if you know what your doing.
@@gamez1 im living in thai so my watch can be charged to 100% from zero in 4 hours. So its enough about 40 minutes a day to be "infinite" for me. Amazing watch with infinite battery life. yeah
@@isNo0ne LOL be serious, if you lay it to face it to the sun why not charge it directly with electrical power its even faster to recharge LOL. so sun argument is just useless.
we all have different preferences and thats fine, i used the fenix 7s and the instinct 2 solar and returned the fenix because i love how light and rugged the instinct is used different garmins in the past like the vivoactive 3 and the fenix 5 but this is easy my all time favorite but the garmin lineup is big enough for everyone to be happy if the instinct isnt the right watch for you its fine
Same here. I came from the OG instinct and then ‘upgraded’ to the fenix, but then went back to the Instinct 2 Solar, because the light made it so much easier to wear all day everyday. Where i found the fenix moved around a lot more, felt heavier and just didn’t feel good. The Instinct is such a great watch.
Yup. Fenix/tactix are hard to read in direct sun, more delicate and look like every other smart watch. Instinct has all the same functionalities with a lighter weight, better wearability, more accurate sensors, better readability and honestly looks more impressive.
I’ve been issued and have ran quite a few gps watches. I got the instinct solar as a gift and absolutely love the simplicity and it does what I need it to do. If I want a full blown gps I’ll run my gps maps and other devices. Some of us do man things and don’t sit inside all day making videos.
I have the Instinct1 Solar. It serves my needs just fine for a great price. I don't need the latest and greatest to meet my goals at the moment. To each his own.
I love the high contrast on my Garmin Instinct Solar. I just returned the a Garmin 255s because I thought the screen sucked in comparison. Having color is not worth the loss in visibility and battery life. I wish Garmin would use the mono-chrome screen for all their watches that don't have maps.
From datasheets: 255s - 12 days/26 hrs with GPS, instinct u 28 days & 30hrs with GPS. I think that connecting to the usb every 2 weeks isn't too bad for much better and bigger screen. I have sold my FR945 (MIP) for a new FR965 (amoled) and battery life is very good. two weeks without hasitation. I do not miss my prev watch. I like much bigger, very readable screen, thinner case. I wish it had better watch faces like in epix gen2. Let's be honest - 95% of users aren't serious sportsmen who are in 1 month trip in mountains. For those are bigger models and what is problem do take for trip small powerbank if you use a cheaper model?
Like you said it is a great watch for outdoors but perhaps not the type of watch for people who just work out in the gym or do other urban activities. Monochrome display is readable in bright sunlight and the watch has around 50h of battery life with GPS (so 4 days of hiking). Rugged with big buttons if you use it in fog, gale, wearing gloves. It is great for multi day hikes
Garmin just rolled out a bunch of new features on the instinct 2, so it's a better value now, but I'd still probably go with something like the Forerunner 255. I appreciate that's my choice, though
@@pacemaxpro As James mentioned, for you probably something like Forerunner makes sense as you probably doing most indoor gym/running activities. But for people who are series hikers/trekkers/mountaineers (where battery life / ruggedness is very important) it's the best without burning hole in your pocket for Fenix series. So in conclusion, you are definitely not the target market for this specific watch so good that you realized it early.
I from the phililpines, I run, i bike and i hike, i bought the instinct because of my multi sports and specially in my hiking activity, sometimes you fell from trail, slip trough the muds in trail, bump your wrist to the trees, branches and rocks, and the instinct is perfect for this kind of abuse. Its not perfect for running or biking because the screen is small. But for my Hiking activity it serve it purpose.
I think that's the idea, this watch is for those who want all the features/metrics but don't care to see it on the watch face constantly but rather get home and see it all on their phone while having killer bettery life.
Fair play, but for that it's expensive? If you're going to check our stats on the phone, why have a display in the first place?😄 Imagine having a Garmin band with 2 months battery life! That I'd be interested in
Hilarious that you think people choose the instinct because they cant afford the fenix. I didnt worry about finishing your 'opinion' video after that hot take because it told me all i need to know about you haha
I went from an Instinct 1 Solar to a Fenix 5x and now Im going BACK to an Instinct 2x.... love the MIP display. You can actually read it in damn near any light.
The big upgrades that the Instinct 2 got were training load metrics, cycling power meter support and triathlon mode. It will also get getting HRV & running power. For those reasons the Instinct original is a non starter but the Instinct 2 is a viable choice.
Hey Rob, You're right! My question is - and this is what I wanted the video to get across (clearly failed :D) - why would you get the Instinct 2 over, let's say, the Forerunner 255? If you don't need a rugged watch, you're better off with a different Garmin or even the Pacer Pro. The Instinct 2 is not a bad watch, I just wonder if there is a strong enough business case to choose it over other offerings just because of the supposedly infinite battery life.
@@pacemaxpro I agree for the athletes the Garmin 255 is a much better choice. The Instinct range is more targeted at outdoors & military people. For them it matches their usage better. I think that market is large enough to support the instinct range.
@@pacemaxpro Can i answer your question ? The main reason why i would choose Instinct 2 over FR 255 is the disgusting bezel gap, they're so huge. On the non-solar Fenix 6 series, Garmin had filled the solar gap with the screen itself, not with black ring. But on the newer models (FR 255, 955, Fenix 7) they just cut the corner and filled this area with black which leads a decrease in real screen size.
What a terrible "review". I haven't been so frustrated on a review... Not because i don't want to listen to a negative opinion on a smartwatch but you cant even make up your mind on what to say or making a solid point! At first you said the watch was on the cheap side of the watches on the end of the video you said its not a cheap watch?! You said the text is to small for you to read then u compare it with polar pacer pro which has almost same font size? I am guessing is the monochrome u didn't like or the brightness? Every other review said how many good features they added since the first one and you just said they didnt add much? huh? But the thing that i didnt like the most(other than listening to the constant uuh mm aghh in almost each word and u going back and forth) is the clickbait title, i thought i was going to see something terrible like the sensor stopped working or wasnt working that well after 1 week of usage or at least something... 15 min of an opinion on why you didnt like the smartwatch without giving a good explanation or clear indication on what u didnt like is not a review, you just wasted my time here.
I came to the same conclusion during virtual evaluation of Instinct 2 Solar model. Ended up with Fenix 7 lineup after all (and if not limited availability, that could have been FR955).
I just wish the instinct 2 had mapping that is all that i think is missing tbh. I am also thinking about the fenix 7 but i do like that "tactiical features" (yes i know can just use airplane mode, etc, etc but still) also the unlimited battery life using solar power for instinct 2 i like also tbh hmm
Are you kidding that it's not any better than the original Instinct? Did you use both for more than 3 days? I had the original and returned it. It was so unpolished, clunky software, glitchy metrics and sensors, tons of missing features. Now I have the 2 Solar and love it. Miles better than the original. Much more accurate, much nicer interface, much more intuitive user experience, a ton more metrics, Connect IQ compatibility. There's nothing to compare. It's fine if the 2 Solar is not for you because you like a color screen and need reading glasses. I'm actually kinda worried about needing reading glasses in the future. Maybe by the time the smartphone and smartwatch generation gets old, science will find a way to let us read our devices comfortably. But it's obvious that you just don't like the screen so you didn't bother using both watches enough to get even the most basic idea of how they compare. Not really right to say that in an official review and mislead your viewers.
The watch is fine. I was with Polar since the old Polar Beat days. Glad I switched. Awesome customer service. All of the complaints were personal issues. Not a defect in the watch. Go to another brand or model. Or, get glasses!
The Garmin instinct 2 solar is a watch that was so popular that Garmin released the garmin instinct 2X with up to 100 days battery life and a useful 4 brightness level white + red torch/strobe/beacon as the cherry on top. It isn't for urban lovers of shiny oled colour screens that drain your battery in 1-2 days This is a very capable military spec tool for expeditions , extreme sports and outdoorsmen I wouldn't give up the utility and high visibility always on display of my i2X solar for anything else on the market period!!
Hi, I am struggling to pairing my garmin instict watch with my phone. I have got garmin connect Apps.I tried to fix this problem by phone setting mode on my garmin device. But, when I press the Phone setting mode, it doesn't response at all. I cannot go to pairing mode because it's unresponsive. As a result, it doesn't allow me to fix this problem. Have you got any idea to resolve this problem ? Thanks.
I stop wearing it....because I am to posh for it....that's the message ......this watch(my Garmin instinct solar -usd250 offers a variety of functions at half price more than half .. of Garmin posh me phenix 7 XL
yeah and his air quotes got me off the hook with this video right away. I work 11hrs a day outside and i'm pretty sure I'm getting some sun on me. hahha
Bro i just bought it in version 2s solar and even in running i had no problem with read a screen in full sun.... I pay for this garmin coz need hard watch for millitary duty. When i bought it i know it is monohromatic watch but you got 21 day work on one charging xD So you didnt check what you buy before you buy it ?
Hey great honest review 👍 I have original instinct and find it hard to read small txt. Now trying to decide what my upgrade will be. But I'm upgrading for the wrong reasons. Txt size. Bit of a waste. But like to add love the watch otherwise
I went from the Vantage M to Pacer Pro, and the battery life is abysmal. 4 days with EVERYTHING disabled and 4 hours of GPS and I'm down to 40%. Going for the Instinct 2 now and sew whats what.
My fiancee is using Pacer Pro atm and she hasn't got any issues with the battery. 🤔 Well, it's not mind-blowing, but defo not as bad as yours. Thanks for sharing!
I got the Instinct 2 Solar Surf Edition, it was crap! Compass never worked, tracking was way off, it kept unpairing from mobile devices, and it often failed to track activities like hillwalking, swimming or surfing. Garmin are the worst customer service I've ever had to deal with, after sending countless videos over and over again, being dumped with pages upon pages of instructions, and several ignored emails I finally snapped! It was a hell of a battle to get my money back!
Thanks for the video man ! I'm hesitating since 1 week beetween the forerunner 245 and the Instinct 2 and the screen was my only doubt about the instinct... with your explanations i will go with the 245 even if the triathlon modes on the instinct + the GPS seem a bit better on the instinct !
I wouldn’t buy this product again. At around $400 and it is only 2 years old. At first it was good. In the last few months the watch just started shutting off for no reason (battery levels around 50% or higher). Two days ago the screen switched to what appears to be an administrative screen.
I loved my Garmin Instinct 2 as it is my first smart watch. I prefer longer battery over ips or touchscreen. Also the all-black monochrome looks very pretty. All my friends are in Garmin ecosystem tracking our sport activities like Facebook. Apple is money grab and battery life is questionable. Garmin better for now.
I had kinda similar feelings with the instinct solar. While the screen is theoretically very legible due to the monochrome setup it is still hard to read due to its smaller size.
"WHY I STOPPED WEARING IT AFTER A WEEK"? I am gonna ask you why did you buy at forst place when you read its specifications!!! honestly your video didn't have anything informative, maybe you could have said that why in 20 seconds, the rest is to hang the audience watching your video so you can get more watch time hit!!
Have this dame model and i can say It needs 1h of sunlight to charge 1%, so there is actually no way It can work only on solar as It would take a 100h of direct sunlight to charge fully
It's not intended to be charged 0-100 with the sun. It's intended to be topped up with the sun. And 5% can last a whole day so if you don't have a charger available, put it on the windowsill for 5 hours and you gained a day of use. Power it down while charging in the sun and you'll get more battery gain.
