Garmin Instinct 2X Solar, Rugged GPS Smartwatch, Built-in Flashlight, Solar Charging Capability, Multi-Band GNSS, Graphite

This is the perfect activity watch/smartwatch for me. It can’t call or text from the watch itself, but those are features I rarely used on my Apple Watch anyway. It’ll still show you if you have a text, call, or any other notification but is geared toward being more of a great activity watch than a phone on your wrist.What’s great about this is how jam-packed with features it is. They took a ton of stuff that previously was only available in the fenix and epix watches and brought it to this instinct 2x solar. It has sleep tracking, activity tracking (with customizable screens for each activity), training readiness, heart rate, vo2 max, blood oxygen level, etc. Most apps charge money for the amount of detail this watch and app give you about your day to day and activities, but there’s no subscription on this. It’s all freeAnd it constantly checks heart rate. My old Apple Watch would check periodically but you could never glance down and see what the current hr was without tapping on the icon and waiting. With this watch it constantly is reading heart rate and keeps a graph showing the history (which you can have show on the watch face if you want).The battery is awesome, something like 40 days with how I have mine set up. And the solar charging actually works. I’ve heard that past versions it didn’t help all too much, but this one it really makes a difference. I added 2 days to my battery life from just a few hours in direct sunlight.The only places where this watch is lesser are the display and the navigation. If detailed maps and touch screen/oled screen are important to you, then go with the fenix or epix models. The navigation on this watch can be useful as it includes the trackback feature where it’ll guide you back on the path you came in on, line-of-sight tracking (keeps you on path if you have to go like down in a valley or around an obstacle where you might lose sense of direction), and you can even pre-load courses to follow later. However, it’s a pretty bare-bones navigation map. It has a pointer for your watch and a line showing the path and that’s about it. The epix and fenix watches have nicer displays, color, touchscreen, and more detailed maps which help a lot with navigation but you also sacrifice a significant amount of battery life for those features. And they’re double the price of this one.All in all, I think this is the perfect middle point for a watch. It has all the features from the top of the line ones that I need, along with crazy battery life and a decent price. If you don’t need detailed navigation but want great gps and activity tracking at half the cost of some of those other watches, this is a great option.

I feel like the term “smartwatch” is overused in the industry. All the major players actually strap a “dumb terminal” to your wrist, as most functions can’t be used unless tethered to a phone or the internet. And who wants to charge a watch every day? This simple watch is truly smart, able to perform most functions without internet access or a phone.I feel the only thing offensive about this watch is the price, but you soon forget about the cost of ownership after getting comfortable with the settings which took me about a week to get used to. All the normal functions like health/steps/heart rate are included.* Red light flashlight is perfect for night-time vision and doesn’t strain eyes* If you are fine wearing a watch to bed then it will let you know how recharged you are for the next day* Used flashlight for about an hour or so at max brightness, it drained only half the battery.* Storm alerts are awesome, uses built-in barometer to measure sudden drop in pressure.* Hold Ctrl/Light for 7 seconds to initiate emergency beacon to ICE contacts* SOS beacon light when stranded in the darkThe battery life and solar charging aspects were very surprising, both are not a gimmick. Watch claims 40 days of battery life at full charge and 99 days in battery saver.* Actually using the watch throughout the day (GPS/compass/flashlight) cuts battery to about 2 weeks* Spending time outside in the sun for work/play actually maintains the watch’s charge* Gains about a days charge for two hours outside/driving with watch in direct sunlightMy career is in Wireless Communications and involves using a compass and gps coordinates constantly, and looking in tight dark spaces, and unsure footing/ semi-unsafe environments, climbing mountains, scaling towers, etc. This watch is extremely handy and works off-line for most aspects. It’s the Leatherman of smart watches.

Been wearing it for about a week so far (replaced my Venu 2, figured it was time for an update and wanted something with a little more heft on my wrist). Took some getting used to, but I’ve muddled my way through the buttonology and I’m impressed with it. Battery life is decent thus far and keeps track of my workouts as well as my Venu 2 did. No regrets with this purchase and the price point is pretty decent. Of course you have to remember that you use buttons to manipulate the watch – no touchscreen on this thing, but once you get used to it then the rest is a walk in the park.1/5 Update – Still enjoying the watch and definitely worth the investment. I’m averaging about a 3% daily battery drain, which is excellent in my book. Garmin asserts that battery life is theoretically “unlimted” given three hours of exposure to sunlight every day, but I’ve found that while solar charging may slow the rate of drain to 2% (or even 1% on occasion), the battery on the watch will nonetheless deplete. So I’m plugging the watch in around once every three weeks when it runs down to about a 45% charge. I could easily go another week of course, so bottom line you can comfortably squeeze a full month out of the battery before recharging.

It was time to replace the prior Garmin – and old Forerunner. Battery life was down to about a week – at best. I have a couple solar dress watches that never need a battery, and found this one at a price comparable to the non-solar model. I’m not big on needing to charge ‘every day’ like some of the name brand smartwatches, but am not foolish enough to think a smartwatch can run entirely on solar. It’s been a few months since I started using this, and that translates to a charge a month – usually with a few days left on the counter. Workouts or time spent outdoors add to the surplus. Whether it ever adds a full day to a charge cycle, it at least gives the perception of longer battery life. We have a couple multi-week trips planned for the summer, and will be very happy to leave the (specialized) charge cord at home. I’ll be curious to see how this reacts to the summer when more time in direct sun, but also more activities to track.

I’m the type of person who wants a watch to display the most amount of information, in the most minimalistic way possible. The Garmin Solar Instinct 2X definitely does not disappoint in those two criterias, in fact, it far exceeds any standards I ever had while searching for the right smartwatch to suit my needs. While it lacks touchscreen capabilities or color, the watch is simple to operate, it shows you all the information you need, and it delivers it in a no non-sense kind of way. BONUS: It has a built in flashlight which i now use on a daily basis! If this is one of the top two smartwatches you’re considering purchasing for yourself or a loved one, let this be the last review that tips the scales for you… Get this! You definitely will not be disappointed!💯