GARMIN INSTINCT 2 SOLAR REVIEW | WHY I STOPPED WEARING IT AFTER A WEEK

In this Garmin Instinct 2 Solar review, I recount the story of why I stopped wearing this seemingly okay adventure watch after. a week or so. Should you buy it nevertheless? Watch the video to find out!

\\details
Price – $450/£390 (non-Solar $350/£300) [OG Instinct Solar $400/£270]
Variants – Camo, Tactical, Surf, Dezl
Availability – Available now
Case sizes – 40 and 45 mm (same price)
Weight – 53 g (same as FR955)
Watch case – 45 x 45 x 14.5 mm
Materials – Fibre-reinforced polymer
Display – two-window design; 0.9” x 0.9” (23 x 23 mm), 176 x 176 pixels (active area), monochrome, sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel
OHR – Elevate V4

\\features
Power Glass
UNLIMITED BATTERY LIFE!!!!! Up to 28 days of battery life in smartwatch mode (days with solar), GPS: Up to 30 hours (48 hours with solar)
10 ATM water rating
HIIT workout mode
Rugged design
GOLFING FEATURES!
Smart trainer control (via ANT+)

\\should you buy the Garmin Instinct 2 Solar?
Dual-screen is fun to use but in reality, it takes away from the useful screen real-estate. It allows for more space for the Power Glass, though. The data fields and text in general are too small. The watch is aimed at younger peeps with active lifestyles and the OG Instinct has been super popular – but that can be bought for much cheaper. I hear people talk a lot less about the new Instinct 2 Solar than the Instinct and Instinct Solar.

\\links

Thanks for watching!
#garmin #garmininstinct2 #smartwatch #review

[Quetzacoatl]

to save you all 11 minutes: he didn't like the small monochrome screen

[icesystem]

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

[SuperGreenough]

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!

[MrDingaling]

The MIP monochrome screen that allows unlimited battery life is exactly why im interested in this watch.

[bitfinesse]

Your ability to quickly make a point is small

[filoniz]

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.

[jamesjoyce]

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

[apo]

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

[yogiyoda]

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.

[marcinlacfik]

I run, I train in the gym/ WOD, walk and hike. Brilliant watch. And now it’s even measuring HRV over night. Big upgrade.

[DM-xmqu]

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

[FiremanFrach]

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.

[logicsenseboy]

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.

[maksikkarenduro]

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.

[chaocoordinator]

he obviously isnt a true outdoorsMAN. bless his heart

[xXxNorrinRaddxXx]

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.

[robj]

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.

[laquangbinh]

mono screen for extended battery life is why I have chosen this watch!

[kodiesrevenge]

the elevation data on this watch is way off .. been using it for 6 months & the compass doesn't work unless I constantly recalibrate it ...

[kaapiosimpanssibonobo]

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.