Garmin Instinct 2 Solar Tactical Smartwatch

One of the best investment I've made in a long time

It's simply amazing The abilities that mode the person the owner the adapt abilities are custom fit and I appreciate this very much so I know each generation gets better and better thanks a lot keep up the very outstanding technology.

I've had Garmin watches issued to me in the military before so when it came to the quality of a watch that I wanted, I was looking for something with similar GPS capabilities. The number of features on this watch are awesome and the compass is absolutely spot on! Not to mention the GPS is accurate to 10 digits. This is definitely a watch made for the field.

The Instinct Tactical 1 was a great and simple watch, the stealth and night vision mode were the primary reasons I bought it. The 2, though an upgrade, moves in the direction that they took the 3: bells and whistles, and "upgraded" features. I think the new screens, navigation, and Garmin IQ functions take this from being a simple rugged Garmin for non-descript wear to some of their more "smart" watches with the intent being phone connectivity and not "tactical" wear. That being siad, it is as rugged as ever, the GPS fixing on the 2 is noticeably faster than the 1, and heart rate monitor and O2 sensor are a plus. My last point: I wish the face customization could have LESS information, similar to the 1. But there are some fields that can't go in other spots and some fields that are always going to be verbose; I would like a blank option for each field so that I don't have a wall of text no matter when I look at the screen. Really it boils down to: I wanted a solar tactical 1, but got the next step down of a solar tactical 3.

husband loves it. multi use. sleep. steps GPS. works better than expected

I previously had the Original Instinct and upgraded to the Instinct 2 Solar. I've always been an Apple watch guy but this watch is freaking great. I pair it with an S24 and it syncs perfectly. I've banged it on everything under the sun without a scratch, dent, or otherwise.

I bought this watch in 2021, and had it Mailed to Compagnieshaven Marina in Enkhuizen, NL. Since that time, it mostly sat, and waited to operate for me. I am a new user, and am enjoying the simplicity of use, etc. Great Watch!

Amazing way to track your sleep and overall health. Very customizable and relatively easy to learn. So far it seems very robust and built to last. The tactical features make it perfect for military and LEO use. No complaints from me.

I've had an Instinct 2 for 4 years now. Overall I love my Garmin. However it does glitch occasionally and will randomly reset to a different time, completely unprompted. Its been happening more and more frequently. A couple years ago, I could not find my charging cord for two weeks. I eventually bought a new one and charged the watch, but the battery life was not the same after. Overall its great and does what I want/need, but its not perfect.

Fantastic watch...upgraded from Instinct 2 Tactical and haven't looked back...best watch I've ever owned period

Durable use it when I'm wildland firefighting stays charged and can take a beating

got watch for Christmas to myself. love all the features. first got the straight instinct 2 and took it back for the tactical edition. it's a great watch solar charge helps a lot still has battery for 16 days

I was given my Instinct 2 Solar - Tactical edition watch as a present from my husband. I had a Fitbit Versa 2 for years that I was extremely loyal to and had broken so many times, it was being held together with super glue. I knew a solar Garmin was the next step due to the battery life and how rough I am on everything. After he gave me this one, he saw how amazing it was and eventually bought himself one, replacing his Apple Watch. I have never loved a watch more in my life before and it may or may not be ruling my life! Every aspect of the watch and Connect app is customizable to how you want it and what you consider a priority. You’re also able to set custom high (and low) heart rate warnings for each activity which has greatly helped me. I am chronically ill and have a type of dysautonomia that causes tachycardia and exercise intolerance, as well as a connective tissue disorder that affects all of my body. I tend to overexercise, injure myself, decondition and start the process all over again. Now, I listen to my Garmin, check my training status, training readiness and follow the suggested workouts and rest days. The body battery is invaluable and by following Garmin’s sleep and exercise guidelines, I have seen my body battery start my day off in the upper 80s and 90s compared to when I first got it and was staring my day in the 40s and ending every day at 5. The HRV status is very handy to be able to see how my autonomic nervous system is handling training, and when I was seriously ill, my watch knew I was sick before I did. Zone training is very difficult with dysautonomia because my HR can hit 186 bpm incredibly quickly, even if I can maintain a conversation, then other times I’m barely able to speak at 142 bpm. Garmin seems to recognize my erratic HR to an extent and has me workout based on distance vs zone training. Also, using their suggested workouts has helped me build muscle, gain more endurance and not over exert myself as much as I usually do because of it demanding you stay in the desired area. I also love the load status because I tend to overdo on the low aerobic such as weight training and it is keeping me on track with doing more anaerobic. As dramatic as it sounds, this watch has helped change my life and I’m pretty sure is far more intelligent than me! It keeps me on track, I love the morning report, and with all of the customizable features and extras it has, I’m never bored of it. I’m sure in a year from now, I will still find something new or learn something from it.

Does everything great except I can’t get it to show I have a text message from my iPhone

The choice of this watch was based on just wanting something better and more utility than an iwatch, and from a basic functionality it works. There are plenty of things to be slightly annoyed with, mainly the apps are buggier than the north woods in July. 2 separate apps to essentially "manage" what you want to do with them? Really Garmin - you can't just make a singular app for watch faces and customization? The things which make apple's stuff so appealing just aren't in Garmin's toolkit it seems. Be prepared to have to consult the manual repeatedly, and this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it shows the sometimes lack of inherent intuitiveness apple devices have.

This watch is a good middle ground between a smartwatch, and your run of the mill digital watch. It doesn't bother you, or flash colors in your eyes with games and apps, but you can see what you truly need to see easily. Location, weather, heart rate, etc. all come standard with this watch. The customization is great, too! You can get watch faces and apps on the Garmin store, so you can find what's right for you and make it truly yours. This watch notifies me when I receive a text, so I'm never missing out on important communications. I can also have 2FA codes to make logging in easy, and simple games like 2048 stored on it in case I need to pass time. It also tracks my exercises, maps my runs, and tells me how I do overall. Overall, this watch has served me to an excellent degree, and I can't recommend it enough just don't mistake it for an Apple Watch.

I have had Instinct 2 Solar for 2 weeks, and navigating the watch features is confusing. Frankly, this watch is difficult to manage. The technology i assumed is great, but useability is poor.

It's for sure a great watch. It has more options and features then my Instinct 1. So far I only have 1 complaint and it maybe because I'm not very tech savvy and it's that when I go to record a workout, I have to scroll through a bunch of other things before I get to strength training. I do love at the end of my workout that it shows me more stats then what my original Instinct 1 had. Very durable watch.

Great features, good in-between watch for adventuring & sports. Only thing I've found that's iffy so far is the sight n go, but pretty minor.

I bought this watch over 2 years ago and works great