This durable smartwatch with GPS and solar charging is so tough that it can accompany you everywhere and so unique that it fits your own style.
The Garmin Instinct 2 Solar is designed for those who are looking for a rugged and functional smartwatch for their outdoor activities such as hiking, skiing, climbing, and swimming.
Durable construction
This durable watch features waterproofing up to 100 meters, as well as temperature and shock resistance. Additionally, its reinforced fiber frame and chemically strengthened, scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass lens make this device designed to withstand.
Longer battery life
Longer battery life than ever before, with solar charging you have unlimited battery autonomy in smartwatch mode. In addition, power management allows you to extend battery life by controlling settings and sensors that consume energy.
Multi-GNSS Support
Whether you are hiking, mountain biking, trail running, or skiing, you can have access to multiple global navigation satellite systems (GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo) for tracking in more demanding environments than just GPS alone.
ABC Sensors
Navigate your next adventure with sensors that include an altimeter for altitude data, a barometer for weather tracking, and a 3-axis electronic compass.
Security and tracking features
When you have connected your phone to your watch, your current location can be manually or automatically sent to your contacts (during outdoor activities) through the built-in function of event detection.
Contactless payments Garmin Pay
Avoid queues at the cash registers and with the contactless payment solution Garmin Pay through selected partners.
Built-in sports applications
Do what you love with preloaded activity profiles for running, cycling, swimming, strength training, indoor climbing, virtual running, golf, yoga, pilates, and more.
VO2max
Train smarter with the maximum oxygen uptake VO2max, a performance indicator. It adapts to mountain running and takes into account the performance changes that can arise from heat or altitude.
Daily exercise suggestions
For personalized training guidance that takes into account you and your fitness level, receive daily recommendations for running and cycling based on your current exercise load and training status.
Dynamic MTB
Record the details of each descent with mountain bike measurements, as well as specialized Grit™ and Flow™ measurements, which rate the difficulty of each trail and how smoothly you descended it, giving you a score to beat next time.
Body battery
Energy monitoring
Optimize your energy levels in your body by using heart rate variability, stress, sleep, and other data to measure when you are ready to be active or if you need rest.
Pulse Oximeter
For altitude acclimatization or sleep tracking, the pulse oximeter sensor uses light beams on your wrist to estimate how well your body absorbs oxygen.
Sleep tracking & advanced monitoring
Get a complete analysis of your sleep stages (light, deep, REM). See it all in a specialized app that includes your sleep score and tips.
Specifications are collected from official manufacturer websites. Please verify the specifications before proceeding with your final purchase. If you notice any problem you can
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First of all, it is NOT a smartwatch, in the sense of being an extension of a smartphone. This particular wristwatch can be set to ring and/or vibrate for incoming calls, messages, and notifications from the mobile phone, as well as offer the ability to read them, but that's about it. And of course, as a watch intended for those who swim in the sea or dive (spearfishing), it does not have a microphone/speaker.
Furthermore, it is a wristwatch mainly aimed (if not exclusively) at those who are moderately to highly involved in sports and outdoor activities. Through the relevant application (Garmin Express), one can download countless apps and install about 10 of them (due to memory limitations) in addition to the ones already installed. Also, through the relevant smartwatch or pc application (Garmin Connect), one can monitor countless parameters of these apps.
Its battery, with normal use of the watch, with the smart heart rate measurement function activated (not continuous), with the pulse oximeter activated only during sleep, and with the temperature measurement constantly activated, lasts about 11 to 12 days. However, if GPS is activated, the duration is greatly reduced.
Its screen is monochrome and does not have high resolution, resulting in its graphics being marginally satisfactory.
Solar charging has positive results only if one is at the beach for 2 - 3 hours or driving with their hand exposed to the sun. Otherwise, no, you won't forget to charge it.
In conclusion, it is a smartwatch that is mainly aimed (as mentioned earlier) at those who are moderately to highly involved in sports and outdoor activities. If someone is more of a couch and TV person, it doesn't offer them (almost) anything at all. The 4 "stars" are for the level of resolution and clarity of the screen.
I am very satisfied as I did not want rich graphics on the watch to go for a more expensive option. For more advanced display functions, there is the application that offers many. It does OTA updates, the long battery life is valid, and the measurements are quite reliable.
Garmin Pay with an alpha card works fine (it requires unlocking once a day), but for some reason, I had to call alpha bank to unlink the card from other electronic wallets as it failed to pass it.
A note: Because some reviews talk about the gimmick of solar charging, I have had the watch for almost a year and solar charging is not just a gimmick. It maintains the battery just fine if you expose it to the sun as it says.
No matter how good it is as a watch in general, the gimmick of solar charging makes it lose 2 stars.
If you want solar charging, get a gshock. I won't say that I regretted buying it, but if I could turn back time, I would get the non-solar version and save 100 euros.
Take a deep breath and read the most comprehensive review of all instinct 2 (in English). The guy mentions EVERYTHING. He also compares the GPS and heart rate sensors on the same routes with Venu, fenix, epix, with other companies and with a heart rate strap. You really won't need to read anything else, especially if you are also an owner of instinct 1