Garmin Instinct 2 Solar Review
Before the widespread adoption of silicon in almost everything, watches were powered by quartz. Whilst it is an excellent mechanism to keep time, it does limit the function of a watch. ‘A watch just needs to tell the time!’ I hear from the back, but come on, this is 2024. The Instinct 2 Solar from Garmin is their latest rugged GPS smartwatch that can measure more things about a person than you thought was possible AND tells the time.
4/5
£389 | Buy from Garmin
Highs:
Impressive array of body tracking and metrics
Insane battery life
Integrates well with smartphones.
Lows:
Chunky looks might not be to everyone’s taste
Bewildering line-up with differing features
Breadcrumb trails aren’t ideal for techy navigaition.
TL:DR
The Garmin Instinct 2 is a the perfect device for someone looking for a rugged activity tracker to accompany them on whatever workout you fancy. Coupled with an array of heart rate based metrics, the Instinct 2 could become an invaluable tool for those looking to get the most out of their training.
The Lowdown:
Rugged polymer construction
24/7 body monitoring
Unlimited battery life with solar charging
GPS enabled activity tracking
Delivers notifications to your wrist
Altimeter, barometer and compass to help navigate trails
The Instinct 2 Solar is Garmin’s entry level offering in an increasingly busy smartwatch world; this rugged timepiece incorporates many features of Garmin’s more expensive smartwatches but wraps them up in a fibre reinforced polymer case rather than the more premium materials. It uses toughened Gorilla Glass so should be able to fend off the worst of what you can throw at it and still look great. The display is monochrome, but we found it to be excellent in all conditions; contrasty and the high-res screen means text stays crisp. There’s a backlight too which is ideal for when the sun goes down as the display doesn’t emit any light.
The sleek rubber strap is very comfortable and allows for a perfect fit to be dialled in. There’s no different strap for different wrist sizes like with some competitors. 5 buttons adorn the bezel and we found them intuitive when used to navigate through menus etc. On the back of the watch is where the body tracking action happens; Garmin’s Elevate Gen 4 optical heart rate sensor which is also found on the Fenix and Epix line. This sensor provides a host of metrics including heart rate, blood oxygen readings and breathing rate.
Aside from metrics, the Instinct also pairs with your phone to deliver notification straight to your wrist and a host of apps increase its functionally even further, with integrations with Spotify among the headlines.
Through a range of configurable watch faces via the Garmin IQ store, the face can be customised to display exactly what you want which is great to help tailor the device to your use case.
One thing that does frustrate us about Garmin’s smartwatch line-up is that they insist on churning out different editions with slightly different features to appeal to a range of audiences. Whilst this in itself isn’t a big deal, we’re all for devices that are tailored to specific niches, it’s the fact that the differences are in the software so all the features from all the various editions could run on one model but instead Garmin offer 5 different editions: couple that with 2 dial sizes and solar charging options, that results in a baffling 20 different combinations. For clarity, we’ve been wearing the 45mm Solar version of the Instinct 2 in Solar Blue
The ‘solar’ aspect of the Instinct 2 really caught our attention and it’s safe to say it’s a bit of a game changer. If you’ve ever spent any time with an Apple Watch, you’ll be familiar with putting it on charge each night as it chews through power. Using solar charging, the Instinct has an almost unlimited battery life due to a solar panel under the display which charges the watch up when it’s in the sunlight. The best thing is that you don’t even have to take it off; it charges on the go. If you’re unlucky enough not to see the sun for 28 days, then you’ll need to plug it in for a charge.
The solar charging is a huge benefit to those active types, as the Instinct 2 can be used to track a range of activities and record the route via GPS. From running (trail, road, indoor, track or virtual) to cycling (mountain bike, road, track, virtual, gravel, E gravel, E mountain bike, E road, cyclocross, commute and touring), the Instinct 2 has you covered. It goes beyond just tracking your GPS and heart rate though, take mountain biking for example. The Instinct 2 will score you on your ‘grit and flow’ which measures how smoothly you descend and provides a score to beat next time; how useful this is for hardcore athletes were not sure, but for the enthusiast this gamification is sure to add another dimension to rides.
We found the GPS to be accurate down to a few metres when it got a satellite fix and tracked our activities to a reasonable level. Unlike the more expensive models in the Garmin range, the Instinct 2 doesn’t display a ‘proper’ map, instead it shows a breadcrumb trail of the route and beeps and vibrates when you stray from it. The lack of a proper map didn’t really faze us, trying to navigate tricky, technical terrain is best left to dedicated devices or even a paper map rather than a tiny screen on your wrist.
Garmin also includes their ‘TracBack’ feature which will navigate you back to the starting point of the route. We didn’t find this very useful as it assumes you can travel in a straight line; ideal for the sea, not so much when mountains and rivers are between you and the start point. GPS coordinates can also be inputted and navigated to, but again, only in a straight line.
Having emptied the tank on your workout of choice, the Instinct 2 will provide an indication of recovery time based off your exertion during the workout and throughout the day to make sure you’re in the best possible place for the next time.
The accessibility of the body metrics is something that really impressed us; applying scores and ratings to quite abstract concepts made it easy to understand what we needed to do to improve our performance and recovery. The sleep tracking is another example of this; it uses heart rate and motion data to quantify your sleep and coupled with the body battery metric, it can predict whether you’ll end the day exhausted or revitalised. All this might sound a bit pointless, why do we need data to tell us if we slept well? Quantifying this data is really helpful for long term training aspirations and even in daily life; knowing how our body reacts to certain things is the foundation for healthier living.
The Instinct 2 connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth and all the data is viewable on Garmin Connect which is much easier to view than pouring over the small screen to check out your metrics. Garmin Connect can also be configured to automatically upload activities to Strava etc.
We loved our time with the Instinct 2, it was unobtrusive when it needed to be but provided so much information that it would take any data geek hours to pour over the information. This reviewer doesn’t normally wear a watch, but the Instinct has barely been off our wrist. It’s a perfect smartwatch for those looking for a rugged device to wear in all conditions but the Fenix or Marq range would suit those looking for a smartwatch that wouldn’t look out of place with a suit or more formal attire.