Garmin Instinct 2S Solar, Smaller-Sized Rugged Outdoor Watch with GPS, with Solar Charging Capabilities, Built for All Elements, Multi-GNSS Support, Tracback Routing and More, Graphite

I don't write a lot of reviews, but I thought I'd chime in about this. (Just a regular old customer here--no connection to Garmin or Amazon.) My point of view might be uncommon for Garmin owners: I actually don't think of myself as a Smartwatch guy and have actually turned down free Apple Watches (as holiday gifts) on two occasions. No interest in texting on my wrist. I'm a "watch guy" in the more traditional sense--a big fan of mid-tier to high-end mechanical watches. But I wanted one techy watch for when I bike and work out and for a long backcountry hike where GPS was going to be necessary. I've owned this watch for a couple months now and have put it through its paces: swimming (it's highly water-resistant), biking, lifting, and (as mentioned) in the wilderness. It hasn't disappointed. Set up is easy and intuitive: if you can handle using an iPhone, you should have no problem making your way through the process. Downloading the smartphone app on your device and syncing it is worth the trouble, in my opinion. Among other things, it will allow you to keep on top of software updates, control your music while working out (without having to touch your phone), and get whatever alerts (like texts or Ring notifications) you might want to opt into. I have it set up so that the Garmin app only seeks out my watch when I open the app---don't want this thing constantly searching and draining my phone battery when I'm not even wearing the watch. I do still fumble through the different buttons trying to remember what does what, but it is getting better. I usually only wear this for a few hours at a time a few days a week; if I wore it more regularly, I'm sure I would be far more fluent by now. And the good news is, you really can't mess anything up by pressing the wrong button. There's tons of customization that you can do (during setup or just whenever) to rearrange the main screen, add or remove activities and options, etc. For an entry-level smartwatch, it's impressively featured! Battery life is utterly insane. I charged it before a 10-hour hike where the GPS was going the entire time--that was in early May. Since then I've worn it several times for many collective hours, sometimes in GPS mode, sometimes not, and I only had to charge it again today--in mid June. Granted, I power it down whenever I'm not using it, but still, you get a lot of time out of a single charge. I have the solar version, and I suppose that extends the battery life in a limited way---can't say I've tested that or noticed strong evidence of it, but I'll take Garmin's word for it. The GPS tracking feature works very well once you get it dialed in to your preferences, which isn't tricky to do. If you get lost, you can flip to the screen where your track is: it's just a squiggly line on the screen---there's no map background on this plain-Jane, smaller, black and white display---but with pretty minimal brainpower, you can use it to retrace your steps, no problem. No chance of getting lost with this thing on, as long as you've got a signal---and I've never had any trouble acquiring one. Beyond that, just having it on your wrist as a trip computer, tracking how long you've been at it, how many miles you've covered, your elevation, etc, is really nice. It allowed me to provide very specific answers every time my kid asked "how many more miles do we have to go?" Note, though, that you'll need to activate the GPS mode when you start your hike (or ride or whatever). And you'll want to shut if off when you're done in order to extend the battery life. Nice to have the heart-rate and pulse oximeter features. Also reassuring to have the "incident reporting" feature, or whatever it's called. Thankfully haven't had to use it, but I've read positive customer reviews from folks who have. It's a comfort to know that my wife will get an instant alert on her phone if I crash my bike, for example. And I believe the alert will include my exact location. As for the watchy-watch stuff: this thing is very well built. It feels robust, but is as light as a feather. I mean, you can really forget you have it on, especially if you're accustomed to wearing a luxury sports watch that weighs more than 100g. I haven't tried swapping out the rubber strap, but I see no reason why you couldn't put it on a NATO or something if you wanted to. The integrated strap itself feels like it's good quality, though I imagine it will eventually need to be replaced after a few years of putting it on and taking it off. The overall look is very rugged and "tactical." At least with the black model, there's nothing refined or luxurious about it at all. The main thing I want to say about it as a watch per se is that the size is perfect, at least for me. A lot of these smartwatches nowadays are enormous: 45mm and super-thick. To me they look absurd. This one is about 40mm, which is by no means small, but it's sensible and while definitely "sized" for a man, could work well as an oversized unisex option. Point is, when I'm wearing it, it just feels like a normal watch, proportioned like several of my other, mechanical watches---not like a giant wrist computer. It calls no attention to itself. The screen isn't tiny or anything: the display is plenty readable. It's not touchscreen, it's not full color, you can't watch videos on it---if you want all of that, look at a different model. This is one of those "everything you need, nothing you don't" items. (Though, again, it has a pretty surprising array and number of features---most of which I've never used.) Big fan.

I've bought the same Timex Expedition model watch for at least 20 years. Simple, rugged, with just the features I wanted and little more. I did try a wearable monitor (very early Fitbit) years ago and found it a curiosity but not worth the charging hassle or having to wear something along with my watch. Recently though, now that I'm over 65, I've thought more about tracking health elements, especially as I would like to stay active as long as possible. I did lots of research on the new technology options. Soooo many out there. I narrowed it by some criteria: needs to be as much like my old Expedition as possible, meaning - can be worn all the time (in shower, hot tub, swimming, sleeping, exercising, doing yard work); has long battery life; is easily readable; rugged; easy to use push buttons to see various screens (not swiping on screen). I am more than happy with the Instinct 2S! I got the 40mm as I don't like a big watch face on my wrist. The band fit my 180mm wrist (but near the last hole). Everything about using it has been easier than I feared. Garmin's software connects easily to my watch and I can track all the things I care about. Battery life is sensational! It says 21 days possible, and maybe so with sun and less use for special purposes, but I've still gotten 17-18 days out of a single charge. I don't use GPS except rarely (for outdoor tennis tracking). I don't want a watch to be a phone (this isn't), and appreciate I can tailor and limit what kinds of messaging it notifies me of. I customized my screen to be simple, showing just a few things I care to see. Easy to read. I've learned a great deal about my sleep patterns and heart rates I didn't know. Can't say how accurate it is but feels reflective of what I thought anyway. So for me, two months in, this appears a great compromise between a regular sports watch and a very smart one. Hope it keeps me this happy for years to come! (Thanks to other reviewers who helped guide my decision.)

First of all, know what you are getting with this watch. I have had several Garmins, most recently a Forerunner 965, an Apple watch, and a Coros Pace. Here’s what you get with the Instinct 2S: 1. Always-on, MIP display. Not colorful or even bright, but always accessible at a glance without having to flip your wrist. 2. Small size. It is small and lightweight. Will only fit smaller wrists and the display size means only basic metrics can be displayed at all times. I don’t need to see my heart rate, my miles run this week, or my Garmin vo2 max at any given moment. 3. Long battery life. The solar charging works ok, but you’ll get 2 weeks or more if you’re using it regularly. 4. No touchscreen. I don’t want one, I know the Garmin buttons and how to drive one. I bought the watch to track my road and trail running and so I can simply see the time on my wrist when I look. Tired of huge AMOLED displays with a bunch of metrics I can’t read in time before the display shuts off. I don’t even want that much data available at once, I can look on the Connect app and see all I need. Always-on mode for an AMOLED always seems to come with the cost of a rapidly dead battery. You might be different from me. If you want a bright colorful display, touchscreen, and AI training metrics, get a 65 or 70 series Forerunner. If you want an always-on MIP display but also a big watch face with a lot of metrics AND insane battery life, Enduro 3 is the one. If you want a smaller (and cheaper) Enduro 3 with less metrics on the watch face, Coros Apex is worth a look. I think that’s it. The worst this thing will see is a 50k trail run, and it isn’t even getting started when that is complete.

un excelente producto, volveria a comprar, llega en tiempo, ha funcionado correctamente.

I got this on sale and I would say it’s worth it. Does everything I need and more. It is “Basic” if you’re used to other watches with colour display and a host of other phone apps. However don’t take that for a lack of features. If you have an activity you do chances are you can track it. HR tracker works excellent. I have my watch set for a night mode so it doesn’t track my sleep. This extend my battery life even further! That being said I have heard that it’s not as good as apple or fit bit for sleep tracking. If that’s important to you I would search there first. I am a fan of this watch. Serves its purpose and limits distractions for me. Love it.

Quite a good watch even though it is smaller than I thought and a black & white screen which means you cannot download any watch faces if you want a bit of colour on the face of the watch & the Watchband is very small and won’t fit my wrist so have ordered another band already !

If you're looking for a rugged outdoor watch, this is the one for you. The monochrome screen reduces battery consumption which can go up to 3 weeks. Lots of features as well.

There are a few features I need to work out . For eg how to pay. How to use the light. Watch is too small for the person I bought it for. I returned it on the 19 May 2024 and are still waiting for a refund. Leone