Garmin - Instinct 2 Solar Series

I found my perfect smart watch in Garmin Instinct 2, since it’s like a G-Shock, but still has the features of a smartwatch like notifications, alarm clock and workout tracker. And the best for me, I just have to charge it once per month.

All true except advanced metrics. They are also present in Fenix (it has even more features for hiking) and Instinct. Forerunner is not more advanced. The rugedness is mostly about the bezel. In fenix and instinct it has a rim which gives extra protection to the screen. But that means rugged watches are more bulky what can be a problem in the gym. The real question is lightness of forerunner vs battery life of fenix /instinct

Garmins might do better for you then. They are great at tracking and have smart features but also get a week or more on a charge. I love my instict 2 for how simple and non intrusive it is.

Used to have a watch series 2. That one sucked. Then went to a apple series 5. That one fell into a lake and seeing as the ground in the middle was over 10m, i doubt it survived Switched to a Garmin instinct 2 tactical solar about 3 years ago. I love not plugging it back to charge everyday (with gps its been lasting a solid 15-20 days a charge) Great with sports especially skiing (it uses about 3 different satelite technologies so i never lose connection and it detects skiing / lifts to get back up) I can control music from the watch - bit finnicky with the buttons but eh it is what it is I got 50% ish off through work so that was a bonus I do miss being able to send custom messages from it and controlling songs on spotify.... I also miss having the touchscreen, but this watch has remained on my wrist even diving hard into water from cliffs About 18 months after switching I binned my iphone 9 and got a google pixel so yeah, i never would turn back to apple products.... Depends on what you want to be honest. Just know, that most of these watches can survive in water for a few hours to a couple days, so swimming/diving in it isn't a problem but thats just my opinion Hope I helped

Yep, I just use the 'cardio' option and it tracks these workouts fine.

Just to add (I have the I2 solar), in summer, I don't need to charge - the top up from the sum nets out the drain with regular use. GPS uses more than can be gained though, depends on the amount of GPS you use though. I don't use a whole lot and am set to go chargerless.

I have an instinct 2 solar, I just wanted something functional, I didn't need hi-res screen etc. What I do I capture the workout, then use either the phone app or website to consume all the data. Works a treat!

Garmin instinct is often with me, only thing I do is turn my watch the other way bc the radiant heat from my stove cooks it and heats my arm up. The max I've seen the sensor say is 113, that's when it's 200+, average is about 104, your body temp will help moderate the watch temp. In the gym saunas is usually more of 108 max on the sensor.  It goes in the hottub with me at 104 as well, garmin just makes solid products.

The main thing I was looking for with mine was battery life. I might have overcompensated after dealing with Apple Watch battery life, but still. I have the Garmin Instinct with the black and white screen and solar charging and it is probably the longest lasting model It was 28 days out of the box, and I believe that’s assuming no sun on it.

If you want to save yourself some money, the non-solar version is quite a bit cheaper and does everything the same, minus solar charging. For everyday use, I get little to no benefit from solar charging of my instinct 2 solar. It’s one of those things that sounds cool, but it mostly a gimmick. It *may* be useful if you’re off the grid for weeks at a time.

I use a Garmin Instinct 2 to ski up in Anchorage and I’ve never had an issue!

Instinct tactical. Got it while in the military in ~2019 and it’s still kicking