Garmin Instinct

[jrdnschl]

I have had a Garmin Forerunner for about 5 years now and I just got the okay from the wife to buy a new watch. I have been very impressed with the durability of my Garmin, so I am now looking at getting either the Garmin Instinct or the Garmin Instinct Solar. But is the Solar worth the extra $100?

 

[pk_]

Mine is supposed to arrive today. I went with the solar because well, I live in the sunshine state. Also went with the ‘surf’ edition because it has tide info which i thought would be nice for fishing. A lot of my hunting/fishing will be in direct sunlight and I am bad about charging crap so it was worth it to me. If Solar doesn’t seem like a huge advantage to you then I think the regular Instinct is a pretty good bang for your buck.

 

[jrdnschl]

Mine is supposed to arrive today. I went with the solar because well, I live in the sunshine state. Also went with the ‘surf’ edition because it has tide info which i thought would be nice for fishing. A lot of my hunting/fishing will be in direct sunlight and I am bad about charging crap so it was worth it to me. If Solar doesn’t seem like a huge advantage to you then I think the regular Instinct is a pretty good bang for your buck.

I live in Montana and get a fair amount of sunshine. I am also a mail carrier and I walk around outside for about 6 hours every day, so I was thinking it may be worth it just because I am outside so much. Thanks for your input!

 

[carsonkeys]

I've had an instinct solar for 4 months now and I really love it. To be honest, I don't find much utility in the solar charging. I work in an office all day, fwiw, but purposely tested the solar charging capabilities a few times by placing the watch in direct sun light for a few hours and was very underwhelmed.

By my very unscientific figuring, the solar could maybe maintain your battery life if you weren't running any special programs. But the moment you start tracking, using GPS, marking waypoints, etc., you're loosing. That said, I consistently get 15-20 days before needing a charge (varies on what programs I use during the time).

Hope this helps.

 

[Beckjhong]

DC Rainmaker has a good review. According to him, the solar has an upgraded optical sensor that is supposed to be more accurate.

 

[pk_]

I live in Montana and get a fair amount of sunshine. I am also a mail carrier and I walk around outside for about 6 hours every day, so I was thinking it may be worth it just because I am outside so much. Thanks for your input!

Just a heads up neither the instinct nor the instinct solar work with garmin iq.

 

[Laramie]

I have had an Instinct for about 8 months now. Battery life is pretty long and it takes very little time to charge. I wouldn't spend the extra on the solar option personally. If you plan to run the GPS function non stop, the battery will drain faster but it still lasts several days. I would just plan to bring a small battery pack on longer hunts. You can charge at night back in camp if necessary. I started an 8 day hunt last fall with a full battery. On day 4, after some GPS use, I still had a half battery. I charged it that night and it lasted the remainder of the hunt, the drive home, and the next week back in the office before it needed charged again. Full disclosure, I am not a guy who relies on GPS much and find myself using the compass more than any other watch function. My main GPS use is in the dark on my way back to camp or the truck.

 

[jrdnschl]

Just a heads up neither the instinct nor the instinct solar work with garmin iq.

So you only get the widgets/apps that come preloaded on it?

 

[pk_]

So you only get the widgets/apps that come preloaded on it?

As far as I can tell yes unless there is some other way of loading them on there. My first smart watch so idk too much about it. Strange because there is a YouTube video I saw of using the hunt & fish app on the instinct solar, but it doesn’t come with that so I am confused and haven’t looked into it any further yet honestly.

 

[Laramie]

Garmin is lacking on instructions in the box but they have great YouTube videos out there explaining every function.

 

[Highhuntin]

I have had the instinct 1.5 years I run 5 days a week so It’s using gps I charge it once a week but could go longer , hear solar is minimal help to keep charged but no first hand on that

 

[awildswanger]

Wanted to follow back up with this, would this be a good transition from an Apple Watch? Looking more for a fitness tracker but the added GPS function is great

 

[ChrisS]

Wanted to follow back up with this, would this be a good transition from an Apple Watch? Looking more for a fitness tracker but the added GPS function is great

Depends on what functions you like from the applewatch. The Instinct doesn't have onboard music storage, so I have to bring my phone when running. I can get text and phone notifications, but I can't respond or answer. The Instinct comes pre-loaded with a bunch of fitness activities, but I only use 3. You can create your own, but it's a PITA to do through the watch interface and there's no other way. The garmin connect app is pretty solid. The instinct is also solidly waterproof. I've never had an issue swimming.

I don't use much of the GPS other than running. If I'm hunting or hiking, I'm using my phone or Rino. The instinct is more of a back up GPS and fitness watch for me.

 

[boom]

I wear my Instinct when I kayak fish or Mtn bike. after a day of fishing, my battery is about half gone. so I stay on top of charging it. I love it, because I can use it to track what I did for the day. it gives me a report on how my HR was, etc. and the map. the map is cool. I show people where the fish were biting and stuff.

 

[Newtexican]

I’ve had rechargeable instinct since November and I love it. I charge it maybe once a week.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

Heads up, Amazon has the Tactical for $179 and Solar for $249 for Amazon day today.

As far as I can tell yes unless there is some other way of loading them on there. My first smart watch so idk too much about it. Strange because there is a YouTube video I saw of using the hunt & fish app on the instinct solar, but it doesn’t come with that so I am confused and haven’t looked into it any further yet honestly.

Looks like the Hunt/Fish widget is only available on the Solar, weird...

 

[mtwarden]

I purchased a Instinct Solar about a month ago. I was on the fence with the Instinct for a couple of years, but when I saw the solar option I figured I’d give it a go.

While nothing miraculous with the solar, it definitely helps on multi day trips (but I still bring a charger and cord, for my phone/gps more than anything).

It’s one of the most comfy watches I’ve worn which is a big plus. The abc features all work well (accurate). The gps tracking (distance and gain) is within a percent of my gps on my phone, so it’s pretty accurate as well.

I don’t find using the phone overly intuitive, maybe because I’m not much of tech guy???

I am learning though

 

[shooterrdy]

I have original instinct for couple years it works great holds its charge well and works good with My in reach mini

 

[CCH]

The Solar version is $250 on Amazon today (Prime Day). Smoking deal if anyone is looking. Happy Father's Dayl! My son is inheriting my beloved standard Instinct. I've had solar watches for so long that that was one of the big drawbacks when I went to the Instinct. However, at that point it was a $200 difference.

 

[Hunt_Jefferson]

My Instinct Solar just arrived, charging it now. It's replacing a 7 year old Casio Pro-Trek PRW-3000 that I have worn daily for all 7 of those years. Interested in the heart rate monitor tracking during hikes and how it integrates with my Garmin GPS66i. The GPS based sunrise/sunset/moon phases should be helpful too during hunting season.

edit:


This thing is getting returned after a disaster of a trial run backpacking trip. I carry my phone and a Garmin 66i so adding the watch to the mix really just accomplished quickly draining all three batteries trying to keep them synced up. After using the watch to navigate to the coordinates (3 miles out, started with 85% battery), I was sitting at 51% 16hr left when I hit the sack. I thought I had turned off the nav but regardless the watch died at 5am. Finally was able to get enough solar charge to do a basic watch mode around 1pm.

I also realized how little I cared about what my heartbeat is, my sleep cycle, or my O2 reading and don’t need another device to futz with in the woods. Going back to my beat up Casio Protrek that has never missed a beat.