Customer Ratings & Reviews

Great watch. I was looking for a rugged solar ABC watch with smart features as well. I looked at another brand from Japan that makes great watches as i have a few of their non-smart watches with no issues. Their newest smart, tough solar was much more expensive and the one with similar features to this one did not have solar. Their solar was lacking features i liked on the Garmin. I am glad i went with the instinct 2 solar and have been very happy with it so far. Excellent battery life. With it being winter and not a lot of hours of sunlight to charge the watch and with the features i have on for sleep, daytime and watch face i am using starting at 100% down to low 70%'s in 6 to 7 days constant wear except while showering. Love all the features too. Appears to be quite accurate. I had to set the compass out of the box but instructions are straight forward. Barometer sets easily based on elevation either from GPS or manually setting and comparing to near by airport readings. Altitude sets from GPS or manually based on topo maps. I have already recommended this watch to others and woll continue to do so unless my experience with it changes, so far it is great.

This watch has so many features, its hard to think about where to start this review. Its comfortable to wear, stress tracking seems accurate thinking back on my day. Wore this while swimming and it is for sure water-resistant. It is a little pricey but with how much tech this watch contains the price point is understandable. I would recommend this watch if you are looking for a high tech option. The only drawback, i feel, is the face is a little bulky. Trying to sleep with this on is rough so i havent been able to try the sleep data tech. I charges this when i bought it, its been 3 weeks since i have had to charge it, and it says it still has 5 days of charge. Phenomenal battery life.

Very powerful watch. The battery life is amazing and it is very durable. I've been swimming, wood working, you name it. It's been bashed, banged and smashed off a lot of things and it still looks brand new. The tracking features are incredible and the app is great. There is a marketplace for apps and clock faces too. Learning the buttons is a little tricky at first but after a few days it's second nature.

Best watch I have ever had. I have previously used Apple products to train for my marathons and will never go back after using my new Garmin watch. The battery life immediately makes it a great watch. I have had up to 18 days of no charging and GPS tracked runs 4-5x a week. The additional features have allowed me to even monitor my training to a different level. My Vo2 max and overall conditioning have stepped with the workout trainer included with your watch and app. As I said before, I have forever become a Garmin watch user and will never go back to apple

I love the Garmin, the solar experience, the heart rate function and how it seamlessly work with the Garmin head on the bike. In summer there is no need to recharge eeeeever! It is such an ecosystem companion

Going from am apple watch to this is an upgrade. I havent tested the solar power yet but this watch is ideal for those who want a smart watch without distractions from a color screen

Great if you know what you want. If you go into this thinking it's going to be a touchscreen smartwatch with a sexy bright screen you'll be let down. But if you use Garmin's Which Watch tool online and landed on this model, then you will be happy. Battery life is super high (like forever if you don't use GPS tracking), I have bashed it all over building a community park and it looks great, it's water safe for when I live into my commitment to start swimming, and the Garmin Connect app-verse is just better than what Google has turned Fitbit into. It's great.

This watch is great because of its long battery life and accurate fitness tracking. When not using the GPS I can easily get a few weeks of battery life out of this. Since this watch is solar powered, the more time you spend in the sun the longer the battery will last. I like that the watch can be used when wet since this watch is button controlled only.

Sleek, stylish, and incredibly functional. If you or anyone spend a majority of your time outside, this watch is a game changer that allows you to break free from cords, cell towers and all the other things that make most "smart" watches not functional in a rural setting. This watch is for people who are serious about getting away, and serious about tracking their movements, health metrics, and ton's of other areas that it monitors.

Excellent upgrade from my Instinct 1. The addition of Solar charging, Garmin Pay, and customizable displays is great! Before you buy a screen protector from Amazon, know that regardless if the Garmins website says the screens are the same size, the same screen protector does not fit both watches. I did test whether the screen shield interfered with the solar charging and it did not. After 1st full charge, the charge indicator read 40 days, but that will vary based on settings but still better than others.

I really am enjoying this smart watch! Records steps taken, gps, and awesome battery life.

Superb watch build and functionality. I do not have use for all the activities functions it has, but the amazing battery life of almost 2 weeks, the build quality, low weight and use as a smartwatch (notifications mostly) make it an excellent buy. No frills and lost and lots of functions still uncovered.

Technologically speaking, the Garmin Instinct 2 is a marvelous device -- incredible breadth of features, capability, solar charging, lightweight, etc. The problem is that it is so cluttered with features that it is difficult to remember how to use it. After playing around with it for an hour or so, I was becoming semi-comfortable with navigating my way around the menus and options. But I quickly came to the realization that if I put the watch down for any period of time, when I returned to it, I was once again stumbling around the menus trying to remember how to do things. In short, this is a fantastic device that tries to cram too much into a small package. I will be returning this item.

Love this watch. Tracks my fitness accurately and long battery life. It also tracks location when hiking and adds a bit of a safety net.

This is an excellent watch. Give you all the features of a fenix but at half the price. Very responsive and solar charging give up to infinite battery life. Gps is accurate as it work in dense forest. I ended up returning this for the Garmin instinct 2x , for it larger display and battery.

This is the 3rd Instinct Watch I've owned and all of them have been great. The watch battery life on a normal charge is about 30 Days and is the most durable smart watch I've owned. The only real downside to it is functions are somewhat more limited compared to most but the reliability makes up for it.

This is a good Smartwatch and I would recommend it to others.

This watch is so much better with the solar. The life span lasts so much longer now and I barely have to worry about charging every single week. You do need to be outdoors to get some good light but it’s a decent trade off to get the watch trickle charged. The garmin stats are great too.

I had the prior Instinct as well as Apple Watch 5. The battery on AW had expired and Instinct was feeling old. I looked at AW9 and couldn't stomach the price. I like the improvements over the original Instinct including payments, better health sensors, faster performance and cleaner physical interface. Sadly, this is even more useless for swimming than Instinct v1. Lap counting shows I've completed 4 laps when I've done 2 freestyle laps - should be an easy count. Heartrate now works for swim, but if you really care about distance, which I don't so much, it's a total fail. I'm not sure how it could count laps so poorly. Not sure what the Solar option does, but in general I saved a lot compared to Apple and I have good health sensors. Battery lasts 4-5 days for me, which is amazing. VO2 is appreciated and of the main sensors I was looking for. I like the way it feels and looks and it's not too uncomfortable to sleep with. Night mode is very good as well.

Love my Garmin watch! Keeps tract of everything! Yhe Best watch for me! Easy to setup ! Garmin watches are the way to go if you stay active!