Customers regard the Instinct 2 Solar 45 mm Smartwatch's battery life and durability as exceptional, with many praising its long-lasting power and rugged construction. The solar charging feature is also frequently highlighted as a beneficial addition, while the GPS accuracy and comprehensive sleep tracking capabilities receive positive feedback. However, some users express concerns about the display's readability, particularly indoors, and the heart rate monitor's accuracy.
This summary was generated by AI based on customer reviews.
The vast majority of our reviews come from verified purchases. Reviews from customers may include My Best Buy members, employees, and Tech Insider Network members (as tagged). Select reviewers may receive discounted products, promotional considerations or entries into drawings for honest, helpful reviews.
Page 2 Showing 21-40 of 234 reviews
Pros mentioned:
Durability
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
this is a great buy! and it was a pleasure to rece
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Posted . Owned for 3 weeks when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
this is a great buy! and it was a pleasure to receive this watch.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
The Instinct Solar II has great battery lufe but won't charge wirelessly in my charger. The Garmin software does not count stair ascents/descents well and does not do total elevation.
Thank you for your review and experience with the Instinct 2 Solar. We would like to discuss this further over email. If you would please email us at [email protected]. Garmin
Pros mentioned:
Battery life, Durability, Gps
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Awesome watch
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Posted . Owned for 3 weeks when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
The Garmin Instinct 2 Solar 45 mm smartwatch is fantastic, combining excellent durability and functionality with its tough fiber-reinforced polymer construction. The solar feature extends battery life significantly, which is incredibly useful during my outdoor adventures and daily activities. Operating the watch is easy thanks to its intuitive interface, making it accessible for everyone, regardless of their tech knowledge. Its waterproof and weather-resistant design makes it my favorite companion for all kinds of workouts, both on land and in water. The range of sports and health features, including activity tracking, heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, and precise GPS navigation, means this watch meets even the highest expectations.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Love this watch! I’ve had it for almost two years now, and it’s incredible. Not the flashiest of things but it’s solid. I’ve worn it everyday no matter the location or weather and it barely shows its age. Great for those who want something smart, simple, and durable. Battery life sits at roughly 30 days if you’re just using it for basic tracking. Workouts, gps use, etc., will drop that a bit. Only recommendation I have is to purchase a different band for it, the original isn’t the most comfortable. I would 100% recommend this watch.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Its your basic looking watch. Buts it’s awesome! It has all the features for your fitnees needs. Not a touchscreen thats why i said basic and for its overall appearance. Battery is a huge plus. I bought it July 4th and still haven’t charged it, its 8/13/25 now. Of course, if you’re a fitness geek then you’ll drain the battery faster but still it’ll give you a ton of battery life .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Sold my Apple Watch for this? You bet your money I did! This is so much more versatile than the Apple Watch! Going on 3 months having this watch and I haven’t looked back since. Having a wayyyyy better battery life than the Apple. I’m actually not afraid to get this watch wet either. Being outdoors and active, not afraid to beat this watch up. Highly recommend if you’re an outdoorsy person or even just a casual person that doesn’t do much outdoors.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
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.
Posted . Owned for less than 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
My last three watches have been the Apple Watch. The Garmin Instinct 2 is by far better for an active lifestyle and activity tracker, and only 3 days into owning this, I wished I switched to Garmin sooner.
First, the battery life is fantastic. I charged it when I first bought it and haven't charged it since. I've done multiple running/walking/strength activities with this watch and still have 11 days of battery life remaining with a few of the advanced tracking features turned on (which consume more battery). If you're annoyed by the constant charging of an Apple Watch, I would highly recommend looking at this or some of the other Garmin offerings.
The data accuracy and breadth are fantastic. The Garmin app does a great job at helping me better understand my overall health and how to improve my training and activities.
The workout plans are awesome! They are simple to set up on the Garmin app, push to your watch, and the watch tracks your reps and guides you through your workout.
There is a bit of a learning curve but I found it to be very intuitive after skimming through the online user manual.
The Instinct 2 is lightweight and comfortable to wear. The tracking appears to work great when I wear the band a bit looser, something the Apple Watch struggled with.
If you're looking for more in-depth data, better tracking, and avoiding battery anxiety, you should seriously consider the Instinct 2. Good job Garmin!
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
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 reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I watch works great battery. Life is amazing. Solar power works great as well. Take abeating and just keeps working without minimal issues and recharging.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Love this watch. Tracks my sleep, lifts, daily steps, swims. Has emergency settings to where it contacts your emergency contact phone number. Also has GPS features. Watch Connects to your phone as well through the Garmin App. 28 day battery life and has solar
charging capabilities. Only company watches I would recommend.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I had been having some issues with my first generation Instinct Solar. However, between the time we ordered the new Instinct Solar 2 at Best Buy and received the new watch, I learned how to make some battery saving settings, mainly turning off full time pulse ox tracking.
I was thinking I could set up the Instinct as primary tracker and set the first generation Instinct as a backup or to use when doing yard work since the new Instinct Solar 2 was a very light gray (almost white). I found it was a bit more difficult to do that than I expected.
Ultimately, I decided to return the new Instinct Solar 2 to its factory settings and return it to Best Buy for a refund.
I also figured that by getting more use from my first generation Instinct Solar, I would be able to get an Instinct Solar 2 when they are more readily available at the store without having to special order it. For example, the first generation Instinct Solar watches are readily available now.
NOTE: I still like my first generation Instinct Solar. The Garmin Connect and Garmin Express apps give a much better workout and overall tracking report than other fitness trackers.
This review is from Garmin - Instinct 2 Solar 45 mm Smartwatch Fiber-reinforced Polymer - Mist Gray