Customer Ratings & Reviews

I just wanted a fitness tracking watch and boy did I get it. Pros 1. (Most important) this watch is ready to go out of the box. There is an app but you don't have to sync this to a smartphone to get full use. I don't want big tech controlling my health data 2. Display is crystal clear in direct sunlight 3. Heart rate is accurate 4. Workout mode is awesome, with clear HR target zones, audible and vibrate cues for lap times and amazing workout summary 5. It looks great and seems to be very rugged and durable 6. GPS syncing is accurate and keeps time adjusted 7. Battery charge goes for days (although I think it's shortened if you sync to a phone and get pushed messages, notifications etc) 8. Barometer and altimeter at this price point are nice bonuses. Cons 1. Uses a special charge cable. Mini USB would have been great since I have them everywhere 2. GPS mapping looks good but isn't overlaid with a geographical map. I really didn't expect this anyway for the $200 price point. It does give you coordinate stamps so that's nice. I can't recommend this watch enough. I'll never own one that isn't Garmin after this.

Got it just to not have a second device to use when running or biking. It's been great as a watch and as a gps based activity meter. Display brightness/contrast even in direct sunlight is great. Gps accuracy is not top notch for sure, but still accurate enough not to be bothered by the range of variations even for 7 miles run (my guess it will be good enough for longer distances too for most people). Overall I'm happy with this model. A single feature it lacks that I definitely miss is no support for Alexa voice commands. But so far I still had no desires to look for another model (which also would be more expensive).

So far everything works perfect except the heart monitor, which is slightly inaccurate.. unfortunately that’s why I am giving it four stars. It’s a beautiful watch! It grabs a lot of compliments and looks super sporty and stylish. I love the alarm option which really wakes me up!! It’s a must have watch if you don’t worry about the heart monitor option. GPS is accurate and steps as well. The battery life is way better than most other smart watches in the same range.

I still haven't gotten all of the functions down, but I love the fact it keeps track of my steps and my sleep. It keeps track of my heart beats per minute and can tell how many calories you burn, sunrise and sunset, how many miles you walk. There is a app for the phone, but I connect with my PC and read the data it logs from there. The screen puts out quite a bit of light which can help with finding keys etc...The face has many options in dark or light color. I have set my watch to military time. Sensors and charging port on back side.

Great watch, easy to clean, runs great and can run all week on a charge.

This watch is preety good for its price although the LCD screen is a bit disappointing it a price to payfor the immense battery life that comes with this watch for the complications I put on my watch face i get a good 14 days of battery life but i havent let the watch fully drain ever so you could probably get a couple more days. overall good watch would recommend

Product was good. I was happy with the overall build quality of this product, but it was not perfect option for my running needs. Many of the running features like PacePro were missing. I specially did not like one that, it does not show battery percentage. Belt quality super like.

Overall I like the watch. My biggest issue is that no charger is included...only a cord. IMO, that would be fine if they explained what you need to get for a wall charger. When I look at Best Buy, most USB wall chargers seem like they would be pushing more watts/amps/volts than a small device like this could take. When I look for low watt chargers (ex. 5 watts), the only ones I can find are cheap non-UL listed models--which Garmin says will void the warranty (non UL listed). I chatted with Garmin for help but the only advice was to get a UL listed charger--no watts/amps/volts advice or cautions and apparently they don't sell one appropriate for this watch. How does it make sense not to provide this info to the customer? Other thoughts: I like the general G-Shock like appearance but would prefer more options to change the face. It is comfortable to wear. The compass seems responsive. The light is adequate and the battery life seems good so far. I like the heart rate monitor but I have yet to learn how one could record a track record by day, week or month. That would be cool if it is available. Some of the controls are a bit hidden in menus and sub menus but I guess that comes from packing a lot into one watch with only buttons. There are several little videos on the internet showing how to do various things--that is helpful but it would be cool if one could set a lot of this stuff up through a PC with a keyboard and mouse while it was hooked up. Really hoping I can get advice for a proper wall/travel charger so I'm not stuck having to charge it only through a PC USB port from fear of burning it up.

I've been wearing this watch 24/7/365 for almost two years now so this is more of a long term review. Overall I have been happy with the operation. It seems to log data accurately and the supporting app is adequate for novice use. I work out for up to four hours per week and even now after roughly two years I only have to charge it about twice a month with that kind of use. I've been very impressed with how long I can wear it between charges. If you go on a multi-hour bike ride or long hike where it needs to log more data, then expect to charge it weekly. A full weekend of skiing will also require a recharge when you get home. I wish the operation was a little more intuitive, but with only a couple buttons (no touch screen operation) I guess that is to be expected. Based on my experience, I would buy another Garmin product when it is time to replace this one.

I ranked it a 4 star because the first one I had just decided to not hold a battery charge after 11 months of use. I did get the extended warranty and it was very easy from best buy to swap the watch out for free. I absolutely love this watch other than that one issue. The battery life last at least 5 days on heavy use. I walk or hike 4 to 6 days a week and always track my hikes. It uses GPS and gives me a map of the area I traveled, the time i started and finished, keeps me notified on my heart rate every 15 minutes, and distance I have traveled. I went from a fitbit to the Garmin and I am completely satisfied with this watch. I just hope the battery does crap out on me in 10 months again.

If you’re a swim geek, this isn’t your watch. If you like colors, touch screens and customization this isn’t your watch. If you want a basic tracker w GPS and a very long battery - this is your watch. This doesn’t keep heart rate while swimming and only counts freestyle properly. It will not count kick laps at all and freauentky misses breaststroke laps. I wouldn’t use as primary cycle tracker as it’s too tedious to fiddle w on a bike. I use a dedicated edge25 for cycling and it’s far easier. Solid otherwise.

The watch is really nice. I used to have a fitbit Ionic and the Garmin Instinct is very responsive and the battery life is awesome. The band is comfortable, and I definitely feel this is more durable than the Ionic. The one thing that's holding this watch back compared to the Ionic is the Garmin Connect app. I guess it is more customizable than Fitbit app, but it's kind of hard to navigate, and it doesn't auto track workouts like Fitbit does.

I've owned several Garmin products over the years and still use some that are many years old. Some are better than others obviously but I believe the Instinct is truly a cut above. The fit and feel is excellent at all times from sleeping, working in the office and out on the floor to cycling all out, up that nemesis hill. There are tons of data available on this thing and all of it integrates seamlessly to the Garmin app. The only reason why I didn't give it 5 stars is because I know that the sleep data isn't exactly correct. There are times that I have gotten out of the bed at night to let the dog out, and the app shows that I slept uninterrupted all night. It's a little big for my preference but it has a lot of jobs to do and it's easy to read while on the go. The battery life crazy excellent. I usually just charge it one night a week even though it has never run completely down yet. I don't even pull cycling data from my 10 year old Garmin Edge anymore because the Instinct has taken over the job.

Best non Apple Smart watch I’ve owned. I started years ago with the Pebble which was one of the first smart watches available and have had almost every major brand since. This is the best outside of an Apple Watch I’ve ever tried and it does a lot of things better these the apple. The battery life is as advertised if not better. It’s very light weight and durable. It has way more features and customization than first glance. I will point out I purchased this on sale at 149 which to me is what makes it great. If it were full price I wouldn’t feel the same as far as the value goes. At 300 full price I would most likely purchase something else but if you can catch it on sale for less than 200 I think it’s highly worth it. Value is 5 stars on sale but 3-4 at full price.

If you're looking for something simple that tracks fitness, and steps with some good features like whether, and when getting messages this is the watch you. Very light weight with the capabilities of a g-shock. This is the watch for those who want fitness tracking with no everyday charging.

Good: many features, built to take abuse Bad: lack of color screen For the money, this is a great smartwatch, but it does have some drawbacks. The lack of color can make it a bit hard to read, and the large size will be a problem for anyone with a small wrist.

Does everything the more expensive units do, long battery life, comfortable, light weight, reasonably priced; it just works

Has the features I was looking for.good GPS, good heart monitor nice exercise tracking program good battery life. The biggest complaint is that takes a somewhat complicated combination of button pressing to operate , manual is not all that good.

I bought the Instinct after my Apple Watch Series 1 did an auto update which failed miserably and caused me to factory reset. So far I've been pretty happy with it. I can't get over the battery life. It's crazy to go days or weeks on end without charging. I dinged it a star for two reasons. First, it's not 100% intuitive and I still sometimes forget how to get to the feature I'm after. Which of the buttons and in what order do I press? Second, I hate proprietary charging. I misplaced the factory cable and had to order a new one. I have 1000 micro-usb cables laying around which I could've used...if only. Death to proprietary cables! The GPS feature is nice. Not only do I use it to track runs, but I was also able to save waypoints for cool spots we found while boating on vacation.

Good not great. The view screen isn't the best especially if you're challenged with your eye site. It also randomly chooses settings so when you're walking, it might turn on that feature. To be honest, I'm not the best to review this product because I'm not one to "read instructions" and get all "techy". So for the cost, it's a good watch. The battery charge stays long. Solid product overall. And it looks good for that athletic look and the light up feature (blue) looks good.