Customer Ratings & Reviews

I love this watch. It's packed full of features that weeks after buying the watch I'm still discovering. If you're training or trying to lose weight it's a must as it keeps track of intensity of the workout and calories burned. It keeps track of your sleep and heart rate throughout the day as well. It even integrates with devices from other companies such as my zone. I was presently surprised that is also has some regular smart watch features such as phone notifications and it vibrates if you get a text or call. My main issue in the past with Fitbit is that they break too easily this watch has so far stood up to the beating and I hope it continues to.

I am very happy with this purchase. I had a 2 1/2 year old smartwatch that just didn’t have the battery life to track long hikes, so I decided to try the Garmin Instinct, and I’m glad I made the switch. The display is monochrome, with the option to have either a dark background with light numbers, or vice-versa. I prefer the light background with dark numbers. It is very easy to read, even in direct sunlight. The display is always on, so it’s easy to take a quick peek without the need to move your wrist to turn the screen on. I thought I would miss the colorful display, but I don’t. The “home screen” and activity screens are highly customizable, so you can see the information that is important to you. I have used the walk, bike and run tracking so far, and everything, except the altimeter, seem to be spot on. I live in a flat area and the altimeter seems to have some trouble with minor elevation changes. I am a woman with very small wrists, and I am happy to report the band fits very nicely and the watch is very light. It is more comfortable than my previous smartwatch. I also liked that I could get a watch that wasn’t black or white. I went with the flame red version and I like it. It isn’t an overpowering color. It looks more brick orange to me. The battery life is great. I use the GPS tracking several times a day and I usually still have two of five battery bars left after a weeks worth of use. I haven’t tried a really long hike yet, but I think it will work just fine based on what I have seen so far. For smartwatch type features, you can see who is calling or texting, and you can respond to texts with preset responses, as long as your phone is connected nearby. You can also get notifications from apps, like weather alerts (phone needs to be nearby). You can’t make calls and there aren’t any voice features. I found I really didn’t use these on my old watch, so that didn’t matter to me. The companion app is very nice and very easy to use. If you want a watch with good battery life and good activity tracking, this is a good choice.

Like it for work. Working in construction the watch stands up to abuse and the battery lasts more than just one day.

I had an Apple Watch for a few months until it broke - and there is no fixing. You have to get a new one. As a recent active sports convert, I was skeptical about another watch. I have the Garmin computer on my bike already, why do I need a watch? And Garmin doesn’t make things easy, they have like 50 different watch options... which one to get? A friend has the instinct and likes it, they went on sale after the Garmin hack, I had BestBuy points, so I decided to give it a shot. I’m pretty happy with it. Battery lasts a very long time, it has a ton of functionality, and tracking your activities is very easy. I mostly ride mountain bikes and this works great. It doesn’t have a touch screen (which is a plus for me) but it pairs with your phone for messages, syncing activities with Garmin Connect and controlling your music. The menus are a bit different to navigate but once you get the hang of it they are pretty consistent. I have an Android/WearOS watch and some other high end ones, mechanical and quartz, I don’t wear them anymore.

I purchased this to be able to have a lightweight alternative to the GShock watch. This tracks activities such as hiking and is waterproof for when you want to take a dip in the lake! Has GPS on it for when you get lost in the woods (which is always a plus) so overall it is easy to use and a great watch

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.

This watch is a life saver!!! I was in no way interested in the typical smartwatch, and this is anything but that! Rugged, made for the outdoorsman and ready for adventure this thing really has become a necessity on my wilderness adventures. Handles all the basic smart watch stuff just fine- time, sleep calculator, heart monitor, and you can view notifications - but not respond- which I like. The weather forecast has been spot on and the stand alone gps is a game changer

I got this watch for someone because I have one my self. This watch has so many great features and is US Army complaint. The features it boasts are storm alarms, compass, GPS (when you get lost), speed/pace calculator, and 100 meter water resistance! 10/10 in durability and comfort!

This is probably my 5th or 6th Garmin watch and the best. It is very sturdy yet not too big. I love the heart rate monitor and ability to customize for various workout. And I still get to monitor my steps throughout the day. Plus it really can replace my bike computer though I use both for now. A really good value and am glad that it does not have the touch screen. It is also much less prone to breakage than the top smart watch which my wife has had constant trouble keeping protected. Strongly recommend and it works with the Garmin app which I have used for years.

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.

Rugged watch with many features you'd see on the Fenix series but at a fraction of the cost. I mostly cycle, hike, and paddle and it's great to be able use different GPS options for more accurate tracking. GPS, GPS+GLONASS and GPS+GALILEO with GALILEO being the most accurate tracking. Although, you'll use more battery life with more powerful gps tracking. The high bevel surrounding the watch face really protects the face of the watch, not needing the high end sapphire glass and you can still get a 3rd party screen protector if you so desire. It shows when the sunset and sunrise will be, your heart rate, steps, and calories burned and much more! I highly recommend this watch to whoever wants a unit that's rugged, durable, loaded with features but doesn't need the music playback (can control music [pause, play, skip, back, volume] through bluetooth with a paired device) but wants to spend less.

I picked this up about 6 months ago on sale and really like it. It's my first GPS watch, so can't really compare to others. I mainly bought to track hiking distance and elevation, but have since started using it for cycling, running, and weight training. It's easy to operate, especially if you take a minute during initial setup to figure out which widgets are most useful. GPS is accurate (I often also record on phone using cycling or hiking app). Battery life is excellent, even with 3-5 longer runs/hikes/bikes per week, I can get 2 solid weeks between recharges. I just added a 5k coach from Garmin and it synchs well with the watch for interval training. I was originally considering the Fenix for the map view, but decided it wasn't worth double cost for such a small map screen. Happy that I went with Instinct.

Best all I one watch you could ask for it’s price, there’s obviously better watches out there and nicer looking ones with the same features but this watch is very durable and will stand the test of time you can also opt for the solar version and never have to charge it theoretically.

It is an incredible watch! I gave it to my husband for Father's Day and he is delighted with it, he can receive all the notifications from his phone, his state of health, reminders and pending tasks. It even informs him if his weight has changed. The best thing is that its charge lasts for days and you don't have to recharge every day. It is very resistant to blows and against water. The best money invested!

I have had the watch for just over a year now. I am not an avid runner, but this watch tracks activities, routes, steps, heartrate, and various other information very well. It has good enough smartwatch capabilities to help without being a distraction. I typically keep my phone on vibrate, and if I am up moving around I often do not feel my phone vibrate. The watch helps me know when I am getting calls and texts even when I cannot feel the phone. I have gone swimming, showered, filled in koi ponds, and other messy activities without thinking twice about keeping the watch on. I routinely get 2 weeks on one charge if I do not track a long activity. Otherwise I probably get 1 week. The best feature for me, and one of the reasons I got the watch was the silent alarm. The watch wakes me up each morning by vibrating on my wrist without waking my wife and daughter with an obnoxious alarm tone. The one con is that the wrist band can start to smell bad after prolonged periods of use. I recommend soaking the watch and scrubbing it well every once in a while to prevent this.

I purchased this Garmin Instinct to replace a failed Fitbit Blaze due to water seeping into the watch face. I wanted something that was rugged and was water resistant. This watch fit that mold and I am happy with all of the features. It's not flashy by any means and I like that, but still does the job of more expensive watches. It can control music through the Amazon Music App, I don't believe that was a listed feature, but doesn't hold music in it like some watches do. I use it for cycling, running and want to see what it would do on an open swim. It tracks running upstairs better than my Fitbit did. I am very happy with this purchase. Battery life is also very good, I can usually make it 5-6 days while moderately using the GPS.

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

It started as a watch that I wanted so it can help tell me the elevation I was at whenever I go hiking but it’s also helped keep track of my health and challenged me to improve and reach the new goal every day. I’ve only charged it twice in the month I’ve owned it and I’m pretty sure I can go a few more days if I lowered the brightness of the light. Overall it’s a great comfortable watching