Customer Ratings & Reviews

Affordable watch, pretty reliable and looks great at this price range. Bought the blue version of the Instinct Solar. I come from as a long time Fitbit watch owner and a more recent Apple Watch owner. My original Fitbit is the Fitbit Versa (1st generation), which is square shaped and fairly simple tech. It provided what I needed, which were steps, date and time, water proof for common usage. It allowed me around 3 days' worth of battery life. It is square shaped. It was free from work, otherwise, it would not have been my first choice for a watch. I bought my wife an Apple Watch Series 6 to wear, but after several months she stopped wearing it and went back to her own Fitbit watch. She explained she was tired of having to recharge the Apple Watch every day. She preferred her Fitbit watch that lasted 6 days before a recharge. I took the Apple Watch thinking I would make better use out of it as a techie, but I also ran into the issue of it required a recharge every day or every 1.5 days at most. It was not recommended by Apple to be worn while showering even though if you go swimming Apple states that is acceptable. I literally was afraid of looking at the Apple Watch Series 6 due to the battery drain. The inconvenience of having to remember to charge the watch before I sleep to monitor my sleep, remembering to take the watch off before jumping into the shower, and multiple other issues just wore me down too. The sleep data for Apple Watch Series 6 is nothing close to Fitbit sleep data and anything more advanced, you have to buy from third party app developers. I could not find anything free that was similar to Fitbit and especially not something where you could just pay a one time fee. I preferred a circle shaped watch anyways. I did some research on what was available out there that would not cost an arm and leg to purchase but had all the bells and whistle. My criteria were: - Long battery life. - Steps count, heart rate, sleep monitoring. - Some kind of GPS feature. - Not super expensive, but not a cheap throw-away watch either. - Can take a little bit beating but doesn't have to be military grade ruggedness. - Circle watch and looks good (obviously). I know that "smartwatches" will not last as long as a non-smartwatch, unless the battery replacement is simple, LCD screen will last for a long time, etc. This Garmin Instinct Solar seems to fit all my wishes at this price range. The battery life is crazy good, I mean enable everything including the pulse ox and you should get at least a week+ worth of battery life easily. This is with the watch not absorbing any sunlight at all. It has a simple GPS, nothing fancy, but I bike ride and will be using an external dedicated GPS device for routes. I just want something for casual hiking and biking, nothing serious. I can wear this to sleep, the sleep data mimics close to Fitbit's details. Really nice and it's built-in to the watch, you do not have to make a separate purchase. I do not know how accurate ANY of the watches' heart rate are, but wearing the Fitbit, Apple Watch, and Garmin working out, the rates show to be within 15 beats of each other. Take that for what its worth, I don't need the accuracy for any critical medical monitoring conditions. I read that external heart rate monitor strap would make the readings accurate, so I am considering to get that should I need it later (5K/10K running, etc). There's a lot of other features from this watch that I have not yet used, so that is just a bonus goodie for me. I have used Garmin to connect to Strava, the data recorded is great and as expected (same with Apple Watch and Fitbit), no complaints there. I wear this watch showering, sleeping and everything in between. The recharge of the watch is fast too, if I am standing around working, I plug in the watch and I think within 30 minutes I can get a full charge from 50% (I never really paid attention how long it takes to fully charge). There's got to be something not that great about this watch, you ask? Otherwise, why the 4 stars instead of 5 stars? Yes, the PULSE OX feature is a bit flaky. At night, it seems to measure the oxygen level all over the range. As log as 80, and as high as 100. I wore the Apple Watch Series 6 and my wife's Fitbit Luxe, they all had above 90 range. Now, one thing I am starting to realize is how you need to wear the Garmin Instinct Solar and online research also confirms. You have to wear the watch higher on the wrist, it cannot be loose. When you sleep, just slide it up the wrist and make sure it's tightly pressed against your skin. I need a few more sample nights to test, but I had one night where it was 85 or higher, the next night it was 90 or higher. I'll sleep on it a few more nights and then see, but looks hopeful now that I have the watch tightened a bit more against the skin. If you measure the Pulse Ox manually, it is always 95 or higher, this is as expected. Overall, highly recommended watch. I would buy again!

It doesn't have a touch display or color. The navigation and features are buried behind different button clicks. The mobile apps are needed to fully use the watch (Garmin Connect at least, and Explore to build/manage maps and routes). The watch display is small and not intuitive if you expect to see normal maps. I after I got this watch, it took several hours of tinkering and setup to fully understand, load up my routes, and tune to my preferences. But: the battery life is outstanding. The functionality works great. Orienteering with the watch is easy. I've had several gps units and watches. I am outdoors, in woods, on trails and water. I am hard on my gear. This watch records activity well and can provide the exact info I need. I've owned Samsung and Suunto watches, which I also like. This Garmin supports phone notifications, music, weather, but it's barely "smart". Given the battery life and solar charging, however, and lots of data and functionality specific to outdoor navigation and recreation, this watch is my favorite by a wide margin.

Great watch, it holds a charge for weeks at a time and is extremely durable. If you use the GPS feature daily, the battery life is reduced to about a week at a time. I’ve used it to train for many runs and unlike the Apple Watch, it will hold a charge for the duration of a marathon.

I love it so much !! The solar is amazing ! And it’s very durable the battery life is very good as well but it can be drain a lot faster if you use the features that it comes with but everything else is awesome

"I recently purchased the Garmin solar watch and I'm absolutely thrilled with it! The sleek design and comfortable fit make it a stylish accessory for any occasion. But what truly impresses me is its functionality. The solar charging feature ensures that I never have to worry about running out of battery, and the advanced health and fitness tracking features keep me on top of my game. From monitoring my daily steps and heart rate to tracking my runs and bike rides, this watch has become an essential tool for my active lifestyle. Highly recommend!"

I’ve been using a Garmin vivoctive for about 5 years. I upgraded to this watch. As an active person, I’ve found the profile to be a bit bulky. I’ve snagged it multiple times and it’s not as comfortable on my wrist. I’m always ready to take it off as soon as possible whereas that was not the case with my vivoactive. I frequently accidentally stop the clock on my long workouts by somehow bumping the button. I have been challenged to learn how to use it after having the vivoavtive. The vibrate notification is so loud and strong, it frequently vibrates off the counter when I’m not wearing it. I’m not sure that’s necessary, I have a landscaping business, I enjoy rock climbing, and I hike and camp. I like having the solar function, gps, phone notification so I don’t have to have my phone. I love all the functions that I enjoyed with my previous watch. The battery lasts forever and does charge as long as my long sleeved shirts aren’t covering it. So if the Garmin manufacturers read these reviews, I would like a flatter more comfortable watch with all the same functions.

Had it for a year now. Great watch, durable, awesome running and hunting features. Battery takes a little while to charge but lasts forever in comparison with other smartwatch options. In some cases when just using as a watch - up to a month with no charge. GPS uses obviously changes this. Very satisfied with this purchase.

Have used all brands. Fitbit, carbinox, apple, samsung and NONE have touched the battery life of this. I am more of an outdoors person and the GPS feature and solar charging make this watch amazing. No you can't call, text, or listen to music with the watch; BUT who doesn't carry their phone anyway. This watch has gotten me unlost on a trail and I've been using it for roughly about 3 years. And charge it every 2 weeks if that.

I was looking for a durable GPS watch with a good size face and this was the perfect choice! It looks great (tactical, military inspired), very durable, tracks everything from heart rate, steps and has GPS too! Everything I’ve been looking for in a watch!

The battery life is much improved with the more efficient heart rate sensor and GPS. The solar charging capabilities is great if you spend a good amount of time outdoors. Very comfortable and just my style.

Great watch with great battery life. Can’t go wrong with this purchase.

A solid, rugged, reliable time piece. Notifications hit every time. The solar charging is spot on. Very comfortable to wear. Sleep tracking is decent. Only con is the screen has a tendency to appear washed out at times.

I had a Garmin for 4-5 years, used it for swim, run, bike, kayak - it was awesome. When it finally died, I tried using an Apple Watch but I ruined my first one within 2 weeks, got it replaced, and struggled with the screen on that one - it just froze after 20 min in water, even with the water lock on. I got this Garmin and love it. I can’t believe the battery life, and the solar charging is amazing.

Perfect for tracking hikes, and as a navigation aid when out in the wild. I never wanted to wear a smartwatch that needs constant charging--this one is great and lasts for weeks between charges with the solar feature adding a bit extra during extended outdoor activities. The only downside is that Garmin's product segmentation means that if you're looking to do focused training, e.g., for running, you'll be missing features. For the kind of use I make of it I don't miss things like VO2 max, and it pairs well with the Edge I use for cycling (which does provide that sort of functionality). To get all of the functionality and battery life of this watch and the training elements would mean moving up to a much more expensive watch, making this one a good value if you're more concerned with tracking than training.

I love this watch! I wish I would have gotten one sooner. I got this to replace an aging Apple Watch for long runs. The Apple Watch would last 6-8 hours and I had a 50K run scheduled that ended up lasting ~9hrs. The GPS tracking and other features are great but the battery life is outstanding!! My watch was only charged about 80% before the run. After 9hrs of GPS tracking the watch was only depleted to about 40%, Its been 10 days and I still have not charged the watch and it has 14 days of battery life left.

great watch have had it for at least a year works great awesome battery life lasts for 2 weeks at least almost 3 when using features uses more battery life but love the watch very durable

I traded in my Apple Watch to get this. The health tracking is way better, along with the sleep tracking. I couldnt even track my sleep with Apple Watch because the battery would die and need to be charged overnight. Comparatively, my watch now has a battery life of 26 days. I love this watch and highly recommend buying it!

Great watch, it does exactly what I wanted. I was looking for a smart watch that counted my steps. I wanted something tough because I am tired of scratching the face of smart watches this has been great. The battery life is outstanding and the band is the most comfortable of any I have warn.

This was purchased as a gift. Wearer confirmed very sturdy as he works outdoors with heavy duty equipment. At least over a week of not plugging into charge because of the solar feature enabled battery to keep going. Clearly not your fancy, touch screen smartwatch but it connects to your phone and notifies you calls, messages, etc just fine. Overall, great purchase.

Great product, but takes time to learn which buttons to press to start and stop activities or move through functions. I have also found that most of my dress shirts sleeve width at the wrist is not wide enough to go over the watch. This isn't their fault as I wanted the extra protection of the raised guard during activities, I just didn't think the thickness would have caused issues. I may have to buy the Garmin Fenix down the road as I do love the functionality : ) Its like a Swiss army knife of watches.