If anyone has Blue Light Card discount there are good saving to be had on Garmin devices through the Garmin Store (between 20-30% depending on the device). A Garmin Instinct 2 is £225 and a Garmin Instinct 2 Solar is £300 (so 25% of each)
OK, maybe not quite as good as the original PSA, but Garmin Instinct Solar (renewed "works and looks like new") are £100 on Amazon at the moment.
I don't really understand the Amazon model. Is that watch sold by Garmin??
Thanks
Look for the bit that says "sold by amazon" - it's amazon returns I assume.
@frogstomp how did you find that? The link works for me but if I search Amazon for Garmin Instinct Solar it doesn't bring any up at £99
Frogstomps link goes straight to £99.99 'renewed' Instinct for me
@frogstomp how did you find that? The link works for me but if I search Amazon for Garmin Instinct Solar it doesn’t bring any up at £99
It was put up on HUKD.
I've taken a punt as bought renewed before from Amazon and apart from some 'history' in the data on the device everything was as new.
Been billed so will see if this one turns up 😉
nuke
Full Member
Frogstomps link goes straight to £99.99 ‘renewed’ Instinct for mePosted 27 minutes ago
Link works for me too, my question was more about how Amazon search works
Ordered one. Came today, watch looks brand new but missing the charger cable, contacted Amazon via live chat and got £9.99 refunded.
Ordered one. Came today, watch looks brand new but missing the charger cable, contacted Amazon via live chat and got £9.99 refunded.
Get these ordered, much better than the charging cable they come with.
Thanks, I'll have a look.
Mrs has a Garmin watch so I'll use her cable for now.
Thanks @frogstomp. I’ve just ordered one. Been using an old forerunner 225, which mostly won’t connect to my phone, so it’s got to be better than that.
The Amazon "used" deals can be quite good, they're often just a damaged box or missing a superfluous item
Got mine today. Came in a Garmin refurbished box with cable and looks like new. Happy days.
Is the Instinct Solar better than a Forerunner 235? Or very similar in performance etc?
to breath some new life into this 😉
spotted (non solar) "refurbished" instincts on Ebay for £70, plus a 15% off voucher takign them down to £59.49. No affiliation with the seller, was looking for something else and just came across it. £60 for a decent watch is a steal imo.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/114641063008
Cheers! Picked up an orange/red one. Had been thinking about a G Shock and a Forerunner 55 recently but this will fit the bill nicely.
How long do the batteries last on these watches after a few years?
I'm slightly wary of buying a 4 year old device with a rechargable battery in it.
I've had my forerunner 245 for 2.5 years, used pretty much 24/7 for that time and I'm still getting the full 7 days from a charge.
Received the Instinct from the eBay seller above and it's going back. It's really just a second hand watch, grade b suggests it's a new but opened watch and from the retailer or manufacturer whereas this was a well used item. Also stated as refurbished and the thing was fairly dirty, nothing like someone else's skin and grime to put you off a new purchase.
I also picked up a forerunner 735XT from that seller with the 15% off, hadn't seen the link above just pure coincidence, its second hand although condition is pretty good but it won't turn on (been charging for maybe 30 mins) but doesn't look good 🙁
There are factory renewed Garmin devices on Amazon. I bought a Venu for £109 and it is literally as new, came with all the docs and cable and a proper Garmin box, albeit with renewed printed on it. Amazon also over 12 months satisfaction guarantee. The prices and option are in a constant state of flux so you have to check back frequently and not dither! 😉
I ended up going for a Forerunner 55 through my works rewards scheme, about £40 off and from Garmin. I'd had hoped that the eBay one would have been like a proper refurbished item, I've had an edge 520 refurbished and it was as new.
There are factory renewed Garmin devices on Amazon
I picked up a “renewed” Instinct Solar for £100 from Amazon. Been using it for 2 months, with no issues and no problem with battery life. Very happy with it.
ebay seller above is sending out a replacement for my DOA 735XT and said I can keep the original one she sent me for spares....
I picked up a “renewed” Instinct Solar for £100 from Amazon. Been using it for 2 months, with no real clue how it works and how to navigate the various screens. Also a bit peeved that when used biking the buttons frequently get pressed by my wrist/ hand holding the handlebars, and this pauses the Strava recording.
Regarding battery life, was amazed how much power it needs to GPS. Took it off my wrist on one ride, to avoid abovementioned button problem, and stuck it in the rucksack with 27 days battery life showing.
Discovered that it used those 27 days battery in about 3 hours and then shut down mid route.
Have you perhaps googled for the manual? Fenix 3 here, did same when riding when got it - looked at manual and set keylock to 3 seconds, issue resolved. .
So I know of two ways to lock the buttons:
1. Under system settings->Auto-lock (during activity, etc) I have it still set to Off.
2. CTRL->Lock Keys.
Regarding battery life, was amazed how much power it needs to GPS. Took it off my wrist on one ride, to avoid abovementioned button problem, and stuck it in the rucksack with 27 days battery life showing.
Discovered that it used those 27 days battery in about 3 hours and then shut down mid route.
sounds like its a bit knackered. my instinct solar has done a 22 hour ride (fully "on" - no power saving mode) with 3% life left at the end. Granted there was some sun on it in that time, but that won't make the kind of difference you're talking about
Maybe it had to flash harder looking for a heart rate?
I'd expect it to track for way longer than 3 hours.
My experience with the instinct solar so far is that battery life after charging shows 26/27 days. Whatever it shows as days more or less becomes hours if it's using GPS tracking. And if it's had some solar during the previous discharge cycle the battery life shows more than 26 days. I've seen it as high as 32.
Discovered that it used those 27 days battery in about 3 hours and then shut down mid route.
just come back from a three hour ride with 20 days battery left, sounds like you have a dodgy one
Also a bit peeved that when used biking the buttons frequently get pressed by my wrist/ hand holding the handlebars, and this pauses the Strava recording.
On my Fenix I've set a key press shortcut ("hotkeys") to lock & unlock the buttons to avoid this. Have also set some other shortcuts for things I use regularly (e.g. to get to the stopwatch/timer page with one long press of a button). It looks like the same can be done for the instinct.
Garmin Instinct Owners Manual Page
Discovered that it used those 27 days battery in about 3 hours and then shut down mid route.
just come back from a three hour ride with 20 days battery left, sounds like you have a dodgy one
Agreed. No problem with mine regarding battery longevity
Received the Instinct from the eBay seller above and it’s going back. It’s really just a second hand watch, grade b suggests it’s a new but opened watch and from the retailer or manufacturer whereas this was a well used item. Also stated as refurbished and the thing was fairly dirty, nothing like someone else’s skin and grime to put you off a new purchase.
Yea, it was definitely stretching the definition to breaking point. Arrived dirty in a bashed tin with some foam packing.
grade b suggests it’s a new but opened watch and from the retailer or manufacturer
I'm not saying that what you received was acceptable, but that's not any definition of Grade B that I've seen.
I think receiving a ‘refurbished’ item that still has muck and grime on it is a massive stretch in accurate descriptions. They should just call it ‘used’ like it actually is - nothing has been done to refurbish.
currently £150 at amazon (brand new). Good value.. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-Instinct-Solar-powered-Smar****ch-Monitoring/dp/B089NXV18J
Who else is still bitter, one year on..?
Who else is still bitter, one year on..?
Me. I bought one of the amazon refurbished mentioned above and still have only the slightest clue how it works. It's mindblowingly unintuitive to work.
Still 50:50 whether I'll send it back for refund before my year is up.
Wish I'd bought one if the Sunntos on BF.
I bought one and love it. But not sure if the solar part just increases the battery life or what other function it does.
As an old git i also struggle to see the phone alerts/ messages on the screen too. 😁
Who else is still bitter, one year on..?
No not really as I managed to get one. Very handy for my dinnertime swims, measure sleep and backup for my wahoo.
I bit the bullet and bought myself Fenix 6s Pro Solar....
Thought the standard 6 and especially the 6x were far too bulky for my dainty wrists....
Quite impressed and daunted at the same time. Not sure what some of the features do.
Also a little depressing to be told by a watch that your sleep is shite, your stress levels are high and that you should get more rest.
