Garmin Instinct 2?

I probably should have asked before I clicked ‘buy’, but I’ve just ordered one.  Standard Instinct 2, not the solar version. Any good? I got it at a slight discount through the Defence Discount Service.  I had a Vivoactive 3 which I really got on well with, but it somehow came unfastened and fell off my wrist whilst walking the dog. Despite spending hours retracing my steps to look for it, I never found it. 😡

That was a couple of months ago and I’ve really missed it, so I convinced Mrs Bloke to get me one as a valentines gift!  So pretty familiar with the Garmin app and interface and the Instinct 2 has a better battery life and a few more features than my old watch.

Do those that have one get on with it?

I went from the Vivo 3 to instinct Solar 2.

Took a little adjusting compared to having the touch screen, but easy enough. Battery life and data it generates are impressive. It’s a bit less of a smartwatch/lifestyle and more gps/training device. I’m really happy with it.

That sounds great, thanks 👍

You should have said, I’m about to have a 2nd hand Solar Instinct 2 for sale….

I went from a vivoactive 3 to a instinct solar

Prefer the instinct in every way except one. As you can’t download wigits I miss my tide chart that I had on the V3. Should have got a Surf but they were silly money compared to the open box standard one I got so couldn’t justify the extra

Better battery life, better screen in sunshine, feels snappier and quicker to use, Pulse ox (for when you have covid!), more rugged but still super light and less likely to fall off your wrist….plus on mine the solar works great when out in the kayak – really gives a charge.I thought about getting a fenix when they were on offer at sport pursuit but decided I just wouldn’t use the features

@winston thanks, v useful!

@Kryton57 doh!! Too late for me, but why are you selling it?

but why are you selling it?

it’s not definite yet, but I bought the JL Fenix 6 Pro on offer because I bought a bright Blue instinct, and becuase I prefer mechanical watches I’m constantly swapping watches. I thought with the Fenix I’d have some thing I can wear all weekend where Im constantly in / out and on/ off bikes without swapping. Also, same issue on holiday, in / out pool, runs in the morning etc. I’m happy to change watches for “Dinner” once a day but that’s it.

Technically, there is no reason to sell it, it’s an excellent piece of kit. I have to admit to being a bit if a tart to be fair. I’ll try the Fenix on without setting it up to see it’s looks / bulky otherwise the blue Instinct stays.

Thanks

I got a mk1 non solar instinct and love it to bits, great simple to use bit of kit and long battery life.
Might be tempted to look out for the solar one you may sell @Kryton57

I’ve got a non-solar Instinct 1.

It’s great. The interface takes a little while to figure out, 5 buttons and each one has a different short and long press function. And you can tweak the options so it works better for you.

Tempted by a 2 to get Gaermin Pay.

Only letdown is the weather forecast ‘app’ is useless. Or at least it is with my Samsung phone. It seems to only sync weather data with the phone when you open the phone app. At which point you may as well just open BBC weather. Everythig else will sync in the background. I guess there’s some permission somewhere that the phone isn’t giving garmin to download the data.

Only other thing I didn’t get on with was the silicone / rubber strap. It gave me a sweaty rash so I swapped it for a ‘leather’ one off ebay which not being elastic isn’t so tight and breathes a bit (also made it look a bit smarter).

@goby i’ll bear you in mind over the coming week. Just fyi it’s the blue one but I swapped to the Amazon grey strap to tone it down a bit.

I have the blue instinct 2 non solar…didn’t think it was that bright?
I like mine and wear it a fair bit. Took a while to get used to the buttons and I’m probably only using 10% of the functionality, but does what I need.

Battery life is really good.

Thanks @Kryton57, i currently got the tidal blue so no problem with the colour.

@winston, is your a 1 or 2? Tide widgets are showing available for 2

I went from a vivoactive 3 to a instinct solar

Prefer the instinct in every way except one. As you can’t download wigits I miss my tide chart that I had on the V3. Should have got a Surf but they were silly money compared to the open box standard one I got so couldn’t justify the extra

Better battery life, better screen in sunshine, feels snappier and quicker to use, Pulse ox (for when you have covid!), more rugged but still super light and less likely to fall off your wrist….plus on mine the solar works great when out in the kayak – really gives a charge.I thought about getting a fenix when they were on offer at sport pursuit but decided I just wouldn’t use the features

I did the same, I’m wearing the Instinct Solar now. I agree the lack of ‘Connect IQ‘ is a minor let down but then I much prefer using buttons, and the relative simplicity of the Instinct, I still have the VA3 as a backup/alternative, but I’ve not really needed it…

Isn’t their some limited Connect IQ functionality for the Instinct 2 so you can add watch faces and widgets now?

Battery life wise as nice as it is to have lots of standby time in smartwatch mode, it’s the burn time when tracking something with GPS that is the important bit, for the Instinct solar I’ve found it uses about ~3.8% per day in Smart watch mode and about ~5.5% per hour when recording an activity, so being conservative a full charge would be good ~16hrs before it starts complaining, I’ve not yet attempted to run it for that long, the most it’s had to deal with is 5-1/4 hrs which was no problem.

I’m not sure the Solar bit really adds that much more leccy capacity, especially this time of year. You can really lean things out and put it in power save mode and try to make sure you dangle your arm in any sunlight you do encounter I suppose, but honestly I don’t think you’ll be missing much without the solar bit.

All of the battery numbers for the instinct 2 were improved over the Instinct.

If it were a bit cheaper and I didn’t already have the instinct solar I’d be seriously considering the non-solar Instinct 2…

Isn’t their some limited Connect IQ functionality for the Instinct 2 so you can add watch faces and widgets now?

Yes – the original Instinct was a bit more limited, but the 2 series are more capable and not far off Fenix-level functionality. I’ve got the Solar model and it’s good for well over 24 hours GPS recording, and even more in summer.

That said, I’m also thinking of selling it 🙂

Why? Basically the screen’s just slightly too small and my aging eyes have problems reading it without glasses, particularly at night, which is obviously a PITA. It’s a pity, as the battery life, funcionality, and looks are all great.

Mine is the first generation so no Connect IQ unfortunately. TBH it really isn’t that much of an issue as I tend to have my phone with me when kayaking so can get tide data easily enough. The V3 was absolutely awful in the kayak as the touchscreen was unuseable as soon as it got wet and the screen was unreadable in bright sunlight so I’m very happy with the original Instinct solar.

They’re great (I’ve got the Solar Instinct 1) and the map/route feature has made me leave the eTrex at home – using with an iPhone 12 mini, they make an excellent pair. For serious outdoor use, I think they have everything you need and little you don’t. When I’m using it to navigate multi-day bikepacking trips or thru-hiking, I turn off the heart rate tracking and it boosts battery life considerably. I get around 3 full days’ worth of tracking/navigation like that.

As ever STW has the knowledge! Thanks all, loads of useful info and some reassurance I’ve not bought a lemon.

I loved my V1 Instinct and would no doubt still have it now if it hadn’t of been stolen last year.

Replaced it with a Fenix 6 as there was a good offer on at the time.

It seems to only sync weather data with the phone when you open the phone app

if you get other push notifications (texts, whatsapp etc.) i’d check the weather app isn’t being shutdown automatically to save battery life.

I’ve got a Suunto 9 Peak Pro, which is possibly a bit more refined especially in the looks department. But in terms of outdoor functionality, the Instinct 2 does everything I need and does it well. I went for the non solar as it’s no hassle to charge it when I’m at work and I get plenty enough battery life from it.

@goby I’ve sent you a DM – sometime they don’t work so please feel free to email me – kryton57 at sky dot com.