Garmin Instinct, thoughts and options please.

Just need to find a deal on one now. Cant find them particularly cheap anywhere (looking for graphite). Everyone seems to have them at or near RRP or not in graphite.

Hs Johnson are doing the graphite one for £241, and then you can get 10% off this with the code aff10, taking it to £217

I paid £197 for a graphite one from hs Johnson a few weeks ago, but it looks like the prices have gone up slightly

@julians The 10% off code doesn’t work but there is a 5% one which takes it to £230. Would prefer to get around the £200 mark though

Do the button get pressed when flexing the wrist when riding at all or are they suitably protected?

I found they did for me and, after accidentally stopping the recording and losing part of a ride, i found & turned on ‘auto-lock during activity’ which has solved it

Right ordered one. HS Johnson dropper the price to £220 with a further 5% off taking it to £208 so happy with that. Will hopefully be here tomorrow.

Mine came yesterday.

Really happy with it. Like the styling (but I do wear G-Shocks). Pretty simple to use (once you get used to the menus).

Although it isn’t a colour screen I actually prefer that and definitely better than the Vivoactive 3 that I tried. Don’t really notice it on the wrist either as it is light and comfortable. Gave it a full charge last night so will see how it does!

Mine has made my g-shocks redundant ! I picked up couple of new straps £3 each of eBay. Quick fit too 🙂

plus one – a link to the straps please?

It uses the same size straps as the Fenix 5, 22mm wide.
I got a couple of cheap straps off AliExpress. About £2 for the silicone straps, quick fit.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/12colors-Soft-Silicone-Replacement-wristband-Watch-Band-bracelet-strap-for-Garmin-Fenix-3-Smart-Watch-26mm/32824968622.html

Also got a stainless steel strap, £10. It is noticeably heavier than the standard strap, probably not as comfy for sports etc, but nice if you want a bit of bling…
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Strap-Watchband-Classic-Stainless-Steel-Metal-Strap-for-Garmin-Fenix-5-GPS-Watch-Replacement-Quick-Release/32831007259.html

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F292907510191

Took while to come only downside

Well had mine a week now and very happy with it. Much easier to measure my commute etc now and see how it contributes to my fatigue (measuring heart rate rather than how I feel). HRM seems accurate. Might have to pick up a couple of spare straps from the links above for a few quid. I haven’t worn it swimming and prob never will as I have found chlorine damages G Shocks (they still function bit the chlorine seems to cause discolourisation and white marks). Alerts are fine and battery life seems good so far. 60% in a week with some GPS use (and lots of playing!). Silent alarm is great as I don’t disturb junior when my alarm goes off now.

Not sure about the stress measurement. Said I was highly stressed on a weekend. I was busy but enjoying all the stuff I was doing. Kicking a ball around the park with the little one is not a high stress situation!

Only downsides I have:

1. The HR graph – I like the standard watch face apart from I am not that interested in the heart rate graph or any of the other graphs that can be in the top left corner. Would be good to have some more options for what you can use that part of the screen for.

2. Garmin Connect – when do a workout on the turbo Garmin Connect doesn’t seem to recognise the data from Zwift instead of the watch. I take the watch of for turbo workouts and would ve good for the HR data to be filled in by the strap I wear but it seems to keep the two separate.

Garmin Connect – when do a workout on the turbo Garmin Connect doesn’t seem to recognise the data from Zwift instead of the watch. I take the watch of for turbo workouts and would ve good for the HR data to be filled in by the strap I wear but it seems to keep the two separate.

There’s an option in the setting of Connect app to make 1 a “preferable device.   I use this as I wear a Vivosmart 24/7, but swap my Instinct out for shiny watches at work.   Therefore it defers to using the Vivosmart to upload data, but data recorded in the Insinct still uploads/syncs.  E.g. HR is from the VivoSmart and not overwritten by the Instinct, but Instinct recorded activities still appear.

Not sure about the stress measurement. Said I was highly stressed on a weekend. I was busy but enjoying all the stuff I was doing. Kicking a ball around the park with the little one is not a high stress situation!

I think the stress measurement just refers to heart stress (ie kind of similar to time spent in various heart rate zones ) as opposed to measuring ‘wellbeing’ stress. I find it a pointless measurement.

Cheers @Kryton57 – will have a look at that later

@julians – I agree it does seem a pointless measurement!

For everyone sitting in the fence on these, H S Johnson are now selling the graphite version at £191.90 with the 5% code

There’s been a few comments about Instinct’s today, so I wondered how everyone was getting on?   They say no news is good news and I haven’t heard of any issues.  Could this be Garmin’s first reliable handy, fit and forget device?

Very happy with mine, its pretty much permanently on when I’m not wearing a mechanical watch for work/dress occasions, does exactly what it says on the tin – battery life is good, its as accurate as published and I maned to shut it in a slamming locker door without a scratch.

Only take mine off when I’m on the bike using the 520+ and HRM or somewhere posh wearing my Junghans. Works pretty well, gets me my Vitality points. Only use GPS mode for hikes, battery is fine for all day outings.

Mine is great – the altitude and flights of steps counter is rubbish but other than that I’m pleased with it. I picked up one if the VA3 Music on the Argos deal but returned it because it felt so cheap in comparison. I wear mine all the time including with a suit occasionally.

Mines fine, as above stairs way off. Not sure about altitude, it does seem to show lower climbing than everyone else I’ve ridden with but they use mobiles.

As I said on the other thread, the stress thing usually shows low and doesn’t log when recording an activity, so what’s the point?

I still get lost in the menus occasionally but it seems rock solid.

seems mostly bug free, which is a surprise compared to my previous garmin watches.

It does have one problem though, the ascent/descent totals recorded during an activity are consistently lower (by between 300 and 500 feet over a 1500-2000 foot vertical ride)than I used to record on various other devices and friends devices

it does seem to show lower climbing than everyone else I’ve ridden with

^^^ yep, definitely low on elevation gain than my other devices (include garmin ones!)

That aside, very happy with my Instinct still.

As mentioned the stairs tracker is poop. But other than that it’s exactly what I wanted.

What software version do you lot have on the watch? When I check it says 2.80 but looking online version 4.00 is available? It doesn’t seem to update over Connect..

Mine is on v4.0. It updates automatically via garmin connect on the phone (android)

I like mine. The HR is crap when moving though. Had mine on the other day when doing a hospital treadmill test with a hundred and one wires stuck to my body and it was miles off. It’s not a medical instrument though so that’s fine, and I’ve ordered a HR chest strap today.

Mine is on v4.0. It updates automatically via garmin connect on the phone (android)

Hmm, mine isn’t automatically updating.

Mine is on v4.0. It updates automatically via garmin connect on the phone (android)

Me too.

Just noticed they’ve added a few extra colours now too.. like some of those 🤔

Just noticed they’ve added a few extra colours now too.. like some of those 🤔

I wish I hadn’t just read that….😩

mine is still on 3.2, though synced through my phone to garmin connect, wonder why ??

wonder why

To be fair I read about it 6 weeks before it actually appeared, and it only happened when I turned the watch off and on again.   Try that?

The only time I used the Virtual Partner function, it crashed a couple of Ks in. Screen froze, buttons didn’t do anything. Once I’d finished, did a long press to turn it off/on and it had actually recorded everything. Loathe to try it again though.

Otherwise fine. Following trails can be infuriating at times, but then I knew it wouldn’t be that good when I bought it, having used non-mapping Edges. Running through forests with lots of trail junctions, you know you’re going to have to run down the wrong one before it becomes clear you should’ve taken the other.

HR can be way off, but I’m not bothered enough to use a chest strap, it’ll do.

I contacted Garmin about my Instinct not automatically updating, they asked be to try doing it over a PC. I’ve done that and its now on v4.00. It had to delete some activities to make room so that may of been the issue?

Might try that, good tip !

For those using a chest heart strap, does the Instinct show that one instead of the wrist one when both in operation ?

With the Fenix 6 out now is the Instinct due an upgrade too? Anyone care to comment on how they have settled into using theirs? Has it turned into just a time telling device or do you actively use the smart features?

Still happy with mine and my go to device for activity tracking (Strava). Only bugbear is the ascent measurement for activities as it does come up very low (2/3rds what other devices measure). It does seem a bit of a regular gripe having done a bit of searching but haven’t found a solution although its been a while since i looked.

With regard updating software, mine did require clearing activities on the watch to enable space for the update…worked fine after that.

Still enjoying mine but as mentioned the ascent is way off 🙁

Using my iPhone for Strava

Swapped mine for a fenix 6 Pro.

The instinct was a cracking watch though, and easily the best value of all the garmin outdoorsy watches.

The screen was fantastic, really easy to read, but The altitude issue did annoy me though, apart from that it was a great watch

How does the Garmin compare to Suunto Spartan Ultra. I’m torn between the two

I got the lakeside blue (and sold my black one) which looks great with an orange strap.

Found elevation to be pretty accurate TBH.

Have an eye on the Fenix 6x pro tho… maybe in the new year…. 🤓

Loving mine. I do fancy a Fenix 6, but the Instinct does all I need. Think the 6 is maybe a bit bulkier too, which I don’t really want.