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55 Karma

Review on Garmin Instinct Solar GPS Smartwatch - Flame Red (010-02293-21) W/ 2X Screen Protectors by Bim Cook

Revainrating 5 out of 5

LOVE this multifunctional watch!

This Tidal Blue Instinct Solar for me is an improved version of the regular Instinct, which I also liked. But I wanted the added features of Solar and Pulse OX in particular. Although Tidal Blue doesn't list all of the features in the specs, just like the red and sunrise colors, they have the same features. Today I put on both my regular Instinct and my Solar Instinct to compare overall performance. Both gave almost the same results. I found the Solar model to be slightly more accurate in terms of heart rate. With GPS on both, they tracked my steps and the hike dates are almost identical. In general, Solar seemed to be more accurate. I'm not a huge sports fan so can't speak to many sports tracking options. The health features I've used, cardio (like walking, hiking, cycling, indoor biking, elliptical, treadmill, etc.) all work great. My previous Instinct watch had GREAT battery life and held a charge for over a week. Launched, 5 battery levels, never below 3. So I'll charge once a week. I expect this version of Instinct Solar will have better battery life with its solar battery boosting ability and new low power chipset. .The 2 screen protectors that came with it were a disappointment, no instructions were included but I knew what to do, clean first etc. It continued with LOTS of bubbles on the screen and no matter how hard I tried it looked awful. I took it off I used another Garmin Instinct [2.5D, Hardness 9H] [Scratch Resistant] [Bubble Free] Tempered Glass Screen Protector and it worked great. I LOVE this version of Solar Instinct more than ever.

Pros
  • Hands-free
Cons
  • Very expensive