Garmin Instinct, Rugged Outdoor Watch with GPS, Features Glonass and Galileo, Heart Rate Monitoring and 3-Axis Compass, Graphite

This model came out from Garmin at the same time I was starting to seriously want a device for a mixture of tracking activity, in my case most of which is outdoor oriented, like hiking and riding my mountain bike, plus I wanted to start exploring some physical data from a heart rate monitor as I get more active. When smartwatches first started becoming popular, I thought they were pretty stupid and redundant, and in my mind a teeny tiny 2" screen will never replace a phone screen which is small enough, especially for GPS navigation duty. However, the function of getting the sensors and GPS antenna in a more favorable location, plus heart rate monitoring, I could see the benefits of a smartwatch. I didn't like most of what was on the market until this unit. What I liked about this watch was it didn't have all the features and bloated interface to replace interacting with your phone for things a phone is best at. In some ways the Instinct is a throwback to older tech, but in a good way, the way anyone who has experience with GPS from the time it first became widely available for consumer use will appreciate. The interface will just make sense if you were used to the older devices. It does all the things you might want your phone to do, but a phone is not really suited to doing well. I disliked using my phone for tracking hikes and on my MTN bike because either the phone was safe in my pocket with a horrible view of the sky and where I couldn't see it, or I had it strapped on my handlebars where it could get knocked off. Or while hiking I had to pack it in my hands or strapped to my backpack in an awkward position. Not to mention if you use GPS on the phone and keep the screen on to see stats, it will hit the battery hard. With this, you can tuck the phone safely away but still see the info you want. This watch was the right combo of features for outdoor activities and activity tracking to get my attention and be a useful tool more than an expensive trinket. I did not wear any watch before buying the Instinct, and now I wear this most of the time for the last 2-3 weeks I've had it. While it lacks some features of more dedicated fitness devices, I got it mostly for what it did not have rather than what it did. Most criticism of this watch I read prior to purchasing clearly was because this watch has a niche and those folks didn't fit it. This is mostly for outdoor activities, it's simple, rugged, and doesn't do as much because it's made to do it's set of tasks well, and it's trade off is the things it does not do allow it to be smaller and use the battery more efficiently. You can read up on it's features and functions elsewhere, but a few things I will point out as exceptional. Some may harp on the old school LCD type display, but it's high contrast and the way the face catches ambient light extremely well makes it very easy to read. Actually I set the back light on 5%, it's lowest setting, because if it's so dark you need the back light, that is plenty to see it by. I like it's size, it's not huge feeling, and it's light. As I mentioned I did not wear a watch before this one, and I find it comfortable to wear despite a history of disliking things on my wrist. I had to get used to it yes, but it's not like having a rock strapped to your arm. Battery life has been great, using the GPS 2-3 times a week for an hour at a time pulls it down some but I still get over a week on a charge. I've yet to let it run down to the point it claims it needs charging, but so far I've yet to charge it in a period of less than 7 days. Definitely a personal preference but I also really like it's appearance. I got the Graphite colored one, it's not black but kind of a charcoal grey. It's not preppy looking or stylish, and that's what I'm going for. It does not give off that "oh look at me I'm athletic I have a fitbit" vibe, or look super snazzy and expensive, it just looks like a run of the mill boring watch if no one inspects it closely. For sure a more utility look, and for folks who would get the most out of this watch, that's probably perfect. Also will throw in there for my mountain bike, I later picked up Garmin's cadence and speed sensors, and they paired up effortlessly with the Instinct. GPS will cheat you distance on a bike especially and that is just the nature of the tech, I was getting some big discrepancies between the Instinct's recorded track and my wheel sensor bike computer. The trails I ride on frequently are a particular hardship for GPS anyway with heavy tree cover and tightly winding trails. With the speed sensor the difference is much smaller and I recommend it if you are going to use this on a bike. So far I've been very happy with the purchase and impressed with the device, enough to write this lengthy review, which I don't bother with often. (I did lean heavily on reviews deciding to purchase, so this is to help those like me.) If you fall into the niche this watch is intended to appeal to, I recommend it.

I bought this Watch six years ago. Very durable, lightweight, and long battery life. Just now having issues with it not staying charged so I definitely will buy another one.

I'm not a rugged outdoorsman, but I really like this watch. I was looking for a rugged smartwatch because my last smartwatch (Samsung Galaxy Active2) only lasted about nine months even though I have an office job and my idea of exercise is walking. I've only had this watch for three weeks and it appears rugged but time will tell. The Instinct does all that I want for a smartwatch to do and more, namely: 1. I can easily view data I care about monitoring at a glance. In my case, I put time, date, steps, heart rate, and battery status on the home screen. There are numerous other options. No, it's not a fancy, color display, but I don't care about that. I can easily see what I want at a glance even in full sun. 2. I can easily monitor notifications and text messages at a glance. When a notification, text, or email comes in, the watch vibrates and I can easily see what it is at a glance. If I decide to read the full text, email, or whatever, it's easy to scroll down and read the whole thing. 3. I can easily set timers and alarms which I use regularly. 4. The phone finder works well and it's easy to access. This thing has just loads of other features that I'll use sometimes. But this watch does well the main things that I want a smartwatch to do at a price that doesn't break the bank. A few other items of note: -The battery life is phenomenal. I wore it 10 days before I charged it the first time and I could have gone longer. I was down to one bar, so I went ahead and plugged it up at the end of the day. At the rate the battery had been draining, I probably could have gone another two or three days on that last bar. Personally, I don't mind plugging up a watch every night, but if you like long battery life, this watch has it. -I wear the watch continuously unless I'm charging it, including in the shower. No problems. -As you can see in the photos, I invested in the silicone cover for the watch. I also got a screen protector and silicone plugs for the charging port. All this extra protection is likely overkill but, like I said, I had a bad experience with regard to longevity of my last smartwatch. I also got a metal band just because I prefer metal bands. The only slight downside to the watch in my view is linked to what I consider one of its strengths. Because the watch doesn't have a touchscreen (a plus for several reasons in my opinion), everything must be done by pressing buttons and some of those actions aren't intuitive. Furthermore, the book that comes with the watch isn't that much help. But here's what I've discovered ... There are a multitude of videos online that explain anything you want to know about the Instinct. With the help of these videos, the things I do most often on the watch soon became second nature. If there's something new that I want to do on it, there's another video out there waiting for me.

I've owned two other fitness watches before the Instinct. I'm a guy who likes to keep track of my runs, walks, hikes, sleep, and workouts and I like having an alarm, stopwatch, GPS, and heart-rate monitor on my watch. I looked at other watches like the Apple Watch and the Garmin Fenix series. The Apple Watch isn't rugged enough for me and the 1-day battery life was a big time deal breaker. The Fenix was too big, too bulky, and too expensive. Enter the Garmin Instinct! It's the fitness/outdoor watch I've been dreaming of since I was a teenager! Here's a bullet point list of my "likes": 1. It's lightweight and rugged. I've been hiking through trees/brush and it's gotten wet several times. No big deal! 2. The battery life rocks. I have the HR monitor on 24/7 and I've used the GPS for two hikes and in three days the battery is still around 80%. 3. The display is so good. I can see it with sunglasses on, from various angles, and even in low light. It's not a super HD color display, but that's fine - I'm not watching movies on it! 4. Its features are incredible!! It has GPS, HR monitor, alarms, stopwatches, altimeter, barometer, step tracker, thermometer, compass, and so forth. You can run using a virtual partner and try to beat him on a run, you can enter GPS coordinates and hike there, you can mark a location and get back to it - and an alarm (beep/vibrate) will even tell you if you get off track! 5. I think it looks good and is comfortable to wear. It looks like what it is: a rugged, strong outdoor/fitness watch! It is somewhat thick (a little thicker than an average pen), but it's light enough that it doesn't feel bulky. 6. The UI is not too tough to figure out. I've had a Vivoactive HR, so I knew how Garmins worked - I had it figured out in a short time. You can set hot-keys to make the UI even more user-friendly. The watch syncs well using my iPhone XR and the Garmin Connect app usually works well (though the app has crashed on me a few times). Also, the entire manual is accessible online, and it's easy to read and understand. Anyway, I agree with the other five star reviews: this is an outstanding watch!! In my opinion, it's for sure worth the money!

I've had several Garmins over the years. From the Forerunner 305, 410, 220, 235, Vivoactive and now the Instinct. I even bought a Garmin 25 for my bike. I love Garmin and have only had one bad experience with one of their products, the FR410. It was by far the worst product they ever had and they discontinued it pretty quickly after seeing how bad it was. Since then they have redeemed themselves. The 305 had to by my favorite followed by the 220 and 235. The only reason I like the newer products now is for the smart features and being able to see notifications from my phone. I've always wanted a Fenix but after some of the reviews said it doesn't track steps very well and some of the earlier versions didn't have an auto upload to your phone. I have an incentive program through my insurance at work and step tracking and work out uploads are useful. As I said when I got the 220 it was the last thing I need to stop using my computer to upload runs. So why the Instinct? Well like I said I always wanted a Fenix but didn't like the high price. This was available at a discount and I used those incentive points from my health insurance program to buy this. I also work in a factory and wanted something a little more durable. The 235 was fine with a tempered screen glass and a rubber surround but I would sometimes break the glass. This will be more durable than any other watch because of the lip surrounding the face. You can buy a rubber surround for that lip but I'm going to hold off for now. I did buy a tempered screen protector for it. As far as the functions go this is the same as any other Garmin. I set the screens when I run to the same settings, it seems to measure distance the same, I don't use the heart rate monitor to save on battery life. If you've ever owned a Garmin watch they are pretty much the same. I've always loved what this watch does in it's purest form, give time, distance and pace. That's all the 305 did and that all you really need. Now for the things that are different with this watch that the others I've owned. First the good. Like I said it seems more rugged, looking like a old Casio or G-Shock watch with a fat lip. The band is really comfortable and seem better than the 235 band that I replaced eventually with some more durable than the original. The band also had a curve to it which makes it a little easier to put on. It's nice looking and easy to see. I always change the look to a black on white background but that's my preference, it does come with black on white. I like the gray color. It has a stronger vibration than watches past. The back light is good. The way your can customize the widgets is pretty cool. I normally don't flip between the screens very often but it's nice to know what the weather is doing or check notifications and such. I like the compass feature and can't wait to use it in the woods. I like the barameter feature and have that at the upper left corner of the home screen. If you know the higher the pressure the better the weather the lower the pressure the chance of rain etc. Overall just a sold watch. Now the bad and by no means are these major issues it's just preference. I'm not a fan of the front screen layout. Especially with the small round screen at the upper right corner. On the 235 I had an analog type watch display that was great and this has similar options but it's not that useable because of that smaller display on that corner. So your pretty much going to use the digital which is just fine but I would have like to use the analog. The settings are okay to getting around and there are a lot features you probably won't use much if at all. It takes some getting used to navigate and can be a little cumbersome. I would suggest using the button lock feature. I noticed that more often that previous watches I'll look down and it's searching for a GPS signal when I accidently hit the button to do so. As one person has said the buttons are good but the two the right side don't stick out as much as the ones on the left side of the watch. Since you use the upper right button the most I could see it getting worn out but time will tell. Overall if you are wanting more GPS features like a compass and tracking abilities and don't want to spend the extra on the Fenix this is for you. If you just want a normal running or biking watch I would recommend any of the Forerunner models of Garmin watches. Update 5-3-21: So far it's been a good watch. I typically only use the running feature but I do own a bike and some day might use it instead of using my Garmin Edge 25. Seems to record steps okay. All I need a Garmin for us running and step count and it does those well. As for the other features I like smart notifications while I'm working. Other than all those features the rest are extra. I used the track me feature one time when I went hiking with our youth group. Haven't really had the need to use any other feature. It's held up well to the abuse that I can give it at work. I work in manufacturing so it sometimes get a little dirty but so far nothing major. The one problem I have that made me almost send it back. I had an issue with it freezing. I noticed one day that the time was frozen and while hitting buttons would not switch screens or do anything. I then turned off the watch and turned it back on and all was good. It's done this maybe once a month since I've owned it. Not a big deal but annoying to say the least. I know two guys at work that have the same watch and don't have this issue. Might be a defect should have sent it back but didn't. If any of ya'll have the same issue please let me know. Other than that it's been a great watch. Update: 8-13-22 I guess the firmware updates fixed the freezing feature cause that hasn't been a problem for the last several months since I updated the review. The watch is working great and it one of my favorite Garmin watches. The best part for me is the durabilty and like I said I work at a manufacturing plant and it's held up to a lot of abuse. There is one issue. When I started riding my bike to work I needed to use the bike app on the watch. It said that it was linked to GPS and I hit start. When I got to work I noticed that it only recorded the time and not the distance or speed. When left to go home I used the running app and it has pace and distance, all worked fine. I stopped and tried the bike app, no speed or distance. I checked all the settings and nothing seemed wrong. Not a big deal cause I still have my Garmin Edge 25. I asked a friend that has an Instinct and he said his worked fine with the bike app. Again, not a deal breaker for me but just seems odd that it was linked to GPS but no speed or distance recorded. Other than that for me it's still a great watch.

LATEST UPDATE AT BOTTOM (5/11/2020) What a frustrating activity tracker/smart watch journey I have been on. Nothing seemed quite right for what I was looking for. I am an avid outdoorsman who likes to hunt, backpack, hike, bike, and occasionally run. Things that are extremely important to me are an accurate altimeter, barometer, and GPS. I first purchased the Fenix 3 HR. The watch was impressive in the beginning and I thought I had found the one. The issue turned out to be the altimeter. It was not accurate at all. I then waited for the Fenix 5. Same damn issue. Altimeter was worse than the 3. When I contacted Garmin, they told me to put the watch in warm soapy water. While this did seem to temporarily reset it back to normal, I continued to experience the same issue. As much as I would like to put my watch in a warm glass of soapy water every night, I decided to pass. The 5 plus eventually came out and appeared to solve these issues. But then.....Garmin realeased the Instinct. This watch (so far) has really impressed me. It is so light weight and comfortable. The Fenix watches, while premium, are a bit large and heavy to wear. You truly forget you are wearing this watch. The features are great. It has absolutely everything I need. I’m not a triathlete and could care less about some of the measurements the Fenix gives you. Some have commented on the grainy display. I completely disagree. I would liken it to E Ink from a kindle. It truly is a pleasure to look at and is extremely clear and readable. I love that it is black and white. The keys and apps are very responsive. The menus are so much faster than the Fenix. You can really whip through the widgets and settings to get where you want. The buttons are excellent and I have yet to accidentally press one while bending my wrist. I am still testing the accuracy of the GPS tracking and ABC sensors but so far it is looking great. I really can’t say enough about this watch. Knock on wood, it seems like a great model from Garmin that will feel a niche hunting/outdoors market. I will provide an update in a month after more usage. -UPDATE- I've now had this watch for a few weeks and have taken it on several hunting trips. I am truly impressed with this watch. I cannot emphasize enough how comfortable and light this watch is. Owning and wearing heavier watches over the years, I think I forgot how nice it is to wear a watch that you forget is attached to your wrist. I hated wearing my Fenix watches to bed. Too bulky and would dig into my wrist. Tracking appears to be very accurate. Attitude has been accurate for daily use and when you are tracking an activity. What I Love About This Watch: -Comfortable & Lightweight -Responsive Menus -Screen Visibility is Exceptional -Accurate ABC Sensors and Tracking -Recessed Buttons Avoid Accidental Presses -Battery Life Has Been Great I really only have a couple complaints or rather suggestions to improve the watch. When you lock the keys (which you don't have to too often because of recessed buttons), in order to unlock the watch, you hold any button for a short period. I wish Garmin would lengthen the amount of time it takes to hold the button. It takes about .5 seconds to unlock currently and that can be accidentally done pretty easily. This is really a minor complaint though. The screen is an unknown material or proprietary to Garmin. I do wish it was a Sapphire display but I put a screen protector on it and you truly cant tell there is one on the face. My last suggestion is I wish the battery indicator showed a percentage as opposed to the 5 bars in a battery indicator. Again, its a minor gripe but it would be nice if they changed that. Please ask me questions. Id be happy to answer. I've done a disturbing amount of research on these watches over the years and believe I have finally found the perfect watch for my needs. I've used all Fenix watches and a Suunto Traverse Alpha. This watch is my favorite. UPDATE 5/11/2020 Still an absolutely great watch. This watch is on my wrist every single day. It is still extremely comfortable. I have had a couple issues that I will address: -My "Back" button started to give out on me around July 2019. It is a very commonly pressed button on the watch. Luckily the watch was still under warranty. Garmin replaced the watch no questions asked and quickly. A+ to them on their customer service. If it had gone out after the warranty period though, I would most likely be SOL. I believe it is a one year warranty. With that being said, I do use this watch heavily. It is worn 24/7-365. All things considered it has held up extremely well. At the new price point, I still think it is an amazing watch for the price. -My other issue, and I stated it earlier in the review is the lock feature on the watch. Its great that you can lock the screen but it is extremely easy to unlock simply by bending your wrist and hitting a button. This could be a simple software fix. They just need to extend the amount of time required to press a button to unlock. It doesn't happen that often but if it does during an activity, it can be extremely frustrating. This will be my last update for the watch. It has been an amazing watch well worth the price for me and I will buy another whenever this one dies. I hope Garmin continues to offer and improve this watch. It checks all the boxes for my needs.

This is my second iteration of this watch. First one I had lasted about a month and the battery would not hold a charge for more than 24 hours. Called Garmin and they fixed me right up with a new watch; no questions asked. With that being said, the watch does exactly what I need it to without all the fancy colors of today's smartwatches. I need it to track my sleep, workouts, hikes, and general daily stats. It does all that seamlessly. The app is very good as well and customizable to show only the things that matter without all the extra clutter. This is the best smartwatch I've owned, and I've had apple, samsung, and fitbit watches/trackers. The battery life on all of those were more or less subpar (+/- 3 d days). This watch gives me a solid 10 days with my normal routines. If I'm using more of the GPS rich features, I get about 8 days - which anything more than a week is great IMO. The only nitpicky complaint I have about it are the buttons. They start of very tactile and you know that when you press it, you will get a response from the watch. After about two months, that tactile feedback diminished and makes it a little more difficult to get a response from the watch. Its still functioning perfectly, but I would prefer more durability from the buttons. Additionally, I've gone through two wristbands in just under two years of use. Based off the silicone material of the bands and the type of punishment I put this watch through, I wont fault the gear. Replacements can be easily found on Amazon for fairly cheap and replacing the band wasn't tough at all. Overall, a great watch at a good price with awesome features and wonderful customer support!

It's okay, but lacks in a couple of areas. It seemed to have so many settings when I first started digging into it, and felt a bit daunting, but after a few days the watch itself ended up being a rather simple interface, even more streamlined than the Garmin Connect app itself (could use a little work). I haven't really dug too far I to the gps yet, though on a recent hike I was able to log my vehicle location at the trailhead. And while I had no concerns of getting lost, I did check to see if the watch occasionally to see if it was taking me back the correct direction and it seemed to be. Overall, I'm not disappointed. With that said, the sleep tracker is absolute garbage, which was also a big reason why I got the watch. For some reason, it shows that I fall asleep way earlier than what I do every single night. Like if I go to sleep at 11, it'll say that I went to sleep at 9-930. Also, I had to turn the "move alert" off because it made 0 sense. Id be out working in the yard and washing my truck and the move alert would go off, I'd be out walking my dog and the move alert would go off, then sometimes I'd be sitting at my desk working for hours and no move alert. The final thing is that occasionally the watch will just stop tracking everything and there will be gaps in my daily statistics (heart rate, stress, etc). I've caught it a few times in the middle of those gaps, and it tells me I need to "check the fit," then does a 30 second measuring countdown where I have to remain still, then will say "check fit" again. All in all, those things have happened multiple times over the past month or so, but it's still not a huge issue and still seems to be a pretty solid watch. I will recommend it based on the included features at the price point, though there are a few things that could use improvement. I am also a fan of it being understated and not appearing to be a wrist tablet like most smart watches out there. EDIT: One year later and this watch is awesome. I changed my review from 4 to 5 stars. I rarely take it off, only to charge. After getting use to the setting and some of the quirks, ive grown to realize how robust this thing is. I wear it in the shower, i wear it swimming in chlorine, salt, and freshwater. I also use it to find my phone a lot. I have managed to use the GPS on several occurrences, including something as simple as finding where i parked. While the GPS does not show a "Google" maps type of display, it is very effective when finding your way back to where you came. I know there is a 2nd version that came out, and while that is tempting, I have become so use to this version, im hesitant about moving on. The only downside is that i have several Omegas, Longines, and other vintage watches which now get minimal usage, unless there is a need to "dress for an occasion." The prior "Issues" i referenced are insignificant at this point, and while i may have been initially "let down" by certain features (or lack thereof), I have adapted to the watch and highly recommend it. Ive had no more issues with the heartrate sensor losing contact, and have had absolutely no problems with the watch over the past year. The battery life is extremely long, like 2 weeks or more, since i dont "fidget" with it as much as i use to when i first got it. One last thing...idk what the "crystal" is made out of, but I've put this watch through a lot and there isnt a SINGLE scratch on it, not even a small micro scratch. The watch looks entirely brand new. Edit again: so, 3 year update. It's still a great watch and has held up amazingly; however, like most any battery powered device, the battery life has started to diminish. I would often go weeks without needing to recharge, now I'm recharging it every 7 days. Not a huge issue at this point, just the nature of the lithium beast. Everything else is still flawless.

I've had this watch for years now and it's been effective. Hence why I'm writing this review years later. This watch is rugged. I mountain bike with it, I golf with it, I play soccer with it, I swim in the ocean with it and not once have I found any wear to the actual body of the watch. The strap did give out just a couple months ago, but you can find replacement straps (off brand) on Amazon that work great and for cheap. To be frank, I don't know how accurate the heart rate monitor is, but through watches you can never be 100%. The GPS works fantastic both during workouts and for backtracking hikes. The compass I find can be quite weird. I'll reporting North and it won't exactly read that. The battery's fantastic -typically lasts 14 days wearing everyday sleeping with it every night. The Garmin app is the user friendly and I love how it tracks sleep and sleep cycles and body battery. For the price, I would much rather this watch over an Apple watch despite the fact that you can't send typed messages on Garmin. Note that this watch does not work with the Garmin golf app. There are several other cool features that this watch can do. It can find your phone. You can select individual workouts for it to track your movements. You could send brief text messages. It even gives you weather including sunset and sunrise. It tracks your steps and calories burned. Overall, it is so worth the price. Highly, highly recommend.

A very good watch. Been using for 3 years now, battery still holds up just like the first day. If not use for GPS, can work way more than week without charging. Best clock, as good as old Casio back in the day. Especially useful when you need to monitor the time in more than 2 regions at the time

Simple and reliable. had it for three years now. Running in the jungle, Kayaking and swimming with it. It never let me down. My colleague has the more expensive Garmin and it stopped working after a year. But I do avoid having it exposed to the sun too long, I rinse the sweat and sault after use and I am careful not to knock it with hard objects. However it is my daily watch as well, so, great product. I had Sunntos before, they were good but they always end up with elevation problems. My Garmin is half the price and after over 3 years I still love it. There is a reason for that. They have a great market making aviation instruments. Well what is good for airplanes is certainly good for me.

Ich habe die Garmin Instinct nun seit Anfang Januar in Gebrauch. Getestet habe ich sie in folgenden Situationen: - Laufen - Schwimmen Indoor (Meerwasserschwimmbad) - Schwimmen Outdoor (Atlantik/Madeira) - Einige Wanderungen in flachem Gebiet - Einige Wanderungen in schwierigem GPS-Gebiet (alpin, Schluchten, Stadt, Wald, usw.) - Mountainbiken in flachem Gelände - Einfache Spaziergänge Fazit bis jetzt: Die Uhr ist absolut wasserdicht (Tauchen konnte ich nicht testen), robust und einfach zu tragen. Im flachen Gelände zeichnet sie Tracks und Höhenmeter ziemlich genau auf. Trainingsfunktionen sowie etliche andere Zusatzfunktionen sind mir weniger wichtig und dazu möchte ich keine Bewerung abgeben. Aufgefallen ist mir, dass die Instinct in sehr schwierigem GPS-Gelände hier und da mal die Orientierung kurzzeitig verliert (Abweichungen vom eigentlichen Trail), was aber selbst Geräten wie Garmin Oregon etc. passieren kann. Testgelände war hier Madeira im Gebirge bzw. auf diversen Levadawanderungen durch etliche Tunnel und durch enge Schluchten. Für ein Gerät dieser Größe macht sie ihren Job aber auch dort durchaus gut. GPS Signal wird sehr schnell gefunden, so das man auch zügig starten kann (hatte ich bei verschiedenen Oregon Geräten schon anders, da kann es durchaus mal über eine Minute dauern). Einziges Manko meinerseits ist die fehlende Funktion um z.B. OSM-Karten einzubinden und im Display anzeigen zu lassen, aber das war mir vor dem Kauf bewusst und kann also hier keinen Kritikpunkt darstellen. Für den Preis und für meine Ansprüche eine super Outdoor-/Smartwatch. Update 12.04.2020: Ich hatte die Instinct zum Tracken bei einer 46 km Wanderung am laufen, zum Vergleich auch das Garmin Oregon 600t auf selbiger Strecke: Beide Geräte lieferten in etwa gleiche Werte was Tracklänge angeht. Lediglich die Höhenunterschiede weichen bei beiden ab, kann aber auch am Gelände liegen (bin am Fördesteig gewandert, da sind kaum Höhenmeter zu messen). Nach ca. 9,5 Std. GPS-Tracking hatte die Instinct immer noch 3/5 Balken Ladung. Eine sehr gute Leistung wie ich finde! Update 28.04.2020: In den letzten Wochen und Monaten kam die Instinct auch bei einigen MTB-Touren zum Einsatz. Im Vergleich dazu trackte auch immer mein seit Jahren erprobtes Garmin Edge 200 am Lenker mit. Auch hier ist es so, dass die Instinct meist schneller den aktuellen Standpunkt ermittelt hat, d.h. sie ist schneller startklar. Zum Biken ist es natürlich sehr viel angenehmer das Edge 200 am Lenkrad immer im Blickfeld zu haben, aber die Instinct ist ja nun mal fürs Handgelenk erdacht worden. Auch hier lieferten beide Geräte in etwa gleiche Werte bzgl. Tracklänge ab. Die Instinct zeigt meistens einige Meter mehr an, was aber auch den gelegentlichen Pausen geschuldet ist in denen das Edge 200 auf 'Autopause' am Bike steht und die Instinct jeden gegangen Meter während dessen weiter misst. Der Vergleich im Hinblick auf Höhenmeter kann eigentlich nicht erfolgen, da das Edge 200 keinen barometrischen Höhenmeter hat und die Auswertung selbiger nur zu Hause über die individuell verwendete Software erfolgen kann. Wertet man aber beide Aktivitäten z.B. über Komoot etc. aus, liefert die Instinct zumeist weniger Höhenmeter. Auch hier habe ich einen super Eindruck und kann die Instinct nur empfehlen bzw. bereue den Kauf nach wie vor in keinster Weise.

I used to have apple watches series 1 and 4. I am using this Garmin for one month now and I am very amazed by the quality products. It has all the cool stuff I used to like with Apple Watch and which are really useful: - watsapp messages, all notifications mirrored from an iPhone - call and ID notification, though you cannot speak through the watch (which honestly I hardly never used) - music control from the watch (any app, Spotify, Deezer, music app) so you can change a song and control the volume in a shower or from your sofa In addition it is better: - battery life, this is really great not to charge it for 8 to 10 days in my experience and usage, especially if you travel for 2 / 3 days, no need to bother for a charger, - stronger, no worries if any shock while doing outside activities, - time is always on display (no need to lift the harm), - water and shockproof, can go deep and in the sea, - strong / rugged design - internal sensors (temperature, altimeter). Of course it has no coloured / touch screen, so you have to do everything with the buttons but honestly it is less fragile / sensitive and i prefer it like this. It sometimes loses Bluetooth connection, but I restart it and it is fine. It restart very fast anyways (20s).