Garmin Instinct Review: The GPS Running Watch

The Garmin Instinct watch’s looks will either be loved or hated. You’ve probably seen Casio watches; Instinct has got the same looks. But if you’re not into the modern watch design and are into the classic, Instinct’s looks won’t be preferable.

Instinct comes from the group of Garmin’s Outdoor division. This group also includes Fenix watches and many hiking wearables. Garmin Instinct has inherited the blend of Vivoactive 3 and Fenix features with the looks of a Casio.

This was very suitable and will also be preferred by folks who like hiking and outdoors. Read on as we have covered an in-depth review of the Garmin Instinct so that you can gather more information on it.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• There are plenty of outdoor features.
• The watch is comfortable to wear.
• It’s affordable.

Cons

• There are no third-party apps.
• The display lacks some resolution.

Display and Interface

Compare to colorful AMOLED screens, Garmin Instinct’s 128 x 128-pixel display is a bit plain. But the advantage of Instinct’s screen is, even with direct sunlight, you can easily read its screen.

Also, Garmin Instinct’s display is very impressive when it comes to readability. The watch doesn’t come with touch features; hence, you need to use its side buttons for navigation.

Garmin Instinct offers you 12 different watch faces. You also get a widget library, using which you can track metrics on Garmin’s Connect app for mobile devices.

Outdoor Tracking

Instinct gives you features to track a wide range of sports such as cycling, running, swimming, hiking, skiing, and climbing, as most of the smartwatches don’t include hiking in their list of activities.

Hikers and trail runners require information in their activity, and Garmin Instinct provides them that. Instinct is like a compass that can accurately give directions on where you’re and is going.

But you don’t get a monochrome display; instead, the route is shown through a GPS marker into a simple line drawing. Though you won’t get to see any landmarks, the direction and topography data are beneficial.

Sports Tracking

If you want to use a smartwatch only for running, Garmin Instinct’s price would probably disappoint you. But it does the job when it comes to sports tracking. Though you won’t get information and details like in advanced watches, it provides enough for every user.

Sleep Tracking and much more

Garmin Instinct offers 24×7 activity tracking; it will count steps, monitor sleep, and much more. It also gives you an indication of your activeness throughout the day. Instinct can also track stress and can set goals to push you every day.

When it comes to sleep tracking accuracy, it tends to attribute more sleep time. Other features like you will be alert with notifications and respond to/answer/reject texts and calls. 

Instinct also allows you to control the music playbook, see calendar, and weather information. Make sure you’ve paired Instinct with your mobile device.

Heart Rate Accuracy

Garmin Instinct can monitor heart rate as effectively as the other Garmin watches. For 24×7 heart rate monitoring in general, it’s good—the issue when you start putting Instinct to the high-intensity training tests.

When you’re doing low-intensity training, you can expect to get accurate heart rate monitoring. Once you start to put yourself in high-intensity training, change pace, you can expect to get inconsistent heart rates.

Battery Life

As per Garmin, the Instinct watch on a single charge can last up to two weeks. But if you’re going to use GPS mode, the battery life will shrink to only 16 hours.

While hiking and using GPS, if you enable UltraTrack, the battery life will be extended to 40 hours as it reduces the rates of satellite recording.

Price & Availability

Garmin Instinct’s base model will cost you around $300 with color options like Sea Foam, Tundra, Graphite, Flame Red, Lakeside Blue, and Sunburst. There is also a Tactical edition that comes in Coyote and Black color at the same price tag.

Paying $200 extra will fetch you the Garmin Instinct Solar version, which utilizes the sunlight to provide 54 days of battery life. It comes in Surf, Camo, and Tactical editions.

Conclusion

For just $300, you’re getting one of the best adventure watches and attractive ones, especially for outdoor enthusiasts. Garmin Instinct offers a durable design and good GPS accuracy.

This watch is an excellent choice for hiking and will always inspire me to push a little harder every day. But if you want to store music and third-party apps, Garmin Fenix 6 would be the right choice, which comes double the Instinct price.

In the end, this Garmin Watch provides all the necessities along with a simplified design, stripped-back UI, and customizable screens. There are lots of features and also get better reviews that are capable when it comes to outdoor tracking.

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