GarminInstinct SOLAR (45 mm), Rugged GPS Smartwatch, Built-in Sports Apps and Health Monitoring, Solar Charging and Ultratough Design Features, Graphite

I already have a fancy time piece or two, what i needed was a strong, accurate and durable watch to exercise in and be fairly accurate at recording my heart rate.- hr - it's not a chest strap, but 95% of the time is 5 bpm within a manual reading during exercise so I can't fault it. Use it during HITT, weights and general cardio, as well as football 5 a side.- build - seems super durable which was essential given how clumsy i am. Banged it, dropped it, kids claw at it, not so much as a scratch. Built like one of those old army nokia phones that were indestructible. Couple of people have iphone watches and the screens on them are always breaking at the slightest of knocks or drops!- features - loads. I don't use them all but its nice knowing they're there if needed- smart watch? - if your priority is exercise then this is the one for you. If you want to use it to ring, view texts etc don't even bother.- app - seems ok, gets the info i want. Can it do more? I've no idea, does what i need it to (show hr over a session, on a graph etc, keeps track of days trained on a calander).- Battery - took this on holiday with me, went to the beach etc and all was fine. It had 16 days on it (battery saver mode on), a week later it still had 16 days as it had been charging via the solar panels. Probably had 2/3 hours of sun on it maximum a day but probably didn't even need that. I only use the hr and features when training, otherwise i just use it as a everyday sturdy watch.There's probably loads more you can do on this watch that I've not even looked at, i wanted a watch for training and something that wasn't going to break when I'm out with the family etc. Love the watch and it hasn't disappointed. I did look at another model that was double the price, glad i bought this one instead!Charging point is odd though, why not usb c? Only flaw i can think of reallyUpdate : i now use the gps for cycling which seems accurate and useful.Hr can give inaccurate results if the strap is too loose, something to be mindful of. Tighten it up slightly and it's good to go

This has proved to be better quality and longer lasting than other Smart Watches previously purchased, an excellent fitness watch with long lasting battery when used under sunny skies.

I’ve been using the Garmin Instinct Solar, and it’s absolutely fantastic. The battery life is incredible—it lasts up to 25 days non-stop, which is a game-changer for outdoor enthusiasts. It’s built tough and handles everything I throw at it, from hiking and swimming to walking and other sports. It’s reliable, durable, and packed with great features. Highly recommend it for anyone with an active lifestyle!

My two year old Vivoactive pete tong, so time for a new one. I'm one of those people who likes to wear the same watch for all my activities, so the rugged nature and solar capability are what attracted me to the Instinct.Button functionality follows the same principles of the Edge520, so easy for me to adjust to. I wera it 24x7 and hardly know it's there.The big change from the Vivo is the screen type. It is not a touch screen and not colour, so initially feels a bit retro.Now I am used to it what I do like is the amount of data on tap, linked with the Connect app. - it seems to work better with the app, better than the Vivo (3).Battery life is a big win - at least a week, depending on activity, up to two without use of GPS etc. There is none of the unwanted 'light' at night - the Vivi lights up when you move. The instinct has a light button and clarity is great for that mid night check of the timeSo a great functional watch - not flash but defo worth the money and the solar is a benefit

This is a nice watch, I've had a Galaxy Watch 4, an Apple Watch 7, and a TicWatch Pro. They're all watches that need charged daily, and sometimes twice a day if you're doing exercises (see Apple Watch).The Garmin once fully charged will run 21 days if you're not doing many tracked exercises (so, notifications and the likes) and it's winter. In summer, if you're in the sun for any time at all you'll get well over a month from a charge.Accuracy is excellent, better than the two Android watches I mentioned, and marginally better than the Apple Watch. The Garmin app is very good too, all information is presented clearly and accurately, and it'll sync with Google Fit if that's your thing too.It's quite a big watch, like a Casio G-Shock, but it's very light to the point where you forget you're wearing it, even when compared to a 40mm Apple Watch. I've not been kind to the Garmin either, and there are no marks or scratches on it, despite me wearing it through months of DIY home renovations. The strap (a very dark greeny-grey) is starting to discolour a little, but only noticable if you really look hard at it.Very highly recommended. Anyone want to buy an Apple Watch or a Galaxy Watch 4? :D

I was in two minds about whether I wanted to splash out on a new watch. I had a Fitbit Ionic, but I wanted something a bit more feature rich and the Garmin Instinct Solar fit the bill. I do not regret my purchase. While the Solar feature doesn't get much use in the UK due to our dismal weather, I'm confident it will be really useful to top up my battery when I can travel again to sunnier places. The watch itself is packed with features, such as stress tracking, body battery (eg how much energy the watch estimates you have left to spent), and sleep and sleep SpO2 are some of the features I love. I am also very keen on the fact that the watch can automatically detect exercise and number repetitions during resistance training, which isn't perfect but it's very good. The GPS is quick to connect, unlike my Ionic which could sometimes take minutes to get signal, and it's very accurate. It's comfortable to wear, well built, and seems ready to take on outdoor challenges. Pairs well with the HRM Pro chest strap. Glad I purchased!