By the way I am wearing the 45mm Instinct Solar 2 in this video. I usually mention the size but somehow it slipped my mind. Sorry about that!

Your reviews are by far the best reviews I've ever seen. Beautiful aesthetic, amazing data, and no non sense professional presentation. Im now just watching your reviews because, they're remarkably satisfying.

I've been waiting for this vid since I heard a new Instinct is about to be released, may be 2-3 weeks ago. Good on you mate for showing it!

I’ve had the original instinct for around 2 years and I love it. I’ve actually gotten 23 days on one charge with normal use recently. I’m not going to upgrade until it breaks but the features on the new versions are really nice. I am a little bummed about the color choices (no more light blue or purple) but hopefully that will change in the future.

Absolutely a stellar video! I’m personally still using the fenix 5x and it’s still holding up great. Your durability review on the fenix 5x played a big factor of why I got it. I hope to see more videos like this in the future.

This is the first of your reviews I've ever seen and I'm very impressed. Very thorough and detailed while staying to the point. It was nice to not have to skip through tonnes of irrelevant banter that dominates other reviews. Thank you sir, liked and followed 😁🙏

I've had mine for about a week now, and it's honestly the best watch I've ever owned. It has useful features I didn't know I'd ever use. Great purchase for any outdoors person.

I love my instinct solar! Ordering the new one soon! Thanks for the info!

Great review, as always. My timing was off. I bought the OG Instinct Solar just before 2 came out. I was annoyed at first, until I saw the price, then my aggravation faded away…😂 Either way, I love my Instinct. It’s perfect for my needs.

Thanks for the great review. I like the idea of a feature filled and affordable plastic watch with a monochromatic screen. And that neon yellow number makes me want to dig out my Walkman and my Duran Duran cassettes. That is so 80s!

As a thinner guy Garmin making a solar and smaller watch just makes me want to say, "take my money already!". This is something I hoped they would make one day and well it's here.

YES FINALLY CONNECT IQ WITH GARMIN INSTINCT 2

Extremely comprehensive. Better than the other video reviews. I own multiple Garmin smartwatches and this convinces me to try out the Instinct 2.

I went from the OG instinct to a fenix 6. Now I want an instinct again!

THE ONLY creator i watch before i purchase anything smartwatch :)

the battery life is just great, unlimited with enough solar power :)

Yes! Can't wait for this. They added Golf! Great info Des.

Always enjoying to watch your videos for all the insights that I need before buying my wearables

I shows up tomorrow and I can't wait!

Fantastic overview of all the features - thank you

Excited to upgrade from my Instinct non-solar V1. I live in Phoenix and work 2-5 hours outside each day and do GPS activities about 10-15 hrs a week. I don't think I'll ever have to plug it in.

Great video mate just about to get my first Garmin and I watched the video beginning to end, great pace, good graphics and all the stuff I felt like I needed to know with the added comparisons to other models!

Thank You for explaining the information about Garmin watches

What a great RetroTech this watch is! Amazing review as always Des!

Thanks for the video. I just purchased the Instict 2 Tac Solar and I am satisfied. Came from the Fenix 3HR to Forerunner 435 to Instinct Tac Solar. Can't wait to see all the features in use.

My arm is not long enough to read the display in the morning But along the day when my eyes are getting adapted I can read it!!

I was looking forward to see your review of New Instinct2. Your work is very good as always. thanks Des.

Some features could be brought to Instinct Solar 1 with a simple firmware update, if they want to. I would appreciate the ability to edit out the watch face from the phone.

Thank you DesFit for this video which I was eagerly waiting for! I didn't go with the Instinct solar for the reason that it did not have VO2 Max which I definitely wanted for my runs. Now that Instinct 2 solar has it, I will go for it !!

Haha - just saw an email about the Instinct 2 - I knew you guys would already have something up about these!

the camera u use outside when skiing has sick quality!wow!

Thats how you do a review! Well done sir!

Smooth, impressive report done efficiently.

Just brought this 😊 mainly will be using for walking/hiking and biking. Great review 😊

Always love your video. Finally, I have just bought a Garmin Instinct Solar Tactical. (May 2022) FYI, currently it's all Instinct 2 and 2s on market. Therefore, I was playing a treasure hunt to get an Instinct 1. However so much improved technology-wise the Instinct 2 is , I still love the look of Instinct 1 and finally decide to make a dumb choice, by heart not by head, to buy the hard-to-find Instinct 1. I chose 1 instead of 2. LoL By the way, this is the very first real smart/sport watch of mine. Now I am learning how to use it. Despite not having Garmin Connect IQ, VO2max, or unlimited battery life, I think I can enjoy it. Thank you for your video. Very nice trails and track you have. Such a beautiful country to live in.

YOU ALWAY HAVE THE GREATEST INFO!

Moving the sensors to the side alone is the reason I want this!

the best thing about the review is that you just film the watch from the front en keep it at one spot. that is what i wanna see.

absolutely love my original instinct and still use it as my daily wearable as i have a manual hands on job and this thing is built extremely well and just generally love it. i have though recently bought a fenix 6s pro as the only thing i would say is that im starting to struggle with the data screens on my runs (eyes are getting worse) i have to say having the bigger screen and better resolution and colour is so much easier for my early 0500 runs in the dark or my weekend mid morinning runs in the sun the screen is so much clearer. but overall i would highly recommend the instinct

Nice review as usual thanks Des..

I like your review ! Thank you very much bro!

Very detailed and accurate review, the only think I wanted to hear about more, is notifications, answering the phone and etc. basically how does it do the phone related stuff.

Dang I should have waited. I got the Instinct Solar Surf in November. This 2 version is way more comprehensive.

I have been very happy with my original Instinct Solar, but watching this video definitely makes me want to upgrade. I would have hoped that Garmin would have included some of the fitness projections, even if only through the app, but then that might cut into their sales, I guess I understand their decision. Either way, thanks for the content.

Appreciate your work 👏🏻👍

Well, this is the upgrade for my vivoactive 4 I was waiting for.

Thanks to the master for the helpful material

Just ordered instinct 2 solar surf sooo keen!

What a great thorough review!!

This new instinct so much better than my old instinct. Love it. My next new watch. Gonna get it. Again.😂😂 Awesome video Des as usual. 😁😁👍🏼👍🏼

Definitely getting one even tho i purchased Instinct Solar couple of months ago

Thanks for the review, just ordered it.

great detailed review. thank you.

Unlimited battery life is impressive. 48 hours of gps is a what sells for me

I've used the white & blue surf edition Instinct for a super long time for surfing, but it found its way on my wrist 24/7. I'm glad they're doing an Instinct 2 of the same edition. To be fair, I use MARQ's Captain now with a titanium bracelet, but I still have my surf Instinct and wear it occasionally.

Thank you 😊 Great review

Excellent, thank you.

Garmin does a good job of making outdoor watches and a good job of overpricing, you really have to buy these when there's some kind of discount on them.

thank you I'm pretty sure I'll be intouch. Thanks again

Hey Des, I have a question about the Solar Surf edition. I'm finding it difficult to figure this out just Googling around, so I thought I'd ask an expert who has access to the tech. Can you view the current tide while recording a surf activity? This is pretty much the only thing surfers want from a watch, and it seems like the watch may not be able to do it. It's fine if you can download the tide data with your phone connected, as long as it can display the current tide while you're surfing (obviously without your phone). I suppose if this watch can't do it, maybe the Fenix7 can? Hoping you can help this surfer out!

This might just get me to finally change. My fenix 3 HR have a bad battery, and never really was satisfied with the HR sensor, and had it changed 4 times due to bad altimeters.. but other than that I feel like the F3HR was so much ahead when it came out that nothing really seems to be an upgrade till now :)

I am very happy with my Instinct Solar...except that I had to exchange it early on because the battery failed. Getting the Instinct 2 with the additional capabilities such as Vo2 and respiration rate is very tempting though.

I need one of these, had my original instinct solar since it was first launched

This watch hits the mark.

I just want to know that it measures my distance and time when I run. 5 plus hours would be good for long runs and heart rate monitor would be handy too.

I have the Instinct Solar Surf, Pipeline. Going to order the Instinct 2 Surf.

great review like always! Somehow I managed to get unlimited solar charging on my Instinct Solar 1, during vacation in sunny Portugal. It charged up to 100% several times with all wrist sensors on (no GPS)

Instinct solar user. Wishing garmin improves advanced sleep tracking accuracy and add sleep widget.

Thank you great review, i will by the Instinct 2 45mm Solar.

One thing you didn't cover in this review that feels quite important is: what do you think of the device? The other reviews like Chase the summit and the DC guy from the Netherlands take the time to list pros and cons, what they wish it did differently, how it compares to alternatives, who it's for etc. I find that type of information very useful in addition to just the feature walkthrough that you're focused on. I'd probably call this a walkthrough rather than a review. Hope that makes sense and thanks for taking the time!

Great review but it’s missing a discussion of the display in low light conditions. My new Instinct 2 is way worse at night or in the shade than the original Instinct model. With the backlight on, even at 100%, the display is washed out and hard to read. This was a dealbreaker for me and I returned this otherwise amazing watch.

Awesome & Thanks :)

I have two Instinct Solar watches here in Idaho. They work well in the Spring and Summer when the sun is out. I turn them off during the Winter, not because I don't want the time, but they just don't charge in the low light. Yeah, I could plug them in, but that defeats the purpose of the solar aspect. I'll still wear them though, and will buy the Multicam model also because I value the product. Garmin did not pay for this product review.

i love the instinct version

Thanks

i wish it had a flashlight like suuntos. Im upgrading to this from a traverse alpha, almost entirely because of battery life, but I am gonna miss the flashlight.

thx i just bought the instinct 2 solar i had the instinct and the instinct solar the instinct sold now the solar it for sale. some video a see and like u said the heart rate sensor not very accurate but on what i see with my test it pretty all accurate but now i see whay u mean about not accurate but at hard activity like weight trainning and yes on that time the old generation heart rate sensor are pretty mess up... thx for this reviews really useful.

Great watches. Love it ❤

I wish you could make a video later on how it performs with normal sun exposure (not the 3-hour, direct sun light thing). I have the instinct solar, and it's completely useless when it comes to getting use of the solar charge. I get 0 days from it, knowing that I spend a good portion of my day outside. also, the watch doesn't reach the 24 days as advertised. you barely get 20. so I really hope that this new version will give you at least a couple of days with normal sun exposure. please let us know. much appreciated

Perfect time to finally buy Instinct or Instinct Solar 😁. 2nd edition is great but for my needs it is too much.

Awesome video Des! Quick question, what watch are you wearing in the video? Fenix 7?

Thanks for another great review! Which watch is your daily driver now? :)

Des, another wonderful video for the people who wants int insights and the data. Thanks a million. Again, does the Garmin app sync data to Google Fit using Google's Health Connect feature? Or better, do you have one app that you consolidate all your health tracking data?

What a watch!

Hi, I have bought Instinct 2 Solar 45mm and the watch is great, the only problem I have is the battery. I have have Pulse Ox manual, HR auto, baro/alti auto, backlight 20% on only after sunset general use, 5% during sleep, 4 sec timeout for all. I stopped all notifications and I enable phone connection only to sync 2 times per day, sounds off, vibration on, moveIQ & Move alert off, all alarms off. I also don't do anything at all on the watch just to check the max I can get. This is the most battery saving I can think of and it drains 4-5% (1-2days) per day on track for about 22days after full charge. I already drained the battery once and fully charged. I think that if I use it as an actual smart watch 24/7 phone connected + notifications I will get no more than 18-20days which is nowhere close to 28 garmin claims. Anyone else with the same issue?

Damn, I just got my Instinct Solar V1 yesterday. Had no idea they were releasing the V2 or I would've waited:(

They have really improved the instinct and I got my instinct solar on Christmas when I could have just waited 2 months and I would have gotten this one.😤

My favorite color was the sunburst. Sadly there isn't any bold colors in the Solar line. I hope Garmin will release a sunburst or orange watch.

Have you seen in your testing that the instinct crashes and reboots like in rainmakers video . I had the instinct solar and I believe because of the lack of memory 32mb that it would constantly crash and reboot during a long activity. Thanks des ! Always awesome videos

Hey There!!! Greetings from Brazil. Again, thank you so much for all the content you put together. Incredibly detailed and excellent to follow through. So, I got my Instinct 2 Solar and have a question: when you follow a Daily Suggested Workout a preset of fields and data are displayed at the data screen. Can you edit that specific screen? I know we can edit the Data Screen for the different activity profiles, but differ they from the Daily Suggested Workout ones. So, anyway we can edit the Daily Suggested Workout ones? Thanks in advance -

You are the boss Des, such good/fun reviews and informative at the same time! Cheers to that, thanks! I have a question tho, do you find it worth it that I should upgrade from my Forerunner 245 Music to the Instinct 2? My activities are mainly 90% MTB and 10% running where I use the music function. But with the new MTB Grit and Flow function in combination with much better GPS it is really tempting :)) Also is the navigation good enough for occasional longer rides through Komoot? Thanks!

Great review. I’m not sure I’d upgrade my instinct Solar though. I should mention in the UK Solar charging never really did anything even in mid summer. Also seems somewhat over priced

Instinct 2 solar vs fenix 6 solar.? Which is the the one too get.

Добрый день! Спасибо за Ваши обзоры! Напишите пожалуйста есть ли такие функции как у более старшой модели Garmin tactix Delta Solar, а именно: функция неведимки и екстренного удаления данных.

Des would be good to mention when fist unboxing you have to wait an age for the software update. some features did not come through until that process completed like completing the Garmin IQ set up. it tells you you have to update when you try to download a watch face for example.

Hoping to experience that kind of watch, all I have is my Strava app..

I wanted to switch from the AW for better metrics and battery life, picked the instinct solar in December but regretted a month later because of the HR being all over the place; so much that I went back to the AW. Unsure now if to put money behind this device now, or hold onto my AW6 and see if the next iteration of AW increases battery life

Awesome

nice review ate, looks great can replace : the sleep ring / strava / heart rate monitors and love that it ha solar (the reason ive ben uninterested in smart watches is the charging).... i didnt see compass function, does it have that? If so would replace my tissot touch which is quite awesome as an adventure watch and looks cool (shame garmin dont make a cooler looking titanium or alloy version of this watch)

Wow, this became better than anticipated :-O One question: does it also support that waypoint thingie in navigation that came with the F7? That would also be super useful.