GarminGarmin Instinct® 2 Solar – Rugged GPS Smartwatch, Graphite, 45mm

I’m 76, retired and not an athlete. I do however try to stay fit, mostly by walking. I don’t smoke, I drink moderately and I want to stay on top of how my body is performing. I’ve always liked Garmin products having used two or three of their GPS systems, and I didn’t fancy an Apple watch. I wanted something that was robust, accurate, solar charged, kept tabs on my health data and would notify people if I was involved in an accident. I’d have liked a map but that’s a trade-off I was willing to take.I’ve been using the Instinct 2 Solar now for about a month and I’m quite pleased with the results. Here’s what I found:The user handbook is difficult, not informative enough (for me) and lacks diagrams.You Tube has a wealth of instructional movies that should provide all the information you need.The step counting function is inaccurate and counts steps and movements when you’re just bimbling around the house. On a dedicated walk it works well and is pretty accurate but outside of that it’s poor and makes you think you’re doing well. I did a test over a few days wearing a pedometer that doesn’t count unless you’ve done ten steps (they then get added on) so it discounts the bimbling around bit. The result after a few days showed that the watch overcounted by 30%.I’m particularly fond of the basic health data and found that both the Heart Rate and Pulse Oximeter (oxygen saturation) functions are accurate. I tested both these on a recent visit to the doctor and also at home with one of those oximeters that clips on your finger. The readings for both heart rate and oxygen saturation were spot on.The watch kept buzzing and showing a number when I reached certain goals. I didn’t know what half the goals were, I didn’t want to see them and I eventually found a way of turning them off.I like the simple tracking of key (to me) functions – heart rate, respiration etc. I particularly like the sleep tracking system. I never used to wear a watch in bed, and that took some getting used to, but it works well and the display is excellent.I like that if I go for a walk the watch absorbs a wealth of information and shows me a detailed map on the Connect app at the end of it all plus data about my speed, step count and distance. I’ve also tried using it to measure the Bike Indoor function. It’s quite good but I have a simple exercise bike, not something I can hook up to the app, so it tells me time and exertion data only.The Connect app and the web app are also really good and show some relevant data in a decent format. However, I really need to understand all the variables and measures better. So in summary I think it’s a great watch with all the information I need, supported by both the phone and web apps, which are excellent.

This is an excellent watch battery lasts ages does everything I need it to do

Excellent

Works well a lot better Than a apple whatch for half the price for the same features if you don’t mind the slightly dull interface it is a great buy

Battery last for a month, what is fantastic. You can customise activities, face watch and app. Pretty good.

Excellent watch. Well worth the money. Tons of useful functions. Very comfortable to wear.

I had considered a fitness tracker but there were a few extra features that I thought I may use together with the “solar glass” and I thought it was worth the little bit of extra money.What I didn’t realise was all of additional functionality that is embedded. I keep finding new features every day, for example, this morning I discovered the compass!Absolutely love it!

Was expecting more for the money