Garmin Instinct - Tactical Edition Rugged GPS Watch - Black

Product Information

The Tactical edition has a stealth mode that cuts off all wireless communications, a screen mode designed for reading with night vision goggles, and a killswitch that deletes all data stored on the watch, including location information. It also has Garmin’s Jumpmaster app installed for skydiving. The Instinct – Tactical Edition GPS watch monitors your heart rate, activity and stress throughout the day, so you know how much you do — and how hard you’re working to do it. When you’re ready to train, we’ve got you covered with preloaded activity profiles for running, biking, swimming and more. It also has mission-specific training options, including Jumpmaster and a preloaded tactical activity. The experience of using these features is good on the whole, but can be compromised by the small nature of the screen. When you’re following a route, it’s just a simple line to your destination, with room to show off distance left to reach a destination. It also makes use of that secondary screen to clearly point you in the right direction. It would definitely be nicer to have a bigger screen at play here, but it makes good use of that smaller space to still make it a good navigating experience.

As mentioned above, the main reason why I wanted to review the Garmin Instinct Solar Tactical is because of the fact that it is able to be charged by the sun. The watch face is a small solar panel. Or in fact two layers of solar panels. The light gray area is a 100% solar panel that converts for 100% the sunlight into energy that is stored in the battery. The darker area is a 10% solar panel that is transparent for 90% because it sits on top of the display that displays all the numbers and symbols. As soon as sun rays hit the solar panel the watch starts charging. In the top left side of the screen a little circle – the Solar Intensity panel – shows the amount of sun that hits the Garmin. It is also possible to switch to a dedicated screen that shows how much light has been hitting the Garmin in the past hours. The solar intensity screen shows when and how much has been charged. If you want an outdoor watch that you don’t have to charge everyday or think about carrying around a charger with you, that’s something you don’t need to worry about with the Instinct. With the watch on my wrist, the lux meter next to it and walking with both facing the sun direction but not holding them perfectly in the sun, I measure about 30.000 lux. With a light meter on my wrist I measured how much sunlight hits the watch face when hiking. Despite that, there are still plenty of handy features for outdoor activities such as Auto Climb, which gives you handy insights into your recent elevation gain so you can adjust your efforts accordingly. In a similar vein, 3D Speed and 3D Distance factor in your elevation change when calculating your speed and distance during hilly activities.There's also no charge to use the various workout programs included with Garmin Connect, including the bespoke cycling and running plans that can help you prepare for a new event, or aim for a personal best. As always, the longevity of this watch's battery will vary depending on how you use it. Functions like SpO2 monitoring and GPS will drain power more rapidly, but if you've opted for one of the solar models, you can expect your Instinct 2 to last much, much longer between charges. Doing the same on a day with overcast results in almost the same measurements as on a sunny day and keeping the Instinct in the shade. There’s no microphone, so you can’t take calls or use your phone’s voice assistant from your wrist as you can with the Garmin Venu 2 Plus, but if you own an Android phone then you can automatically reject calls with a text message. Like many of the watch’s more advanced features, that’s easy to set up and customize in the Garmin Connect app. By default – Auto position on screen – the Instinct monitors changes in pressure and uses an algorithm to decide if this change is a result of changing location – up or down the mountain – or the result of changing weather.

Watches in the Instinct 2 range are legal for golf tournaments too, and include tools like a digital scorecard, yardage to layups/doglegs, hazards and course targets, and green view with manual pin position. When you're in the gym, there are also profiles for strength, cardio and elliptical training, stair stepping, floor climbing, indoor rowing, and yoga. Hiking, climbing, mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, stand-up paddleboarding, rowing, kayaking, and Jumpmaster (for skydiving) are also available. On a bright clear day in late autumn and early spring I measured about 52000 lux with the lux meter and the watch facing the sun directly. These are ideal circumstances. One thing that I always like in outdoor watches is the storm or weather alarm. This alarm warns me if the barometric pressure rises or drops very fast in a short period of time. In most cases this is the indication that a change in weather is coming fast and most of the time it is not fair weather that is closing in. The Instinct has such a storm or weather alarm and it is operated by the barometer. Setting it is just a matter of pressing the Set-botton for a few seconds and setting the right values. The storm alarm warns me if the barometric pressure rises or drops very fast in a short period of time. Altimeter and barometer calibration Additionally, the Instinct was able to pass corrosion testing under Method 509.6: spraying it with salt-fog for 24 hours and then drying for an additional 24 hours produced no corrosion, guaranteeing that the Instinct retains its durability in salt-rich maritime environments.”

On a sunny day the sun produces about 50-100.000 lux. With a lux meter I measured a couple of days outdoors and how much sun hits Garmin Instinct Solar. It is not my ambition to write a full manual about the Garmin Instinct Solar Tactical but let me talk you through the functions of the buttons. This is quite basic and important for the rest of the review. The solar models are a little more expensive, but the photovoltaic material doesn’t have any effect on the look of the display, so it’s well worth considering the extra investment to avoid frequent charging. This display is less striking than the AMOLED screens of watches like the Venu 2, but it's easy to read in all lighting conditions and has more contrast than the color MiP display of the Garmin Fenix 7. Some functions that are specific to the Instinct Tactical are a dual position display that uses both MGRS and degrees/minutes/seconds, and stealth mode, which stops the device from sharing and storing your GPS location and disables all wireless connectivity. Further, the watch comes with a night vision mode that allows the face to be viewed under night vision devices, as well as jumpmaster and waypoint projection apps.

Monitor your heart rate¹, activity and stress; train with preloaded activity profiles, and stay connected with smart notifications² The manual calibration of the Garmin Instinct for both altimeter and barometer is done by setting a known altitude. This can be the height of a landmark on the map where you are, a sign or for example a mountain hut. The more often the watch is calibrated, the more accurate the measurement.The Barometer screen appears after pressing the ABC-button a few seconds and then pressing it shortly three times.The barometer screen looks very similar to the altimeter screen. In the right hand corner cirkel the current barometric pressure is shown. Left to the cirkel the lowest and the highest pressure are shown above each other. The bottom of the screen is occupied by the barometric pressure trend from the past 6 hours. Same remarks here as in the paragraph about the altimeter. The barometer screen shows the pressure change over a periode of time. Altimeter and barometer need to know One sensor that doesn’t make the cut is the pulse ox sensor that’s started to appear on Garmin’s watches and is actually available on the new Instinct Solar model. While it’s definitely a feature that hogs the battery, it’s one that would be useful to have at your disposal when you’re training or exploring at altitude. The Camo edition doesn’t add any extra functions or apps, but has a camouflage patterned band and case.

I don’t have an opinion on the above except for the fact that I think Garmin takes the Instinct Solar Tactical serious. I am just not sure if ‘built to’ is something I would shout of the rooftops and maybe it should say ‘meets MIL-STD-810G standards’ or is ‘MIL-STD-810G certified’. Verdict Watches in the Instinct and Instinct 2 series are designed with outdoor sports in mind, but they also have a decent set of smartwatch features for everyday use. At a launch presentation for the Instinct 2, Garmin said that unlimited battery life is a realistic possibility for someone like a lifeguard who works outdoors. Smartwatch and fitness features Smartwatch features Top Right: GPS (GPS) button. Pressing shows the activity list and also it starts or stops an activity. Press it again to choose an option in a menu. Press and hold shows the GPS coordinates and saves your location. Also like most smartwatches the Garmin takes over a part of the smartphone functions: I like the fact that it shows messages so I don’t have to grab my phone. I can also use the ‘Find my phone’ function in case I lose my iPhone. Be aware that it uses the bluetooth connection to find your smartphone so when the connection is lost… Weather forecast

The compass screen shows the bearing when you open it and the bearing is clearly visible in large numbers in the right hand corner; the direction is also shown with N, S, E, W and everything in between. By pressing the GPS button a menu opens. In this menu I can calibrate the compass, change what the display shows – degrees or milliradians -, I can change the North Reference from True, Magnetic, Grid or to my own preference. This is good because now I can change to wherever I am on this planet and be accurate. Did you know that the magnetic North is not everywhere the same way and that it changes from year to year? That is why you should know how a compass works when you are going out. The compass on the Garmin Instinct Solar does what it needs to do. When using the altimeter there are a few very important basics that you should know about how air and air pressure sensors work. The pressure sensor in a watch does not know whether a pressure change is the result of a weather change or a change in height. Imagine: You have your watch in the altimeter position and you spend the night in a mountain hut at an altitude of 2500 meters. While you are sleeping a low-pressure weather front is approaching. The pressure sensor registers this and the watch translates this as an increase in height. Without having moved a single meter, you wake up at 3000 meters. You will therefore have to keep a close eye on the weather when you are using the watch as an altimeter or as a barometer.