Instinct® 3 is the rugged 45 mm GPS smartwatch with a 0.9”
display, built-in flashlight and unlimited battery life in
smartwatch mode with solar charging (assumes all-day wear with 3
hours per day outside in 50,000 lux conditions). With bolted
construction, a metal-reinforced bezel and scratch-resistant
lens, it can take on your toughest adventures. It’s engineered to
MIL-STD-810 standards for thermal and shock resistance and is
also 10 ATM water-rated. To keep you on track, the Instinct 3
smartwatch includes a built-in 3-axis compass and barometric
altimeter. Plus, multi-band GPS with SatIQ™ technology delivers
superior positioning while also optimizing battery life. Its 24/7
health and wellness features keep you connected to your body with
heart rate tracking, advanced sleep monitoring, Pulse Ox and more
(this is not a medical device, and data presented is intended to
be a close estimation of metrics tracked; Pulse Ox not available
in all countries). Instinct 3 also includes Garmin Pay™
contactless payments (with a supported bank).
Review: Best MIP watch. Compared with Instinct 2, Coros Pace 3,
Suunto 9 Peak Pro & Vertical - My priorities for a smart watch:
1) long battery life that I can use to track week-long
backpacking trips. 2) a display that I can ALWAYS read. I don't
like waiting for a display to light up; I don't need colors. 3)
something that doesn't need to be charged often so I can sleep
with it for my morning alarm and sleep tracking. My previous
watch was an Amazfit Bip S (with a MIP display). It recently died
after 4 years of use. I was looking for more to replace it. I
compared 5 watches with MIP displays: Garmin Instinct 3 Solar and
2 Solar, Coros Pace 3, Suunto Vertical and 9 Peak Pro. The Garmin
Instinct 3 was noticeably better than the Instinct 2: a crisper
and more reflective display, better solar charging, snappier
response (I noticed a little bit of lag switching screens
sometimes), and that torch! Feature-wise and software, they
looked identical. I think it wouldn't be worth upgrading from the
Instinct 2, but since I was replacing a watch, the improvements
in the Instinct 3 are worth the price difference. I wasn't going
to go cheap if either Garmin was better than the others. (The
Fenix is beyond what I want to spend.) The Instinct (both 2 and
3) is a cut above the Coros or Suunto in several ways: 1) while
the display is smaller, it had a more reflective display that was
easier to read in any light. Both 2 and 3 are more reflective
than the others actually. (See attached photo.) 2) while the
Garmin watch faces are not as pretty or even in color, almost all
of the display fields on the watch face can be customized. I
spent a while looking for watch faces for the Suunto and Coros
with the fields I want and never found the "perfect" one, but
with the Instincts, I could just select the data I want and place
them on the screen. 3) the activity data screens are also very
customizable with lots of options to choose from. I couldn't do
this as well with the Coros and Suunto. I didn't realize how much
I appreciated having customized fields and screens for hiking vs
biking vs running until I could. 4) solid battery life, solar
charging 5) thoughtful/useful features: lap stat announcements to
your BT headset, shortcut to power saving mode, unusual tracking
modes like expedition and area calc, double function of each
button - short vs long press, a double-tap shortcut for the torch
Otherwise, all five watches had similar features: activity
tracking galore, sleep tracking, alarms and timers, stopwatch,
compass, altimeter, barometer, etc. 2nd place: the Coros was the
most visually appealing of the set. The Instincts have that
rugged chunky look and a smaller monochrome display, while the
Coros was sleek with an attractive display (for MIP). Although
they were all "45mm" watches, the Coros had a lower profile on my
wrist, and through a trick of design, it looked like it had a
smaller bezel. (It wasn't.) Data fields were displayed in BIG
readable fonts during activities. The scroll wheel and two
buttons was probably the most fun interface to use. Scrolling and
zooming is quite nice with a scroll wheel. The Suunto Vertical is
very similar to the 9 Peak Pro. I got my hands on both. I don't
think it is worth the 2x price difference so I only compared the
9 Peak Pro with the others.
Review: Instinct 3 45mm Solar is perfect watch for the active
user - I now understand the cult following - Clearly an immense
amount of thought and design went into making what is for me the
perfect active watch and I understand why there are so many
obsessed owners. Been through other cheaper options with Fitbit
and Amazfit and while they were ok they all failed after a couple
of years as I used the watches for their intended purpose which
is swimming (pool and ocean), biking, hiking, walking running
etc... so after a lot of research I settled on the Garmin
Instinct 3 Solar 45MM as its durability is legendary. For me I
did not want another phone on my wrist so Apple watch and high
battery color touch screen is not wanted. I mean I have a phone,
I stare at a computer all day ... I just want a workout trainer
and health tracker that lasts a long time on one charge. And boy
does this watch fit the bill. For those considering here is what
I learned after a few weeks: - in picture note the hack I use to
get charging even during the 10 F walks I'm going on in Jan. I
use a rubber band to hold the cuff of my jacket down so I get
full sun on the watch during my walk. - Been going for walks with
ski gloves on and it is amazing - the buttons all pressable
perfectly even with heavy gloves on. Amazing design. - I
considered the 50 mm version but I wanted something comfortable
as I wear this thing 24 hours per day and sleep with it. The
watch is extremely comfortable and the band is great too. You
don't need to make it tight to get good readings - all of them
heart rate / VO2 etc... - battery life is amazing even though I
am going on long walks/hikes with GPS on every day. Even the
solar charging I get in Feb is much better than expected. And I
have the 45 mm watch. In summer it will likely never need a
charge. - ArmorSuit 6 Pack for Garmin Instinct 3 45mm
(AMOLED/Solar) Screen Protector MilitaryShield HD Clear Film -
Made in USA - highly recommended as it seems to not impact solar
charging at all and screen looks great. Garmin claims your
shouldn't use any screen protection and it may not be required
but there is no downside as far as I can tell. Researching the
rigid glass like protectors do seem to impact charging from my
research and don't stay on. - There are tons of cool faces
available. I found a great Casio G-Shock look alike below. On the
topic of G-Shock ... you'd have to have your head examined to get
a $300 G-Shock that does maybe 10% of what this watch and looks
ugly as hell too. Just MO ... and I loved GShock years ago but
this watch is superior in every way. - You need to learn the
'operating system' of the watch before you can utilize the full
capability. It is very well done and youtube is your friend. I
will admit out of the box I had some difficulty to use some more
advanced things but after a couple of days I got the hang of it.
Now it is all second nature and I appreciate how the watch is set
up. Very good design! - without fail folks that don't like this
watch will point to lack of some 'premium' features that other
watches and Garmin watches triple the price have. Guess what - I
don't want them! Music on the watch ... don't want it. I actually
like working out. Receive and answer calls ... don't want it!
Color touch screen ... don't want it. On board maps ... don't
want it. If (probably never) I am hiking the appalachian trail
guess what ... I'll take my phone. - MIP B&W display ... last but
not least is the black and white MIP display. It is hands down
the best display I have ever had on a watch. It is crystal clear
in the sun even through sunglasses and is supremely viewable
under all conditions indoor / outdoor / gym ... everywhere. -
Make sure you take the time to learn all the watch has to offer
... after two weeks I started using the breathing and relaxation
programs in the watch and really dig those as well. Great sleep
tracking and sleep coach ... great exercise tracking and exercise
coaching ... pulse, VO2, body battery ... even weather glance is
really well done. - The software on the watch is light years
better than other brands. The sleep tracking, training readiness,
flawless GPS tracking, vast array of built in widgets (glances)
available can be daunting at first but take your time to learn
what the watch has to offer. You will not be dissapointed. - The
tactical version is the exact same watch blacked out for $50
more. I think the orange accents look great and certain need
esoteric tactical ballistics stuff so save yourself the $50. to
summarize ... if you want a toy or gizmo to play with keep
looking. if you want an extremely useful tool the help you train
and keep you on track for your fitness goals that goes weeks and
maybe months maybe forever in the summer in-between charges AND
is a good looking watch that doesn't look out of place business
casual ... you found your watch!
