Garmin Instinct 2S Solar GPS Watch
Sized for smaller wrists, yet still tough enough to keep up with you, Garmin Instinct 2S Solar is a rugged GPS watch with solar charging—designed to help you take on life's unlimited possibilities.
- 2S version is sized for smaller wrists
- Solar charging gives you unlimited battery life in smartwatch battery saver mode (assuming all-day wear with 3 hrs. per day outside in 50,000 lux conditions)
- Do more of what you love with preloaded activity profiles for running, biking, swimming, strength training and more; plus, VO2 Max and other training features
- When paired with a compatible smartphone, this watch lets you stay connected to what matters to you with smart notifications, Garmin Pay™ and Connect IQ™ compatibility
- Understand your body better with all-day monitoring for heart rate, energy levels, stress, sleep, respiration, Pulse Ox (Pulse Ox is not available in all countries) and more
- Pulse Ox is intended to give an estimation of your activity and metrics, but it is not a medical device and is not intended to diagnose or monitor any medical condition
- Rugged GPS smartwatch is water-rated to 100 meters and thermal- and shock-resistant with a fiber-reinforced polymer case and scratch-resistant Corning® Gorilla® glass
- Track your adventures with the built-in 3-axis compass and barometric altimeter, plus multiple global navigation satellite systems (GPS, GLONASS and Galileo)
- Extend your battery life and your time doing what you love using the power manager to see how settings and sensors impact your watch's battery life and make changes on the fly
- Battery life on smartwatch mode: up to 21 days (51 days with solar*); battery saver watch mode: up to 50 days (unlimited with solar*)
- Battery life on GPS mode: up to 22 hrs. (or 28 hrs. with solar*); max battery GPS: up to 54 hrs. (114 hrs. with solar*); expedition GPS: up to 25 days (105 days with solar*)
- *Solar use assumes all-day wear with 3 hrs. per day outside in 50,000 lux conditions
Imported.
View the Garmin Instinct Product LineView all Garmin GPS Sports Watches| Best Use | Multisport |
|---|---|
| Average Battery Life | Smartwatch: Up to 21 days (51 days with solar); GPS mode: up to 22 hrs. (28 hrs. with solar) |
| Battery Type | Lithium Ion |
| Solar-Powered | Yes |
| Display Size | 0.79 inches |
| Illumination | Backlight |
| Altimeter | Pressure-based |
| Compass | Yes |
| GPS/Satellite Detectable | Yes |
| HRM Included/Integrated | Yes |
| Heart Rate Sensor Type | Wrist-based |
| Average Heart Rate | Yes |
| Pulse Oximeter | Yes |
| Heart Rate Target Zone(s) | Yes |
| VO2 Max Estimate | Yes |
| Recovery Advising | Yes |
| Tracks Steps | Yes |
| Pedometer Type | Digital 3-axis Accelerometer |
| Pace Alert | Yes |
| Interval Training | Yes |
| Tracks Calories Burned | Yes |
| Water-Resistant Depth | 100 meters |
| Pool Lap Recognition | Yes |
| Stroke Recognition | Yes |
| Sleep Tracking | Yes |
| Alarm | Yes |
| Time Display | Yes |
| Stopwatch | Yes |
| Visual Map Display | Yes |
| Basemap | Yes |
| Preloaded Map | None |
| Programmable Routes | Yes |
| Number of Routes | 30 |
| Number of Waypoints | 1,000 |
| Customization | Watch Faces Apps Data Fields |
| Smart Device Notifications | Yes |
| Data Exchange | ANT+ Bluetooth |
| Compatible Fitness Accessories | Heart Rate Monitor |
| Gender | Unisex |
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Light weight and long battery life
Under the bright sun the battery percentage increases by at least 1% per hour (maybe more). I can totally imagine it not needing to be charged at all if exposed to the sun for 3 hours per day. I only use bluetooth sync manually once a day. With all day heart rate and sleep tracking, plus one hour of GPS per day, I think the watch can easily last 3 weeks. On the weight aspect, both the Fenix 6 and 6s are too heavy. But this is perfect as I don't feel a thing on the wrist and can comfortably never take it off. Actually, Garmin should name this the Instinct 2 Solar and call the large watch Instinct 2 Solar XL. For all those who wear a big and heavy watch in discomfort, you know what to get next time.
Stopped working after 2 years
I bought this and it worked fine for the first year to 18 months. After that, anytime I tried to track an activity, it would just die, like it was not charged. When I'd plug it in to charge, it had over 30% power. The last 3 months it completely died. I followed the trouble shooting tips on the Garmin website but it still didn't work. I contacted Garmin customer service a week or so ago, and haven't heard back from them. When the earth worked, it was great but for $450 I'd expect it to work longer than 2 years.
Incident reporting spot on
I just wanted to brag on the incident detection and reporting. I crashed my bike today and flew about 15 ft (I'm okay) within moments of landing my watch was vibrating and alarming and sending messages to my husband and father. I was able to send a message a few minutes later saying that I was okay. I was also amazed that it sent them my exact coordinates of my crash. So basically this is a thank you garmin!
Solar Power Rocks
I chose the Instinct 2s solar predominantly because I work outdoors in the sunny Southwest. Seeing the solar graph being generated while on a nice sunny hike really made me happy. I find the tracking to be accurate and the watch to have all the capabilities I’d want. I do wish that I would’ve purchased the full-sized watch instead of the smaller “s” version. I do have small wrists, but I also have aging eyes, and I think the bigger screen would be welcomed.
Thank you for your review. Jenny
Good for the trails and hiking
Nice little watch, quite the upgrade from the Forerunner 45. I should have purchased the larger watch model, though (Garmin Instinct 2), due to the S model having a small screen size, slightly shorter battery life, and very short wrist strap. I went running this morning and it was extremely difficult to see what running information the watch was giving me. I´m disappointed! I would exchange this product at REI but I´m traveling in Central America.
Best Fitness Watch (And I’ve had them all)
Awesome Watch! Unlike my Apple Watch that needs charged every single day, or the Fitbit that charges a subscription for premium data, this watch has it all! The features are outstanding and the battery life is nothing short of amazing. I went with black because if I want to change up the color I can just swap out the straps. Excellent watch for all your outdoor adventures and for fitness tracking. Texts come in clearly and are easy to see even with the monochrome screen. Never going back to apple or Fitbit.
Perfect size & features
I rocked the previous edition Instinct Solar for over a year and absolutely loved it. My only drawback was its size having a smaller wrist. Switching to the 2S, the watch just feels so much more comfortable and fits me better. I was already use to the interface and app which I love.
Thank you for your review. Jenny
Good watch
I should have gotten the bigger watch face surface..it's a little too small for my eyes to see everything but I finally found a watch face that allows me to read everything even though it's boring. So far the solar charging is less than impressive..and I'm not sure how it will last on a multi day hiking trip. I charged it some in the sun today and for about 90 minutes I got a 2% charge. I bought this hoping it would allow me to trace multi day hikes with the solar charging but I'm skeptical. More to come I guess. I like that it has built in hiking activities because that's what I primarily bought this for and the track back feature.
Thank you for your review.
Beast of a watch.
Used and abused this watch daily as a tradesman. Just the right amount of features and raised bevel so i’m not terrified of destroying the face of the watch while I work. Analog buttons are a huge plus for folks who wear gloves too. Battery life is exceptional and since i’m outside for work, it lasts even longer with the solar charging capability. Only qualm is that every time I charge it up to 100% via the charger, I have to reset it so the solar function works again. MINUSCULE price to pay for an excellent watch. Takes max 7 seconds to do. Hopefully there’s a software update that fixes it… Overall, highly recommend this watch. Absolute workhorse.
Smaller 40 mm size
I am a previous owner of the Instinct and just love my old watch. This is smaller and the wrist band is much smaller. I am still trying to get used to the differences and the watch face is smaller and has too much information on it. I would prefer to have the option of going back to the face with just 4 fields and larger time numbers. Also, I could push the GPS button and my hiking app would come up first. Now I have to scroll through lots options to hike. Possibly there are ways of reordering the options. Also, the altimeter doesn't seem as accurate. So far (winter) the solar feature has had an opportunity to function much.
Thank you for your review.