Our first look at the Garmin Instinct Watch
Review - Garmin Instinct GPS Watch
Our first look at the Garmin Instinct Watch.
The Garmin Instinct GPS watch comes in at a great price point for those wanting to take their first steps into the world of GPS watch navigation.
Do not forget it is also a smartwatch, so you can wear it all day every day.
It comes in as at a very light weight of 52g, making for a very comfortable fit.
Even though it is lightweight it still very much has a rugged feel.
Display – Garmin Instinct GPS watch
The Garmin Instinct watch has a monochrome display which makes it very easy to read in bright sunlight. Also having the slightly smaller screen (compared to the Garmin Fenix range) in addition to the monochrome screen you get great battery life.
Battery life – Garmin Instinct GPS watch
The battery life on the Garmin instinct watch is 16 hours with the GPS on and 14 days when just using it as a smartwatch.
The Garmin Instinct GPS watch also comes with a simple charging cable that you plug in on the underside of the watch.
Optical heart rate sensor – Garmin Instinct watch
The heart rate sensor is on the underside of the Garmin Instinct GPS watch and measures your heartrate from your wrist.
Watch strap – Garmin Instinct GPS watch
The Garmin Instinct watchstraps are interchangeable and is a lovely soft silicone band.
GPS reception – Garmin Instinct GPS watch
The Garmin Instinct watch now also picks up Galileo, the European satellite system as well as the GPSS and GLONASS systems.
Therefore, you get a great satellite fix with the Garmin Instinct GPS watch.
ABC sensors – Garmin Instinct GPS watch
By pressing the ABC button you can scroll between the altimeter, barometric altimeter and the electronic compass.
Watch Face - Garmin Instinct GPS watch
You do get the option to change the watch face on the Garmin Instinct, it comes preloaded with lots of options so you can easily choose the one that suits you best.
Standard Widgets – Garmin Instinct GPS watch
The standard widgets are –
1. Heartrate
2. Daily activity – showing you your steps, intensity minutes and the number of stairs you have climbed.
3. Smart notifications – when it is paired with your smartphone you get your smart notifications from that.
4. Calendar – also when the Garmin Instinct is paired with your smartphone you can view your calendar.
5. Weather data – using the data from your smartphone you get live weather data on the Garmin Instinct GPS watch.
6. Sunrise and sun set times – the Garmin Instinct also gives you the sunrise and sunset times to keep you fully informed when out in the hills.
7. Stress levels – using the data collected from the heart rate monitor the Garmin instinct watch also gives you your current stress levels.
Navigation features – Garmin Instinct GPS watch
It picks up a satellite signal very quickly and gives you a 10-figure grid reference.
By pressing the top right button to save a waypoint (a grid reference of your current location).
Before you start recording your activity you need to select the activity you are wanting to record.
Navigate option –
Back to - This gives you the option to navigate back to the start (backtrack)
Courses – This will let you navigate a pre-planned activity (gpx file). The Garmin Instinct GPS watch also works alongside the Garmin Explore App.
Summary
The Garmin Instinct GPS watch is a great smartwatch and navigational GPS watch, packed full of features.
Other related articles you may be interested in reading.
1. A look at the Garmin range of GPS watches - model comparison
2. The all new Garmin Instinct Solar GPS watch
GPS watches mentioned in this review