Music original garmin instinct was a well received watch because it was affordable and it had a lot of great features for hikers and trail runners. Climbers people who get off the beaten path and didnt want all the fluff of a garmin, fenix or even a 4runner model, and wanted something just more simple and more basic. And now, just another year later, we have the instinct 2, which adds so much more to the original instinct in the instinct. Solar and thats were going to be talking about in this video today because they really packed a lot into this one in this video lets. Just focus on the new things that come to the instinct 2 and why its an upgrade from the instinct 1 in solar models. One quick note before we move on every time i mention the instinct 1 in this video im. Actually, referring to the instinct solar, not the original instinct one. So just keep that in mind as we go through this video first things. First lets talk about the options when it comes to purchasing one of these watches because theres a lot to choose from theres, actually 19 different versions of the instinct 2 to choose from so yeah theres a lot. The first thing to note is theres. Actually, two sizes available on the instinct two theres, the instinct two thats 45 millimeters and thats the one i have here and then theres, the instinct 2s, which is a smaller version, and that comes in at 40 millimeters, which is great for smaller wrists.
On top of that, theres a whole bunch of different colors this year to choose from theres like neon green versions and blue versions and camo versions. Theres a lot going on here so youll have to check out garmins website to see all the different available options and then, on top of all those different color options. Youve got a couple of versions unique to different activities, so theres a surf version this year and theres also a tactical version this year and those come with a few unique features and a different price point and speaking of pricing its equally as confusing. So the base model – the non solar instinct, 2 and 2s starts at 349. If you upgrade to the solar model, it comes in at 449. On top of that, youve got the surf and tactical versions of the watch that come in at ‘9 and then youve got the surf, solar and tactical solar versions and those come in at 499, so 500 bucks for the most expensive one and then 349 to get Into the instinct too, wide range of pricing there, okay, so whats new with the instinct 2 first of all, is the design. So the design of the instinct 2, which i have on the right side of the screen and the original instinct on the left side of the screen. You can see that the bezel is a little bit different. Now its a little bit more contoured and i think it looks a little bit more modern now, where the original version has more of a utilitarian look.
Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder so its up to you whether or not you like this change. I personally think its a good looking watch, even though the design changed a little bit, the sizing is basically identical to the original instinct. Both of these are 45 millimeters and theyre about the same thickness. There is one redesign that is functional to the instinct 2 that a lot of people complained about on the instinct 1, its going to be the location of the barometer port. So on the original instinct, you can see here that the barometer port was on the back of the watch. I dont know if you can see that on the camera, but thats where it is, and the problem with the location of the barometer being here is that if you get super sweaty or you get gunk on your wrist or something like that, this port can actually Get jammed up and that ultimately leads to inaccurate readings from the barometer. Now, if we take a look at the instinct 2, you can see that the barometer port has been moved to the side of the watch right between the two buttons. Ive only had the watch for a few days, so im not going to give you my impressions on the accuracy so far, but that design change should result in better accuracy. Another upgrade to the instinct 2 is a little bit nuanced, because its really hard to notice but theres, actually increased resolution on the display keep in mind.
This is the same type of display, so its a monochrome, black and white transflective display and its functional in direct sunlight, but its not vibrant or anything like that, like an apple watch, would be. This increased resolution on the display means that text can look a little bit smoother, but it also means that text can be a little bit smaller. So if youre scrolling, through your menus and things like that, the the smaller text is a little bit easier to read because its not quite as pixelated as it was on the instinct one quick interruption. If youre, finding this video, helpful or fun or anything, make sure you hit the subscribe and thumbs up button down below, because that really helps me out also check out the links in the description, if youre planning on picking one of these watches up. Because that helps me out too okay back to the video now, if we flip both of these watches over, you can see that the instinct 2 also got garmins new elevate, 4.0 heart rate sensor and in my testing so far its way more accurate than these older Heart rate sensors, like on the instinct 1 and solar version, and again ive only had the instinct 2 for a few days, but i have managed to go for a few runs with it and the heart rate. Data from those runs does look a lot more accurate than it did on the instinct 1 in instinct, solar, this heart rate sensor, isnt totally new on the instinct 2, its available on the phoenix 7, the epics, the 945 lte and on all of those watches it Gets pretty good results? Another big upgrade to the instinct 2 is that its actually compatible with connect iq this time around, whereas the original instinct was not.
That means you can go on your phone and download additional watch faces and data fields and widgets and apps keep in mind. This is a new development for connect iq, so developers will need to make their apps compatible with the instinct too, and on launch day. I think things like starbucks and wiki local be available, but more will definitely come down the road and on top of that connect iq support. We now have garmin pay support on the instinct too again, wasnt available on the instinct one and thats a welcome sight. That means you could pay for things if your bank supports it using the watch in the nfc chip inside you just tap it on the card reader and youre ready to go another nice feature about the instinct 2. Is that much like the phoenix 7 and epic gen 2, you can set all the settings of the watch right from your garmin connect app on your smartphone. So, instead of diving through the menus of your watch, you can just do it right from your phone and sync it over to the watch in real time, and this is great because you can control literally everything from backlight brightness to the data fields. In your particular activities in terms of the user interface, comparing the instinct 1 to the 2, the major upgrade here is that theres now widget glances available on the instinct 2 and thats thanks to that higher resolution display.
So, instead of full page widgets, like on the instinct 1, you can see here on the instinct 2, we now have truncated views that just give you a little bit more information at a glance and if we dive into the menu system here we see a few New features, for instance, we have safety now available on the instinct too. So if we dive in here, you can see that we have incident detection assistance and emergency contacts and incident detection will actually pick up if you fall off your bike or your trip, while youre out on a trail run anything like that and actually contact your friends Or family that you set up in garment connect when it comes to general wellness tracking on the instinct 2, its very similar to the instinct, one picks up your daily step. Count. Your stairs, climbed, active calories, burned things like that, but it takes it one step further. When it comes to sleep now, the original instinct did track sleep, but it didnt have this new widget thats available on the instinct too. This actually lets you view your previous nights, sleep on the watch itself without having to dive into garmin connect or even look at your phone and with this comes a whole new algorithm for sleep tracking. That has proven to be more accurate than the older versions like on the instinct one and, as you can see on the widget, you can see how long my sleep duration was my sleep score quality of sleep and if i scroll down, i get even more information About my previous nights, sleep and on the topic of wellness tracking, the instinct 2 now features garments.
Health snapshot activity that actually takes a measure of all of your vitals for that moment and stores them in garment connect, and you can actually show them to your doctor. This is available on some of garmins other devices like the venue 2 and the phoenix, but its good to see on the instinct 2 now now lets talk about training tools on the instinct 2, because this is a huge upgrade compared to the instinct 1.. This time around weve got garmins excellent, estimated vo2 max weve got the graphical race predictor that was available on the garmin fenix 7 and epics weve got training status and training load weve got recovery advisor and we have daily suggested workouts, just like the phoenix and 4runner Models – this is a huge upgrade in my opinion, and i feel like its going to sell a lot more units, because a lot of people who are looking at this watch ended up going with a foreigner or something like that because they wanted those advanced training tools And now theyre available on instinct, too. Okay lets talk battery life on the instinct too, because this topic is pretty interesting. If you look at general, specs, like without solar involved, its actually pretty similar to the original instinct, one youre, looking at about four weeks or 28 days as a smart watch, just general daily use or up to 30 hours in gps mode. However, if we talk solar on the instinct too, its a whole different story, they beefed up the efficiency of the solar panel on the front of the watch.
So now in smartwatch mode, you get infinite battery life, thats right, infinite battery life. So if you get up to three hours of direct sunlight per day on the watch on the solar panel, you never have to charge a watch forever and thats super cool. Because on the original instinct you could get infinite battery life, but you had to have it in battery saver mode which really dumbed it down. It just basically turned it into a watch, but on the instinct 2 you get infinite battery life with sunlight and its a real smart watch. You can read your text messages on it. You can control your music on it. On top of that, if you get up to three hours of direct sunlight during your gps activity, you can actually get up to 48 hours of gps activity, use on the instinct 2. and again thats a big upgrade compared to the instinct 1 and its really interesting. Reading these specs, because by design they look very similar, like the solar panel, is the same basically compared from the instinct, 1 and 2. However, the efficiencies way higher, so they must have a new kind of technology or something in this new solar panel. The instinct 2 is also compatible with up to 40 different activity profiles from virtual running, which has the ability to broadcast your heart rate to other devices for zwift and things like that. Youve got high intensity interval, training, bouldering, back country, skiing, multi, sport mode with triathlon support e bike, mountain bike and cycle cross, which all support, grit and flow.
This time around this updated activity profile list is great to see, because the original instinct was a little bit limited in this department. Okay lets talk, gps accuracy on the instinct 2., honestly, its very similar to the instinct 1.. Unlike the new garmin fenix, 7 and epics, the instinct did not receive that multi frequency gps mode, so i think its actually the same gps chip and antenna design they used on the instinct one and in terms of overall accuracy, its pretty good ive, been on several Runs wearing the instinct 1, the instinct 2, my garmin fenix 7 and my epics and all compared id say the gps accuracy from the instinct 2 is acceptable and its right in line with what were seeing from the instinct 1. thats to say its, not absolutely perfect. But its totally acceptable and if you werent, comparing them side by side with dual frequency devices, you probably wouldnt complain about it. Keep in mind. Ive only had the instinct 2 for a few days, so i will continue to test it, but so far its looking pretty good and thats kind of the end of the new feature list of the instinct 2 compared to the instinct 1. other than that. These two watches are basically the same: the same five button layout user interface, similar health and wellness tracking with body battery and the same breadcrumb, navigation and mapping features just like the original instinct is on. The instinct too.
Now lets talk about the instinct one for a second, because i know what youre thinking, if you just bought an instinct one, and you see all these new features on the instinct too youre probably a little upset, and i would be too i asked garmin if any Of these new features would be ported over to the original in a firmware update, and they didnt really have a clear answer for me. Im hopeful that some of the small tweaks, like the new widget glances, come over, but im not really sure yet. So only time will tell okay final thoughts on the instinct 2. Who is this watch for? I think this is a huge upgrade to the instinct one. They took a really awesome, watch and made it even more awesomer by giving the instinct to all those advanced training tools, the updated sleep, tracker, connect, iq access and little tweaks, like the widget glances, make it feel a lot more modern and make it fit into the Garmin lineup a little bit better. I think – and i think now the instinct 2 becomes a really solid option to people who are in the market for something like a garmin phoenix but didnt want to shell out a thousand bucks. You get most of those features in a rugged watch now on the instinct 2 for less than half the price, the instinct to certainly isnt a cheap watch. But i think you are getting your moneys worth here and i think its going to be a great option for people who are trail runners, hikers, climbers and now even road runners or cyclists can take advantage of the advanced training tools on board the instinct 2 as Well, so yeah im excited about this watch and im really interested in that new neon green color option because thats right out my alley – and now i want to hear from you – are you excited about the instinct 2? Let me know in the comments down below what you think id love to hear from you and with that weve come to the end of this video and if you found this video helpful or fun or anything, i would appreciate it.
If you give me a thumbs up and subscribe down below, so you dont miss more videos from me in the future and if youre interested in picking up an instinct too make sure you check out the links down below, because those do help support my channel and I really appreciate that thats all ive got for this one. I hope you liked it.HaOAPcA8F4E
