But since it does have a bigger case, it also packs in a few new features and, as you can imagine, even longer battery life than before, which was already great on the Instinct 2 solar, but with the new Instinct 2x theres. Some new training feedback features theres. Also, some new activity profiles, theres increased GPS accuracy and, as youve already seen, a flashlight just like the one thats found on the Phoenix 7x, oh and then one more thing. It has an insane price tag of only 449., so Ive been testing out. The new Instinct 2x solar for a bit now and in todays video, were going to go over everything new from all the new software features to all the new hardware features well talk about battery life and, of course, just like all my reviews. Ill have plenty of examples for you for GPS, as well as Hardware accuracy, with lots of different kinds of activities, and if the information in this video does help you out at all, do me a favor and just quickly hit that, like button down below its a Small little thing: thatll do thatll help this video and the channel quite a bit, and I appreciate it so. The Instinct 2x solar comes in two different versions: The Instinct 2x solar and then the Instinct 2x Solar Tactical Edition, and the difference with the Tactical Edition is that it gets some additional features, such as a jump Master profile for jumping out of airplanes.
Some more specialized navigation features like dual position: GPS, formatting and then Night Vision, compatibility and then the Tactical Edition runs 50 more at 4.99, but other than that. The Instinct 2x solar and the Tactical Edition are the same. Where you get solar charging, the new training and performance feedback features the new activity profiles, the new GPS chipset, as well as the flashlight, and you may also notice here too, that there isnt a non solar version. All the Instinct 2xs have solar. So I guess you could say that the choice is kind of easy. Okay, so lets go and first talk about the new size. So the Instinct 2x kind of rounds out the Instinct 2 lineup with a new X size model that has a 50 millimeter case versus the Instinct 2 at 45 millimeters and then the Instinct 2s at 40 millimeters. So basically, at this point, theres kind of an instinct for any size wrist and a 50 millimeter case size definitely sounds big on paper, but its surprisingly quite wearable and very comfortable. So for my wrist size, which is about 184 millimeters in circumference, I actually tend to prefer something like the mid sized Instinct, 2 at 45, millimeters or midsize, Phoenix 7 or epics at 47 milliliters. But I found the instant 2x to be much more comfortable to wear than the Phoenix 7x or Enduro 2 and I think a lot of that has to do with the weight. So the Instinct 2x comes in at 66.
5 grams and then the Phoenix 7x solar comes in at 95.8 grams and then the Enduro 2, with its Ultra fit band, comes in at 69.5 grams and then the instant 2 mid size model, solar comes in at 52.9 grams And that difference in weight at least compared to the Phoenix 7x well, it definitely makes a difference when it comes to wearability and comfort, but I think another thing that makes a difference is the integrated band that helps it conform around the wrist and Ive also found This design to kind of keep the watch a little bit more secure and stable too, which leads to better Hardware accuracy and the band on the Instinct 2x is just like the Instinct 2, where its super comfortable, where its just nice and stretchy and its just a Nice band, but, interestingly, its actually a tiny bit shorter, which kind of took me by surprise and on the hardware of things. The 2x shares the same overall style as the Instinct too, with its retro look and rugged design, but theyve actually added screws to the construction. As well as this kind of x pattern, I guess you could say, and with this orangey red color, it sort of reminds me of Deadpool now, with its larger size, its got more room inside. So what theyve done with the Instinct 2x is bring the dedicated LED flashlight. That was first introduced with the Phoenix 7x to the Instinct series and seriously folks.
I find the flashlight to be incredibly useful and in fact, its the reason that the Enduro 2 has actually spent more time on my wrist than any other garment in recent time, even though it is a little bit larger than I would prefer, and just like the Phoenix 7x Enduro, 2 or the toxic 7. All you have to do to enable the flashlight is just a quick double press of the upper left hand button and boom there. It is, and then you can also access the settings by long pressing on the upper left hand, button to bring up the controls menu and then heres, where you can adjust the brightness level as well. Switch it to the red LED just like the one thats found on the 7x, as well as the Enduro 2., and by the way the Tactical edition of the Instinct 2x has the green LED just like the tactic 7. As that color is, I guess, a little bit more useful in tactical situations, but, interestingly, though they actually call it a torch here on the Instinct 2x versus a flashlight on the 7x and Endura 2. and then in addition, it also has a strobe feature that you Can access, through the controls, menu and with the stroke feature theres a few different options here, so theres a blink mode, a pulse mode, a beacon mode, a blitz mode, and then you can make a custom strobe pattern if you wish now, along with the larger case Size theres also a larger display, where its quite a bit larger than Instinct 2, and for all of you out there who are cursed.
It shares the same five data field limit on a data page at one time as the Instinct two and since the 2x is bigger, theres room for an even larger solar panel that surrounds the display. But the display itself also does have their power Glass Technology, which has a translucent solar panel that sits atop the LCD display and all this translates into up to 50, more solar charging power than the smaller Instinct 2. and in addition, it also has an updated solar Intensity widget, which shows Lux hours, which is something that makes its way from the Phoenix 7x and Enduro 2, which basically just gives a bit more detail into how much solar exposure that youre actually getting. And since the 2x is larger. It also has longer battery life and thats, with or without solar charging, so the Instinct 2x gets up to a whopping 40 days in Smart Watch mode versus the 28 days on the midsize Instinct, 2 and of course, just like the Instinct 2. It also can get potentially unlimited battery life with enough solar exposure, but since the panels are larger on the Instinct 2x, it should be actually easier to get that potentially unlimited battery life and then for battery life for recording outdoor activities. If were doing a 1 to 1 one comparison of battery life using the GPS, only setting thats double what the Instinct 2 can get and substantially more for the other modes. But the instant 2x also has the multi band satellite chipset, and in this mode it can get up to 27 hours of battery life, so even with the 2xs highest accuracy, setting its nearly the same as the highest accuracy.
Setting on the Instinct 2, solar, oh and one more thing is that the Instinct 2x does come with a USBC charging, cable versus the USB type. A thats been previously included. Another thing new with Instinct 2x is that it gets garmins Morning Report feature which is basically this handy little screen that pops up every morning that displays a lot of the things that you probably want to know about. When you wake up. Like your last nights, sleep details, your HRV status, weather information as well as calendar events and then for health and activity tracking. The Instinct 2x comes with everything that comes with the Instinct too, so it tracks your heart rate, 24 hours a day. It tracks to your blood oxygen saturation levels. It tracks, your stress, attracts your steps, your floors climb. Throughout the day, it has garmins advanced sleep tracking, where it can also track your sleep stages, and it also comes with the host of training performance feedback features that were included with the Instinct 2, like a performance widget that can show for your VO2 max for both Running and cycling, it also has a race predictor widget for common running race instances and then theres also training status, which basically takes in numerous factors like your VR2 Max Trends, training load, HRV status as well as recovery, but the Instinct 2x also gets training, readiness, thats Right, the same awesome, training, readiness feature that youll find on garmins high end watches like their Phoenix 7, their FX Gen 2, as well as their 400 965 and even the Foreigner 265.
. So training readiness is an indication of well, as the name implies how ready you are for your next training session versus training status, which gives you an indication of how your last training and previous training is impacting your Fitness and performance and with training readiness it takes In numerous factors, like your last nights, sleep your recovery time, your HRV status, as well as your acute load and basically with all those factors, delivers a Readiness score for how you ready. You are for your next workout, and this really is a pretty great feature that Ive really enjoyed using since it first came out on the Foreigner 955 last year. Now, if, if youre wondering training, readiness is just for the Instinct 2X and its apparently not coming to the regular Instinct 2s via software update. But another thing new to come with the Instinct 2x is a new obstacle course racing profile, and what this does is it allows you to break out your race by your run portions versus the obstacle portions, where youll use the lap key to initiate when youre on An obstacle, and then, when youre done, you just press the lap key again to end that obstacle leg and then start running to the next obstacle and then theyre. Also introducing a few new activity profiles that theyve added to the Instinct 2x like boxing, as well as mixed, martial arts, in addition to the already enormous list of activity profiles of the Instinct 2 already has and heres.
Basically, all the activity profiles that are available in the Instinct 2X and by the way, the new obstacle course racing profile, as well as the new activity profiles like boxing as well as MMA, will be making it to the Instinct 2 and instant 2s via software update Somewhere around Q2 of this year and then for Smart Watch features. The Instinct 2x is going to be identical to the Instinct 2 solar, where it can receive notifications, whether youre on an Android phone or an iPhone. But if you are on an Android phone, youll actually actually be able to reply to text using predefined responses that you can customize in Garmin Connect and then another Smartwatch related feature that the Instinct 2x gets is Garmin pay for offline payments and then, in addition to That it also can receive weather information as well as show a list of calendar events that are both synced from your phone. So when it comes to GPS accuracy, the Instinct 2x also adds a dual band or multi band satellite chipset. So this is something thats. Basically, an upgrade from the Instinct too, so with this kind of Technology, its aim is to deliver increased accuracy in environments where satellite signals can kind of get iffy like around really tall buildings, Rock faces or really heavy tree cover, where those objects can actually interfere with. Satellite signals and in regards to its accuracy, well spoiler alert here, but its super solid so like on this road right here.
The total distance lined up just fine with all the other devices and they all actually also had the same multi band technology by the way and the elevation gain was also pretty close here too, and then in regards to the finer detail of the GPS tracks. This was an interesting test because it was an out and back so we should basically see some nice distinction between one side of the road to the other and thats very much. The case for the Instinct 2x whats also interesting about this ride is that I went up and down a portion of this Canyon and again, even with all the tall Canyon walls and rock faces beside the road. The Instinct 2x did great and then for mountain biking. Again, quite good stuff out of that instant 2x, where the total distance was very close to other devices, and so was the elevation gain and taking a look at the GPS tracks on that ride. The instant 2x was super crispy and again were comparing it to other devices that also have that multi band satellite system technology. So as we start to head up the Antelope Trail here, its all good out of the Instinct 2X and then up here on the Nelson loop, I basically did this loop three times so thats. Why we see some pretty dense tracks here, but, as you can see its super consistent, but if I had to nitpick right here, the North and the loop there was this corner right here, where maybe overshot ever so slightly, but thats incredibly minor, certainly not like the Device thats in green and then one more section I wanted to point out – was going down The Bitter Brush Trail here, and this is a super tight trail with tons of switchbacks, and it also has a pretty good amount of tree cover and the Instinct 2x laid Down some very clean tracks, so, in regards to GPS accuracy, its really solid.
Now its not like, I really had any issues with Instinct 2 by any means. In fact, it was plenty accurate and I didnt really see any big misses out of it or anything like that. But it is nice to see that multi band satellite chipset in the Instinct 2x for even increased GPS accuracy in some of those challenging environments. Now one rather interesting thing to note here, though, is that, although the 2x does come with a multi band, satellite chipset, it actually doesnt come with the Auto, Select or sat IQ mode, thats found on the Phoenix 7x or the Enduro 2. and with sat IQ or Auto Select what this technology aims to do is automatically switch between different satellite modes in an effort to save on battery life, because you may not need the highest accuracy. Setting all the time like, if youre out in the wide open with no obstructions you likely would only need a single frequency mode and then, when you do get in a situation where satellite signals would degrade, it would automatically switch to a dual frequency mode. And although it doesnt have this mode, which is a tiny bit of a bummer, well, I guess one argument is that the 2x already gets really great battery life, alright, so now on to Hardware accuracy, so the Instinct 2x uses garmins latest fourth generation Elevate, heart rate Sensor, which is the same sensor, thats used on the Instinct too and Ive been getting pretty darn good results out of this sensor on other Garmin watches, so lets see how the 2x did so, starting out with something sort of easy heres.
A steady state indoor bike ride and, as you can see its pretty darn Rock Solid, maybe a tiny blip here and a tiny blip here, but really nothing to be concerned about, but now lets go ahead and throw something at it. Thats a bit harder, some intervals and folks thats, some really good stuff right here. In fact, the only blip I could really see was actually from the Arm based Optical heart rate sensor. I was wearing right here at the beginning, but for the Instinct 2x it was shockingly good with all these rapid changes in heart rate, exactly what I want to see now taking it outside for summer Road biking. This is where we start to introduce a few more challenges for a risk based optical heart rate sensor, to deal with like vibrations and bumps on the road, but simply put the 2x did awesome here on this ride. Actually, probably one of the better results Ive ever seen from a watch with Road biking. There were a handful of Blitz here and here, but overall this has really gone good for heart rate accuracy, while Road biking and then, when it comes to mountain biking. This is an even harder activity than Road biking when it comes to getting accurate heart rate from a watch and thats, due to a lot of the constant gripping on your handlebars, which flexes your wrist, as well as all the rough terrain which can make a watch Bounce around on your wrist, no matter how tight you have it, but the Instinct 2x did a very respectable job here.
Actually, this is pretty darn good again for mountain biking when it comes to a wrist based Optical heart rate sensor of this size, especially and to illustrate what Im talking about in terms of rough terrain, having an effect on harder accuracy on a watch. What you can see here as Im ascending, is that for the most part, the Instinct 2x is quite close to the external heart rate sensors. I was using, but if we take a look here on the second half of the ride, as I was descending, this is where the accuracy shifts and it isnt as spot on but again overall. This is a very good result out of the 2X and then finally for strength training. This is basically one of the hardest activities for wrist based Optical heart rate sensor, to get right – and this is again due to a lot of the gripping on the dumbbells, as well as a lot of varying arm movement, which these sensors just dont like and heres. Where we do see more variants here with this combat activity, but even so the 2x actually did a pretty decent job. We do see some higher readings on a few of these sets, but what you also May notice is that the optical heart rate sensor was even a little off on one side, but even so, the 2x still matched up with its overall Trends, with all the sets And was also pretty good with the high intensity intervals at the end, so the Instinct 2x well its the nice addition that kind of just rounds out the instinct to line up with a larger size as well as some new features.
But my question to you is: if youre an instinct 2 owner, are you going to upgrade to this guy? Well, let us all know in the comments section down below and on your way down there. If you found the information, this video to be useful.NgDD2zYs98U
