First glimpse review of the Instinct.

First day with the graphite Instinct. (I wanted the white tundra but it was not available...)

I come from Garmin Flagship the Fenix 5X Plus and I have decided to give a chance to the Outdoor watch.

Why ?
The price ! It is almost a third of my Fenix 5X Plus.
The lightness ! It is a watch to forget while on your wrist. It is not as huge as the 5X or 5X plus or Descent Mark 1...
The display !! No colors but so easy to read, I first thought the backlight was blocked on "on" !!! Stunning !!

Now I was not certain about the low resolution of the screen but eventually the display is so clever it is a pleasure to use: I don't mind about the low res... The fonts used are perfectly readable and the Instinct is generous in informations. The use of the "Eye" on the upper right with animation and pertinent information is absolutely brilliant.

The ergonomy is the almost same as the Fenix Series with little twists: for example hold the set key bring your to alarms/timers/stopwatch/GPS sync Time... And a long push on ABC get you to the ABC functions (a short press goes to the widgets like on a Fenix)
So the ergos are very clever !! And you got already a very easy to navigate into the menus and you can manage to be at a clock or two away from your favorite functions !!

Something I really appreciate: the watch is really responsive: no delay between the screens and menus. This is a pure pleasure to use it.

Black and white but gorgeous: there is something half vintage and half military in the way in this display almost like a e-ink watch. This is something to experiment in a shop to see how clear and and easy to read at any angle it is.

There is many more things I will re-discover on this very light (52 grams) and brilliant watch.

Now I will update this review after a trip coming this week end.

But right now I'm very very happy with my purchase !

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0 NemoSandman over 5 years ago

So, I decided to give this a try and I noticed one minor “naming” issue. Under System/Time/Alerts/Storm...this is supposed to say Hourly Chime.

The Storm Alarm is under the Barometer options.

And it is has been fixed on the last beta as now it is "Hourly" in the System/Time/Alerts/ !:-)

0 essereli over 5 years ago

Hi all, I am a new Garminer with an Instinct in Graphite color. It looks cooler than G-Shock, and the size just fit my built as a typical asian male at 176cm, some G-shock and Casio Protrek model just too large, making it looks like a child with adult wristwatch.....

Before I always wonder how come it is so expensive for Garmin wrist gear (several thousands Hong Kong Dollars for a digital watch? r u kidding??)

Few weeks ago I read the introduction of Instinct from web, it looks so cool and most important the price tag is not that high, USD 299 which means something 2000+ in HK dollars, I feel like it is a 50% off from other Garmin watches, yet the spec is not compromised.

After ~10 days living with it, it does motivated me to do some exercise with data at my wrist and mobile app telling me how I am living. I start to take constant walk after lunch in working days and several movements in office building whenever the watch alert me to do so. The numbers motivate me to take stairs instead of elevator.

Talking about GPS, the ultratrack option is not recommended. In my experience, accuracy is poor even in open space. I walk along shore and the tracking record had me walking on water surface.... Traditional GPS mode is better but still with a little discrepancy, GPS+Glonass so far give me the best accuracy. (fyi, my location is in Hong Kong)

I also paired it with sensor on my gravel bike, just for fun and to capture my exercise data in one app, it is unlikely to take a look on your watch while cycling.

And the Connect app and web portal is the best health related platform I have ever tried.

Keep exercise dudes!!!

0 renhoek54 over 5 years ago

essereli - For your gravel bike, you might want to look at getting the bike mount. You attach the watch to the handlebars so it's more out in front of you when riding. Of course, you'll lose the wrist-based HR (be sure to turn it off too), so you'd need to upgrade to a chest strap for that if that's important to you. That's going to give you better HR measurements than the wrist-based HR on any watch.

These are what I'm using on my bike rides, and they work out great:

Bike mount:
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/pn/010-11029-00

Chest strap HRM:
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/pn/010-10997-07

0 NemoSandman over 5 years ago

Talking about GPS, the ultratrack option is not recommended. In my experience, accuracy is poor even in open space. I walk along shore and the tracking record had me walking on water surface.... Traditional GPS mode is better but still with a little discrepancy, GPS+Glonass so far give me the best accuracy. (fyi, my location is in Hong Kong)

I use ultratrack when driving.
https://www.relive.cc/view/g26715469485

Or when hiking and especially shuffling. Everything has it uses.
It also works great on boat while sailing for example. :-)

Very nice review. I like the word "Garminer" !! :-)

I really love the way the Timers works, I am able to trigger multi timers !! This is outstanding for my works and even for cooking. The multiple displays are so cleverly made: even on the list of timers running together, they are showing each initial time under the timing: wonderfully clever !!

0 Odie21 over 5 years ago

+1 for the Timer’s

It’s quite frankly an ingenious idea being able to set multiple timers and have them actually run at the same time. I wish my MK1 had it and all the Fenix lineup should have that option. I also really like the native Sunrise/Sunset Widget. Tired on my MK1 always seeing “waiting on GPS”.

The Vibration on the Instinct is by far the best out of all the watches I’ve had.

I ended up putting a 31mm screen protector on my Instinct as I’m not quite sure what “Chemically Strengthened Glass” really is.

0 essereli over 5 years ago

essereli - For your gravel bike, you might want to look at getting the bike mount. You attach the watch to the handlebars so it's more out in front of you when riding. Of course, you'll lose the wrist-based HR (be sure to turn it off too), so you'd need to upgrade to a chest strap for that if that's important to you. That's going to give you better HR measurements than the wrist-based HR on any watch.

These are what I'm using on my bike rides, and they work out great:

Bike mount:
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/pn/010-11029-00

Chest strap HRM:
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/pn/010-10997-07

Thanks for the suggestion, I might try those if I want to be more serious. I did try chest strap before, feel not very comfy...

0 Kristian over 5 years ago

I use ultratrack when driving.
https://www.relive.cc/view/g26715469485

Or when hiking and especially shuffling. Everything has it uses.
It also works great on boat while sailing for example. :-)

Very nice review. I like the word "Garminer" !! :-)

I really love the way the Timers works, I am able to trigger multi timers !! This is outstanding for my works and even for cooking. The multiple displays are so cleverly made: even on the list of timers running together, they are showing each initial time under the timing: wonderfully clever !!

I really love the way the Timers works, I am able to trigger multi timers !! This is outstanding for my works and even for cooking. The multiple displays are so cleverly made: even on the list of timers running together, they are showing each initial time under the timing: wonderfully clever !!

Ha, I was already wondering if others felt about the multiple timers in a similar way.
They are fantastic... 7 minutes for the pasta, 3 minute egg, 40 minutes for the pumpkin in the oven... all staggered and still so clear and legible. Love it! ;)

the Instinct for me has really became a fantastic toolwatch for all occasions. More than others before.

0 NemoSandman over 5 years ago

I ended up putting a 31mm screen protector on my Instinct as I’m not quite sure what “Chemically Strengthened Glass” really is.

Just invested in some SPguard protectors...

9H for the hardness, 99.9% Transparency, Rounded edges, Anti-Fingerprint coated...

Imported (by foot) from China as I will get them in December !! :-)

What is your experience, Odie, with your protector ? Is it easy to apply with that tall bezel ?

the Instinct for me has really became a fantastic toolwatch for all occasions. More than others before.

Yes, I'm agree with you ! It is now getting obvious, I got more fun with that watch than my all previous Garmin experience (5x and 5xPlus) in term of ergonomy and functions !!

One thing I would love is a Step Counting field which is always miss on all Garmin.

So far dear Garmin designers/beta team, we would love a tide widget and that little field...

0 Odie21 over 5 years ago

This is what I bought and have on my watch now:

[ 5-Pack] Universal Round Watch HD Screen Protector,Anti-Scratch, Anti-Fingerprint, Bubble Free (31mm Diameter) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FL86JV9/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_kaU7BbADX8YC3

It fits neatly but with a slight difference around the edges but nothing really noticeable. I also ordered from a guy on eBay who makes customized Zagg screen protectors. I should get those in early December.

0 NemoSandman over 5 years ago

Something new, my instinct has just warned me that my smartphone needed to be recharged with a huge " ! " in the rounded window ! :-)