Instinct 2 Solar (Tactical) "Washed Out" Display: Anyone else having this problem w/their display?

DevilFrog said:

because I have been wearing this IS2 Tactical that way now, just to be able to read the dang thing in low-light/at night.

"Garmin - We Make You Cool Again"

Lol; yep. Garmin put the "Special" back in Operator.

Nice picture - Garmin should've used this in their IG2 promo. :>

Mandatory: NoW Do THiS with brightness @5% @50% @100% and cover all viewing angles, please. GI1 and banana for scale would be great as well. Otherwise I don't believe you when you say the display has issues. Looks fine here. ;)

PS: Stay froggy on the job! 

7618017 said:

I personally believe someone with 12 years military experience more than some YT dude

What about a 23 year combat veteran that tells you your YT dude is correct?  In garrison it's not a big deal, but in the field it's taught and enforced that the watch is worn on the inside wrist for the simple reason explained in the video.  In a desert environment, the reflection can be seen a mile away. A reflective lens in sunlight is equivalent to a white lens flashlight at night.  This is why military scopes and binoculars have light baffles (tubes) with grooves  to help assist with light reflection along with the anti-glare lenses.  I don't know why you have people here that say they're former military and they didn't wear their watch this way.  Those people we referred to as targets. 

Very interesting, learning something new every day.

The question is if this truly is the reason for the reversed polariser in the GI2 versus the GI1, or if they just made that up.

4241327 said:

The question is if this truly is the reason for the reversed polariser in the GI2 versus the GI1

That I don't know and can't answer.  My reply was kind of off topic and I was addressing the question on how watches were worn in the military.  I know I can't speak for every military, but the US units I was part of definitely wore them on the underside of the wrist when in a field environment whether in combat or training. 

Fair enough, thanks for chiming in. Did everyone wear their watch inside the wrist all the time or only when downrange/field training? I know the risks of sun/light reflections compromising your position; did you see people wear a watch/watch sleeve that fully prevents glare?

I totally get the reasons provided in the tacticool YT video and at the same time believe people with military experience that tell me that that doesn't mean military types wear their watches like this all the time.

And I still think it's strange Garmin would use this edge case to flip the polarization on all GI2 models, not just the Tactical, and call it a cheap excuse. Wouldn't they have mentioned/advertised this as a new feature and adress/show this in the manual then? Especially since I assume wearing it inside 24/7 would mean much less sun exposure for the solar editions.

7618017 said:

Did everyone wear their watch inside the wrist all the time or only when downrange/field training? I know the risks of sun/light reflections compromising your position; did you see people wear a watch/watch sleeve that fully prevents glare?

It depends on the unit/leadership.  Take the picture that was posted here.  A pilot wearing it on top of their wrist.  Well, I suspect the enemy would see and hear a chopper long before they would see a reflection from inside a cockpit. I'm willing to bet a pilot that was shot down would cover it up or turn it around. I can't imagine a tanker having much concern either.  Infantry or anyone else on the front lines is a different story.  In garrison it wasn't enforced very much.  When I first enlisted, it took me a while to get used to wearing the watch under my wrist.  It didn't feel natural to me.  When I became a platoon sergeant I enforced it while in garrison too (unless they were off duty and in civies) just so my soldiers would get use to wearing it that way.  Just a real life event to explain how wearing it on the outside of your wrist can be detrimental.  During Desert Storm my unit was approaching a known Iraqi position.  The horizon looked like nothing but sand and rocks.  One of our medics (yes, it was a medic in an Airborne Infantry unit that caught it) swore he saw a reflection about 1500 meters out he said looked like a mirror.  We actually don't know what caused the reflection.  Anyway, our Battalion Commander had one of the companies "walk in" a few mortar rounds in that vicinity.  Seconds later we had 8 Iraqi's waving a white flag that we took prisoner that had been inside a bunker.

7618017 said:

Especially since I assume wearing it inside 24/7 would mean much less sun exposure for the solar editions

Agreed.  That doesn't seem to make much sense to me either.  The reason given I take with a grain of salt.  What a lot of people fail to take into consideration here is the reply came from a first tier support agent.  I suspect they're not very high in the Garmin food chain so I don't accept this as the "official word from Garmin".

Cheers for the detailed response!

who knows said:

What a lot of people fail to take into consideration here is the reply came from a first tier support agent.  I suspect they're not very high in the Garmin food chain so I don't accept this as the "official word from Garmin".

I think most of the people expressing their dissatisfaction here are aware of this and thus don't accept this or any of the other support responses as the final, official word from Garmin on the matter.

It's also why most here don't agree with the people jumping to the defense of Garmin, claiming that their answer is clear, transparent and believable.

7618017 said:

and thus don't accept this or any of the other support responses as the final, official word from Garmin on the matter.

It's also why most here don't agree with the people jumping to the defense of Garmin, claiming that their answer is clear, transparent and believable.

Then describe who from Garmin should comment in your opinion ? Mr. Kao ? Or Mr. Pemble ? Do you seriously think that someone other than support will contact you about this little issue ?