Instinct 2 Solar - Altitude & Temperature

I am a 55 year old retiree who is planning to get an Instinct 2 Solar for a 14-day trek in the Himalayas. This will be my first smart/GPS watch, so very new to this and hope to be able to understand the complex functions.

Based on reading so far, my main worry is battery life as there is limited charging facilities in the Himalayas.

i therefore plan NOT to have GPS on continuously during the trek.

The functions that I DO want to use from time to time during my trek are:

1. Check altitude in the moment that I wish to call it up.

2. Check temperature in the moment.that I wish to call it up.

So these are simple, momentary checks, as and when I wish to know the then current data on the subject. I believe this would be able to limit battery drain since GPS is not being used continuously.

Can you please help confirm that the Instinct 2 Solar can be used to do the above, and if so, how do I get the watch to pull up such data? TIA!

0 trux over 2 years ago

Neither altitude nor temperature need the GPS. GPS (and optionally the mobile data) are only needed if you want to calibrate the altimeter, which indeed is useful, because otherwise the altitude reading is skewed by the atmospheric pressure changes.

BTW, Garmin Instinct 2 has also the Expedition Mode, that checks the GPS position once over a longer period (by default once an hour, but it is configurable up to 90 minutes). Regardless of it, I recommend carrying a power bank with you, and/or buying the Solar model that can get some extra power from the Sun. Do not rely on the max. battery life values in the specs, applicable for ideal cases.

0 6244544 over 2 years ago in reply to trux

Thank you so much for that information, and also for pointing me to the correct forum. Apologies as I’m new to this page and that was my first post—lots to learn from here onwards and slowly picking up the pieces as I go along. Looking forward to getting the Instinct 2 Solar!

0 7163554 over 2 years ago

I am 56 -still working :/ Just got the watch and I love it. I had a Suunto for 20 years that had only barometric altimeter. I could read vertical speeds, total ascents and altimeter profiles but not distances or pace which I found to be useful with the Instinct 2. However, I found that pace and distance were not very accurate turning GPS off (battery saving mode). Maybe it has changed since the firmware update. Rather than switching the GPS on and off I would try the Expedition mode instead (a reading per hour for longer lasting battery mode). Or buy a barometric altimeter watch.

I can only recommend that you test the features on the Instinct 2 well before your trip so you don't waste your time adjusting your watch while you trek.

0 1174869 over 2 years ago

I used an Instinct 2 Solar in the Himalayas last autumn. I used it to track my route each day and record temperature and so had live views of elevation and temperature visible on the watch face at all time whilst trekking. In this mode (trekking 7/8 hours per day) I got about 3/4 days out out of the battery before requiring a recharge (solar charging effect is not really very significant with GPS on). I would agree with others that you should have a small power bank. For the 4/5 charges that you are likely to need you will only need a very small one. On the temperature question you need to be aware that the watch sensor is very close to your body and is thus warmed by it. You need to take the watch off for at least 30 mins to get a sensible air temperature reading, or alterntively add an external Tempe sensor (what I did).

0 MattBigmonster over 2 years ago

Also keep in mind that you can recharge it from a powerbank same as your phone and other devices. Just bring the cable with you.