I really like the way my instict solar looks and the quality feel.
But that is sadly really about it.
I have been sceptical since I bought it in October, but I did not think there were any real options - until I bought my wife a coros pace 2 and took it for a run.
This might now be the right place to vent, sorry for the rant, but I am quite frustrated.
My main issues are GPS accuracy and altimeter.
I have written about the altimeter and the wildly fluctuating altitude values in this form in the past, but was told "that's how they work". Well they seem to work differently on the low end coros pace 2.
Altimeter:
My wife and work in the same office, go for the same sunday run, and obviously live in the same house.
She calibrated her altimeter to 602 m (our house) when she got the watch 2 weeks ago. We compare our values every morning when we wake up, hers remain constant, my fluctuate heavily (although I calibrate several times a week!)
Today I calibrated (602m), went for a 45 minute run and came back. Apparently I ascended 25 meters and descended 52 meters (it is a round track and I come back to the same spot!).
My PolarM430 (without altimeter was more accurate!)
Also, checking my altitude when I get back: 580 meter. Now 2 hours later 539. My wife's a solid 602.
GPS:
I took an 8km run with both watches on a clear, lightly clouded day. There are some trees on the one side of the track the other side is mainly pasture.
Instinct Solar: total 8.1km, with a wildy varying pace between 4min/km and 7min/km
Coros pace 2: 8.01km, the pace varied between 4:50 and 5:30 which agrees much with my usual pace around 5:20.
Sleep tracking on instince solar: A joke!
The time varies wildly hours after waking up, example:
1 My alarm goes off at 4:40 am, apparently I had 57 minutes of deep sleep, alright, might be.
2 I do my 45 minute morning cardio routine and now I suddenly have 1:17h of deep sleep...ok?
3 I make breakfast, my wife wakes up and I show her my sleep in the Garmin Connect app: 1h06.
What?!
Oh yeah, and I just found instinct solar is not compatible with Stryd. The low end coros pace 2 is. This really seems like quite a joke.
A this point I hope I can at least rely on the total time my run took, and I compute my average pace manually.
Feel free to comment or ask questions. Btw. If you wanna buy a used Instinct solar I can give you a good price 