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Garmin Instinct: the watch designed for adventurers

Garmin Instinct: the watch designed for adventurers

April 09, 2020

Garmin Instinct features
Garmin Instinct, the watch for adventurers and hikers
Our opinion: should you buy the Garmin instinct?
Price and availability

Buy the Garmin Instinct

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Pope

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€ 299 -5% (* 1)

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€ 299 -5% (* 2)

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299 € 249

(* 1) Discount of -5% on garminInstinct with the promo code 5A15 !(* 2) Discount of -5% on garminInstinct with the promo code FORM !

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Garmin Instinct features

Weight52g

Music playerNo, smartphone music control only

(embed) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llIoElhsHqo (/ embed)

Garmin Instinct, the watch for adventurers and hikers

The Garmin Instinct is for adventurers, backpackers, extreme sportsmen who need a watch that is resistant to any Review, reliable and complete. It has been specially designed to endure extreme conditions: heat, shocks, water (up to 100 m). It has also been designed to be readable even in the most difficult conditions, in direct sunlight for example.

The strategy adopted here by Garmin has been to take over many of the functions of its top-of-the-range Fenix 5 watch, those relevant to outdoor use, to offer a complete watch for exploration but by selling it 2 times cheaper than a Fenix 5. Why indeed pay more for ultra sophisticated functions that we will not use! This is enough to attract the attention of demanding athletes, lovers of adventure or extreme sports, who do not necessarily have the budget for a more expensive watch.

Sports: outdoor, adventure and extreme sports

The Garmin Instinct is a multisport watch particularly well suited to the practice of extreme sports, activities where shocks can be frequent (climbing, mountaineering, canyoning), outings in uneven terrain (MTB) or even average sports. and high mountains (hiking, trekking). It is also suitable for running, cycling, swimming (sea or pool) and many other activities including indoor sports. It also offers many sports profiles (running, cycling, swimming, weight training, cardio, elliptical trainer, step, stepper, rower, yoga, hiking, climbing, mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, stand-up paddle, rowing, kayaking, Jumpmaster …).

Design: priority to robustness

Garmin has clearly put the package on the solidity of its watch and it shows! It indeed presents a particular look linked to its reinforced design which gives it an air of Casio Pro Trek. We like it or we don't like it! However, it remains relatively light with its 52 g (against 65 to 96 g for the Fenix 5 Plus).

This model is distinguished from other Garmin models by its octagonal screen. It also has a mini screen inlaid in the main screen which allows you to permanently display data chosen by the user: heart rate, compass, weather, etc. A very practical aspect especially in sports where it is difficult to divert your attention for more than a few seconds.

The Instinct screen is a very readable monochrome screen even in direct sunlight. Its definition of 128 x 128 pixels is smaller than the screens of the latest Garmin, which may seem a bit tight if you are used to the comfort of larger screens.

The watch is available in 3 colors (red, gray and anthracite gray) with a ventilated silicone strap which offers 2 independent removable loops. These guarantee an excellent hold of the bracelet.

A durable watch certified to a military standard

The Instinct is a watch designed to withstand extreme conditions: shock, heat, dust, water (theoretically waterproof up to 100 m).

Concretely, for those who wonder what "extreme conditions" means, it meets the US military standard MIL-STD-810G. This standard, originally created for military equipment, is now used for certain commercial products. It defines around thirty tests to pass to receive certification. The object must withstand a set of stresses: use in a saline environment, Review in a humid environment, submission to dust and sand, submission to vibrations, submission to solar radiation. It is subjected to cold, heat, frost, thaw … Its tightness is tested under water but also at low pressure to simulate behavior in high mountains.

The Garmin Instinct's housing is made of fiber-reinforced polymer, a material that is both resistant and light. Its screen is protected by chemically reinforced scratch-resistant glass. To further protect it, Garmin placed it slightly behind the bezel so that it can hardly be damaged. Climbers or mountaineers will appreciate it.

Autonomy

Garmin announces a maximum autonomy of 14 days in watch mode, 16 hours in GPS mode and 40 hours in UltraTrac energy saving mode (GPS measurements are less frequent, therefore less precise measurements, to save battery). Garmin has accustomed us to better, but let's not forget that this is about offering a complete sports watch at the best price.

The sensors: everything you need is there!

Instinct brings together all the sensors useful to backpackers: GPS (compatible with GPS, Galileo and GLONASS), 3-axis electronic compass, barometer, barometric altimeter, thermometer. It is equipped with an optical heart rate sensor on the wrist with stress level measurement and a gyroscope for detection of movements.

The watch is also compatible with certain external sensors connectable via Bluetooth: temperature sensor, foot pod, speed sensor (for cycling), cadence sensor (for running), heart rate belt, VIRB camera control , GPS dog collar, etc.

Features: all tools dedicated to exploration

Garmin offers on this model a good part of the functionalities offered by the excellent Fenix 5 or the most recent Fenix 5 Plus.

We find the advanced GPS navigation functions, including breadcrumbs, return to the start as the crow flies, the Trackback function to retrace your steps, the View & Go function to reach a point spotted with bare eyes , navigation to points of interest, the possibility of following a route already completed or a new route programmed in the watch. The touching course records the GPS track. The compass allows you to orient yourself with a map. Audio instructions are available.

Thanks to the offline navigation solution Garmin Explore, the user can plan his routes offline, during an outing for example, even without having a cellular connection! All you have to do is use the Garmin Explore website or app to download the maps to your phone beforehand (to pair with the watch), then plan your route offline from your Smartphone and upload it to the watch.

The on-board sensors provide information on the course (distance, speed, position, etc.), altitude and cumulative elevation with display of the course profile, weather (thunderstorm alerts, sunrise and sunset times, information on the moon, tide times).

The Instinct offers a large number of pre-installed profiles and training functions for running, cycling and swimming, including the possibility of scheduling interval training. It is a multisport watch but it does not know how to manage transitions between activities. For triathlon, it is therefore better to turn to a watch designed for this, like the Garmin Forerunner 935 or the Forerunner 735XT.

We also find the functions LiveTrack (to share information in real time or be followed on the Internet by friends), Virtual Partner and Virtual Racer (to define a rhythm to follow or even measure against yourself).

The Garmin Instinct is also an activity tracker, provided you wear it permanently: it measures your activity during the day (number of steps, calories expended, number of climbs, intensive minutes, sleep analysis including sleep duration light and deep). She can also assess your stress level.

Regarding the functions of the Fenix 5 which are absent on this model, there is the mp3 player (to listen to music without having to carry your Smartphone), contactless payment (not very useful during exploration), the tools for '' assistance to the sportsman like the estimation of VO2max or physiological measurements for example. These functions are indeed irrelevant to the intended use of this model and would have unnecessarily increased the price of the watch. The connectIQ function for downloading third-party applications is also not available.

smart health connected functions

The Garmin Instinct can be paired with a Smartphone to benefit from Smart Notifications. These functions allow you to access advanced functions of the Smartphone without having to take it out of your pocket: email and SMS notifications, consulting the calendar, controlling the music on the Smartphone, downloading data, "find my phone" function, etc. The Garmin Connect application also allows you to share your data with the online sports community or to follow your progress directly on your phone. Garmin Explorer, described above, provides access to maps and route planning without a cellular connection.

Our opinion: should you buy the Garmin instinct?

The Garmin Instinct is the model for you if you need a robust, complete and affordable sports watch that can accompany you in extreme conditions, whether for sport or at work. Heat, dust, high altitude, frost, shocks, vibrations: none of this scares him! It was indeed designed for these extreme situations. It will satisfy demanding athletes on the lookout for data relevant to their sport.

With the Instinct, you can for example easily face sandstorms and high desert temperatures, climb cliffs without fear of scratching or breaking your watch, hiking, canyoning, mountain biking waterfalls, a via ferrata, etc. without having to worry about your watch and the shocks it may suffer at any time. It is ideal for backpackers and adventurers but also in trades where the conditions are not suitable for a classic sports watch.

Difficult to design a watch that is more solid than this one since it meets a very strict standard used by the military. Suffice to say that it is very robust.

This obviously has consequences on its look which is closer to that of a Casio Pro Trek than a Garmin "classic" watch or a watch designed to be worn in town. With its sporty and reinforced design, we are obviously far from the elegance of an Apple Watch!

The monochrome screen is a bit small but it has the advantage of being very readable whatever the conditions, which is really a good thing. It could just be a little wider for more comfort.

Concerning the functionalities, this model is very complete for sports such as hiking, exploration, adventure travel where it is essential to know how to find your way, find your way, or explore unmarked trails. For sports training or competition, it is better to turn to a more sport-oriented model which will offer useful tracking and statistical functions to optimize your training and progress (see our comparison of the best cardio-GPS watches).

The autonomy of this watch can be an eliminatory criterion for some users. It is sufficient for trips of a day or two at most (16 hours in GPS mode), except when using UltraTrac mode (up to 40 hours of autonomy). The latter is however much less precise in terms of measurements. This is a bit weak for certain activities such as trekking over several days, long races (ultra-trail, ultrafond, etc.). We are obviously far from the autonomy offered by the Fenix 5 Plus or the Suunto 9 (120 hours and high precision even in energy saving mode). For long trips, it is therefore better to plan to bring a backup battery. However, you will need to stop the watch.

We appreciated the compatibility of the GPS chip with the 3 American, Russian and European satellite systems (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo) which increases the chances of catching a signal in sensitive areas, especially in the mountains.

The Garmin Instinct is an excellent compromise between an ultra-complete high-end Fenix 5 watch, but the price of which is more than double, and an inexpensive watch that does not offer such a full range of functions. Garmin offers here a very complete watch for a more than reasonable price. Why indeed pay more for functions that we do not need. We have also added this model to our comparison of the best 2020 cardio-GPS watches for hiking. We highly recommend it if you are looking for a watch for exploring or hiking.

We liked

Robust, ideal for extreme conditions
Very complete for an affordable price
Reliable

We'd have liked

A slightly larger screen
A little more autonomy

Price and availability

The Garmin Instinct is available in 3 colors: fiery red, tundra gray and graphite gray. It is available in specialized stores and on the Internet at a recommended price of € 299. Discover it with our partners and take advantage of our coupons.

Philippe Baudoin