Garmin Instinct vs. Instinct Tactical vs. Solar: What's Different and Which is Right for You?

About Garmin Instinct Models

The Instinct offers a design that’s very different to anything else in Garmin’s watch range. It offers a brighter, more colourful case look and a screen that uses a small sub display to show off your stats in a more unique way. It’s a transflective screen, so offers good viability in bright light and stays on 24/7 too.

It comes packed with all the key sensors including built-in GPS and other outdoor and environmental sensors like a compass and thermometer for that additional hit of data. There’s a heart rate monitor on board too for continuous monitoring and heart rate during exercise, which should be fine for big hikes and steady trail runs but can struggle for accuracy for high intensity activity. 

1. Standard Garmin Instinct 

General Specs

The base model of the Garmin Instinct costs $299.99 and is available in Graphite, Sea Foam, Tundra, and Lakeside Blue options. 

Whether you've been adventuring for a while or you've only just discovered your love of the outdoors, the standard Garmin Instinct smartwatch is a great starting point. It covers all the basics that most people are looking for in this watch without being ridiculously expensive. Standard features include built-in GPS, heart-rate monitoring, activity/sleep tracking, built-in sports apps, stress tracking, and smartphone notifications.

The Garmin Instinct comes in a hefty 45mm case, and the watch is compatible with Garmin's QuickFit 22mm interchangeable bands. It's designed to meet military-grade durability standards, including 10 ATM water resistance. You'll appreciate the monochrome sunlight-visible display that's protected with a scratch-resistant lens. The wearable comes with a fully vented silicone band with two removable keeper loops that keep it secure and prevent it from getting caught on things.

It's worth noting that some of the features you might be used to seeing on Garmin smartwatches won't be found on the Garmin Instinct. You won't have bonus perks such as Garmin Pay, Wi-Fi support, onboard music storage, for example. The regular Instinct also lacks VO2 max metrics and blood oxygen monitoring. If you can live without these extras, the Garmin Instinct is an excellent value.

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2. Garmin Instinct Tactical Edition

General Specs

Garmin Instinct Tactical editions come in Black and Coyote Tan at the same cost of of the Garmin Instinct ($299.99). 

Garmin Instinct Tactical edition is one of the members in the Instinct set of smartwatches from Garmin that are designed to track your daily activities both indoors and outdoors alongside a very long battery life. The Tactical edition features Jumpmaster that calculates high-altitude release points, stealth mode that allows you to stop sharing your GPS location, and night vision mode that switches the display from daytime view to nighttime view which can be viewed with night vision goggles. Some of the new features added to the new Instinct sets include solar-powered versions, surfing, and tactical features such as stealth mode that allows you to stop sharing your GPS data and jumpmaster that calculates high altitude release points according to military guidelines.

Some of these new features might be self-explanatory, while others deserve a little more context. For example, the Dual-position format feature allows you to simultaneously display two sets of coordinate systems on one screen. As the name indicates, Night Vision mode allows you to adjust your screen's backlight setting to a level that won't interfere with your vision when you use night vision goggles.

When you use the Stealth mode feature, you disable storage and sharing of GPS position and disable wireless connectivity and communication. You can still see your current GPS position, but the locations are not shared or saved to your watch. Finally, Jumpmaster mode includes three jump types: High Altitude-High Opening (HAHO), High Altitude-Low Opening (HALO), and Static. You'll receive information on the speed of descent and altitude.

The Garmin Instinct Tactical Edition doesn't offer anything different in terms of design. It also has military-grade durability, 10 ATM water resistance, and a 45mm case with 22mm interchangeable silicone bands. 

3. Garmin Instinct Solar

General Specs

The Garmin Instinct Solar comes in a handful of bold colors. In addition to Graphite, you also get Orchid, Tidal Blue, Sunburst, and Flame Red.

The Garmin Instinct Solar is a beefy upgrade to the company’s dedicated hiking watch. For the uninitiated, the Garmin Instinct brings much of the outdoor features of the Fenix, such as long battery life and elevation tracking, in a cheaper package.

The solar edition of the Fenix 6 adds just a few hours of battery life, but the Garmin Instinct Solar ups battery life dramatically. It improves what is already a superb all-rounder. But the Instinct Solar brings more than just extra battery.

The standard Garmin Instinct is still available at $299.99. That means anyone considering paying $100 more to get the Solar edition will have a serious eye on battery life.

And the good news is, unlike the Fenix 6 Solar, the Instinct Solar’s battery life improvements are much more drastic.

And the Instinct Solar adds more control over battery life, with the same power saving modes as found on the Fenix range.

Here’s a breakdown:

• Smartwatch: Up to 24 days/54 days with solar

• Battery Saver Watch Mode: Up to 56 days/Unlimited with solar

• GPS: Up to 30 hours/38 hours with solar

• Max Battery GPS Mode: Up to 70 hours/145 hours with solar

• Expedition GPS Activity: Up to 28 days/68 days with solar

So let’s run through the caveats first. You need to 3 hours of 50,000 lux sunlight to get the charge to hit the maximum numbers above. 50,000 lux is strong sunlight, so if it’s cloudy you’ll need to be out for longer.

The Garmin Instinct Solar is one of the best running watches around, and is incredibly tough and practical if you don't mind its no-frills looks.

The Instinct Solar might not be the most stylish GPS running watch around, but it’s just so useful, you'll be hard pressed to find a more practical companion for running, cycling and hiking off the beaten path.

There's a solar version of the Garmin Instinct Tactical model as well. The Solar models are also available in a Camo edition and Surf edition.

Conclusions

If you need a rugged outdoor smartwatch that's ideal for covering basic tracking, the standard Garmin Instinct will do. If endurance and unlimited battery life are of the utmost importance, the Garmin Instinct Solar may be more appealing. If you'd like a few extra features to take your expedition to the next level, the Garmin Instinct Tactical Edition might be just what you're looking for. 

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