GarminInstinct 2X Solar - Tactical Edition, Rugged GPS Smartwatch, Built-in Flashlight, Ballistics Calculator, Solar Charging Capability, Black

Really enjoying my first Garmin watch. It seems just as tough as a G-Shock with lots of information regarding health, fitness, and adventure stuff. Really liking the built in flashlight and comes in handy at work. Not having to charge every night is nice and solar charging is a plus. It has smartwatch capabilities, minus the ability to talk and text back, and has a great MIP display. If you’re looking for a watch that does almost everything and is tough, I highly recommend it.

Have been trying a lot of garmin watches and settled on the 2X tactical. I'm a big guy (6'4", 240) and this sits nicely on the wrist and feels super comfortable. The fenix 7 series is not balanced on the wrist and wobbles, this does not. I came from a vivoactive and thought I needed a touch screen. The menus and customization is so extensive and easy I do not miss a touch screen. My eyes are failing me at 50 and was able to pick a great watch face that's easy to read. The widgets and detail are insane also. Weekly weather and tides! Come on. Battery life appears nuts also. Torch for stumbling around at night! Brilliant. Get this watch you will not be disappointed!

Love these watches. It’s my 2nd in 7 years. Great value for the money, screens size if perfect. Looks great and is very rugged.

I've had a bunch of different start watches, starting with the original Apple Watch in 2015, FitBits, other Garmins, etc., but I've never found something perfect for me. This one comes close.Things it has that tick boxes for me:- super long battery life - I'm getting well over two weeks, and some people are reporting up to a month.- tough/rugged - a lot of smartwatches aren't designed for activity, this one is- iPhone sync support- iPhone notifications support - although this could be better- move reminders- activity tracking- GPS- apps - there are a ton of apps included, and even more on the Garmin ConnectIQ store.Some things that make this watch different from other smart watches. It has a monochrome screen, not color. I'm sure this saves on cost and battery life, and to me doesn't really impact the usability. It uses buttons for all the navigation, no touch screen. This helps with the rugged nature of the watch. Its has an actual flashlight. Many smartwatches can turn the screen on white and bright, which is helpful, but this has a LED flashlight that you can set the brightness on, or even turn green for saving your night vision.The face is solar, but I haven't really been able to test this capability yet. Indoor lighting doesn't seem to have any impact on the solar charging.There are a few apps that speak to the Tactical in the name.- Applied Ballistics - this is a $100 or $300 upgrade for calculating bullet trajectory. Its not something I need, but super useful for military, first responders, and big game hunters.- Tactical - this one is a special activity tracker with some military location features- Jumpmaster - this one is for jumping out of airplanes- stealth mode - turns off all radios and disables location tracking- kill switch - restores to factory settingsAll in all, I love this watch. No its not "elegant" for that you'll need something different, but for an every day, outdoorsy, smartwatch, this fits the bill.

I’ve been using the Garmin Instinct 2X Solar daily for the past 5 weeks, and I can confidently say it’s one of the most rugged and reliable watches I’ve owned. Whether I’m hiking, lifting, running, or just going about the day, this thing keeps up without flinching.Durability:First off, it’s tough. I’ve knocked it against rocks, weights, door frames—you name it—and it still looks brand new. The buttons are tactile and solid, and the large display is easy to read in all lighting conditions. It’s not small, but it wears surprisingly comfortably for its size.Battery Life & Solar:The solar feature is no gimmick. I’ve only had to charge it once, and even that was out of curiosity, not necessity. With even moderate time outdoors, it sips power. I average 20–30% brightness and GPS use a few times a week, and I’m getting ridiculous battery life—easily 20+ days.Fitness & Health Tracking:The range of features is impressive. Heart rate, sleep tracking, Body Battery, Pulse Ox, VO2 max, stress tracking—it’s all there and mostly accurate. The GPS locks on quickly and is dead-on during trail runs and hikes. The strength training mode is great too, especially the rep counting (not perfect, but close). It supports custom workouts, which I’ve used for circuits and interval runs.Smartwatch Features:This isn’t a flashy smartwatch like an Apple Watch, and it doesn’t try to be. You get notifications, alarms, calendar reminders, music controls, etc., but it’s not built for scrolling apps or taking calls. That’s fine by me. It’s more about performance, and it nails that.Customization & Interface:You can customize the watch faces and data screens to suit exactly what you want to see during an activity—heart rate, pace, time, elevation, etc. The UI takes a day or two to get used to, but once you’re dialed in, it’s intuitive.One downside:No touchscreen—though that’s a plus in wet or rugged environments. It’s button-only, so if you’re coming from a touchscreen watch, there’s a slight learning curve.

Great watch. Comfortable. Battery is great. Lots of features. Connectivity is good for most part, but tends to disconnect and reconnect alot. Best I can tell the accuracy is good for steps. O2 sensor is usually lower than regular sensor. It's expensive for me, but I'm glad I got it.