Garmin Instinct 2X Solar | Everything You Need to Know

Both the Standard and Tactical Editions of the new Instinct 2X Solar have some serious upgrades for serious outdoorsy types.

• NEW Built-In Flashlight: To help guide your way in low-light conditions, a built-in multi-LED flashlight provides variable intensities and strobe that matches your run cadence. Plus a red safety light mode (green safety light mode in Tactical Edition) to help keep an eye on your nighttime surroundings.
• NEW Multi-Band Frequency Support: Receive and utilize multiple frequencies sent by navigation satellites, which enable the best user position accuracy.
• Improved Solar Power: Solar-charging Power Glass lens extends battery life, producing 50% more energy than the Instinct 2 Solar. Go longer with the potential for unlimited solar-charged battery life in smartwatch mode.

There's no other GPS watch at this price point that can put up these battery life numbers!

Instinct 2X Solar & Instinct 2X Solar–Tactical Edition Battery Life:

Smartwatch: 40 days / Unlimited with solar*
GPS: 65 hours / 160 hours with solar**
All Satellite Systems: 45 hours / 80 hours with solar*
All Satellite Systems + Multi-Band: 28 hours / 39 hours with solar**
Max Battery GPS Mode: 150 hours / Unlimited with solar**
Expedition GPS Activity: 60 days / Unlimited with solar*
Battery Saver Watch Mode: 100d / Unlimited with solar*                
*Solar charging, assuming all-day wear with 3 hours per day outside in 50,000 lux conditions
**Solar charging, assuming use in 50,000 lux conditions

New training and recovery tools on this Garmin watch include:

• NEW Obstacle Course Racing: Track and improve your performance by tracking your obstacle split times separately from the runs between obstacles.
• NEW Morning Report: Receive an overview of your sleep, recovery and training outlook as soon as you wake up - alongside HRV status and weather. You can even customize your report to show you what you want to see.
• NEW HRV Status: Gain a deeper understanding of your overall health, training and recovery through heart rate variability while you sleep, based on technology developed by our Firstbeat Analytics team.

These rugged outdoor GPS watches are also packed preloaded activity profiles for running, cycling, swimming, strength training, indoor climbing, skiing, snowboarding, golf, yoga, Pilates and more. Plus, you get VO2 Max for Run and Trail Run, Training Load, and so many more training tools!

Beyond the standard model, this series of Instincts also offers a tactical watch option for those who need to stay mission ready. Key features include:

NEW Ballistics Solver: Unlock the Applied Ballistics solver via the AB Synapse - Garmin app (unlock fee required) to access aiming solution for long-range shooting in the field.

Tactical Activity: See time, pace, time of day, elevation and your location in both coordinate types.

Dual-Format GPS: Dual-format GPS coordinates with latitude and longitude references offer unparalleled situational awareness.

You can also count on dedicated tactical features, such as night vision goggle compatibility, Jumpmaster, Stealth Mode, and waypoint projection.

This Garmin outdoor watch lineup offers two models. Both feature a 50 mm case, is 14.5 mm thick, and weighs 67 g. The lens is made from Power Glass for solar-charging technology, and this GPS watch is built to U.S. military standard 810 for thermal, shock, and water resistance

As for color options in each size, there are three different options for each, which are:

• Instinct 2X Solar: 
  • Graphite
  • Flame Red
  • Whitestone
  • Moss
• Instinct 2X Solar–Tactical Edition: 
  • Black
  • Coyote Tan

Garmin is known for their Elevate optical heart rate sensor technology and its accuracy and reliability. Our go-to sport watch reviewer, Dave at Chase the Summit, finds it to be one of the best out there—and this ultra runner has put many Garmin watches to the test!

Leave your cash and cards at home; Garmin Pay™ contactless payments let you pay for purchases on the go (with a supported country and payment network).

Never miss a call or text from your paired Android™ or Apple® smartphone with smart notifications.

Safety and tracking features, including incident detection (during select outdoor activities) and Assistance, send a message with your live location to emergency contacts when paired with your compatible smartphone; requires setup and your smartphone to be in an area with network coverage where data connectivity is available.

See your health and fitness information, connect and compete with friends, sign up for challenges to earn badges and more—all in the free, zero-subscription Garmin Connect™ app.

You like a rugged GPS watch that has it all—but won’t break the bank.

You don't mind a larger, thicker watch on your wrist because you're going to put it through some adventures.

You need a watch with battery life that can outlast you and your missions.

Training tools, health-monitoring, and sports apps—that all work together and integrate your workout/recovery history to help you better understand your body and wellbeing, so that you can train or workout optimally.

If you want all this without paying high-end prices, the Instinct 2X Solar may be your go-to Garmin GPS watch.