Product test
Garmin Fenix 7 in test: outdoor smartwatch without compromises
by Nextpit.de
Garmin Instinct 2 in the test: a lot of fitness watch for little money
29.9.2022
Translation: machine translated
The Garmin Instinct 2 looks inconspicuous, but under the bonnet it offers an incredible number of tracking functions. If you only look at the features, there is hardly a multisport watch on the market that offers more tracking functions for the money. Read about the strengths and weaknesses of the Garmin Instinct 2 in our review.
This is an article by our content partner "Nextpit". Here you can find the original article by Stefan Möllenhoff.
Pro
- Infinite battery life possible
- Tracking features of the "big ones"
- great outdoor sports features
- various sizes available
- great accessory ecosystem
Contra
- Black and white display with no touchscreen
- weak smartwatch features
- no integrated memory
Garmin Instinct 2: Price and availability
Garmin offers a literally colourful bouquet of versions and designs for its Instinct 2 - about 20 variants can be found:
- Standard (without / with solar, 40 / 45 mm size)
- Camo (without solar, 40 / 45 mm size)
- Tactical (with solar, 45 mm size)
- Surf (without / with solar, 40 / 45 mm size)
- dēzl (without solar, 45 mm size)
As you can see in the list above, most models come in both 45 mm and 40 mm formats - the former is called Instinct 2, the latter Instinct 2S. The different editions, by the way, not only have their own designs, but also actually unique features. The Tactical, for example, has a KillSwitch to erase all data, while the Surf Edition offers special workout modes for windsurfing & kiteboarding and separate Surfline app.
Design & Display
The Garmin Instinct 2 looks pretty unspectacular, but it's really solid and can take on all the rough stuff thanks to its robust plastic casing, 10-ATM water protection and recessed display.
Liked:
- Display always readable
- Various sizes available
- robust housing
Don't like:
- functional plastic housing
- unspectacular screen
The MIP display is in any case high-resolution enough to display all relevant information from workout data to weather forecast to notifications in a legible manner. The display technology also ensures that the panel is easy to read even in bright sunlight. In the dark, however, you either have to activate the backlight manually or switch it on using a gesture.
Operation and smart features
Admittingly: The Garmin Instinct 2 is more watch than smart. Yes, rudimentary features like display notifications, apps via ConnectIQ store or music player control are supported. However, there is no touchscreen, only 32 MB of integrated memory, NFC for contactless payment only on the solar models and no hands-free function like on the Venu 2 Plus.
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Liked:
- Successful operating concept
- also completely operable via buttons
- Menus and buttons flexibly customisable
Don't like:
- Smartwatch features not up to scratch
- Only 32 MB of built-in memory
- No LTE option available
- no touchscreen
Generally, the Instinct 2 is very easy to use and works really well without a touchscreen.... With the up and down buttons on the left side of the housing, you scroll through the so-called glances. You can arrange these small info widgets as you like, pressing the Start/Ok button at the top right of the housing shows you more details.
On the start screen, pressing the Start/Ok button takes you to the workouts, the selection of which can also be freely arranged, depending on whether you prefer pumping or more yoga - or both. The button at the bottom right serves as an action button during the workouts, for example to mark new yoga poses, new rounds or new sets.
The middle button on the left of the housing calls up the main menu with various setting options. At this point, I am glad that most of the settings on the Garmin smartwatches - and on the Instinct 2 - can be made via the app. It is simply much more fun here to configure the composition of the menus or to configure the data fields during a workout.
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Tracking & sensors
Liked:
- Incredible number of tracking features
- Garmin offers a lot of accessories
- precise GPS tracking
Don't like:
- no maps on board
- no dedicated nutrition tracking
- Outdoor sports & GPS
The running efficiency data is also provided by the Garmin HRM Tri.
The running efficiency values tell you for each running session whether you are running elegantly or more like an elephant. In addition, the app gives you detailed explanations of the individual values, what they mean and, in some cases, how you can improve yourself.
What the Garmin Instinct 2 lacks in contrast to the larger Fenix models, however, are maps. You can pre-define routes with Komoot, for example, and then follow them on the smartwatch. However, it is not possible to start navigation to any location directly via the watch. So you can't do it without a smartphone.
The GPS sensor delivers precise results in the test - just like the other Garmin smartwatches. The Instinct 2 reliably shows double tracks as coincident, corners are not cut. However, there is no dual-band GPS option here like on the more expensive Garmin smartwatches in the Epix or Fenix series.
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Indoor sports & fitness
The Garmin Instinct 2 also offers plenty of exciting features outside of the typical outdoor sports. This starts with predefined HIIT workouts and yoga sessions and extends to sophisticated tracking of your weight training. You can also create your own workouts from hundreds of exercises.
Like its big sister models, the Instinct 2 recognises the exercises and counts the repetitions. However, due to the lack of a touchscreen, I found the tracking much more cumbersome than on the Venu 2 Plus, for example, where I could type in or correct the weights and sets in a flash using the display.
Sleep & Recovery
The Garmin Instinct 2 reliably tracked my sleep during the test period in terms of when I fell asleep and when I woke up. The sleep score also correlates well with my actual sleep quality, even though we in the NextPit editorial team unfortunately don't have a sleep lab as a reference. But if I forget my allergy tablet in the evening, my sleep score reliably plummets during this time of year - as do my tear sacs.
In addition, the Instinct 2 also offers various evaluation features, for example on your fitness age, recording of the VO2Max value, pulse broadcasting via Bluetooth, menstrual cycle tracking, health snapshot consisting of resting pulse, breathing rate, blood oxygen saturation, stress level and heart rate variability.
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Battery life
The Garmin Instinct 2 offers infinite battery life - at least on paper. If you activate all sorts of features like 24/7 SpO2 tracking and have the average sun exposure of an "I do something with media" person, then a week is a realistic figure. But as I said, the polar explorers and cowboys among you can forget the power supply at home.
The battery is not required.
Liked:
- Infinite battery life with solar
- Sun exposure measurement
Don't like:
- No wireless charging
Final verdict
The Garmin Instinct 2 looks like a watch for 30 euros, but offers tracking and sports functions for 700 euros. The truth is somewhere in between at a minimum of 349 euros. If you're looking for a robust sports smartwatch with all kinds of colourful designs and Garmin's incredible range of functions, this is the watch for you.
Nextpit.de
Redaktion
jan.johannsen@galauxs.deNextPit has been around since 2009, when it was launched as a pure Android blog under the name AndroidPIT, but has since grown into one of Europe's largest smartphone and digital lifestyle communities.
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