- Garmin Instinct 2X Solar Tactical is sold for 55,990 rubles
- The smartwatch features GPS navigation and solar charging
- Instinct 2X Tactical is MIL-STD-810 tested
The smartwatch segment in India is growing rapidly. While the customer base is heavily focused on entry-level products, there is room for more niche categories. This is a sweet spot for Garmin, which makes smartwatches and focuses on performance. I’ve reviewed the Venu SQ 2 and Venu 2 Plus in the past, both of which have Garmin DNA, albeit with some cosmetic needs. This time I was able to test an entire Garmin product – the Instinct 2 X Tactical, a utility smartwatch with all Garmin standard features. So, what is the promise and most importantly who should buy this? Read on…
Price and availability
The Garmin Instinct 2X is only available in a 50mm dial size. The smartwatch is priced at $55,990 and you can buy it from Garmin’s official website or Amazon India.
Design and display
The design of the Instinct 2X Tactical is fit for purpose. The smartwatch sports a rugged build and has character to it. Being a tactical smartwatch, it can be allowed to be big and aggressive. The all black color adds to the appeal of the already thick dial.
That being said, the look can be confused with the G-Shock. However, one realizes that it is Garmin only on close inspection. Thank you, this is a product built for a collection of purchases that do not care about subtlety. Something I complained about with the Venu 2 Plus.
The 50mm dial size is definitely on the large side, and those with thin wrists will take a bit of a bite.
Time to adjust with him. Once you strap on the smartwatch, it sits comfortably on the wrist, and size doesn’t necessarily translate to weight. My Apple Watch SE 44mm felt like it was on my wrist. The strap condition here is also suitable as the padded straps are comfortable to wear.
The smartwatch comes with MIL-STD-810 certification which means it can go with you in all kinds of places. Sometimes we bump our wrists on doors when we walk, something that gives me anxiety on the Apple Watch SE. That wasn’t the case here, I didn’t mind an accidental drop or some rough use. Another important feature of the smartwatch is the built-in torch, which is surprisingly powerful and has a good throw. It is a very important feature if you go out in difficult places.
Unlike a typical smartwatch, the Instinct 2X Tactical doesn’t have a touch screen for you to interact with. What you get are five buttons conveniently placed around the dial, with a dedicated use case. The buttons include GPS, control, menu, abc and set.
To help you navigate through them, Garmin has designed them with text, which can be a little difficult to read. However, after spending some time with the smartwatch, you can use them without any second thoughts.
As one would expect, these buttons can be customized for a more personalized experience. I set up most of my activity for shortcuts – my daily routines and notifications. While I’ve grown to love all the buttons here, I often find myself missing the touch screen. Mainly when dealing with the menu settings. I believe that a crown here would be more convenient to navigate through the menu as we see on the Apple Watch. I will comment on the UI in the next section.
Now talking about the display, this is a black and white unit which offers bold text. In my experience with tactical watches, this has to be the brightest display I’ve ever come across. It’s great to look at and offers a lot of customization options even with the limitations. I could read the display under direct sunlight. However, it will never be visible in the dark, so thankfully we have a backlight for it.
Connection and operating system
Assembling the Instinct 2X Tactical involves three simple steps. Download the Garmin Connect app on your smartphone, find the smartwatch, and tap Pair. It connects very quickly and after feeding in your health statistics, the smartwatch is ready. The Garmin Connect app happens to be one of the easiest apps for health tracking. I’ll talk more about it in the performance section, for now let’s focus on the UI we see on the watch.
It was interesting to me how Garmin designed the UI around a smartwatch without a touchscreen. And I can say you did a great job. The UI is similar to what I’ve experienced with previous Garmin smartwatches. Except how you get there and it’s not a color.
They bear witness to all the tropes one might associate with a Garmin smartwatch. The control menu features a circular orientation, familiar animations and access to all features.
The smartwatch retains the convenience of tapping and exiting most of the activities with the UI. The quick response time on each click also helps to book the first place you can have with the smartwatch.
Vanity is very limited on the UI, but I can appreciate it because it offers creative results. There are some good options for watch faces here and they all look attractive. The animations combined with haptic feedback give you a sense of accomplishment after reaching a certain goal.
There is also a kill switch feature here that allows you to remove all saved user memory. This adds an extra layer of security that we can appreciate. Similarly, there’s a stealth mode here that lets you turn off GPS sharing.
Unfortunately, you won’t be able to make calls with the smartwatch as it misses out on the built-in speaker and microphone. You will get notifications for incoming calls. I can let this one slide since it is indeed a tactical smartwatch.
While the UI retains and enhances all of the fan-favorite Garmin features, it also makes up for some less convenient features. Mainly notification management, this seems like the Achilles heel of this UI to me. After reviewing three smartwatches, my gripes with notification management remain. At least in my previous experiences, I can clear notifications by swiping on the display. But, this time, I had to press buttons, get notifications and tap at the same time. After a while it became too tiring, so much so that I had to close most of the app updates here. I hope Garmin will look into this and maybe give us an easier option soon.
Performance
This is where the Instinct 2X Tactical comes in. And perhaps the only part you should be concerned about if you’re buying this smartwatch. Spoiler alert – it pretty much delivers what it says on paper.
Starting with sensors. As you’ve come to expect from Garmin, it packs all the essentials you need to maintain a healthy lifestyle. We have all day heart rate monitoring, sleep monitoring, blood oxygen saturation sensor and of course GPS.
Each of these sensors perform optimally and help you achieve personalized tasks. The heart rate monitor works well in sync with the activity tracker, never missing a beat. I’ve been wearing the Instinct 2X Tactical for my workouts for the past two weeks, and I’ve been able to see real-time updates. The heart rate monitor and activity tracker were showing similar results to my Apple Watch SE, which is good news.
While I can’t vouch for the blood oxygen saturation sensor on any smartwatch, the one here was mostly accurate. However, don’t rely on smartwatch sensors if you have a medical history.
Sleep monitors on Garmins are mostly accurate and very helpful in improving your sleep cycle. The experience here was also normal, but the size of the smartwatch might discourage you from sleeping with it.
The GPS connectivity on the Instinct 2X Tactical will surprise you as it did for me. The smartwatch lets you mark a place and helps you track your way back to it. A long press on the GPS button enables the feature, which allows you to save a location that can be accessed later. The UI showing directions is also easy to understand. I tried the feature on a short spin around the Aravalli hills, and I wasn’t disappointed. This represents the most important aspect of a tactical smartwatch.
Another major reason for the 2X Tactical is the solar power we are promised here. The watch needs to be exposed to the sun for up to three hours every day in order for it to run indefinitely on solar power. So, if you are on a long walk outdoors, it will do wonders. But what about us in the concrete jungle? Well, the default battery life is pretty solid. I’ve been testing the watch for about 10 days now, and I haven’t found it necessary to plug it in. After all, it shows 21 days of battery life as I write this review. This is a blessing for people with severe fatigue, including myself.
One gripe here is how we don’t have a third-party charging solution for the smartwatch. It depends entirely on the cable provided in the box. Also, the length of the cable is very short, which makes it inconvenient.
The verdict
The Garmin Instinct 2X Tactical prioritizes utility by providing reliable features to help you survive challenging terrain. With its impressive sensors and long-lasting battery life, it successfully fulfills its purpose, which is a reliable choice for a certain group of buyers.
If you’re someone who uses a smartwatch in your daily life, this might not be for you. Aside from the exceptional battery life, there are some compromises in this smartwatch that don’t hold up over time.
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