Instinct® 3 Tactical Edition, 45mm, Solar Charged Display, Rugged Outdoor GPS Smartwatch

My priorities for a smart watch: 1) long battery life that I can use to track week-long backpacking trips. 2) a display that I can ALWAYS read. I don't like waiting for a display to light up; I don't need colors. 3) something that doesn't need to be charged often so I can sleep with it for my morning alarm and sleep tracking. My previous watch was an Amazfit Bip S (with a MIP display). It recently died after 4 years of use. I was looking for more to replace it. I compared 5 watches with MIP displays: Garmin Instinct 3 Solar and 2 Solar, Coros Pace 3, Suunto Vertical and 9 Peak Pro. The Garmin Instinct 3 was noticeably better than the Instinct 2: a crisper and more reflective display, better solar charging, snappier response (I noticed a little bit of lag switching screens sometimes), and that torch! Feature-wise and software, they looked identical. I think it wouldn't be worth upgrading from the Instinct 2, but since I was replacing a watch, the improvements in the Instinct 3 are worth the price difference. I wasn't going to go cheap if either Garmin was better than the others. (The Fenix is beyond what I want to spend.) The Instinct (both 2 and 3) is a cut above the Coros or Suunto in several ways: 1) while the display is smaller, it had a more reflective display that was easier to read in any light. Both 2 and 3 are more reflective than the others actually. (See attached photo.) 2) while the Garmin watch faces are not as pretty or even in color, almost all of the display fields on the watch face can be customized. I spent a while looking for watch faces for the Suunto and Coros with the fields I want and never found the "perfect" one, but with the Instincts, I could just select the data I want and place them on the screen. 3) the activity data screens are also very customizable with lots of options to choose from. I couldn't do this as well with the Coros and Suunto. I didn't realize how much I appreciated having customized fields and screens for hiking vs biking vs running until I could. 4) solid battery life, solar charging 5) thoughtful/useful features: lap stat announcements to your BT headset, shortcut to power saving mode, unusual tracking modes like expedition and area calc, double function of each button - short vs long press, a double-tap shortcut for the torch Otherwise, all five watches had similar features: activity tracking galore, sleep tracking, alarms and timers, stopwatch, compass, altimeter, barometer, etc. 2nd place: the Coros was the most visually appealing of the set. The Instincts have that rugged chunky look and a smaller monochrome display, while the Coros was sleek with an attractive display (for MIP). Although they were all "45mm" watches, the Coros had a lower profile on my wrist, and through a trick of design, it looked like it had a smaller bezel. (It wasn't.) Data fields were displayed in BIG readable fonts during activities. The scroll wheel and two buttons was probably the most fun interface to use. Scrolling and zooming is quite nice with a scroll wheel. The Suunto Vertical is very similar to the 9 Peak Pro. I got my hands on both. I don't think it is worth the 2x price difference so I only compared the 9 Peak Pro with the others.

The Garmin Instinct Tactical Solar is an exceptional smartwatch built for durability, reliability, and performance. The solar charging is a game changer, delivering incredible battery life that easily outlasts most smartwatches—perfect for outdoor adventures, training, and daily wear. The watch is rugged and military-grade tough, yet comfortable on the wrist. GPS tracking is accurate, and the tactical features like Stealth Mode, Night Vision compatibility, and Kill Switch add serious value for tactical or professional use. Health and fitness tracking are spot-on, including heart rate, stress, and activity monitoring. If you want a no-nonsense, ultra-durable smartwatch with excellent battery life and reliable performance, the Garmin Instinct Tactical Solar is absolutely worth it. Highly recommended for outdoor enthusiasts, athletes, and tactical users alike. 💪⌚

I’ve been rocking the original Tactical Instinct for many years now, and that beast has been absolutely bulletproof – still going strong after all this time, which is rare for any smartwatch. But I’ve been itching for an update, especially one with a vibrant screen, and the Garmin Instinct 3 50mm AMOLED in Neotropic finally delivers. This thing is a massive step up while keeping that rugged Instinct DNA I love. The 1.3-inch AMOLED display is gorgeous – bright, colorful, and super easy to read even in direct sunlight or low light. It’s a huge improvement over the old monochrome screen without sacrificing too much battery life (I’m getting solid multi-week usage in smartwatch mode). The health and training features are next-level: • Advanced wrist-based heart rate monitoring that’s accurate during workouts and all-day tracking. • Pulse Ox (blood oxygen) for around-the-clock monitoring – great for sleep insights and altitude adventures. • Enhanced sleep tracking, stress monitoring, Body Battery energy levels, and HRV status. • Tons of built-in sports apps, adaptive training plans via Garmin Coach, daily suggested workouts, and detailed metrics for running, cycling, HIIT, and more outdoor activities. Plus, it keeps all the tough stuff: military-grade durability, multi-band GPS, built-in LED flashlight (super handy), metal-reinforced bezel, and that classic Instinct toughness. The Neotropic colorway looks sharp too – that vibrant green/twilight combo stands out without being flashy. The watch itself is outstanding – highly recommended if you’re coming from an older Instinct like I am. The only downside? Amazon’s delivery. It took 12 days to arrive, which feels excessive in 2026. Tracking showed it bouncing from the West Coast (Cali) to the East Coast (Maryland) before finally landing in Florida. I’ve noticed this happening more often with Prime orders lately – maybe it’s just bad luck, but it was frustrating. Not the watch’s fault, though! If you’re after a rugged, feature-packed update to the Instinct series with that beautiful AMOLED screen, this is it. Worth every penny. 🚀 I might upload some pics later if I can do it justice!

Mükemmel bi saat , 18 güne yakın şarjının gitmesi çok iyi

Me encantó el color y bueno 100% recomendado

Fantastisch horloge alleen ik kon persoonlijk niet tegen het bandje. Ik kreeg er zelfs blaren van omdat ik er allergisch voor ben. Daarom het horloge helaas niet kunnen houden. Het horloge heeft een prachtig amoled scherm, veel functies en gaat erg lang mee.

Excelente producto, en hardware GARMIN no defrauda. Aunque su memoria de almacenamiento muy limitada. la tienda GARMIN aun tiene que aprender mucho.

I got this watch for my husband and he loves it. He’s gone nearly a month without needing a single charge!