Garmin Instinct running watch | Impartial reviews & price comparison

Overview

The Instinct is a running watch family from Garmin. This is the original product in the family.

It was released in 2018. The latest model in the family is the Garmin Instinct 2S Solar.

Based on our monitoring of prices across the internet, it's currently in the cheapest 10% of running watches today.

Garmin Instinct alternatives

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	‌ ‌ Now viewing ‌ Garmin Instinct	‌ ‌ ‌ Garmin Instinct Crossover	‌ ‌ ‌ Garmin Instinct 2X Solar Tactical Edition	‌ ‌ ‌ Garmin MARQ Aviator	‌ ‌ ‌ Garmin MARQ Adventurer	‌ ‌ ‌ Garmin MARQ Captain
bestDeal	Show prices
priceBand	Price band
released	Released Oct 2018	Nov 2022		Oct 2022	Oct 2022	Oct 2022
productAthletes	Pro athlete users ‌
Battery life	Battery life 336 hours	672 hours	unlimited hours	288 hours	288 hours	288 hours
Battery life – GPS mode	Battery life – GPS mode 16 hours	111 hours	145 hours	28 hours	28 hours	28 hours
Screen size	Screen size 23 mm	23 mm	28 mm	30 mm	30 mm	30 mm
Weight	Weight 52 g	65 g	67 g	144 g	87 g	88 g
Height	Height 45 mm	45 mm	50 mm	46 mm	46 mm	46 mm
Resolution	Resolution 128 x 128 px	176 x 176 px	176 x 176 px	240 x 240 px	240 x 240 px	240 x 240 px
Waterproof depth	Waterproof depth 100 m		100 m	100 m	100 m	100 m
Pixel density	Pixel density 201 ppi		226 ppi	283 ppi	283 ppi	283 ppi
Battery power	Battery power 4380 mAh
Internal storage	Internal storage 0 GB	0 GB	0 GB			32 GB
Health tracking features	Health tracking features BMI tracking Calorie burn tracking Period notifications Sleep tracking Temperature tracking Weight tracking	BMI tracking Calorie burn tracking Calorie intake tracking Fertility notifications Ovulation prediction Period notifications Period start date predictions Sleep tracking Temperature tracking Water intake tracking Weight tracking	BMI tracking Calorie burn tracking Calorie intake tracking Fertility notifications Ovulation prediction Period notifications Period start date predictions Sleep tracking Temperature tracking Water intake tracking Weight tracking	BMI tracking Calorie burn tracking Fertility notifications Ovulation prediction Period notifications Period start date predictions Sleep tracking Temperature tracking Water intake tracking	BMI tracking Calorie burn tracking Fertility notifications Ovulation prediction Period notifications Period start date predictions Sleep tracking Temperature tracking Water intake tracking	BMI tracking Calorie burn tracking Fertility notifications Ovulation prediction Period notifications Period start date predictions Sleep tracking Temperature tracking Water intake tracking
Connectivity Types	Connectivity Types ANT+Automatic syncing Cloud syncing Wireless syncing	ANT+NFC	ANT+NFC	ANT+Wi-Fi	ANT+Wi-Fi	ANT+Wi-Fi
Sensors	Sensors Accelerometer Barometer Body temperature sensor Cadence sensor Compass Galileo GPS Heart rate monitor	Accelerometer Barometer Blood oxygenation monitor Body temperature sensor Compass Galileo GPS Heart rate monitor Monitors perspiration	Accelerometer Barometer Blood oxygenation monitor Body temperature sensor Compass Galileo GPS Gyroscope Heart rate monitor	Accelerometer Barometer Blood oxygenation monitor Cadence sensor Compass Galileo GPS Gyroscope Heart rate monitor	Accelerometer Barometer Blood oxygenation monitor Cadence sensor Compass GPS Gyroscope Heart rate monitor	Accelerometer Barometer Blood oxygenation monitor Cadence sensor Compass Galileo GPS Gyroscope Heart rate monitor
Alerts	Alerts Inactivity alerts Irregular heart rate warnings Silent alarm Thunderstorm warnings Vibrating alerts	Inactivity alerts Irregular heart rate warnings Silent alarm Vibrating alerts Voice feedback	Inactivity alerts Irregular heart rate warnings Silent alarm Vibrating alerts Voice feedback	Inactivity alerts Silent alarm Vibrating alerts Voice feedback	Inactivity alerts Silent alarm Vibrating alerts Voice feedback	Inactivity alerts Silent alarm Vibrating alerts Voice feedback
Screen features	Screen features Always-on display Damage resistant glass	Always-on display	Always-on display Damage resistant glass	Always-on display Sapphire glass	Always-on display Sapphire glass	Always-on display Sapphire glass
Battery features	Battery features Battery level indicator Rechargeable battery	Rechargeable battery Solar power	Rechargeable battery Solar power Wireless charging	Rechargeable battery	Rechargeable battery	Rechargeable battery
Common characteristics Activity detectionActivity taggingCoachingDistance trackingElevation trackingGoal settingLive trackingPace measurementRoute uploadsSteps trackingSwim stroke counterSwim stroke recognitionTrackback modeIP67Sweat resistantCompatible heart monitorCompatible smart scales

Garmin Instinct: 8 Expert video reviews

Garmin Instinct characteristics and specifications

Characteristics
Sports	Running (+106)
Brand	Garmin (+68)
Features	Achievements (+72)Auto pause (+69)Calendar sync (+52)Call control (+55)has fast/slow heart rate notifications (+64)has HRV tracking (+57)measures resting heart rate (+66)measures VO2 max (+62)Multi-sport mode (+70)Music playback (+67)Phone locator (+63)Social network integration (+53)Sunrise/sunset time (+64)Uploadable maps (+45)Widgets (+69)
Activity Tracking Features	Activity detection (+79)Activity tagging (+88)Coaching (+55)Distance tracking (+93)Elevation tracking (+85)Goal setting (+62)Live tracking (+47)Pace measurement (+92)Route uploads (+62)Steps tracking (+92)Swim stroke counter (+77)Swim stroke recognition (+46)Trackback mode (+59)
Health tracking features	BMI tracking (+46)Calorie burn tracking (+78)Period notifications (+50)Sleep tracking (+75)Temperature tracking (+51)Weight tracking (+38)
Connectivity Types	ANT+ (+65)Automatic syncing (+51)Cloud syncing (+53)Wireless syncing (+63)
Sensors	Accelerometer (+90)Barometer (+75)Body temperature sensor (+55)Cadence sensor (+44)Compass (+82)Galileo (+48)GPS (+92)Heart rate monitor (+85)
Waterproofings	IP67 (+83)Sweat resistant (+83)
Alerts	Inactivity alerts (+63)Irregular heart rate warnings (+35)Silent alarm (+71)Thunderstorm warnings (+23)Vibrating alerts (+74)
Supported peripherals	Compatible heart monitor (+72)Compatible smart scales (+50)
Screen features	Always-on display (+71)Damage resistant glass (+30)
Battery features	Battery level indicator (+62)Rechargeable battery (+93)
Colorways	Black / Grey, Multi / Grn / Camo

Specifications		vs Average
Released	Oct 2018
Battery
Battery power	4380 mAh
Battery life – GPS mode	16 hours
Battery life	336 hours
System
Bluetooth version	4
Internal storage	0 GB
Measurements
Volume	31 cm³
Strap width	22 mm
Width	45 mm
Height	45 mm
Thickness	15 mm
Weight	52 g
Temperature
Min. temperature	-20 °C
Max. temperature	60 °C
Waterproofing
Waterproof depth	100 m
Screen
Pixel density	201 ppi
Resolution	128 x 128 px
Screen size	23 mm