After hitting the right notes with its Instinct Crossover – an undeniable amalgamation of analog watch and smartwatch features – Garmin has tinkered with the solar panels on the Instinct 2X Solar to provide it with unlimited battery life in smartwatch mode.
With a boost of nearly 50 percent in energy production using the sun, the Garmin Instinct 2X Solar is designed for enthusiasts who prefer to spend time in the great outdoors. Since Garmin takes military and law enforcement professionals as serious clients, it has brought the extra charging capability for their liking in a Tactical Edition of the Instinct 2X Solar.
Designer: Garmin
Garmin has introduced two – Instinct 2X Solar and Instinct 2X Solar Tactical Edition – models. Both are priced at a difference of $50: the standard option costs $450, while the Tactical Edition retails for $500.
The new edition Instinct 2X Solar comes in a relatively large, 50mm polymer case which is designed with military-grade shock, water, and thermal resistance. With U.S. military 810 standards certified protection and 100 meters of water resistance, the smartwatch is packed with the usual activity, fitness, and health tracking features.
Designed for military ops, the Instinct 2X Solar Tactical Edition does a little more: It features night vision compatibility and has Garmin’s Jumpmaster mode for calculating high-altitude points during skydiving or parachute jumps. It also has a Stealth Mode integrated, which disables connectivity and leaves the watch only showing GPS data that is not saved on the watch.
In addition to sleep, blood oxygen, and heart rate monitoring, the smartwatch comes with routine tracking features for cycling, swimming, running and other such fitness activities. Interestingly, the Instinct 2X Solar models are added with a new feature for tracking the wearer’s performance during obstacle course events. You can manually record the splits in the first loop, and then the watch will do it automatically as you focus solely on the activity.
Garmin has improved the GPS connectivity on the Instinct 2X Solar (as expected in a model revision). The watch supports multi-band GNSS for more precise accuracy and also gets the signature Tracback feature to guide you back to the starting point in the wilderness.
An exquisite highlight of the new Instinct 2X Solar models is the integration of a LED flashlight, which is the first for any of Garmin’s smartwatches. Located on the top of the watch, the flashlight boasts adjustable brightness levels and a choice between red or white light. For the street smart, the smartwatch comes in handy during on-the-fly payments over Garmin Pay and Garmin app connectivity for enhanced capability.
