For us, the Garmin Instinct has always been that go-to smartwatch for when were tackling the worst of the outdoors; when you need something robust, waterproof and with a decent sized display. The previous Garmin Instinct smartwatches always felt enough, that was until they released the Garmin Instinct Solar which boosted the design’s battery life with a solar-powered display. Now the luxury GPS smartwatch undergoes another uplift, electing a larger case size, a longer battery life and an integrated flashlight feature. Today we’re getting hands-on with the Garmin Instinct 2X smartwatch…
Case & Strap
Before last year, when Garmin launched the Garmin Instinct 2, the Garmin Instinct had always measured to 45mm in diameter. Then, when the Instinct 2 along with the Instinct 2S, smaller wrists were able to enjoy a set of 40mm cases. For the latest evolution, the Garmin Instinct 2X has grown in size – and rather significantly – measuring to a whopping 50mm wide. The core elements of the case remain the same; they’re still tested to U.S. military 810 standards for thermal, shock and water resistance, the latter rated to 100 metres, and engineered from fibre reinforced polymer.
There are currently four core Garmin Instinct 2X watches to choose from, all named after their respective case colours. There’s the Garmin Instinct 2X Flame Red, the Instinct 2X Graphite, the Instinct 2X Moss and the Instinct 2X Whitestone. All four are completed by matching coloured silicon rubber straps with a fibre reinforced polymer pin buckle. You can also find a duo special Garmin Instinct 2X Tactical Edition watches which combines all of the same features about to be mentioned here with an all-black or all-tan case and a set of additional tactical training features.
Display & Battery Life
Unlike the Garmin Instinct 2 watches before it, the Garmin Instinct 2X watches are solar powered as standard (the Instinct 2 and 2s models are available as solar and non-solar). Garmin’s Power Lens continues to impress with an unlimited battery life in smartwatch mode with solar charging, 145 hours in GPS mode with solar and unlimited life in Max Battery GPS Mode with solar. The innovative lens that captures both artificial and natural light is cleverly hidden beneath the 27×27 mm (1.1″x1.1″) display. The monochrome, sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) display retains the iconic Instinct two-window design and promises a resolution of 176 x 176 pixels.
Flashlight Feature
The other key addition to the new Garmin Instinct 2X smartwatch is the integrated flashlight feature which originally debuted on the Garmin Fenix 7. It works exactly the same way, sneakily hidden at the side of the case behind a diffused transparent lens. You can access the light on any screen page by double tapping the light key at the top left. This will instantly create a bright white light from the upper half of the case. The flashlight is turned off the same way, by double tapping the top left button. There are a huge range of setting to play around with within the flashlight feature too; you can change brightness and choose from a white or red light. The latter is typically used during an emergency and when used alongside SOS mode will signal for help.
Additional Features
There is also a fun new fitness app part of the Garmin Instinct 2X watch. Named the Obstacle Course Racing feature, it allows you to track your performance during obstacle course events. You can measure split times between running and obstacle sections and after manually recording splits during your first loop, you can focus solely on the race from there as splits will be automatically recorded. Afterwards you can review all of these stats in the Garmin Connect smartphone app.
Other than that, the rest of the specifications are much of the same as the smaller Garmin Instinct 2.You still get a huge heap of fantastic GPS outdoor features including Multi-GNSS support, ABC sensors, TracBack® routing and Reference Point. You will be motivated by fitness features like the wrist based heart rate monitor, VO2 Max, Pulse Ox2, Fitness Age, Training Status/Load/Effect, HRV Status, and Recovery Time as well as wellness features like advanced sleep monitoring, stress tracking and hydration tracking. There’s also smart notifications, safety and tracking features and the contactless payment solution known as GarminPay.
To fully appreciate the full list of features available on the Garmin Instinct 2X, head over to the Jura Watches website here. Alternatively, feel free to get in touch with the team by calling 01335 453453 or send us a message at help@jurawatches.co.uk.
