I tend to review products based on what I think are realistic expectations given the cost vs performance and capabilities. For reference, I've owned Tom Tom watches, Garmin 940 and 950, and a number of cycling computers from Wahoo, Garmin, and Hammerhead. I bought this watch primarily for non-cycling exercise and for mountain bike rides on trails I'm familiar with. The only thing it lacks is a robust mapping functions. It does have trackback, and can store important reference locations, and has a compass, so you can use it hiking as long you have a map and/or know your trails. It has wrist-based HR and can connect to both external HRMs and power meters. It has most all of the tracking and data features the more expensive watches have, and it's perfect for snowboarding. I like the fact that it doesn't have a incredibly nice screen. It's much cheaper to repair/replace. Sure, there's a learning curve to navigating it, but it has a lot of features and only a few buttons. Once you figure it out, it's easy enough. It's reliable and the battery lasts days. Excellent bang for the buck.

I wanted a watch that would help me track my fitness, sleep and overall health without worrying about babying it with my rugged activities. I wear this watch with everything. Camping, hiking, fishing, hunting, dirt bike riding, working on my vehicles and household chores. The watch is super durable and has excellent sensors. The heart rate monitor is much improved over my five year old Garmin. The pulse oximeter is a pleasant surprise. I really like the software features of the watch too. For instance body battery and training readiness. The outdoor features such as the altimeter, GPS, weather and sunrise/sunset are super helpful also.

It's a little bit of a pain for figure out the ins and outs of it coming from an Apple Watch that was pretty user friendly. Once you dial it in though it's is leaps and bounds better than Apple. Garmin has a good website to help you navigate the issues that I ran into.

Great battery life of 26-28 days. I use sunrise and sunset times for hunting. When I get a text message I can quickly just look at my wrist to see if it's from someone important or something that can wait. The steps and heart rate functions are more for fun to me but entertaining on a walk with my wife.

My last (and only) previous smartwatch was the Garmin Venu. From a performance perspective, it was a great device and did everything I wanted. But, I cannot count the number of times I replaced the screen protector because the exposed surface was frequently marred. Fortunately, the screen protectors always took the brunt. The Instinct 2 is ruggedized - face recessed below the bezel and not equipped with a color touchscreen. These last two are a step backward in features but overall I like the result. It took nearly no time to get used to the button layout, and the advances in monitoring, especially the sleep score, are much appreciated. So, I'm very happy to have made the switch. And, listening to folks who have gone the Apple route, I'm really happy to have selected Garmin's devices. I think they're better designed for someone who wants a training device, not just an extension of their smart phone.

First smart watch, so far so good. I like the functionality and features although the lap counter for swimming is not very accurate, nor is the distance when set for open water swimming. My only real gripe is I don't like the interface. It feels cheap and for the price I'd expect more.

This watch has everything I need. I had to do some research to find some video shorts to get it up and going (there are a million features). I really like the functionality and linkage with the Pro 550 Plus dog training system, however, it took some searching to find the right videos to watch to walk me through the setup Overall outstanding features, rugged, reasonable price, but Garmin needs a better instruction video catalog for users.

I have used and loved the Garmin Instinct watch for well over 5 years. My old watch still worked but the battery life was down to a few days which I couldn't tolerate when on the go. The new watch has many more features than I ever dreamed and a battery life of 30 days. i

The Instinct 2 is more than just a watch: It's a measuring instrument. Smart is putting it lightly: It's a robust calculating computer that instantly provides a enormous amount of physiological information at your fingertips. I'll never be able to totally take advantage of all the information it provides me due to my fiscal limitations that accompanies my age group, but I certainly appreciate the physiological feedback the Instinct 2 provides during my fitness center workouts.

I've had a couple Garmin watches in the past and this one so far is my favorite. I was a little hesitant because it's bigger than what I normally wear but after a few weeks you get used to it. The battery life is phenomenal and that's what drew me to the Instinct 2. If you want a watch that can perform and not have to worry about battery life, the Instinct 2 is for you. It also has a great, easy to read face.