I got this on a whim and it's pretty darn cool.

JAS-SH

Gunny Sergeant
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Jun 5, 2020
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Just on a whim I ordered this watch directly from Garmin - directly 'cause I have an account with them, the coyote brown is not available locally, and they have free 2-day shipping. Link to Garmin at the end.

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It's the Garmin Instinct 2X Tactical in coyote brown. Very cool, solar powered too. If you look at the picture above it says the battery charge is 28d, as in DAYS! But, kind of a steep learning curve if you want all the trimmings. It works great out of the box but there is sooo much it can do, and there's a lot to read to do that.

Garmin has some other higher end Tactical watches but they are north of $1200. This one was 499, and after you get one you can log in to Applied Ballistics and get their software. Be careful doing that because they will try to charge you $300. When you dig down you can find a neutered version that only holds one rifle at a time for $100, but then I can only shoot one at a time so big F deal.

And it's a lot less than $1200 for the Gamin Tactix but still does everything that one does except a slightly smaller screen, no sapphire glass and no color screen. As for the color screen, have you ever used an iPhone outside in direct bright sunlight? It's useless! Color screens are not good in direct sun. Not this watch. It's B&W screen looks even better!

Be forewarned again, it does so much it will take some time to get it set up the way you want it - LOTS of options. That said I really like the option to turn on the backlight with a gesture, meaning that if its dark and the watch is in plain LED mode it turns the backlight on when raise and turn your arm to look at it!

So far, $499 well spent. Lots of full feature videos on YouTube on how to use all the features.

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/884414

PS. I downloaded the Hunt and the fish apps from the Garmin Explore App - both free . Both pretty cool too especially the fish app. You hook a fish, press a button and it records all the data - time, location, etc. Oh, and I did not mention that it tracks like 3-different satellite constellations for navigation (GPS is one of them) at the same time so accuracy is great.
 
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Did you really walk 17.7 km? Good for you! Needing to upgrade my instinct 1, been looking at this and the fenix, can’t decide. Thanks for posting.
 
Did you really walk 17.7 km? Good for you! Needing to upgrade my instinct 1, been looking at this and the fenix, can’t decide. Thanks for posting
No I didn't, the 17.7K is the amount of LUX received by the solar array = 17,700 Lux. That is almost to the point where the watch made up all the power it used. There are rumors that an instinct 3 is coming out this year but the year's getting short now so it might be just YouTube click bait...
 
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But how tactical is it?
Well, its watch so it wont kill. For tactical features it has as far as I can tell, and I only got the watch on Friday so there are more:

- the optional ballistic solver

- night vision goggles display mode

- stealth mode for zero electronic emissions - you can see if it is on by checking the little stealth plane symbol (center of display on top of the battery indicator.

- three global position receivers for three different global navigation systems. They all can work at the same time for more accurate fixes.

- a litany of map coordinate setups including the US military MGRS coordinates which comes set as default.

- All sorts of alarms and timers including way point arrivals when following routes.

- Notifications can be made silent (watch vibrates - no sound).

- Two button press Kill switch for erasing all data - 10-second timer to stop reset.

- ABC - Altimeter, Barometer and Compass

- Jump Master App built in. Both HAHO and HALO modes supported.
 
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Well, its watch so it wont kill. For tactical features it has as far as I can tell, and I only got the watch on Friday so there are more:

- the optional ballistic solver

- night vision goggles display mode

- stealth mode for zero electronic emissions - you can see if it is on by checking the little stealth plane symbol (center of display on top of the battery indicator.

- three global position receivers for three different global navigation systems. They all can work at the same time for more accurate fixes.

- a litany of map coordinate setups including the US military MGRS coordinates which comes set as default.

- All sorts of alarms and timers including way point arrivals when following routes.

- Notifications can be made silent (watch vibrates - no sound).

- Two button press Kill switch for erasing all data - 10-second timer to stop reset.

- ABC - Altimeter, Barometer and Compass

- Jump Master App built in. Both HAHO and HALO modes supported.
Cool watch ! 👍
I have a Casio Rangeman that’s my beater. If my eyes were better and my ears weren’t shot out I would enjoy it more. Can’t hear alarms very well.
Doesn’t have as many complications or uses as a Tactical , but setting it up is complicated enough ! Right up there with learning Chinese Arithmetic 😖
 
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I got my dad an Instinct watch a few years ago, but it's so difficult to figure out (and then remember) how to do everything like you said.

Unless your using those features nearly everyday.
I get you! I just turned 70 last month. The trick is to eliminate every thing that I will never use and reorder the menus/"glances" so my most important things show first and then in descending order from there. I'm getting very used to it after wearing it for 24/7 for the last 3-day, I can now remember the basic button functions ...most of the time.:ROFLMAO:
 
But how tactical is it?
The real question is “with all of those functions and doodads, does it tell time?”

A phone that’s good at voice communication, and a watch that’s good at telling time. In 2024, they’re both getting harder to find.

And, remember to leave your smart phone and gps watch at home before attending the Rescue the Republic rally…
 
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The real question is “with all of those functions and doodads, does it tell time?”

A phone that’s good at voice communication, and a watch that’s good at telling time. In 2024, they’re both getting harder to find.

And, remember to leave your smart phone and gps watch at home before attending the Rescue the Republic rally…
Good Question!

It tells time better than any other watch I've ever owned including my self winding mechanical Rolex, which is now sitting in the safe. That's because this watch is in contact with GPS all the time and GPS timing runs off an atomic clock, the most accurate clock on the planet. And the Garmin being solar powered with low battery consumption the battery rarely will need to be charged, if ever.

That said, if we get hit by a big meteor and the sky goes dark for a year, or even worse if we get hit by an EMP or we get a Kessler Syndrome (which is bound to happen because of all the dead shit now in orbit) then all bets are off. And then telling good accurate time will be the least of our problems!
 
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The Garmin watches are phenomenal. You can’t even use 25% of the capabilities because at some point you have to sleep…
Good Question!

It tells time better than any other watch I've ever owned including my self winding mechanical Rolex, which is now sitting in the safe. That's because this watch is in contact with GPS all the time and GPS timing runs off an atomic clock, the most accurate clock on the planet. And the Garmin being solar powered with low battery consumption the battery rarely will need to be charged, if ever.

That said, if we get hit by a big meteor and the sky goes dark for a year, or even worse if we get hit by an EMP or we get a Kessler Syndrome (which is bound to happen because of all the dead shit now in orbit) then all bets are off. And then telling good accurate time will be the least of our problems!
Shit, it took me 5 min to find the time on that thing.

My $100 G-Shock is solar powered, and sets by an atomic clock as well. I’ve never picked it up and found it less than 100% full.

And, the time is front and center on the face.

Being a G-Shock; when the meteor does hit, I’ll just run out under it while holding the watch over my head. I’ve always wanted to be a superhero.

Not being gps enabled, I can still tell time while doing all the cool guy Grey man shit.

Everybody want to do Grey man shit till it’s time to- put the phone and local positioning enabled gadgets away and- do Grey man shit. 🤣

That said, congrats on your new wrist computer.

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I love my Garmin. I’ve tried a couple of different Apple Watches a couple of Samsung watches and other smart ones. But keep coming back to my Garmin.
 
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I've had a Fenix 3 Sapphire since 2016 and it's been an absolute tank. I wear it every day, only take it off to charge and it doesn't have a single scratch on the screen. The battery still lasts a couple of weeks (much less than when it was new, but still lightyears more than my wife's apple watch), and I still haven't figured out all of the stuff that it can do. It's wild how much tech they can pack into these watches.
 
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My OG Instinct is still going strong after four years of daily use. I'll upgrade to the latest version when this thing finally croaks, but that may be a long ways off.
 
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I track a lot of stuff with my Garmins. Sleep score,HRV, workouts, golf. It's great to have data tracked over time to make informed decisions. Looking at you sleep.

I've beat my gear up pretty good and sweat like crazy and my watch is still doing it's thing.
 
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Shit, it took me 5 min to find the time on that thing.

......And, the time is front and center on the face....
I'm using the default watch face which is meant for military time. I did change it to 12hour time. There are different watch faces, and scrolling through them I lost count because there are so many!
 
I’ve been wearing an Instinct 2X Solar for just over a year now. I only take it off to charge it. I was looking primarily for health tracking and solar charging. The white and red flashlights are an added bonus that gets used regularly. I occasionally use the GPS and rarely the compass which I’ve found to be unreliable, like all other digital watch compasses I’ve used. Battery life is in weeks during the summer, and a little over a week in the winter, with no attempt at optimizing settings for longer battery life.

I replaced the original band with a fabric band for comfort, and added a screen protector and TPU cover to increase the ruggedness as I swing wrenches for work. I’m running a third party watch face which I’ve configured to show all the data I want quick access to, and I’m sure that some would have trouble with the additional data presented, despite the large and bold numbers in the middle of the screen. 😵‍💫😠🤬
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I like it for the functionality and battery life.
 
I’ve been wearing an Instinct 2X Solar for just over a year now. I only take it off to charge it. I was looking primarily for health tracking and solar charging. The white and red flashlights are an added bonus that gets used regularly. I occasionally use the GPS and rarely the compass which I’ve found to be unreliable, like all other digital watch compasses I’ve used. Battery life is in weeks during the summer, and a little over a week in the winter, with no attempt at optimizing settings for longer battery life.

I replaced the original band with a fabric band for comfort, and added a screen protector and TPU cover to increase the ruggedness as I swing wrenches for work. I’m running a third party watch face which I’ve configured to show all the data I want quick access to, and I’m sure that some would have trouble with the additional data presented, despite the large and bold numbers in the middle of the screen. 😵‍💫😠🤬
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I like it for the functionality and battery life.
Which fabric band do you like for it?