Garmin’s all-new Instinct 2X Solar smartwatch generates 50% more energy than before

Are you looking to pick up a new smartwatch to track your exercises this spring and summer? Well, Garmin is now updating its popular Instinct 2 family with two new entries, the Instinct 2X Solar and 2X Solar Tactical Edition. These new smartwatches are available for purchase now and pack in unique features like solar charging for better battery life and an integrated flashlight. You will have the standard 24/7 heart rate, Pulse Ox, and sleep tracking alongside built-in sports apps to track your workouts. New to this watch is the obstacle course racing activity which allows you to manually record obstacle times for the first lap, then the watch will automatically keep track for the following laps. Ready to learn more about these new watches and where you can get them? Keep reading below the fold.

Solar charging watch for your adventures

The all-new Garmin Instinct 2X Solar smartwatches are just the latest from the brand and bring improved solar charging to the Instinct family. The Power Glass lens implemented within the Instinct 2X Solar will be capable of generating 50% more energy than the previous edition Instinct 2 Solar watch, which means you could have theoretically unlimited battery life. To help you see your gear when it’s dark out, you’ll be able to use the built-in flashlight that can be set to various brightness levels and can even strobe to your running pace. There is also a red LED light to help you see while not impacting your ability to see at night. The new multi-band GNSS system included with the new watches will help improve your position tracking while working with the altimeter, barometer, and 3-axis compass. All of these together allow the Instinct 2X Solar to help you backtrack your route while hiking.

As this is a smartwatch, you will be able to review notifications from your phone on the watch itself, with additional apps and widgets able to be downloaded from the Connect IQ store. You’ll also be able to make contactless payments thanks to the Garmin Pay system. Now, what’s a smartwatch without exercise-centric features? The Instinct 2X Solar comes prepared to track a wide variety of activities out of the box, including running, swimming, skiing, golf, and even more. As previously mentioned, the new obstacle course racing mode will allow you to track your speeds through course segments after you manually record splits for the first lap. While you’re working out, the watch will also monitor your heart rate, Pulse Ox, and HRV status. The watch will even estimate your body’s energy reserves using all the metrics it monitors.

Instinct 2X Solar Tactical Edition

Also launching today is the Garmin Instinct 2X Solar Tactical Edition smartwatch, which contains all the same features discussed above but adds some extra functionality that some may find useful. If you often operate in secure areas, you can enable stealth mode, which will “stop storing and sharing your GPS position and disable wireless connectivity and communication.” You’ll still see your GPS coordinates displayed on the watch face, but it is not saved to memory. You can even have your position simultaneously displayed in both the Universal Transverse Mercator and military grid reference systems. When you pay an unlocking fee, you can also gain access to the Applied Ballistics calculator to help you get aiming solutions for long-range shooting. There is even a Jumpmaster mode which will calculate “high-altitude release points according to military guidelines while navigating to your objective once you’ve jumped.”

Availability

The all-new Garmin Instinct 2X Solar and Instinct 2X Solar Tactical Edition smartwatches are available for purchase today, but you may be waiting a week or two for them to ship out, depending on availability. The base Instinct 2X Solar watch will run you back $449.99 with the Tactical Edition jumping up to $499.99. You can order these watches today from Garmin directly and eventually from Best Buy and Amazon, though both sites are currently out of stock of both models. Head below for links to where you can order these watches, whether today or in the near future.

• Garmin
  • Instinct 2X Solar – $449.99 shipped
  • Instinct 2X Solar Tactical Edition – $499.99 shipped
• Best Buy
  • Instinct 2X Solar – $449.99 shipped
  • Instinct 2X Solar Tactical Edition – $499.99 shipped
  • *OOS at the time of writing
• Amazon
  • Instinct 2X Solar – $449.99 shipped
  • Instinct 2X Solar Tactical Edition – $499.99 shipped
  • *OOS at the time of writing

9to5Toys’ Take

While I am more than satisfied with my Apple Watch, this new smartwatch from Garmin seems like the perfect fit for those who spend most of their time outside, especially hiking or exercising. I do wonder how well the solar charging works on these watches as I’ve never experienced it before.

Subscribe to the 9to5Toys YouTube Channel for all of the latest videos, reviews, and more!