Garmin Instinct 2X Solar Review: The Do-It-All Smartwatch

If you’re an outdoorsy person who likes to stay on top of their fitness game, you must’ve considered investing in a Garmin wearable. The company has churned out impressive fitness-centric smartwatches that can track everything under the kitchen sink for years. And the Instinct 2X Solar is no different. 

In the early days, Garmin’s Instinct lineup didn’t quite stack up to the company’s more premium watches from the Fenix range. While that’s still true to some extent, the Instinct 2X Solar helps bridge the gap by offering a multitude of improvements, including smarter fitness tracking features like Training Readiness and the works.

That’s not all, as the unit also comes with other niceties, including a full-fledged flashlight! The question then arises whether you should spend $449 on the wearable. Well, let’s find out, shall we? 

To help speed things up, I’ve summarized my experience with the wearable under some of the most sought-after FAQs regarding the Instinct 2X Solar, and the brand’s Instinct lineup in general. So, without further ado, let’s get this show on the road.

1 – How does the Instinct 2X Solar set itself apart from the Instinct 2 range of smartwatches? 

Right out of the gate, you should know that the Instinct 2X Solar is a chunkier version of Garmin’s Instinct 2 Solar smartwatch. In fact, the wearable is only available in a 50mm trim, so if you have smaller wrists, you might want to opt for Garmin’s Instinct 2 Solar, which comes with a 45mm dial.

Do note that, unlike the Instinct 2 lineup, all models in the Instinct 2X range have been outfitted with solar-charging chops. So, if you want to save a buck, you could even opt for the non-solar Instinct 2 smartwatch. 

To put it in numbers, the Instinct 2X Solar costs $449 in the USA. You can snag a ‘Tactical’ edition of the wearable, which costs $50 more and offers a rugged chassis that complies with the MIL-STD-810 rating. Additionally, the wearable gets night vision capabilities for some more field ops. In other words, you can view the wearable’s display even if you have night vision goggles. 

The Instinct 2 Solar, on the other hand, costs $399.99, whereas the Instinct 2 will set you back $299.99. Notably, the Instinct 2 lineup doesn’t support multi-band GPS. You’ll also miss out on Garmin’s Training Readiness feature, which, as its moniker suggests, can help you outline how ready you are for training each day by factoring in things like your sleep score.

Additionally, the Instinct 2X Solar features a flashlight at the top, which can come in handy when you’re trekking after the sun has set. 

The flashlight can be outfitted with a slew of strobing effects, too. You can enable the same when you’re out for a run at night to alert nearby vehicles of your presence. Additionally, the Instinct 2X Solar is available in four colorways, including Graphite, Flame Red, Moss, and Whitestone. The Instinct 2 lineup offers more varied and peppy hues, so you’ll have better luck finding a watch that suits your style. 

Needless to say, the Garmin Instinct 2X Solar is bulkier than competing watches in the lineup too. Spec-wise, the watch weighs 67 grams, making it a smidge heavier than the Instinct 2 Solar, which weighs 53 grams. Having said that, both, the Instinct 2 Solar and the Instinct 2X Solar come with a 10 ATM water resistance rating.

Additionally, both wearables use fiber-reinforced polymer for their construction, which feels sturdy to the touch and doesn’t flex when you apply pressure to the dial or the casing. 

2 – Does the Instinct 2X Solar come with a touchscreen display? 

Unlike conventional smartwatches, Garmin’s Instinct lineup trades a touchscreen interface in lieu of button-based navigation. The Instinct 2X Solar, for instance, gets five dedicated buttons, namely GPS, Set, ABC, Menu, and Control or CTRL.

Each button has a standard function, which can be inferred by reading the inscription on the dial. That said, you can long-press the toggles to access various other features of the wearable too.

3 – Is it cumbersome to navigate the Instinct 2X Solar’s interface? 

While your mileage could vary, I found the Instinct 2X Solar quite intuitive. Each button has a textured finish, so you can get a feel for the toggles even in a dimly-lit setting.

What’s more, thanks to the wearable’s sizeable chassis, the buttons have been adequately spaced too. Additionally, the Instinct 2X Solar’s interface is quite zippy, and no sooner did I press the button, than the UI responded instantly.

Speaking of which, you can use the Menu and ABC buttons to scroll up and down your most-used widgets. You can tailor the interface to your liking and add or replace any widget directly from the watch, or through the companion app.

To give you a better picture, I had my notification alerts, weather report, heart rate, music controls, and training readiness metrics slotted in the widget slots. However, depending on your usage, you could add your HRV status, altimeter readings, and more to the ‘At a glance’ suite of widgets as well. 

Moving on, you can long-press the Menu button to tweak other aspects of the wearable, including swapping out the watch face or tweaking its complications. You can even variate the notification settings on the fly, which is great. The Light button, on the other hand, is used to access the wearable’s pre-installed utilities.

These include settings to brighten the backlit display, or choosing different luminosity levels for the flashlight. Speaking of which, you can press the toggle twice to enable or disable the flashlight in a jiffy. 

The Set button can be used to go back with a single tap. That said, you can long-press the toggle to set timers and alarms. Lastly, the GPS button lets you access your favorite workout activities quickly.

All said and done, the wearable’s button-based navigation definitely takes some time to get used to. However, I much prefer it over a touchscreen interface, which is susceptible to mistouches. What’s more, the button-based navigation allows you to use the device when you’re swimming seamlessly too. 

4 – Is the Garmin Instinct 2X Solar’s display any good? 

The biggest thorn in the Instinct 2X Solar’s side is that it comes with a dull, monochrome display. Now, much like other aspects of the wearable, the choice of display is by design too. You see, Garmin promises weeks of battery backup with the Instinct 2X Solar.

In fact, per the brand, you can use it for up to 40 days as a smartwatch, wherein the wearable will push your smartphone’s notifications to your wrist. Understandably, opting for a transflective screen ensures the Instinct 2X Solar can meet the company’s advertised claims. 

Make no mistake – there’s no shortage of vibrant, OLED display-backed smartwatches on the market. In fact, Garmin has a number of options in its Forerunner lineup as well. So, if you want to stylize your watch with colorful watch faces, you should look elsewhere. On the other hand, if you prioritize battery life above everything else, then the Instinct 2X Solar’s monochrome screen should suffice for your needs. 

5 – Is the Garmin Instinct 2X Solar customizable? 

As prefaced previously, the Instinct 2X Solar offers a truckload of features, and you can revamp the watch’s UI with custom widgets for your most-used activities. What’s more, you can download the Garmin Connect IQ app to install a bevy of watch faces too. Each watch face can be further tweaked with different complications and so forth. 

You’ll also get a Morning Report feature with the device, which gives you insights on your step goals, agenda for the day, notifications, and weather updates when you wake up. I quite like this feature as it got me up to speed with my recovery and other important vitals the second I got up. 

On the hardware side of things, the wearable gets removable straps, so you can upgrade to better silicone straps if required. Having said that, I found the bundled straps to my liking – the pair didn’t itch my wrist and were quite cushy, meaning I could wear the watch all day long.

In fact, I didn’t notice the wearable’s bulging chassis when I was wearing it to bed, either. All things considered, the Garmin Instinct 2X Solar is highly customizable and comfortable to wear day in and day out. 

6 – What health features do you get with the Garmin Instinct 2X Solar? 

The Instinct 2X Solar is outfitted with a bevy of sensors, including a heart rate and a SPo2 monitor. While I usually advise readers to take the insights from any smart wearable with a pinch of salt, the Instinct 2X Solar’s SPo2 readings were quite accurate and on par with a pulse oximeter I had on hand. Moreover, the unit can track your heart rate continuously (every second, for that matter).

You can even set abnormal heart rate alerts via the Garmin Connect app. To do so, simply head over to the settings menu. From there, click on the prompt labeled ‘Health and Wellness.’ Once done, you will be able to set low and high heart rate alerts, and even change the parameters for the same.

As for tracking, the unit overturned comparable HR metrics to my Fitbit Charge 5. I should also point out that the wearable has a nifty utility to monitor your breathwork. 

The app offers a handful of techniques, including Tranquility, which I used before bed. While I can’t comment on the efficacy of the breathing techniques, or whether they made a lasting impact on my health, I found the feature to be a welcoming addition. If anything, it allowed me to pause and focus after a long workday.

Other than that, the wearable can track your sleep cycles too. You can get insights on the time you spent in Deep, REM, and Light sleep as well. For the most part, I found the wearable’s sleep-tracking metrics quite accurate, so no complaints here. 

7 – What fitness features do you get with the Garmin Instinct 2X Solar? 

Coming to the meat of the matter, the Garmin Instinct 2X Solar is chockablock with fitness-centric features. In fact, the wearable can track a myriad of sports and give you useful insights into the same. To name a few, the device is more than adept at tracking treks, trail runs, obstacle races, triathlons, Tennis / Squash sessions, Open water swims, HIIT workouts, and much, much more. 

Needless to say, the unit’s fitness tracking chops will suffice for ardent gym-goers or fitness fanatics too. I personally used the wearable to track my steps, runs, and strength training workouts, to which the unit overturned superb insights with good accuracy. On one particular occasion, the unit refused to register my reps when I was rushing through a barbell curl. 

As such, I had to pace myself and complete the motion in its entirety to register a proper set. Suffice it to say, the wearable doesn’t just provide insights on the calories burnt, but can also help you better your stance and posture when you’re working out. I had no qualms with the wearable’s step-tracking prowess either. The device didn’t factor in any ghost steps and overturned an accurate analysis of my daily step tally. 

The watch mapped my runs precisely too. But, before I talk about that, you should know that the Instinct 2X Solar is backed by a handful of GNSS systems, including GPS, GLONASS, and GALILEO.

Additionally, the wearable supports multi-frequency or multi-band positioning, which allows the watch to latch on to the GPS signal quickly and accurately. And, the proof is in the pudding too. In fact, the wearable could attain a GPS signal in under three seconds when I was running a track in my apartment complex. Quite frankly, I’ve never used a watch with snappier GPS monitoring.

That’s not all; you don’t need to take your phone to map your runs. In fact, the Instinct 2X Solar’s built-in GPS is reliable enough and should be able to map your sprints accurately.

Additionally, the wearable analyzed a slew of metrics pertaining to my run, including my cadence, average pace, heart rate, best pace, average and maximum speeds, and the distance traversed. While the stats can seem overwhelming, you can refer to the Garmin Connect app and consume them in the form of digestible and intuitive graphs, which is excellent.

Honestly, this is but the tip of the iceberg of the Instinct 2X Solar’s capabilities. Funnily enough, although the watch is geared toward diehard athletes participating in treks and triathlons routinely, you can also import your favorite golf courses on the watch and take it for a spin on a leisurely afternoon. In essence, Instinct 2X Solar’s feature set can benefit the majority of folks out there. 

8 – How long does the Instinct 2X Solar last? 

The Instinct 2X Solar offers indefinite battery life, provided you can use it outside for three hours per day in 50,000 lux conditions. The brand also claims that the wearable can go up to 40 days in smartwatch mode.

Now, as someone who works from home, I didn’t quite meet the company’s three-hour quota to maximize the Instinct 2X Solar’s battery backup. Moreover, while the watch will not last me 40 days, it offers enough juice to keep my battery anxiety at bay. 

In fact, as of writing this review, I have been using the wearable for eight days. Currently, the watch has 36 percent juice in the tank, which per the wearable’s estimates, should last me 15 more days.

For anyone curious, the wearable has been buzzing my wrists all week and is relaying notifications from my phone in a timely fashion. Additionally, I am also using the watch to track my workouts. Factoring everything in, I’d be more than content if the watch could last me 20 days on a single charge. 

If anything, the wearable ships with a proprietary charging port, so you will have to carry an extra cable when you’re traveling.

9 – Should you buy the Garmin Instinct 2X Solar?

To cut a long story short, the Garmin Instinct 2X Solar is a fantastic wearable that is suited for most folks. If you can stomach the unit’s pricey MRP, the Instinct 2X Solar will not leave you wanting more, thanks to its excellent suite of fitness-tracking and health-monitoring features.

That said, buyers who want a watch with a smaller dial and can make do without the 2X Solar’s flashlight feature can consider opting for the Instinct 2 Solar as well.