Comparisons

Garmin 010-01769-21 vs Garmin Instinct Solar

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Garmin 010-01769-21Garmin Instinct Solar
Title Garmin 010-01769-21 Vivoactive 3, GPS Smartwatch with Contactless Payments and Built-in Sports Apps, White/SilverGarmin Instinct Solar, Solar-Powered Rugged Outdoor Smartwatch, Built-in Sports Apps and Health Monitoring, Dark Blue (010-02293-11)
Model Garmin
010-01769-21
Garmin
Instinct Solar

Basic Info

Suggested Price $127.73$383.88
Sale Price Check Price*Check Price*
Release Nov 2017Aug 2020

Overview

DescriptionDo what you love, longer with Instinct Solar. This rugged GPS smartwatch boasts solar charging — giving incredible battery life in smartwatch and Expedition modes while outdoors. Monitor how your body uses energy by tracking heart rate, stress, estimated sleep and Pulse Ox (this is not a medical device and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or monitoring of any medical condition) — which helps give you a better understanding of your health and wellness. Get more out of the sports you love with preloaded activity profiles such as running, biking, swimming and more. Smart notifications (when paired with a compatible smartphone) at the wrist keep you connected to what matters. Multiple global navigation satellite systems (GPS, GLONASS and Galileo) help you track wherever your adventures take you.
Top Features
  • Garmin Pay contact less payment solution lets you pay for purchases with your watch (available for supported cards from participating banks), Display size 1.2 inches in diameter
  • Personalize your watch with thousands of free watch faces, apps and widgets from our Connect IQ store. Glonass, barometric altimeter, compass, accelerometer, thermometer sensors are available
  • More than 15 preloaded GPS and indoor sports apps, including yoga, running, swimming and more; Case material: Fiber reinforced polymer with stainless steel rear cover
  • Monitor your fitness level with VO2 max and fitness made estimates, plus keep an eye on how you handle stress; Memory/history: 7 timed activities, 14 days of activity tracking data
  • Get connected features such as smart notifications, automatic uploads to Garmin connect, LiveTrack and more when paired with a compatible smartphone; Strap material: Silicone
  • Battery life: Up to 7 days in smartwatch mode; 13 hours in GPS mode; Connectivity: Bluetooth Smart and ANT
  • Note: Kinldy refer to the user manual before setting up the product
  • Vastly extended battery life through solar charging
  • Rugged GPS watch is water-rated to 100 meters and constructed to U.S. military standard 810 for thermal, shock and water resistance
  • Built-in 3-axis compass and barometric altimeter plus multiple global navigation satellite systems (GPS, GLONASS and Galileo) track in more challenging environments than GPS alone
  • Track your activities for running, biking, swimming, strength and more
  • Help understand your health and wellness better with all-day health monitoring and Pulse Ox (this is not a medical device and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or monitoring of any medical condition)
  • Monitor how your body uses energy by tracking heart rate, stress and sleep estimates with Body Battery energy monitoring

Reviews

Walmart Rating3.9587 (out of 508 reviews)4.6 (out of 63 reviews)
BestBuy Rating4.8 (out of 18 reviews)
Latest Reviews

Best Price for the watch I wanted
Rating: 5
Substantially lower price than All other stores (Amazon, Macys, Kohls, Target, Best Buy) at that time. I liked this watch as I already had one that I bought 2 yrs ago. These were gifts. Short of Apple Garmin makes best smart watches.
by Muhammed on 2020-04-07T17:00:00

Best Price
Rating: 5
Substantially lower price than All other stores (Amazon, Macys, Kohls, Target, Best Buy) at that time. I liked this watch as I already had one that I bought 2 yrs ago. These were gifts. Short of Apple Garmin makes best smart watches.
by Muhammed on 2020-04-07T17:00:00


Rating: 5
Its good quality and accurate Even easy to use of all work out and features
by Mersedeh on 2020-09-16T17:00:00

Excellent investment
Rating: 5
Is a excellent device, is multi functional and beauty I very happy with the purchase.
by MAURICIO on 2020-01-08T16:00:00


Rating: 5
Love it. More motivation to get fit.
by bihshya on 2020-05-08T17:00:00

Great product
Rating: 5
Watch is awesome and a great price! Would highly recommend to anyone!
by Jarvis on 2020-05-03T17:00:00

Great value, great product!
Rating: 4
Super easy to set up and super easy to use! Would recommend for a first smart watch. I got it for my sister and she loves being able to see how fast she is walking/running. The only issue is the steps are not 100% accurate, it is a little sensitive when in a bouncy car. The touch screen is amazing. I myself have the Fennix 5s and I find it looks similar. I love the metal around the face, makes it look way more expensive than it is. Great value! Get one before they are not available anymore.
by Shannyn on 2020-09-01T17:00:00


Rating: 4
it's great but Garmin needs to get it together as far as tech. watch looses downloads and won't connect to app because app is always broken. So if you have a favorite watch screen and their website goes down your watch screen goes away. just FYI
by Christina on 2020-08-01T17:00:00


Rating: 3
I give it 3 stars as it was not what I personally was looking for. For an average user, this doesn't really log steps correctly. I had some steps log while sitting at my desk. I had very few steps log while mowing my lawn. When I went out for a walk it registered steps almost exactly as I counted. So, I think there are some sensors that have to play together to make this work correctly. I did play with the GPS function and this is where it excelled. It tracked the precise location of my trek. I think this watch is more for a bicycler or runner. I ended up returning it, as I am neither one of those.
by TomasJ on 2020-09-21T17:00:00

Wrist Band Causes Blisters and Keeps Odor
Rating: 2
I started with a Vivofit 3 as a beginner hiker and wanted an upgraded watch that could track sleep, heart rate, workouts, and GPS location. This watch met all the criteria but after wearing it normally as I would with the Vivofit 3, there was this awful odor the band absorbed. The wrist band gave me blistering so I have been switching wrists. After reading the Garmin forums I have been following regime where I rise the band and watch once a week to keep the odor and blistering at bay. Overall, its a great watch but the band needs better product development to avoid the cleaning regime so much.
by Victoria on 2020-06-22T17:00:00

Sturdy, functional, fully featured
Rating: 5
I switched from a Fenix 5 Plus... mainly for these reasons: - Solar-Charging - Underwater Heartrate - Pulse-Ox - Monochrome Display I could have upgraded to the newer fenix 6 pro solar to get most of these features above, but the Instinct Solar has, in my opinion a few advantages: - price... lets face it, technology evolves and in two years you probably want the newer model ... the fenix for that is a tad too expensive. - Monochrome Display... the thing offers a far better readability in adverse light conditions in comparison to the colour model in my opinion - larger 100% Solar panel ... You loose the VO2Max... which I truly don't understand why (garmin, if you're listening, SW-Update please - please add VO2max to the Instinct) You loose the full maps... the maps on the fenix are cool - but I don't use them that much, so this wasn't a huge deal. The menus structure and overall interface design on the Instinct is excellent... I think if you're looking for an affordable, rugged, well designed and extremely versatile sports/smart-watch and like the "G-shock" styling - the Instinct is hard to pass on.
by D-G1 on 2020-08-24T17:00:00

Great watch overall!
Rating: 5
Very happy I went with the instinct solar! Battery life is amazing. Coming from the Apple Watch I was concerned but it does all I need it to do plus I don't need to charge daily. Personally for work outs, and hiking/running the Garmin Connect app is amazing.
by Deke23 on 2020-08-10T17:00:00

Great watch!
Rating: 5
Love this watch. Only had it for a short amount of time but so far getting a really positive first impression. Very comfortable and intuitive to use. Setup was easy and it paired with my inreach mini. The connect app is fun to look at on my iPhone to review the data from each day. Looking forward to taking this watch on adventures!
by Cojacks on 2020-08-13T17:00:00

Insane battery
Rating: 5
I have tried a lot of smartwatches and was using wearOS watch to track activities for a while. I hated that the daily routine of charging the watch. Getting instinct solar was a game-changer. I charge my watch about once in two weeks with about 30 mins of GPS usage daily. I have been following Garmin Coach 10k plan which is super fun. I rarely take the watch off. It's super light so it is not annoying to sleep with. Love this watch.
by sem.udit on 2020-08-09T17:00:00

Lots of information
Rating: 5
Had it for about 2 weeks now and it makes accessing health data easy. I'm not yet saying it will replace a cycling computer, but not far off. Battery life is better than most competitors from what I can tell. The ergonomics of its buttons takes some getting used to, but that's also due to its broad capabilities.
by lesdunham on 2020-08-10T17:00:00

I Am Very Pleased with my New Instinct Solar
Rating: 5
I have had two different FitBit watches and the Galaxy Watch and the Galaxy 2 Watch. The Instinct Solar is my favorite. I like that it is easy to read in all conditions. I am particularly pleased that with the accuracy and consistency of the heartrate monitor, which is quite important to me. I also like that I can turn off the things I have no interest in using like text notifications and phone calls. I just use the watch as a watch and a fitness tracker that is it. That is all I want. The battery life is terrific. I don't know what the maximum life is, but it is way over a week. It has been over a week since I charged it last and it is reading that I have 11 days left.
by aktrout on 2020-08-09T17:00:00

Great battery life
Rating: 4
I love the watch. Had it for one week and still cannot believe the things it can do. The apps that go with it a really good as well. I would give it a 5 str rating except for the manual which does not appear to be up to date with the watch. Some things I just cannot figure out how to get them operating properly. I recommend this watch.
by Orangie on 2020-09-14T17:00:00

Mostly Perfect, Except For One Flaw
Rating: 4
I love many things about the Instinct Solar, but my 51 year old eyes HATE the small and, for me, useless round window on the face. I wish Garmin would ditch it in lieu of something more customize-able. There is simply no data field I can put in there that I can use. That said, I basically LOVE everything else about it. The battery life is awesome, and navigation is easy. It's nearly perfect, but I'm simply not going to run with readers on so that I can see the tiny data field.
by krusty505 on 2020-08-21T17:00:00

Wonder watch!
Rating: 4
I wore another watch (Timex) for many years. In the last year the need arose for a watch to also measure heart rate and steps. I looked at an Apple Watch but it is only partially waterproof, and only has a short time between battery recharging. My new Garmin Instinct Solar can hold a charge for up to 27 days. It was a no brain decision.
by Will80 on 2020-08-10T17:00:00

HR Monitor Died In Less Than A Month
Rating: 1
I've faithfully used an old school Garmin since 2011 and was excited to take my training to the next level with the ability to customize workouts, and monitor my heart rate. Worked well for about 3 weeks, and then I started noticing inconsistent readings during my past couple of runs. I was aware that wrist HRM can be accurate for an entire run, but take time to adjust during quick fluctuations of running intensity. Was just about to order a chest HRM to get that level of accuracy with my interval training when I noticed the wrist HRM just stopped working altogether. I checked the manual, double-checked my settings, recharged the watch, and even reset the system. Sorry to have to return this, but if the HRM doesn't work then defeats the main purpose of having this watch.
by Noe777 on 2020-09-13T17:00:00

All Features

Web ID5246967
releaseNov 2017Aug 2020
ColourDark Blue
DepartmentUnisex-adult
Included ComponentsInstinct Solar; Charging/data cable; Documentation
Date First AvailableJuly 8, 2020
Item model number010-02293-11
Other display featuresWireless
Batteries1 Lithium Polymer batteries required. (included)
Item Weight5.6 ounces
SensorsAccelerometer
Battery Strength IndicatorYes
Dust ResistantYes
Display TypeMIP LCD
Color DisplayNo
Form FactorWristwatch
Backlit DisplayYes
Metrics MeasuredAltitude changes
Music PlayerNo
Battery TypeLithium-ion
Charging Interface(s)USB
Touch ScreenNo
Manufacturer's Warranty - Parts1-year limited consumer
Maximum Wrist Size8.8 inches
Multi-Sport TrackingYes
Maximum Depth of Water Resistance330 feet
RechargeableYes
Product SetInstinct Solar
Wi-Fi CompatibilityWireless N
SeriesInstinct Solar
Minimum Wrist Size5.2 inches
Mobile NotificationsYes
Case MaterialPlastic
Bluetooth EnabledYes
Band MaterialSilicone
Global PositioningGPS
NFC TechnologyNo
Color CategoryBlue
Model Number010-02293-11
Operating System CompatibilityAndroid
Water ResistantYes
Replaceable BatteryNo
Internal CarrierNot Applicable
Product NameGarmin Instinct® Solar Rugged GPS Smartwatch 45mm Tidal Blue
Display ScreenYes
Manufacturer's Warranty - Labor1-year limited consumer
BrandGarmin
Adjustable BrightnessYes
App CompatibleYes
Product TypeSmartwatch

More Information

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