Garmin Instinct

I've had this watch for four months and it's exactly what I was looking for

Pros

1. It's not afraid of dirt, water or damage. I've hiked all day in the snow and rain and also worked on my vehicles with no sign of wear.

2. The GPS tracks all of my hikes and hunts and Garmin Connect provides mileage, time and elevation feedback and also an export feature to show me how much mileage I put in for each species I hunt and also feedback on my local runs and walks.

3. The watch provides sunrise and sunset, altitude and barometric pressure easily.

4. It tracks my weightlifting workouts, too, which I wasn't expecting.

5. It notifies me of messages, calls, calendar events and, through Garmin Earthmate, messages from my InReach Explorer.

6. Using Garmin Explore, or just the watch itself, I can backtrack my route.

7. It tracks my steps and so much more.

8. The battery will last a week while still tracking workouts, running, walking and strength training daily.

Cons

1. While I have yet to get the advertised 14 hours of battery life while tracking hikes or hunts, it get 10 hours easily. I've learned to charge it during my lunch break (with a portable charger), though, so I don't really have a concern there.

2. There was a period of time where the Garmin Explore map app was not syncing with the watch, so I was unable to backtrack using the watch during that period. That had been resolved.

I wore G-shocks for decades so, basically, I was looking for a watch with military grade durability and geared towards navigation and I got exactly what I was looking for with the benefit of just the smartwatch capabilities that I wanted.

Super solid and easy to learn if you are an experienced Garmin user like me. I found the HR less accurate than the chest strap - seems to be slow to respond to fluctuations. I like having the smart watch functions that give you read outs on total calories, steps, sleep quantity, and quality, etc. It's also nice to use in a pinch for ride if you don't want to mess with a chest strap or a separate computer.

I own the Fenix and Forerunner also and the Instinct is my favorite. The battery life is great and it is very comfortable. The watch does everything I need it to. It looks great and the bands are very easy to replace. So far very durable as well.

I did not realize a watch could provide as much information as it does. I can't wait to try it while hiking or cycling. Great buy for what it does. It probably does more than I can figure out.