The beautiful siren song of the Instinct 2x always calls me back. What a great device. RUMOR has it on the grapevine that the Instinct 3 will be revealed this month but, as always, time will tell. I'm willing to bet that whenever we finally see the Instinct 3, it will essentially be a Fenix 7-series with an Elevate 5 HR sensor. Gimme nap tracking and I'll be a happy dude. Always a pleasure to see your wholesome tech content!
Thank you, and yeah, 2024 may be quite the year for Garmin gadgets... ⌚⌚⏰⌚⌚ And I am more excited about a new Instinct 3 than the rumors about the Fēnix 8.0 😁
Solar powered watches are a great idea. I’m wondering when the battery on my regular watch will stop working. I asked AI to write a song about solar power: Yo, listen up, let me share a tale, 'Bout a power source that's truly prevail, It's solar, the one that shines so bright, Clean energy, day and night, it's a delight! Chorus: Solar power, it's the way to go, Renewable energy, you should know, Harnessing the sun's rays, so pure and true, A sustainable future, that's what we pursue! Verse 2: Panels on the roof, converting light, Into electricity, a beautiful sight, No emissions, no pollution, no noise, Just clean energy, making joyous noise! Chorus: Solar power, it's the way to go, Renewable energy, you should know, Harnessing the sun's rays, so pure and true, A sustainable future, that's what we pursue! Verse 3: From homes to cars, solar's on the rise, A green revolution, opening eyes, Jobs and growth, a booming industry, A brighter tomorrow, for you and me! Chorus: Solar power, it's the way to go, Renewable energy, you should know, Harnessing the sun's rays, so pure and true, A sustainable future, that's what we pursue! Outro: So let's embrace, this solar vibe, A better world, we'll thrive, Shine on, solar power, shine on! 🌞💫
Yes, there is another different, the Forerunner 955 does have faster navigation and it is a prettier timepiece when I compare both on my wrists. Thank you for clicking on by..
That’s what I’m thinking solar is more of a gimmick but if you are on a marathon full sun I could see it useful stopping drainage from the battery life As for charging better off plugging it in 3% on the instinct not bad but 1% from the forerunner 955 😅 I’m not having much faith in solar charging Not forgetting batteries hate heat 😅 👏thank you for the research and info Pete 🙌
Yeah, solar watches have been floating my boat since the 1980s when I was sporting a solar calculator watch 🤓 I will have to look through my photo albums and see if I have a photograph of Younger Me rocking that precise timepiece. As for the Instinct 2X Solar watch, yeah, when it is on person in direct sunlight the temperature 🌡️ stays around skin temperature plus a few degrees. After reading the Garmin manual and learning from my own experiences, nope, sun bathing a smartwatch is NOT 🚫 a good idea. Yet, when I was cycling with the Instinct 2X Solar last spring, summer, and fall, oh yeah, it was barely losing any battery 🔋 life with the opportune positioning while cycling. I even planned my cycling round to take advantage of the sun's position to augment the Solar Charging. Spring 🌱🌼 is nearly year in Utah and I am itching to get back on my TREK road bike 🚲 for the exercise and further solar battery tests!
I tend to agree for smart watches. Like Peter says solar totally works great for actual dumb watches. I'm a big fan of Casio's and Citizen's functionality. I just think that smart watches' power requirements are too much for it to be much help currently. I'm literally in the sunshine State and I think one time after spending a whole day out I actually hit that 50,000 luxe hour goal. It takes a lot of effort and I think Peter's right that it's mainly going to be like endurance athletes or campers, for people who work outside in construction or roofing or something that can pull it off. Kind of disappointing but I feel like the instant series is the closest to doing it right.
Thanks for your positive comment about Solar Charing when it comes to watches. It is a fun feature to test, I plan to buy at least one more solar charging watch in 2024, and with the right timepiece, yes, solar panels are a huge feature. For the Garmin Fenix 7X Pro, Fenix 7X, and the Fenix 6X, yeah, it was more of a gimmick...
Yeah, I really wanted a Garmin device with naps so I bought a Vivoactive 5 in addition to my Instinct 2x. The nap feature is really cool. I sure am hoping theywill bring it to the instinct 3
Bummer news... I bought mine when it was first released and before nap tracking was a thing by Garmin. It sure would be nice if they allowed ALL Garmin watches to track naps 😴💤💤
I think that solar charging logging is important, but I want to see reports by Garmin how much battery life was gained at the end of each day if I had a solar watch 😁
Yes, a simple report at the end of the day that tells the Users you gained 170Lx hours of sunlight, your watch used 2% battery life, but with solar charging your gained 4% battery life. Weekly and monthly reports would a sweet bonus...
@@PeterHerget per dc rainmaker ... One key difference though between the Fenix 7 Solar series and the Forerunner 955 is that the FR955 won’t show the exact gains number, whereas the Fenix 7 will. This lack of gains number is identical to how it works on the Instinct Solar series, but in that case Garmin said the reason that metric was missing was due to a difference in the underlying power components.
Interesting, yeah, DC Rainmaker really knows his watches. I don't have a lot of experience with the Forerunner models and plan to test more soon. The lack of gains does not appear to be a huge deal breaker in my opinion.
Yeah, the solar charging was not intended to replaced an outlet connected to the OEM Garmin charging cable, yes, I agree. And yet, I find the solar charging log files to be fascinating and want Garmin to do more with them in 2024.
I gave your comment further thought and I disagree. I was able to wear the exact same watch, a Garmin Instinct 2X solar in flaming red, for 88 days without running to search for my charging cable. And this was done averaging about 90 minutes of direct sunlight daily. And on days when I was utilizing heavy GPS, yes, even more sunlight (free solar charging) was achieved. I have found outdoor cycling is one of the best sports for both GPS & solar charging simultaneously. If Garmin did not intend for Users like me to use this Instinct 2X solar to reach "infinity" battery life, well... nope, that verbiage would not still be in the manual in the the wearable description. Now, if you disagree as it pertains to the 955 Solar, a quite different Forerunner wearable, yeah, it was only designed to have its solar panels compliment power-cable charging every two weeks. All in all I did like the Forerunner 955 slightly better than the Instinct 2X solar, but the lack of solar-charging logging bothered me too much and I sent it back. Garmin gave me an opportunity to purchase it for 20% off, but I declined.
@@PeterHerget That's very interesting! Thanks so much for sharing your experience. I'm very glad it's not as gimmicky as many others have made it out to be. I'm sure they just aren't getting enough quality sun time for it to make this sort of difference.
I have not tried the Instinct Range. But, yes, the Instinct 2X Solar that I've been wearing is one of my favorite watches. The only thing it is missing is those fun Body Battery factor scores.
How did you get 88 days (or even 56 days on 50 something %) on the 2x solar? What sensors are switched off? If I charge mine 100% is 40 days. I've had mine for a week and it's my first smart / gps watch so I'm still learning. Btw, the colorful screen and the map is cool, but I don't need them. I wanted a watch that is rugged, lasts forever and the battery doesn't die on a multi day hike. If I need a map, I use my phone.
It was a complicated test scenario and I have a detailed video that will explain it all. In sort, yeah, it was a lot, a lot of sunlight nearly every day.
The beautiful siren song of the Instinct 2x always calls me back. What a great device. RUMOR has it on the grapevine that the Instinct 3 will be revealed this month but, as always, time will tell. I'm willing to bet that whenever we finally see the Instinct 3, it will essentially be a Fenix 7-series with an Elevate 5 HR sensor. Gimme nap tracking and I'll be a happy dude. Always a pleasure to see your wholesome tech content!
Thank you, and yeah, 2024 may be quite the year for Garmin gadgets... ⌚⌚⏰⌚⌚ And I am more excited about a new Instinct 3 than the rumors about the Fēnix 8.0 😁
Solar powered watches are a great idea. I’m wondering when the battery on my regular watch will stop working.
I asked AI to write a song about solar power:
Yo, listen up, let me share a tale,
'Bout a power source that's truly prevail,
It's solar, the one that shines so bright,
Clean energy, day and night, it's a delight!
Chorus:
Solar power, it's the way to go,
Renewable energy, you should know,
Harnessing the sun's rays, so pure and true,
A sustainable future, that's what we pursue!
Verse 2:
Panels on the roof, converting light,
Into electricity, a beautiful sight,
No emissions, no pollution, no noise,
Just clean energy, making joyous noise!
Chorus:
Solar power, it's the way to go,
Renewable energy, you should know,
Harnessing the sun's rays, so pure and true,
A sustainable future, that's what we pursue!
Verse 3:
From homes to cars, solar's on the rise,
A green revolution, opening eyes,
Jobs and growth, a booming industry,
A brighter tomorrow, for you and me!
Chorus:
Solar power, it's the way to go,
Renewable energy, you should know,
Harnessing the sun's rays, so pure and true,
A sustainable future, that's what we pursue!
Outro:
So let's embrace, this solar vibe,
A better world, we'll thrive,
Shine on, solar power, shine on! 🌞💫
You had CHAT-GTP write me a song? Dang, and thank you for the A.I. detailed comment, lyrics, and pithy comments :)
I agree with you 97% that smart watches are a great idea 👍
97% is good enough ;)
@@PeterHerget And 100% would be great.
I had a lot of lag with the instinct2x. My 955(standard)is way more responsive and was like 50 bucks more than the in2x. It's worth the little extra.
Yes, there is another different, the Forerunner 955 does have faster navigation and it is a prettier timepiece when I compare both on my wrists. Thank you for clicking on by..
That’s what I’m thinking solar is more of a gimmick but if you are on a marathon full sun I could see it useful stopping drainage from the battery life
As for charging better off plugging it in
3% on the instinct not bad but 1% from the forerunner 955 😅
I’m not having much faith in solar charging
Not forgetting batteries hate heat 😅
👏thank you for the research and info Pete 🙌
Yeah, solar watches have been floating my boat since the 1980s when I was sporting a solar calculator watch 🤓 I will have to look through my photo albums and see if I have a photograph of Younger Me rocking that precise timepiece. As for the Instinct 2X Solar watch, yeah, when it is on person in direct sunlight the temperature 🌡️ stays around skin temperature plus a few degrees. After reading the Garmin manual and learning from my own experiences, nope, sun bathing a smartwatch is NOT 🚫 a good idea. Yet, when I was cycling with the Instinct 2X Solar last spring, summer, and fall, oh yeah, it was barely losing any battery 🔋 life with the opportune positioning while cycling. I even planned my cycling round to take advantage of the sun's position to augment the Solar Charging. Spring 🌱🌼 is nearly year in Utah and I am itching to get back on my TREK road bike 🚲 for the exercise and further solar battery tests!
I tend to agree for smart watches. Like Peter says solar totally works great for actual dumb watches. I'm a big fan of Casio's and Citizen's functionality. I just think that smart watches' power requirements are too much for it to be much help currently. I'm literally in the sunshine State and I think one time after spending a whole day out I actually hit that 50,000 luxe hour goal. It takes a lot of effort and I think Peter's right that it's mainly going to be like endurance athletes or campers, for people who work outside in construction or roofing or something that can pull it off. Kind of disappointing but I feel like the instant series is the closest to doing it right.
Thanks for your positive comment about Solar Charing when it comes to watches. It is a fun feature to test, I plan to buy at least one more solar charging watch in 2024, and with the right timepiece, yes, solar panels are a huge feature. For the Garmin Fenix 7X Pro, Fenix 7X, and the Fenix 6X, yeah, it was more of a gimmick...
Note, the instinct 2x does not record naps. This is the main reason I did not buy it and got a 955 instead.
Yeah, I really wanted a Garmin device with naps so I bought a Vivoactive 5 in addition to my Instinct 2x. The nap feature is really cool. I sure am hoping theywill bring it to the instinct 3
Bummer news... I bought mine when it was first released and before nap tracking was a thing by Garmin. It sure would be nice if they allowed ALL Garmin watches to track naps 😴💤💤
I think that solar charging logging is important, but I want to see reports by Garmin how much battery life was gained at the end of each day if I had a solar watch 😁
Yes, a simple report at the end of the day that tells the Users you gained 170Lx hours of sunlight, your watch used 2% battery life, but with solar charging your gained 4% battery life. Weekly and monthly reports would a sweet bonus...
@@PeterHerget per dc rainmaker ... One key difference though between the Fenix 7 Solar series and the Forerunner 955 is that the FR955 won’t show the exact gains number, whereas the Fenix 7 will. This lack of gains number is identical to how it works on the Instinct Solar series, but in that case Garmin said the reason that metric was missing was due to a difference in the underlying power components.
Interesting, yeah, DC Rainmaker really knows his watches. I don't have a lot of experience with the Forerunner models and plan to test more soon. The lack of gains does not appear to be a huge deal breaker in my opinion.
Nice intro of you driving while charging the watches 😎
Thanks 😁 it was a fun video to make all over two days.
In the car with your watches
Yes, I find myself in the car with many gadgets daily, and yep, one watch on each wrist 🤓
Solar is more to prevent normal rate of draining than recharge. So the logging is unlikely to be an issue for most people.
Yeah, the solar charging was not intended to replaced an outlet connected to the OEM Garmin charging cable, yes, I agree. And yet, I find the solar charging log files to be fascinating and want Garmin to do more with them in 2024.
I gave your comment further thought and I disagree. I was able to wear the exact same watch, a Garmin Instinct 2X solar in flaming red, for 88 days without running to search for my charging cable. And this was done averaging about 90 minutes of direct sunlight daily. And on days when I was utilizing heavy GPS, yes, even more sunlight (free solar charging) was achieved. I have found outdoor cycling is one of the best sports for both GPS & solar charging simultaneously. If Garmin did not intend for Users like me to use this Instinct 2X solar to reach "infinity" battery life, well... nope, that verbiage would not still be in the manual in the the wearable description. Now, if you disagree as it pertains to the 955 Solar, a quite different Forerunner wearable, yeah, it was only designed to have its solar panels compliment power-cable charging every two weeks. All in all I did like the Forerunner 955 slightly better than the Instinct 2X solar, but the lack of solar-charging logging bothered me too much and I sent it back. Garmin gave me an opportunity to purchase it for 20% off, but I declined.
@@PeterHerget That's very interesting! Thanks so much for sharing your experience. I'm very glad it's not as gimmicky as many others have made it out to be. I'm sure they just aren't getting enough quality sun time for it to make this sort of difference.
Glad you found it interesting. And yes, solar charging is fun to see directly on the watch.
The instinct range in my opinion is Garmin's best. I'd choose the instinct over fenix all day
I have not tried the Instinct Range. But, yes, the Instinct 2X Solar that I've been wearing is one of my favorite watches. The only thing it is missing is those fun Body Battery factor scores.
How did you get 88 days (or even 56 days on 50 something %) on the 2x solar? What sensors are switched off? If I charge mine 100% is 40 days. I've had mine for a week and it's my first smart / gps watch so I'm still learning.
Btw, the colorful screen and the map is cool, but I don't need them. I wanted a watch that is rugged, lasts forever and the battery doesn't die on a multi day hike. If I need a map, I use my phone.
It was a complicated test scenario and I have a detailed video that will explain it all. In sort, yeah, it was a lot, a lot of sunlight nearly every day.
I'll begin going over the video footage and edit the video this weekend.
@@PeterHerget thank you!
You're welcome, and thank you for watching and commenting.