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Earlier this month (July 6) Garmin released a range of new Garmin Instinct Solar watches with variants called Surf, Tactical and Camo.

What’s New?

Garmin introduced its Solar Glass tech on the Fenix 6x Pro Solar last year. This increases the battery longevity for a considerable amount of time, by drawing energy from direct sunlight. This technology advancement has also been shared with the new range of Garmin Instinct Solar watches:

Garmin Instinct

The weather conditions are influential on how much of a boost you get. It will get a little charge if left indoors, but the most beneficial environment is direct sunlight. The tech itself is a new addition to the Insti nct which explains why the cost has gone up marginally. Specifically, it’s meant the incorporation of photovoltaic cells. Two, to be precise. One lives in a strip surrounding the watch face and the second covers the watch face from underneath the glass. This physical modification is not without cost.

To make this technology work, there isn’t any kind of advanced battery life management needed. It’s possible to use a pre-set battery mode which turns certain battery-draining features off, like GPS. You can tailor your own battery profile to suit what you need.

Garmin have also introduced a new screen that enables battery management by way of giving you data on how the charging of the battery has been working in the background.

Shared specification

The overall size of the three variants are the same: 45 x 45 x 15.3 mm and all weigh 53g.

They offer 100m water-resistance.

The battery life is unparalleled thanks to solar power. This military-standard sportswatch is the toughest watch on the market. It has built-in sports apps and smartwatch capabilities to deliver your notifications on your wrist for up to 54 days in this mode.

This watch has been specifically designed for endurance. It has a reinforced polymer case which has been through chemical strengthening. It’s also highly scratch-resistant thanks to the use of Gorilla Glass on the face.

The design offers a highly contrasted display with a subtle colour case. It’s made to differ from classic smartwatches and the boldness really comes through.

Levels of sun exposure impact just how much of a boost you’ll get out of the battery life. The variety of settings and sensors will have an impact too. You can tailor how you use the watch to get the most out of it.

You can make the most of pre-loaded sports modes for activities like running, hiking, swimming, biking, rowing, weight lifting and more.

Sensors

It’ll monitor your heart rate and provide notifications if your heart rates rises too high or drops too low at any point. It’ll monitor how hard its working during a session, even when underwater.

For accurate sleep and altitude acclimation monitoring, the Instinct Solar(s) have a Pulse OX2 sensor that uses light beamed directly at your wrist to get an idea of how effectively your body absorbs oxygen.

It uses your heart rate to cleverly work out a stress level score. You’ll know if your physiology matches your mood; calm, stressed or anything in between.

If you’re constantly tired, this watch is going to be your new best friend. It’ll optimise the energy level in your body by calculating your stress levels, sleep and heart rate variability throughout the day. It’ll crunch this data to tell you if you’re at a prime time for being active or if you need a rest. Of course this doesn’t replace listening to your own body, but it’s a really helpful tool.

GPS

You can have unadulterated access to global navigation systems – GLONASS, Galileo and good old-fashioned GPS.

Combine your pin-point accurate location capabilities with navigation using the ABC sensors. These include an altimeter to tell you elevation information, a three-axis compass and a barometer to let you know if there are any storms ahead.

Essentially, the Instinct is a powerful friend who takes the guesswork away. You can make a smooth return journey using the navigation features and land right back where you started.

You can get your notifications delivered along the way too. Text, emails and various social media alerts. You will need your phone in your pocket for this, though.

If you’re really heading into the wilderness, with the addition of an InReach device, you can get weather alerts, send messages and, should the worst happen, send an SOS message to a dedicated emergency team available 24/7.

Garmin Instinct Solar Tactical

This version is built for those on a mission of endurance. It’ll be a faithful companion as you go, regardless of how far you go.

You can go between nighttime and daytime mode using its special screen which can be read using night vision goggles.

Flip the watch into stealth mode means the watch will quit broadcasting your GPS location as well as disabling the wireless connection and therefore communication.

If, however, you want people to know your location you can share it with others. This is done via use of a UTM (Universal transverse Mercator) plus an MGRS (military grid reference system). You’ll always be able to find your way back to a given location, which you can mark before you start a trip.

Garmin Instinct Solar Surf

If, in particular, your chosen adventures are in the ocean, you’ll love the Surf version of the Instinct Solar. This variant offers you specific tide data and in addition to the surf sports mode, offers dedicated surf-specific activities.

You can focus on the tide knowing your Instinct battery is going to last and last.

Garmin Instinct Solar Camo

The Camo has all the awesome features of this military-grade watch but comes in specific camouflage colours available only in this variant line.

Conclusion

There’s a lot going on under the Power Glass hood of the Instinct Solar. It has Garmin’s impeccable sports tracking capabilities as well as being able to customise your own modes to follow on your wrist. It has a superb breadcrumb navigation feature meaning you can focus on enjoying your surroundings knowing you’ll be lead right back to where you started. The Garmin Instinct Solar watches are the perfect companion for any outdoor lover, on land or sea.

This could be the defining multisport watch of 2020. The Garmin Fenix 6x Pro Solar makes a big impact but has a lightweight touch being made from titanium. It carries every app and sensor you might possibly need inside, too.

The Garmin Fenix 6x Pro Solar takes the lead of the 6x thanks to the injection of solar charging. It quite literally does everything under the sun.

Background

The Garmin Fenix 6x Pro Solar is like the Swiss Army Knife of multisport watches. With the natural development in technology, we see more and more functions on sportswatches. On this 51mm beast, you can track your general fitness as well as utilising coaching towards specific goals like marathon running or other fitness indications toward your health. This could be recovery time or VO2 max. If you’re connected via Bluetooth or Wifi, you can make the most of entertainment apps like Amazon Prime Music, Deezer or Spotify.

This isn’t really a sportswatch, it’s a fitness tracking weapon! Keen athletes with a penchant for the outdoors will love this. It packs in a bunch of training and navigation features as well as those nifty entertainment apps.

You might be sweating thinking about the battery life, hearing about all this? Here’s the innovation. The addition of solar charging has lengthened the battery life beyond expectation.

6X Pro Solar VS 6 Pro

You might be wondering what the difference is between the Solar and its predecessor? The Solar has really built on the already incredible variety of sensors and algorithmic abilities.

The 6x Pro Solar and 6 Pro are both able to deliver maps and music. They also both offer training coaches, and heart rate monitoring through the companion app.

The Solar has swapped out the previous steel case for a lightweight titanium. This has shaved a few grams off the weight. The clear difference is the battery life, thanks to the addition of Garmin Power Glass.

The quality of the build on the Solar is exceptional. The use of titanium and Torx screws give it a real rugged look. Garmin advertises that the Power Glass is scratch-resistant, but it’s not made from sapphire glass, there’s only so many knocks it can take before it’ll give in. Sadly, you can’t have both.

The screen also isn’t a touchscreen, which is why you get five buttons on it. They’re labelled, though, which users say is handy for getting right to using the watch and not spending days pressing the wrong buttons.

The ‘quick-fit’ straps are welcomed. They release with the touch of a button. They’re technically a dive watch and the silicone wristband keeps the HR monitor in place snugly.

The look is not at all subtle. Once you consider what comes inside this 51mm animal, you shouldn’t ever expect it to be sleek.

Battery Life

The most important feature to discuss. The Solar is bringing an AK47 to a knife fight. If used as a smartwatch, you’ll get 21 days. Perhaps GPS is what you’re relying on for a big adventure, you’ll get 60 hours. If the watch is getting a feed of direct sunlight, though, it’ll get a boost from this. This boost will take you to an astonishing 46 days when in expedition mode. To put that into perspective, that’s a trip up and down Everest.

In terms of harvesting the sunlight, it can absorb some when indoors but unsurprisingly the best impact comes from being outside.

Different modes offer different battery life length. It all depends on what modes you’re using and how hard you’re smashing the apps.

21 – 24 days as a smartwatch
60 – 66 hours in GPS mode
15-16 hours using GPS and listening to music
46 – 56 days in expedition mode (including GPS)
Up to 120 days in battery saving mode

It offers an astronomical amount of sports, algorithmic calculations and sensors. Listing them would take too long, but it covers a lot of pre-loaded activities from trail running, biking, hiking, swimming and even golfing. The latter uses the map settings in a similar way to the skiing mode, but the latter offers turn-by-turn navigation. They really have considered what’s needed from the user during the specific sport. During running, for example, it’ll monitor your VO2 max based on your changing altitude.

Maybe you think that’s overkill? If you’re overwhelmed with the options, you can easily manage this data with the companion app. You can load a likely profile, or multiple profiles and upload those to your watch. By pressing a button you enter your bespoke list. The app will provide you with granular detail which you can choose to learn from.

Activity Tracking and Accuracy

Garmin has always been great at accurate activity tracking. The heart rate monitor on a Garmin has always been great at monitoring and the GPS has been able to pick up the location within a few yards. This isn’t a new thing, but they have certainly spent considerable time developing their sensors from previous models.

The Solar will display up to 6 data fields on-screen during a given activity. You’re able to pick these from the menu. Things like pace and cadence, lap times and heart rate.

Verdict

The Fenix 6x Pro Solar isn’t unique, but it’s certainly refined. Garmin has gathered the best bits of their other models and integrated them together. You get everything you need quickly and easily.

The downside might be that it’s very data-heavy, maybe to the detriment of the user. You might not need sleep tracking, hydration checks and stress monitoring. It all depends on your needs.

Otherwise, the onboard coach, sensors, exceptional battery life and ability to connect your Bluetooth headphones for hours of music on an accurately-tracked run make this Solar watch an absolute winner.

Garmin Instinct Solar Watches – Surf Solar, Tactical Solar, Camo Solar