Customer reviews from Garmin
Garmin - Instinct 2S Solar 40 mm Smartwatch Fiber-reinforced Polymer - Neo Tropic - (2022)
Average customer rating
4.3
(175 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 175 reviews
5 Stars
110
4 Stars
36
3 Stars
10
2 Stars
5
1 Star
14
Customer Reviews for Garmin - Instinct 2S Solar 40 mm Smartwatch Fiber-reinforced Polymer - Neo Tropic - (2022)
Customer Rating
5
Great Outside Watch
on May 5, 2026
Posted by: Solar review
I've had this Watch for a few months now and love it more than my Venu 2 watch. Even though the Screen is not touch screen like the Venu.i feel this is better for outside use since i can see the display screen while running in the sun. The Venu watch was hard to see while outside and make it difficult to mark my activities. It easy to navigate and accurately keeps track of my steps, activities, stress, sleep ect. It always stays paired to my phone and takes only a few hours to fully charge. I think this is an awesome watch and i would recommend it to anyone wanting to use Garmin.
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
2
Battery not made to last as expected for price.
on May 4, 2026
Posted by: mom4life
The watch was great initially, loved the many features, but now the battery life is so short that I am quite dissatisfied. I used to go for days with use of GPS tracked activity including kayaking for hours, now if I use GPS activity tracking for an hour run it won't last the next day. For this price I would expect the battery to last longer. I understand all lithium batteries eventually start failing but I feel this is way too soon to have this significant of a battery issue.
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
5
3 yrs later and my Solar Instinct is a perfect
on January 13, 2026
Posted by: kingmaxler
My Solar Instinct has been invaluable to me for me reasons. I purchased it at the end of 2022 to wear during my Pacific Crest Trail hike. I am a 65 year old female, 62 when I started my through hike on the PCT. I now live on my son's goat farm and work outside in rain and sun. I milk the 100+ female goats and muck out barns. This watch has endured the harsh conditions like a champion. It has never failed me. I use it for monitoring my sleep, heart rate, steps taken, weather, date, time, reading my phone text, alarms and souch more. It holds a charge for days. I have even answered my phone calls using it. I use it to find my phone many, many times. I am a big fan. I wear 24 hours a day. I luuuuuuuvvvv this smart watch highly recommend it!!??
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
5
Nice watch and sports tracker
on January 8, 2026
Posted by: Steve1072
I’m enjoying the watch. Great battery life. I track walks and hikes with watch ( I have an edge 840 for Mtb rides, my main hobby). I like all the stats available in the connect app on phone too!
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
1
Terrible
on December 9, 2025
Posted by: Konadog
I bought this watch because I liked the battery life and sleep tracking. Unfortunately I could not figure out how to work this watch - I was pushing all the buttons all the time trying to get a workout tracker going, I think eventually I hit the right button, but the second night I wore the watch, it didn’t track my sleep. I don’t know if I accidentally disabled it, but it was so infuriating to try to use this watch that I just wanted to throw it against the wall. Do yourself a favor and get an easier to operate watch.
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
5
on October 5, 2025
Posted by: Kelsey H
Absolutely love this watch. I wear it almost every day, even when I'm not doing outdoor activities. I especially appreciated Garmin making a smaller version, because some of these tracking smartwatches are just giant on smaller wrists. This one does allllmost everything the big ones do, without feeling obtrusive.
Written by a customer while visiting ExpertVoice.com
Customer Rating
5
on September 30, 2025
Posted by: Phil K
I don't think I'd bother getting the solar version if they continue making that as an option, when you're actually active it seems nearly impossible to actually take advantage of that. The rest of the watch does exactly what I wanted, without too much other junk to worry about. Basically just wanted something to record basic health info and track mountain bike rides and it does both of those well.
Written by a customer while visiting ExpertVoice.com
Customer Rating
4
Poor readability.
on September 26, 2025
Posted by: Lisa Mo
I bought the Instinct 2S Solar several weeks ago and am still fumbling through settings on the watch! The small brochure that came with it was of little help. I had to watch some YouTube videos to set some of the less basic settings. Not intuitively designed!
The other issue is the tiny script. I’m a young 60 and wear readers, but not in the pool- some tweaks to background lighting and increases font size would be helpful. While I know there is a learning curve, I am generally a quick study. This watch is a bit frustrating, hence the 4/5 stars!! Could also be some glare on the watch face. Visibility is my main issue.
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin