Customer Reviews for Garmin - tactix 8 Solar GPS Smartwatch 51 mm Fiber-reinforced polymer with titanium rear cover - Black - (2025)
Customer Rating
4
Awesome watch
on August 7, 2026
Posted by: DM11B
Watch is awesome! I wish you could rotate the display, so the flashlight doesn’t blind me I wear the watch face in and the flashlight should be red and IR it’s a tactical watch
Overall I am enjoying the watch but the solar charging appears to be overrated. I have had to charge with the power charger several times despite having the watch in sunlight for hours at a time. Not sure how accurate the solar description is?? I also thought I would be able to communicate through my phone connection rather than just receive notifications.
I live in Florida so having a watch that can be solar charged is really a great idea. I had to initally charge it per the directions, but have not needed to do so again with daily wear. I also have a iwatch because I own a iPhone and I will say that the Garmin took a little getting use to, but I love them both for different reasons.
A couple weeks in and very pleased so far. I know I am not using all the functionality yet but it has been an excellent replacement for the Tactix Delta it replaced. Greater health insights, surprisingly comfortable band, and lighter. Haven’t used ballistics yet. Love I can interface with my trolling motor.
Very happy with this watch so many features that it will be a long time before I master them all, I mainly bought it for use with the AB Quantium app and it works great for this use. The only things I would love to see would be a more colorful display like the Amoled display and the addition of solar to said display lastly would be the solar to charge the watch faster!! Garmin definitely outdid themselves in digital watches!!
I bought it a few weeks ago and I love how streamlined it is. Plus it looks so sleek. The features are easy to use and navigate and the upgrades from the last Tactix are phenomenal.
So far the watch seems ok. The user interface is ok, but a little clunky. It has a ton of great features. The GPS connectivity is a little spotty and the battery is good, but seems to be a 2 to one as far as how many days it says it will last versus actual useable time. The NV function is solid.