Customer reviews from Garmin
Garmin - Instinct 3 Solar GPS Smartwatch 50 mm Fiber-reinforced Polymer Tactical Edition - Black - (2025)
Average customer rating
4.4
(12 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 12 reviews
5 Stars
8
4 Stars
3
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
0
1 Star
1
Customer Reviews for Garmin - Instinct 3 Solar GPS Smartwatch 50 mm Fiber-reinforced Polymer Tactical Edition - Black - (2025)
Customer Rating
4
Tons of features!
on July 22, 2025
Posted by: Nick48
Great watch with tons of features! Love the solar. Pretty intuitive to navigate through. Would have given it five stars but I have an issue with the watch restarting when getting into the info portions of some of the apps. Found that when that happens you will lose stored data. Not the end of the world but has happened too many times not to mention it.
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
5
Got me on track!
on July 23, 2025
Posted by: aldayalnite
This thing has changed the game for my fitness and nutrition regime. Can’t wait to get to know it better and truly unlock its potential. Favorite feature so far is rucking and sleep tracking.
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
1
returned
on July 25, 2025
Posted by: SKEENS
Returned a couple days after purchasing. After first charge & setup kept getting low battery alerts and would stitch to power saving mode almost non-stop. After researching issue & contacting support there was an needed update but after several attempts for multiple days it would not take the update. Returned watch & when with something different,
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
5
TOPS
on July 28, 2025
Posted by: Skeeter
Had it for a couple of weeks now and have nothing bad to say about it
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
5
A lot of watch
on August 6, 2025
Posted by: JohnnyRedlight
Love my Instinct 3 Solar Tactical! I have to say it has many more features than I need at this point in my life. I only wish this technology existed when I served in the military.
Great watch! Love it!
Great watch! Love it!
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
5
Great Watch with a Great Battery Life
on August 10, 2025
Posted by: Goatman
I am very pleased with this watch. The battery life on this watch and solar capability, is what drove me to choose this model. I personally removed the text notifications as I wanted this watch mostly for the GPS and as an every day watch. The rucking feature is also great along with all the other running/work out features. As a hunter and former 0311 I can’t recommend this watch enough. For those who complain about no map feature… study your maps/terrain model and get better at land nav!
P.S. make sure to update watch right away!
P.S. make sure to update watch right away!
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
5
I love this watch!
on August 13, 2025
Posted by: Hiking with Shawn
I've just got into trail running and I've been hiking for over a decade. I was using a very cheap Garmin Vivoactive watch that isn't even produced anymore. It was a good watch but it wasn't very accurate. The GPS would get lost during my runs and hikes thick in the forest.
I researched other Garmin watches and found the Instinct 3 solar to give me everything I wanted. I was most excited about the different GPS sources and the fact that is can charge through solar while I wear it.
I went with the tactical edition because I like the color, kill switch feature, waypoint features, and the colors of lights and such.
Overall, I've used this watch for trail running, hiking, and cycling and it's definitely the best watch I've ever had. I'm getting ready to run my first half marathon trail run with it and I'm excited to see how it performs which will likely be awesome, I'm sure.
I researched other Garmin watches and found the Instinct 3 solar to give me everything I wanted. I was most excited about the different GPS sources and the fact that is can charge through solar while I wear it.
I went with the tactical edition because I like the color, kill switch feature, waypoint features, and the colors of lights and such.
Overall, I've used this watch for trail running, hiking, and cycling and it's definitely the best watch I've ever had. I'm getting ready to run my first half marathon trail run with it and I'm excited to see how it performs which will likely be awesome, I'm sure.
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
5
3rd instinct watch for me and love them all
on August 14, 2025
Posted by: DesertDawg
I bought the instinct 3 solar tactical for work to replace my 2X tactical and the rigidity of it survives my work as a field mechanic and the solar option works fantastic as I never have to charge it, and when it’s dirty I just wash it with a soapy rag and it’s good as new
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin