Customer reviews from Garmin
Garmin - Instinct 3 Solar GPS Smartwatch 45 mm Fiber-reinforced Polymer - Whitestone with whitestone/bolt blue silicone band - (2025)
Average customer rating
4.4
(95 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 95 reviews
5 Stars
64
4 Stars
19
3 Stars
5
2 Stars
4
1 Star
3
Customer Reviews for Garmin - Instinct 3 Solar GPS Smartwatch 45 mm Fiber-reinforced Polymer - Whitestone with whitestone/bolt blue silicone band - (2025)
Customer Rating
5
Tons of Data and Great Battery Life
on January 9, 2026
Posted by: Jon C.
The Garmin Instinct 3 is a fantastic choice if you value endurance and reliability. The battery life is outstanding, easily lasting many days even with regular GPS and smart features enabled. You get access to tons of data—from detailed workout metrics to health tracking and navigation tools—without feeling overwhelmed, thanks to Garmin’s intuitive layouts. The rugged build inspires confidence; it feels ready for trails, weather, and everyday knocks. The screen is simple but very readable outdoors, and the physical buttons work great with gloves or sweaty hands. Overall, it’s a tough, data-rich watch that just keeps going.
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
4
Lots of great features
on January 11, 2026
Posted by: Pheasant Hunter
Happy with everything except the dog tracker keeps losing track. Then I have to conduct a search and kick start it by drilling down to my dogs collar. My Instinct 2 never had this issue. Dog tracking is the main reason I bought this watch. This has been very frustrating and time consuming in the field when I need to be focused on my dogs position and status. Other than that it's a great watch.
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
5
T&S
on January 11, 2026
Posted by: Wood chopper
Tuff enough for a logger and offshore fishing and smart enough to keep me safe and healthy.
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
5
Fantastic watch
on January 12, 2026
Posted by: Pawpaw#1
Was a Christmas gift and I love it. Used it hunting with my Etrex Legend HCx and compass. Plus love the health tracking.
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
5
Great Look! Great Features!
on January 12, 2026
Posted by: Mayo5150
I have been using Garmin for years and see no reason to change now. I've had my Instinct 3 for about a month. This watch has taken a little getting used to since I was coming from a Vivoactive with a touchscreen. Getting back to using buttons has taken some time, but I pretty much have it down now. The Instinct 3 connected to my existing Garmin Connect account/app with no problem and it's been smooth sailing ever since. In addition, it looks really good on my wrist:) I look forward to continuing to discover all this watch has to offer!
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
5
Stellar product
on January 16, 2026
Posted by: Ryhno
I had the instinct for 2 years and upgraded to the instinct3 solar recently. This watch is engineering gold. I am very active outdoors between mountaineering and surfing. This watch keeps track of every internal and external parameters anyone could ask for. At work, I scrub into surgery and can track my stress to better understand my bodies responses. Thank you Garmin!
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
5
Well rounded
on January 17, 2026
Posted by: ButterlabLex
Got this watch for Christmas and couldn’t be happier with it. Very robust for the type of outdoor work I do, screen is very scratch resistant. It replaced my venu 3 which I loved but it did not stand well to what I put it through compared to the instinct. Watch is very functional without much fodder and the solar charging keeps the battery going a long time. Definitely recommend for anyone needing a simple but useful tough smartwatch. If I had any gripe it would be the thickness. But it hasn’t actually been an issue yet
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin