Forums >Gears and Wears>Garmin Instinct - as running watch?
Interval Junkie --Nobby
I'd be interested in hearing some early adopter feedback on the Garmin Instinct smart-watch, and whether it makes a good Forerunner replacement.
The Forerunner is really overkill at this point for a single-purpose running watch; I have only ever used the following features;
Personally, I really enjoyed the FR610, but the FR620 not so much. And I'll admit the Instinct's primary allure is that it looks like the FR610 (which is probably not a good reason to lay down $300).
So, if anyone has any anecdotal experience to share, I'd be interested in hearing how you use it, and what its limitations might be.
2021 Goals: 50mpw 'cause there's nothing else to do
not bad for mile 25
This may not be helpful, but I bought a Vivoactive 3 - same price as the Instinct.
I planned to buy a Forerunner and simply log my runs as I always had. I had no intention of being a smartwatch 23-hour/day wearer. But in the store, I was somewhat taken with the lovely design/display of the Vivoactive, and it seemed to do a good deal more than the FR. Not at all rugged compared to the Instinct, but it's waterproof, and there are no scratches so far, in seven months. I don't have the model with music.
Surprising, for me, because I didn't think I wanted these things:
All-day/night HR monitoring is interesting.
Sleep monitoring is interesting.
As a musician, it's nice to have a metronome on my wrist (downloaded 3rd party app).
I routinely walk into stores and make my purchases without pulling out my wallet, using Garmin Pay instead.
I read, and sometimes respond to texts on my watch only.
Now I keep my phone on silent all the time. I just feel a little buzz on my wrist when there's a call or message.
I'm tolerating the extreme tan line that results from wearing this thing all the time.
The Forerunner is really overkill at this point for a single-purpose running watch; I have only ever used the following features; Overall time Lap time - Auto per mile and manual splits Lap pace Total mileage Wifi sync with RA
I agree with this, with the addition of the ability to create/download workouts from GC. This is probably the only reason I would avoid going with something really bare-bones like the FR 25/35, since I think they do most of the basics listed above. I have an FR220, which I will keep as long as it continues to operate; the logical replacement looks like the 235, which seems to have way more functionality than I need.
So what is attracting you to the Instinct? If anything it seems like a step up from the Forerunner, at least by price tag - $50 more than the 235.
Dave