The Garmin Instinct series are a collection of GPS smartwatches designed and equipped to holistically track outdoor activities. And the Tactical edition is one smartwatch I really admire for its rugged design, fitness tracking features, and impressively long battery life. The Instinct Series are a lower-end version of the Garmin Fenix 6 series, these smartwatches lack preloaded maps, Garmin pay, music storage, but still decent alternatives for 1/3 of the price. In this post, I take a look at what the Instinct Tactical Solar edition from Garmin has to offer.
List of Garmin Instinct Series Smartwatches
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Garmin Instinct Series consists of 6 members;
- Garmin Instinct Edition
- Garmin Instinct Solar Edition
- Garmin Instinct Solar Surf Edition
- Garmin Instinct Solar Camo Edition
- Garmin Instinct Tactical Edition
- Garmin Instinct Solar Tactical Edition
Basically all 6 editions have the same design and features except that the solar editions have longer battery life and feature blood oxygen monitoring and underwater heart rate tracking.
Beyond that, the Surf edition features Surfline Sessions that allow you to record every wave you ride, while the Tactical edition features jumpmaster, night vision mode, and stealth mode.
The Tactical edition has security features such as jumpmaster, night vision mode that switches the display from daytime to nighttime vision, and stealth mode that stops sharing your GPS location when activated.
Garmin Instinct Tactical vs Instinct Solar Tactical
Like mentioned earlier, all editions of the Instinct smartwatches basically have the same features, but the Tactical solar edition features blood oxygen monitoring and underwater heart rate tracking and as well as a longer battery life than the Tactical edition without solar charging.
Garmin Instinct Solar Tactical Edition Features Review
- Design and Build
- Waterproof Rating and Durability Test
- Display and Controls
The Instinct Tactical Solar edition comes in a durable build that makes it a perfect fit for the great outdoors. The case is made of a fiber-reinforced polymer which is tough and durable, while the straps are made of silicone. The same materials used for most smartwatches and this is soft, doesn’t irritate the skin, and comfortable to wear.
This Watch is a bit bulky at 15.3mm, but still lightweight at 53 grams when compared to Garmin Fenix 6 series. You can get the Instinct Tactical Solar edition in black and moss colors.
With a waterproof rating of 10ATM, the Instinct Tactical Solar is fully swim-proof, it makes an ideal choice for anyone keen on exploring deepwater activities. And with MIL-STD-810G, it can withstand harsh weather conditions. This adds to making it a very rugged smartwatch.
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Like every other member of the Instinct Series, the Tactical Solar edition has a 1.27 inches display size which is powered by MIP transflective LCD. The display is very bright and can easily be read even under bright sunlight, this is one of the advantages of transflective display technologies. Without touchscreen supported, this Watch is still easy to navigate with 5 physical buttons.
Garmin Instinct Solar Tactical Edition Fitness Tracking Features Review
The fitness tracking features built into the Tactical Solar edition makes it a comprehensive fitness tracker that can help you reach more fitness goals.
Starting with the basics, it tracks your heart rate, stress, body battery energy monitor gauges how fit you’re for the next task, menstrual cycle tracking allows women log and monitor period cycle and hydration tracking helps you manage your water intake.
- Activity Tracking Features
- Training Planning and Analysis Features
- Heart Rate tracking
- Tactical Features
- Swimming Features
The basic fitness features are activity tracking features which include counting your steps, calories, floors climbed, distance traveled, intensity minutes, and move bar that reminds you to move when you remain idle for long.
Instinct Tactical solar houses lots of training planning and analysis features. This includes creating customizable activity profiles, course guidance, setting up custom alerts, ability to show GPS speed and distance, and a host of other tools that can help you plan for the great outdoors.
Although the Tactical Solar doesn’t have preloaded maps like Fenix 6 series, you can create a route from the Garmin Connect app and sync it to the Tactical Solar. This comes handy in helping find the best possible route to follow.
Like many other smartwatches on the market, the Instinct Tactical Solar tracks your heart rate continuously. It has features such as HR zones that show your heart rate range, it will also alert you when your heart rate gets to a certain level.
The difference between the Tactical edition and other members of the Instinct series is the presence of tactical features such as stealth mode that allows you to stop sharing your GPS location and the night vision mode that switches the display from daytime to nighttime which can be viewed with a night vision goggle. There is also jumpmaster in the list of recreational outdoor profiles, this feature calculates release points according to military guidelines while navigating to your objective as you jump.
With a waterproof rating of 10ATM, the Tactical solar also makes a decent choice for tracking your swimming activities thanks to the in-depth swim-tracking features. Swim profiles include a pool and open water swimming, it also detects your stroke type and as well as tracks metrics such as swim efficiency (SWOLF), distance, distance, calories, pace, and more.
Other Features
- Notification
- 14 Days Long Battery Life
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Apart from being a comprehensive fitness tracker, the Instinct Tactical Solar edition is also a decent personal assistant that keeps you connected with important updates. It vibrates every time you receive a notification on your phone. This includes SMS, calls, emails, and otherwise. You can set up which apps you want to receive notifications from.
There is also the find my phone features that ring your phone when you may have misplaced it, and as well the find my watch feature that will vibrate the watch. You can also respond to calls and messages with custom replies which you can set up from the Garmin Connect app. This is a similar feature to the Samsung Galaxy Fit.
One of the highpoints of the Instinct Solar series is the unlimited long battery life thanks to its solar charging feature. With regular usage on smartwatch mode, you can get up to 24 days and about 54 days with solar charging. That’s a whole lot of battery life that sure makes it ideal for any hiking and other related activities. If you turn of smartwatch mode, it’s about 56 days and unlimited battery life with solar charging. Continuous GPS tracking will get you up to 30 hours and 38 hours of battery life with solar charging.
Garmin Instinct Solar Tactical Editon Full Specifications
| Garmin Instinct Tactical Solar | |
|---|---|
 | |
ABOUT DEVICE | |
| Device name | Garmin Instinct Solar Tactical |
| Device type | Fitness/GPS smartwatch |
| Predessesor | Garmin Instinct 2018 |
| Successor | -- |
| Released date | July, 2020 |
| Ideal for | Unisex |
DISPLAY | |
| Display type | Transflective memory-in-display (MIP) (monochrome) |
| Display size | 1.2 inch |
| Display resolution | 128 x 128 pixels |
| Pixel density | -- |
| Input type | 5 buttons, (Not touchscreen) |
| Always-on | Yes |
| Customizable watch face | Yes |
BODY | |
| Shape | Circular |
| Dimension | 45 x 45 x 15.3 mm |
| Weight | 53 grams |
| Casing material | Fiber-reinforced polymer |
| Strap/band material | Silicone |
| Bezel Material | Fiber-reinforced polymer |
| Strap size | 22mm |
| Interchangeable band | Yes, 22mm |
| Screen protection | Power Glass™ |
| Water resistant/Protection | Yes, 10ATM |
| Swim-proof | Yes, recommended |
| Color(s) | Black Moss |
MEMORY | |
| RAM | -- |
| Internal storage | N/A |
| Memory card slot | No |
CONNECTIVITY | |
| Bluetooth | Yes, and ANT+ |
| Bluetooth calling | No |
| Wi-Fi | No |
| NFC | No |
| Payment system | No |
| GPS | GPS/GLONASS/Galileo |
CELLULAR TECHNOLOGY | |
| Technology | No |
| SIM | No |
| Band | No |
NOTIFICATIONS | |
| Email alert | Yes |
| SMS alert | Yes |
| Calls alert | Yes |
| Event reminder | Yes |
| Weather | Yes |
| Third-party apps | Yes |
| Text response | Yes |
FITNESS TRACKING | |
| Sleep apnea | No |
| Sleep tracking | Yes |
| Steps | Yes |
| Floors climbed | No |
| Heart rate monitoring | Yes |
| Calories | Yes |
| Distance | Yes |
| Stress | Yes |
| VO2 Max. | Yes |
| Blood oxygen | Yes |
| Blood pressure | No |
| Menstrual cycle tracking | Yes |
| Swim tracking | Yes |
| Under-water heart rate tracking | Yes |
| Preloaded maps | No |
| On-screen workout modes | Yes |
| Triathlon mode | Yes |
| ECG Tracking | No |
| Preloaded sport modes | Yes |
| Safety tracking | No |
MEDIA | |
| Audio | No |
| Music streaming | No |
| Bluetooth music | No |
| Radio | No |
| Loudspeaker | No |
| Microphone | No |
| Camera | No |
SENSORS | |
PLATFORM | |
| Operating system (OS) | Proprietary OS |
| Chipset | -- |
| CPU | -- |
| GPU | -- |
BATTERY | |
| Type of battery | Non-removable Li-ion battery |
| Battery capacity | -- |
| Battery life | Smartwatch: 24 days/54 days with solar Battery Saver Mode: 56 days/Unlimited with solar GPS: Up to 30 hours/38 hours with solar Max. Battery GPS Mode: 70 hours/145 hours with solar Expedition GPS Mode: 28 days/68 days with solar |
| Charging type | Charging Dock |
| Charging time | About 1-2 hours |
| Battery saver mode | Yes |
| Solar power | Yes |
| Rapid charging | No |
CLOCK FEATURES | |
| Time/Date | Yes |
| Stopwatch | Yes |
| Alarm | Yes |
OTHER FUNCTIONS | |
| Control camera | __ |
| Music control | Yes |
| Find phone | Yes |
MISC | |
| Compatibility | Android and iOS Check if your device is compatible |
| Companion app | Garmin connect IQ |
| Voice command | No |
BOX CONTENTS | |
| Garmin Instinct Solar Tactical | |
| Straps | |
| USB charging cable | |
| Quick start guide | |
| NOTE: We can't guarantee that all the information on this table are 100% correct. Read full disclaimer. Please, report an error. | |
| Official Site | |
READ ALSO
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Garmin Instinct Solar Tactical Editon Features List
ACTIVITY TRACKING FEATURES | Garmin Instinct Tactical Solar |
|---|---|
SMART FEATURES | |
| Connect IQ (Downloadable watch faces, data fields, widgets, and apps) | Yes |
| On-device Connect IQ store | No |
| Text response/reject phone calls with text (Android only) | Yes |
| Calendar | Yes |
| Weather | Yes |
| Real-time settings sync with Garmin Connect™ mobile | No |
| Battery saver - customizable low power watch | No |
| Controls smartphone music | Yes |
| Plays and Control Watch Music | |
| Find my phone | Yes |
| Find my watch | Yes |
| Virb remote | Yes |
HEALTH MONITORING FEATURES | |
| Wrist-based Heart Rate tracking | Yes |
| Daily resting heart rate | Yes |
| AbNormal heart rate alert | Yes |
| Respiration Rate (24/7) | Yes |
| Fitness Age | |
| Blood oxygen (SpO2) monitoring | Yes |
| Battery energy monitor | Yes |
| Stress tracking | Yes |
| Relaxation reminders | Yes |
| Relaxation breathing timer | Yes |
| Sleep monitoring | Yes |
| Advanced sleep tracking/Sleep Score | Yes |
| Menstrual cycle tracking | Yes (in Garmin Connect) |
| Hydration tracking | Yes (in Garmin Connect) |
| Health Snapshot | |
SAFETY AND TRACKING FEATURES | |
| Livetrack | Yes |
| Group Livetrack | No |
| Live event sharing | No |
| Incident detection during select activities | No |
| Assistance | No |
| Spectator Messaging (New) | |
| Assistance Plus (New) | |
TACTICAL FEATURES | |
| Stealth mode | Yes |
| Night vision mode | Yes |
| Dual Grid Coordinates | Yes |
| Kill switch | No |
ACTIVITY TRACKING FEATURES | |
| Steps Counter | Yes |
| Move bar (displays on device after a period of inactivity; walk for a couple of minutes to reset it) | Yes |
| Auto goal (learns your activity level and assigns a daily step goal) | Yes |
| Sleep monitoring (monitors total sleep and periods of movement or restful sleep) | Yes |
| Calories burned | Yes |
| Floors climbed | Yes |
| Distance travelled | Yes |
| Intensity minutes | Yes |
| Trueup | Yes |
| Move IQ | Yes |
GYM & FITNESS EQUIPMENT | |
| Available gym activity profiles | Strength, cardio and elliptical training, stair stepping, indoor rowing and yoga |
| Cardio workouts | Yes |
| Strength workouts | Yes |
| HIIT workouts | |
| Yoga workouts | No |
| Pilates workouts | No |
| On-screen workout animations | No |
| Automatic rep counting | Yes |
| On-screen workout muscle maps | |
TRAINING, PLANNING & ANALYSIS FEATURES | |
| GPS speed and distance | Yes |
| Customizable data pages | Yes |
| Customizable activity profiles | Yes |
| Auto Pause | Yes |
| Interval training | Yes |
| Improved interval (Includes open repeats, intervals data page, rest screen and auto detection) (New) | |
| Advanced workouts | Yes |
| Downloadable training plans | Yes |
| Power modes - customizable in-activity battery settings | No |
| Auto lap | Yes |
| Manual lap | Yes |
| Rest timer (New) | |
| Configurable lap alerts | Yes |
| Heat and altitude acclimation | No |
| VO2 Max. (Run) | Yes |
| VO2 Max. (Trail run) | No |
| Real-Time stamina | |
| Training status (lets you see if you're training effectively by tracking your training history and fitness level trend.) | No |
| Training load (your total training load for the last 7 days calculated from estimated epoc) | No |
| Training load focus | No |
| Training effect (aerobic) | No |
| Training effect (anaerobic) | No |
| Primary Benefit (training effect labels) | No |
| Improved Recovery Time (New) | |
| Daily Suggested Workouts (New) | |
| Custom alerts | Yes |
| Audio prompts | Yes |
| Finish time | Yes |
| Virtual partner | Yes |
| Race an activity | Yes |
| Auto multisport activities | No |
| Manual multisport activities | No |
| Course guidance | Yes |
| Garmin Live Segments | No |
| Strava Live Segments | No |
| Round-Trip course creator (running/cycling) | No |
| Trendline Popularity Routing | No |
| Touch and/or button lock | Yes |
| Hot keys | No |
| Auto scroll | Yes |
| Activity history on watch | Yes |
| Noopener Noreferrer">Physio Trueup | Yes |
HEART RATE TRACKING FEATURES | |
| HR zones | Yes |
| HR alerts | Yes |
| HR calories | Yes |
| % HR max. | Yes |
| % HRR | Yes |
| Recovery time | No |
| Auto max HR | Yes |
| Morning report (New) | |
| Race glance/widget (New) | |
| HRV status (New) | |
| Training readiness (New) | |
| HRV stress test (measures your heart rate variability while standing still, for 3 minutes, to provide you with an estimated stress level; the scale of this is 1 to 100; low scores indicate lower stress levels) | No |
| HR broadcast (broadcasts HR data over ANT+ to paired devices) | Yes |
| Respiration rate (during exercise) | No |
RUNNING FEATURES | |
| Available run profiles | Running, treadmill running, indoor track running, trail running |
| GPS-based distance, time and pace | Yes |
| Running dynamics | No |
| Vertical oscillation and ratio (the degree of 'bounce' in your running motion and the cost-benefit ratio with stride length) | No |
| Ground contact time and balance (shows how much time, in the running motion, your foot is on the ground rather than in flight and lets you check your running symmetry) | No |
| Stride length (real time) | No |
| Cadence (provides real-time number of steps per minute) | Yes |
| Running power (New) | |
| Performance condition (after running 20 minutes, compares your real-time condition to your average fitness level) | No |
| Lactate threshold (through analysis of your pace and heart rate, estimates the point where your muscles start to rapidly fatigue) | No |
| PacePro pacing strategies | No |
| Run workouts | Yes |
| Race predictor | No |
| Course and weather-specific race predictor (New) | |
| Foot Pod Capable | Yes |
| Run/Walk/Stand detection | |
GOLF FEATURES | |
| Preloaded with 42,000 courses worldwide | No |
| Yardage to F/M/B (distance to front, middle and back of green) | No |
| Yardage to layups/doglegs | No |
| Measures shot distance (calculates exact yardage for shots from anywhere on course) | No |
| Digital Scorecard | No |
| Custom targets | No |
| Stat tracking (strokes, putts per round, greens and fairways hit) | No |
| Garmin Autoshot | No |
| Full vector map | No |
| Auto Courseview updates | No |
| Green view with manual pin position | No |
| Hazards and course targets | No |
| Pinpointer | No |
| Playslike distance | No |
| Touch-targeting (touch target on display to see the distance to any point) (New) | |
| Handicap scoring | No |
| Truswing compatible | No |
| Round timer/odometer | No |
| Automatic club tracking compatible (requires accessory) | No |
| Tournament Legal | |
OUTDOOR RECREATION | |
| Available outdoor recreation profiles | Hiking, climbing, mountain biking, skiing, sNowboarding, xc skiing, stand up paddleboarding, rowing, kayaking, fishing, hunting, tactical, jumpmaster |
| Point-to-Point navigation | Yes |
| Bread crumb trail in real time | Yes |
| Back to start | Yes |
| TracbacK | Yes |
| Ultratrac Mode | Yes |
| Around me mode | No |
| Up ahead | |
| Elevation profile | Yes |
| Distance to destination | Yes |
| Barometric trend indicator with storm alert | Yes |
| ClimbPro ascent planner | No |
| Trail run auto climb | Yes |
| Vertical speed | Yes |
| Total ascent/descent | Yes |
| Future elevation plot | Yes |
| Preloaded Topographical maps | No |
| Preloaded road and trail maps (New) | |
| Preloaded Ski resort maps | No |
| Downloadable cartography support | No |
| Compatible with Basecamp | Yes |
| GPS coordinates | Yes |
| Sight 'N GO | Yes |
| Area calculation | Yes |
| Hunt/fish calendar | No |
| Projected waypoint | Yes |
| Sun and moon information | Yes |
| Xero locations | Yes |
| Expedition GPS activity | Yes |
| Tides | No |
CYCLING FEATURES | |
| Available cycling profiles | Biking, indoor biking and mountain biking |
| Alerts (triggers alarm when you reach goals including time, distance, heart rate or calories) | Yes |
| Courses | Yes |
| MTB Grit & Flow | No |
| Cycle map (routable cycling-specific street map) | No |
| Bike lap and lap maximum power (with power sensor) | No |
| Race an activity | Yes |
| FTP (Functional Threshold Power) | No |
| Compatible with Vector (Power Meter) | No |
| Power Meter compatible | No |
| Advanced cycling dynamics | |
| Compatible with Varia Vision (head-mounted display) | Yes |
| Compatible with Varia Radar (Rear-Facing Radar) | Yes |
| Compatible with Varia Lights | Yes |
| Speed and cadence sensor support (with sensor) | Yes (ANT+ and Bluetooth Smart sensors) |
SWIMMING FEATURES | |
| Available swim profiles | Pool swimming and open water swimming |
| Open-water swim metrics (distance, pace, stroke count/rate, stroke distance, swim efficiency (SWOLF), calories) | Yes |
| Pool swim metrics (lengths, distance, pace, stroke count, swim efficiency (SWOLF), calories) | Yes |
| Stroke type detection (freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly) (pool swim only) | Yes |
| Drill logging (pool swim only) | Yes |
| Basic rest timer (up from 0) (pool swim only) | Yes |
| "Repeat on" rest timer (pool swim only) (New) | |
| Auto rest (pool swim only) (New) | |
| Time and distance alerts | Yes |
| Pacing alerts (pool swim only) (New) | |
| Countdown start (pool swim only) | No |
| Pool swim workouts | Yes |
| Critical swim speed (New) | |
| Underwater wrist-based heart rate | Yes |
| Heart rate from external HRM (real-time during rests, interval and session stats during rests, and automatic heart rate download post-swim) | No |
Conclusion
I think the Instinct Tactical solar edition is an outstanding smartwatch, no doubt. It has a very long battery life and the design is rugged and very durable, and as per fitness tracking, it does a pretty nice job in that department.
Garmin Instinct Solar Tactical Prices
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Hi! I’m Jude, the chief editor at Smartwatchseries.com
I’m a graduate of biochemistry, a 3D artist and a passionate fitness enthusiast. On here, I and other smartwatch fans work hard to help you find the right smartwatch for you with our guides, reviews, and comparisons.
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