Garmin Instinct Solar GPS Smartwatch Surf Pipeline

I have had this watch for some time now and I love it. The ability to track waves and see them on my phone is great. I have used it all over Central America and also in the US at my local surf spots. I wish the band lasted a bit longer but a replacement band was easy to install.

I got a bit frustrated when bike packing for 8 hours a day and my gps watch that I used to record my ride went flat after 6 hours. Haven't tried it bike packing yet but the battery currently shows as 24 days and I have been wearing it for 4 days. The Sola charging appears to be working very well. I don't expect to have any issues with the watch going flat.

I bought this watch as a Christmas present for myself and really enjoy all the info it provides. Also Garmin has first class customer support. I called and talked to a rep in Olathe, Kansas who was unbelievably patient and helpful. Highly recommend this company and product!

Biggest plus: the batter lasts forever! It is comfortable and I like all the sleep feedback. It was a little wonky getting the treadmill distance calibrated, but after 4 runs, it is working properly now, it plays nicely with my iPhone. Downside: I miss the color display of the applewatch and Apple Pay. I have not had the opportunity to use it backpacking yet..the main reason for the purchase.

Christmas 2021 gift. Went Snow Skiing 3x early January. Should have taken the time to read entire manual. Not intuitive for old sock like me. Never got results from watch as intended. Yes I made too many rookie mistakes in setting up and concluding the activity. I still have high expectations for using tide info when fishing this summer. For what ever it's worth, I gave my two sons a instinct solar each, Trust their more technically minded and will not experience the road bump too.

Love this watch, highly recommend the Garmin instinct solar, but I wouldn't get the surf version again. I'm an avid surfer, but the surf function doesn't work. It's too sensitive. It'll do stuff like add getting hit by a wave during the paddle out as catching a wave. If you're a surfer you're better off getting a regular instinct solar and using the open swim function. That's what I use for surfing on this watch because distance paddled is a more useful metric than an inaccurate wave count. That being said Garmin makes a quality product and for every other activity I use it for, lap swimming, cycling, running, etc it works flawlessly.

I love my solar Instinct until recently. Now, Everytime it dies I have to reregister it to connect on my phone. It's harder and harder to charge despite doing all of the things recommended. It feels like this watch was not made to last.

Love the watch lots of positives. Price is high compared to galaxy/apple watches. The display isn't colored but I scuba 5 days a week and this watch display works the best out in the sunlight. I just wish the price wasn't so high. I feel that they are a little over priced.

So I'll say right upfront, this watch is great for everything but surfing. And honestly, I don't know that there is a great surf watch with GPS. I used a Rip Curl, and it was blah. My Applewatch was pretty good, and accurate, but the battery life was terrible. The Solar Instinct is a great watch for outdoor and indoor exercise. The GPS works great for everything but the surf. When sitting on my board, if my hands go under the water, signal is lost, and it can take a minute to catch back up. Looking at the tracking after a session, it's obvious the watch is losing signal all the time. Save your money, and go for the basic instinct.

I've had this watch for over a year. throughout the day the tide information keeps disappearing. It's very important information for me, please fix it