I’ve mentioned it earlier than, and I’ll say it once more: GPS smartwatches are one of the helpful instruments outdoorsmen have at their disposal. Though we’ve traditionally dismissed them as merchandise for the fitness-obsessed, they’re gaining traction among the many searching, fishing, and taking pictures crowd. And for good purpose. GPS pairing, stand-alone navigation modes, environmental widgets, and yeah, well being and wellness stats assist hunters sort out all the pieces from coaching for powerful hunts to discovering our method again to camp. A minimum of that’s how I’ve been utilizing my first-generation Garmin Intuition Photo voltaic look ahead to practically two years now, and the way I’m utilizing the brand new Garmin Intuition 2S Photo voltaic that simply dropped.
The Intuition was launched in 2018, and it simply obtained a reboot with as we speak’s launch of the Garmin Intuition 2 Collection. The brand new lineup contains customary and photo voltaic choices, a (largely) longer battery life, beefed-up well being and wellness options, and a smaller dimension choice (the 2S) that holds enchantment for anybody with a slimmer wrist or available in the market for a lower-profile smartwatch. This overview relies on my expertise with the Intuition 2S Photo voltaic watch, however most of the guts and specs are an identical between the 2 sizes.
Specs and Options of the Garmin Intuition 2 Collection
- Sizes: Out there in two sizes, the Intuition 2 (45mm bezel) and the Intuition 2S (40mm)
- Photo voltaic charging: Normal or photo voltaic charging fashions; each use a proprietary USB charging cable.
- Battery life: Varies primarily based on mannequin and enabled features. “Limitless” on 45mm Intuition 2 Photo voltaic fashions, in smartwatch mode with at the least three hours per day of reasonable daylight (50,000 lux)
- Shock and thermal resistant: Army customary 810
- Waterproof: As much as 100 meters
- Show: Monochrome, high-contrast, non-touch
- Display: Chemically strengthened, scratch-resistant glass
- Specialty fashions: Camo, Surf, Tactical, Dezl (for truckers)
- SKUs: 19 completely different shade, dimension, photo voltaic, and specialty combos, with extra customization choices on-line
- Navigation modes: Navigation, Expedition, Monitor Me, Waypoint, and so on.
- Environmental widgets: Altimeter, barometer, compass, moon part, dawn/sundown, climate, and so on.
- Well being and wellness: Vo2 Max, step tracker, stairs climbed, exercise monitoring, and so on.
- Exercise modes: 40 actions, together with working, mountain climbing, hunt, fish, and extra
- Customized apps: Out there for obtain via Garmin Join IQ, contains apps and widgets like Hydration Monitoring, Being pregnant Monitoring, and extra
- Emergency choices: Incident Detection
- Appropriate units: Smartphone syncing by way of Bluetooth, InReach GPS units, Garmin canine monitoring GPS
- Value: Begins at $350
The non-solar fashions begin at $350, whereas the extra feature-rich Tactical, Surf, and Dezl photo voltaic fashions will run you $500. The mannequin I examined, the 40mm Intuition 2S Photo voltaic, will run you $450, and so will the standard-sized 45mm Intuition 2 Photo voltaic. There is no such thing as a worth distinction between sizes of the identical mannequin kind.
Testing within the Discipline
Most of the Intuition 2 Collection options which might be most helpful to hunters, anglers, and different out of doors lovers are the identical ones that the first-gen watch was constructed round. The brand new Intuition nonetheless affords GPS options like Monitor Me, and can pair with an inReach machine and Garmin’s canine trackers. I tracked a path run utilizing each my gen-one Intuition Photo voltaic and the brand new 2S Photo voltaic to trace a path run, with an identical monitoring outcomes.
You’ll additionally discover the identical helpful widgets like dawn and sundown instances, moon part, climate, barometer, and extra, though accessing a few of these is barely completely different on the 2S as many have moved from the highest left “Management” button to the underside left “ABC” button (which is brief for “Altimeter, Barometer, Compass”).
Extra Customization
One of many extra notable choices on this lineup is the 2S providing, which is a smaller-profile Intuition designed for anybody with a slimmer wrist. It’s an awesome choice for a lot of ladies and younger adults, or anybody who’s not right into a beefy show on their wrist. I’m greater (5 foot 8) than the common American girl (5 foot 4), so I by no means actually minded the 45mm Intuition after just a few days. I put on it across the clock—within the bathe, whereas I’m sleeping, once I exit to dinner
Whereas the first-gen Intuition Collection got here preloaded with dozens of actions, the Intuition 2 permits you to select the actions you add to your watch. So as a substitute of scrolling via 10 actions I by no means do (Treadmill, Bike, Mountain Bike, Pool Swim, Yoga…) simply to succeed in the Hunt exercise, I’m in a position to choose those I need within the app, they usually’ll seem on my watch. I may even choose favorites (Hunt, Path Run, Monitor Me) they’ll seem proper on the prime of the GPS menu. If I would like so as to add extra actions on the fly, I don’t even have to make use of the app. I can simply scroll to the underside of the GPS checklist and choose “Add” to select from the complete checklist of actions
I additionally experimented with the Garmin Join IQ app, which lets you add customized apps and widgets to your watch. That is customary throughout Garmin smartwatches and isn’t new to the two Collection, nevertheless it ranges up your customization choices and is value trying out. You possibly can add all the pieces from wind course to being pregnant trackers. Garmin additionally permits you to customise the looks of the Intuition 2 and 2S Collection right here.
Strong Health, Well being, and Life-style Options
One of many greatest additions to the Intuition 2 Collection is Garmin’s full assortment of “wellness options,” which observe private well being and behavior information. This improve was made attainable by incorporating the identical optical sensor that’s used within the new Fenix 7 line, and by leveraging the analytical capabilities of Firstbeat Analytics, a physiological metrics firm that Garmin acquired in 2020. Many of those new wellness options will enchantment to the fitness-focused crowd who stay to work out, however they’re additionally helpful for folk who’re setting particular targets. Possibly you’re coaching for a Western hunt at altitude; abruptly the VO2 Max and Restoration Time options grow to be vital. The total suite now out there within the Intuition 2 Collection contains VO2 Max, Health Age, Coaching Standing/Load/Impact, Restoration Time, HIIT Exercises, and Every day Recommended Exercise.
For information nerds, the Intuition 2’s sleep monitoring is much more sturdy. I managed 8 hours and 50 minutes of sleep one night time this weekend, which my 2S declared “lengthy and refreshing REM sleep,” with a high quality rating of 88 out of 100. As somebody who wants 9 hours of sleep and solely budgets for six, this perform helps remind me to hit the hay once I ought to.
Just like the more and more common Apple Pay, Garmin has additionally added Garmin Pay to the Intuition 2, which is accepted most locations that permit for contactless bank card and app funds. (Garmin Pay doesn’t settle for AmEx.) Up to now I’ve used mine to shortly pay for a tank of fuel as a substitute of getting to fish out a bank card. As a result of Garmin Pay is password protected—you enter a fast 4 digit code—it most likely took the identical period of time. That mentioned, it’s good to have a backup cost system if I overlook my pockets at dwelling or wish to seize espresso when my pockets’s zipped into my shirt and buried below three layers of camo.
Button Navigation
If you need a smartwatch with a touchscreen, maintain purchasing. I occur to love the 5 button navigation on the Intuition. I wore a Shark digital watch (full with velcro band) as a child, and the 2S Photo voltaic’s buttons are much more intuitive than the scaled-back buttons on different smartwatches. Extra importantly, buttons are extra helpful than a touchscreen for a lot of purposes. I’m often carrying gloves once I’m searching, which make it inconceivable to test authorized mild or the climate forecast on a touchscreen.
Sturdiness
If the Intuition 2 Photo voltaic is something just like the first-gen watch, it’ll maintain as much as years of abuse. I’m arduous on my gear, and something that may get scratched, dented, busted, or damaged often does. The two Collection is army rated for thermal, shock, and water resistance, and though I’ll want months to verify the 2S Photo voltaic will maintain up, I did some reasonable sturdiness testing within the meantime. I submerged my Intuition in water for 60 minutes, dropped it (bezel-side down) onto concrete from 10 toes, and buried it in tremendous filth. It sustained a tiny (1mm) scuff the place the wristband meets the housing, however that’s an admittedly aggressive take a look at for a product that’s usually secured to your wrist. Whereas I’ve scraped my first-gen towards tough rocks on Western hunts, I’m extra prone to slam my arm towards a door or wall whereas I’m speeding round the home. And the 2S has held up simply tremendous to that up to now.
Battery Life
After three days of utilizing the 2S Photo voltaic with mild GPS utilization (quarter-hour) and light-weight photo voltaic publicity (2 hours at one hundred pc depth), the watch was already all the way down to a three-day battery life. Enabling battery saver mode did stretch that to 38 days, however doing so basically turns the Intuition 2 into a daily digital watch. Don’t get me unsuitable: It’s useful to have a collection of battery-management choices (customizable battery saver, toggling on/off battery-sucking features like PulseOx, and so on.), however for those who’re available in the market for a GPS smartwatch, it’s since you plan on utilizing these options recurrently.
On the identical time, this battery battle isn’t a Garmin-specific problem. Energetic GPS monitoring gobbles battery life in any smartwatch. So it’s higher to deal with the features you need and easily settle for that you just’ll have to cost your watch sometimes.
What It Does Worst
Garmin didn’t make any missteps with the Intuition 2 Collection that I’ve been capable of finding up to now, however customers must resolve which options are most vital to them. If the slimmer 2S Photo voltaic is a precedence for you, then you need to anticipate to cost your Intuition extra typically than the two Photo voltaic utilizing the USB cable. I initially questioned if powering a smaller show may enhance the two Photo voltaic’s battery life however, because the engineers at Garmin identified, the features on every machine nonetheless require the identical quantity of juice. And with its smaller display screen, the Intuition 2S Photo voltaic is much less able to harvesting photo voltaic vitality.
It could even be good if Garmin added a photo voltaic mannequin to its Camo lineup down the road, because the of us who put on camo are prone to need these two options rolled into one smartwatch.
What It Does Finest
The I wasn’t about to check out essentially the most thrilling new improvement within the 2S Collection as a result of I’ve been utilizing the 40mm 2S Photo voltaic, however the theoretical “limitless” battery lifetime of the 45mm Intuition 2 Photo voltaic watch is intriguing. Given how not often I’ve to cost my first-gen Intuition Photo voltaic (about each two weeks within the winter), I might see a Florida fishing information or an Arizona fowl hunter go months while not having to cost their 2S Photo voltaic.
Last Ideas
There’s rather a lot to like in regards to the new Intuition 2 Collection, however a lot of what the watch seems to do finest is what it’s at all times performed: It’s a low-maintenance, feature-rich, sturdy smartwatch for anybody who spends plenty of time exterior.
The two Collection upgrades ought to broaden the Intuition’s enchantment. Many ladies, younger adults, and anybody else with a slimmer wrist will respect the Intuition 2S mannequin. The longer battery life, significantly within the 45mm Photo voltaic choice, ought to be engaging to any out of doors recreator who desires a rugged, low upkeep smartwatch. The brand new suite of high-demand well being and health choices ought to enchantment to anybody who’s specializing in their health or coaching for a hunt.
I’ve been carrying and counting on the Garmin Intuition Photo voltaic for practically two years now, and even testing higher-priced smartwatches from different producers hasn’t satisfied me to swap it out. However I’ve obtained no qualms upgrading to the Intuition 2S Photo voltaic.