[ad_1]
The Garmin Intuition sequence stands out for its rugged, solar-recharging watches. Not counting the spin-off fashions for truck drivers, troopers, or surfers, most Garmin Intuition 2 patrons in all probability select it for its long-lived simplicity. You strap it in your wrist, begin an exercise, after which neglect about it.
With the Garmin Intuition 2X Photo voltaic, the prolific health watch model modified its technique a bit. On the software program entrance, the 2X is way much less bare-bones than its predecessors, including fashionable instruments like Coaching Readiness and the Morning Report that the gradual Intuition 2 chip could not deal with. And for {hardware}, Garmin poached the extra environment friendly photo voltaic panel and LED flashlight from the thousand-dollar Fenix 7X.
I cherished the Garmin Intuition 2 Photo voltaic once I reviewed it final yr, however what a distinction a yr makes! The Intuition 2X Photo voltaic is not simply an iterative improve: its enhancements to ruggedness, battery life, and software program instruments make it much less of a stark downgrade in comparison with Forerunner or Venu fashions that value the identical however have a lot higher software program suites and shows.
The newly enlarged Garmin Intuition 2X Photo voltaic might really feel too cumbersome for smaller wrists, and it lacks key options that extra specialised Garmin watches supply. Regardless of that, this new mannequin is definitely probably the greatest health watches of the yr, even when — like the opposite Instincts — it isn’t for everybody.
Garmin Intuition 2X Photo voltaic: Value and fashions
The Garmin Intuition 2X Photo voltaic launched in April 2023 at $450, the identical worth because the 2022 Garmin Intuition 2 Photo voltaic — although that mannequin typically sells at a reduction at this time. It is out there by way of Garmin’s personal web site, in addition to just a few outdoorsy outlets like Backcountry and (technically) Amazon through third-party sellers.
Garmin additionally sells a Garmin Intuition 2X Photo voltaic Tactical Version for $500, with all the identical specs and perks together with just a few particular software program instruments like a Kill Change, Stealth Mode, Night time Imaginative and prescient Mode, Jumpmaster Mode, and Ballistics software program. Our Intuition 2X vs. 2X Tactical information runs by way of the variations in additional depth.
In contrast to the usual Intuition 2 sequence, you will not discover a non-Photo voltaic model of the 2X for $100 much less. Additionally, the opposite Intuition 2 special-edition fashions (Camo, Surf, and dēzl) didn’t switch to the 2X sequence.
The principle Garmin Intuition 2X Photo voltaic colours embody Graphite, Moss, Whitestone, and Flame Purple; the Tactical Version ships in Black and Coyote Tan.
Garmin Intuition 2X Photo voltaic design and show
Should you examine the Garmin Intuition 2X Photo voltaic vs. 2 Photo voltaic on the floor degree, it is clear the newer mannequin took the identical design and made it bigger, with just a few tweaks. Except you have educated your wrist muscle groups with the bigger Fenix or Enduro watches, the Intuition 2X Photo voltaic goes to really feel heavier than you are used to.
The unique Intuition 2 Photo voltaic weighed on the greater finish of a “regular” Garmin watch at 53g with strap, however due to the thick, elevated bezel, it might solely squeeze in a 0.9-inch show, a part of which is taken up by the second round window. That, mixed with the wimpy backlight, meant you needed to maintain it fairly near your face to learn notifications.
Selecting the Intuition 2X Photo voltaic means the case measurement jumps from 45mm to 50mm. That additional house boosts the show to a extra affordable 1.1 inches however provides one other 14g of weight. The 2X rests flat in opposition to your wrist, and the bigger case means the additional mass distributes extra extensively in your wrist. It is extra snug than I anticipated at first, however I can not deny that it is heavier and extra noticeable than earlier than.
By itself deserves, the monochrome Intuition 2X Photo voltaic show is low-resolution and never particularly nice to have a look at, even in comparison with different memory-in-pixel Garmin shows. It is a trade-off that pays off in higher battery life.
However within the context of the Intuition lineup, the 2X has the finest show as a consequence of its measurement and brightness. And the elevated bezel seems extra pure on the 2X as a result of the bigger show does not really feel as tightly enveloped by it. It is extra proportional, in different phrases.
At the usual 20% backlight manufacturing unit settings, the Intuition 2X show is infinitely extra readable than the final technology. Higher distinction between the white textual content and black background makes the two Photo voltaic show look surprisingly uninteresting in hindsight. Simply be certain to allow the “After sundown” setting for Gesture raise-to-wake; with out it, the Intuition 2X is totally unreadable away from direct lighting till you press a button.
Garmin additionally made the newer watch MIL-STD-810 compliant for thermal and shock injury; regardless that the Intuition 2 Photo voltaic was thermal and shock resistant, you needed to pay additional for the Tactical Version to get “official” safety. Not anymore! Maybe that is simply affirmation bias, however the Intuition 2X Photo voltaic bezel polymer appears to be barely firmer than the older watch, which tracks with this alteration.
I additionally respect that the Garmin Intuition 2X buttons supply a satisfying click on while you press them, a returning high quality from the final mannequin. I’ve discovered many Garmin Forerunner and Venu watch buttons annoyingly squishy and unreliable, however the Intuition offers you a pleasant textured really feel and deliberate tactile suggestions.
Nonetheless, you are going to miss the dearth of a touchscreen while you click on one-by-one by way of plenty of Settings and Look widgets.
The 2-window show makes use of the devoted round house to point out essential information like your coronary heart charge throughout a exercise, or an icon when a notification or menu. Typically talking, I discover this mini-data window helpful.
Since I have not examined a Garmin Fenix but, that is my first mannequin with exterior screws on the outer case. I am going to admit my ignorance right here and say I do not know what the profit is of exposing these, besides maybe for simpler repairs or match changes. Subjectively, I might say they give the impression of being fairly neat, however others will not like how they conflict with the remainder of the bezel.
Garmin Intuition 2X Photo voltaic sensors and software program
Specs | Garmin Intuition 2X Photo voltaic |
---|---|
Supplies | Polymer case & bezel, Energy Glass lens |
Show kind | Monochrome, sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) |
Show measurement | 1.1-inch, 176 x 176 |
Safety | 10ATM, MIL-STD-810 for thermal, shock and water resistance |
Dimension & weight | 50 x 50 x 14.5 mm, 67g |
Watch band | 26mm band, 145-228mm wrist circumference |
LED flashlight | White (4 intensities), Purple (low), Strobe: Blink, Blitz, Beacon, Pulse, and Customized |
Positioning | GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, All Programs GNSS, Multi-Band GPS |
Sensors | Altimeter, Compass, Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Thermometer, Pulse Ox |
Reminiscence/ historical past | 64MB |
Colours | Graphite, Moss, Whitestone, Flame Purple |
Garmin gave the Intuition 2X Photo voltaic the entire sensors you’d want in a mountaineering watch: an altimeter to correctly measure elevation, a compass for orientation, and an accelerometer and gyroscope to correctly measure (amongst different issues) distance calculations, swimming motions, and health club train reps.
Just like the Forerunner 265 and different current Garmin fashions, the Intuition 2X Photo voltaic has each All-Programs GNSS and Multi-Band GPS monitoring choices, providing you with way more pinpoint outcomes to your runs and hikes. I discovered the Intuition 2X Photo voltaic extremely correct to my real-life working path on the upper settings, sticking to my precise path even when my routes took me below satellite tv for pc obstacles.
The one factor it is lacking is the brand new SatIQ system that auto-switches between settings at any time when it senses these obstacles, so that you solely use the battery-guzzling multi-band setting while you want it. Although the Intuition 2X Photo voltaic has an absurdly {powerful} battery life on paper, it isn’t limitless; SatIQ would have been a welcome addition.
Somewhat than checklist out each Garmin software program characteristic out there on the Intuition 2X Photo voltaic, I’ve grouped them into classes under exhibiting what you may anticipate from it.
Well being monitoring: As with most Garmin watches, you get all-day coronary heart charge monitoring, stress monitoring, respiration information, and (if you happen to allow it) blood oxygen ranges, in addition to detailed sleep monitoring information. It makes use of this information to assist generate a Physique Battery rating. A much less frequent instrument is coronary heart charge variability (HRV) standing, which could be very helpful for precisely judging your restoration from robust exercises (or an excessive amount of ingesting).
Coaching information: Utilizing working for instance, your Intuition 2X Photo voltaic will present you the coaching impact of a run, advocate how lengthy you could get better afterward and recommend every day exercises based mostly in your power degree and coaching readiness. You will see your present efficiency situation and certain race tempo earlier than an occasion, and get guided throughout a run if you happen to’re off your goal tempo.
New options: The Morning Report widget sleep high quality, native climate, really useful exercise, and different information while you first get up. Grade-adjusted tempo reveals how briskly you are working or biking relative to the uphill or downhill slope you are on. Coaching Readiness is my favourite new characteristic from the Forerunner sequence, combining your sleep and stress scores, acute load, HRV standing, restoration time, and different information to let you know if you happen to’re able to work out — and at what depth.
In comparison with most Forerunner watches, you may miss out on particular instruments like Pacepro, wrist-based working kind information, or full-color maps. However you could have many extra outside sports activities profiles like impediment course racing to take pleasure in, and you’ll pre-download mountain climbing trails and use breadcrumb path routing to comply with a mapped line to your vacation spot.
Actually, the largest downside with the Intuition 2X Photo voltaic, similar to its predecessor, is that it generally suffers from lag. You will discover minor delays when scrolling by way of menus, or lengthy loading screens in particular situations like ending a exercise. There is not any Wi-Fi for downloading updates or course information, both.
Garmin Intuition 2X Photo voltaic flashlight
Probably the most thrilling characteristic of the Intuition 2X Photo voltaic is the LED flashlight, or “Torch” because it’s labeled on the watch itself. It offers you a option to sign your presence or mild your path ahead throughout night time runs and rides.
At any time, you may double-tap the top-left button to show the flashlight on or off. Maintain down that button, and you will find the Torch and Strobe settings. Torch allows you to select one among 4 intensities for the white LED, the one crimson LED, or (on the Tactical Version) the inexperienced LED.
Strobe allows you to select between totally different LED-blinking patterns: Blink, Blitz, Beacon, Pulse, and Customized. The latter allows you to select the sample, velocity, and shade. Utilizing a Strobe setting could be an effective way to sign to different runners and cyclists that you simply’re there.
There’s additionally one final Torch setting: Cadence. Should you go into your Run exercise settings, you may allow it so the flashlight shines to match your working stride, both always or solely after sundown.
My smartphone digicam’s automated mild adjustment makes it troublesome to point out precisely how a lot the Intuition 2X Photo voltaic brightens an space. In particular person, the white LED does handle to light up the realm in entrance of you at greater intensities…however provided that you retain your arm parallel to your chest, so the flashlight faces ahead.
With a pure working or strolling movement, you may get glimpses of what is forward, however then your arm will draw again. The Intuition 2X flashlight is undoubtedly useful, but it surely does imply holding your watch hand extra rigidly than you usually would.
The opposite caveat to recollect is that the LED completely consumes the Garmin Intuition 2X Photo voltaic battery, particularly at excessive intensities and paired with GPS monitoring.
Once you activate the flashlight, the battery estimate on the watch auto-updates. When my watch confirmed 14 days of battery left, I began working with the flashlight energetic and swapped between the 4 intensities; the estimated time remaining switched to six hours on the lowest depth and 1–2 hours on the highest depth, ultimately exhibiting a “Low” battery warning.
In different phrases, if you happen to go for a run with multi-band GPS and the full-power flashlight energetic, even at full cost, the Intuition 2X Photo voltaic might solely final you a few hours at most. However if you happen to make do with a lower-intensity setting, it ought to simply final by way of a protracted nighttime run with battery to spare.
Garmin Intuition 2X Photo voltaic battery and photo voltaic recharge
The largest increase between the Intuition 2 Photo voltaic and 2X Photo voltaic is in battery life. Apart from having a bigger battery capability, the 2X Energy Glass panel is (in accordance with Garmin) 50% extra environment friendly than the earlier technology.
I assumed to check this for myself by placing each watches in a sunny spot in my yard and see how the lux hours registered on each units. Sadly, I forgot that the older mannequin solely reveals a proportion, so I could not straight examine what a “100%” cost means for one or the opposite.
So we’ve to depend on the official numbers from Garmin, which inform a fairly clear story:
Battery mode | Garmin Intuition 2X Photo voltaic | Garmin Intuition 2 Photo voltaic |
---|---|---|
Smartwatch mode | 40 days / Limitless with photo voltaic | 28 days / Limitless with photo voltaic |
GPS solely | 60 hours / 145 with photo voltaic | 30 hours / 48 with photo voltaic |
All Satellite tv for pc Programs | 40 hours / 65 with photo voltaic | 🚫 |
All + Multi-Band | 27 hours / 36 with photo voltaic | 🚫 |
Max Battery GPS Mode | 150 hours / Limitless with photo voltaic | 70 hours / 370 with photo voltaic |
Expedition GPS Exercise | 60 days / Limitless with photo voltaic | 32 days / Limitless with photo voltaic |
Should you persist with GPS or one of many extra intermittent monitoring settings like Expedition Mode, you may observe your self for weeks at a time, although provided that you get at the very least 3 hours of daylight per day. The impact is lessened considerably if you happen to use extra correct monitoring, however even then, the 2X Photo voltaic in multi-band mode lasts simply 3 hours lower than the two Photo voltaic in GPS mode (ignoring photo voltaic recharge).
The Intuition 2X Photo voltaic will solely be “limitless” if you happen to persist with very fundamental well being monitoring and notification checking. The extra you activate GPS, or most particularly the flashlight, the extra you may miss out on battery life.
Regardless of this, over 100 hours of GPS monitoring, or 65 with the default All-Programs monitoring, is head and shoulders above some other GPS watch I’ve ever examined. This is what makes the low-res show price it to individuals who want constant battery life for lengthy durations with no assure of with the ability to cost their watch.
With out this {powerful} capability, you would not be capable to help a built-in LED flashlight within the first place!
As a ultimate level, I like that I can really see the real-time daylight information on my watch, each in graph kind and on the primary watch face. Like monitoring my every day steps, it feels prefer it nearly gamifies the solar-recharging perk, as I attempt to get exterior extra and hit a sure lux threshold to regain misplaced battery life.
Competitors
As this evaluation has in all probability made clear, the Intuition 2 Photo voltaic is smaller, has no flashlight, is lacking just a few key software program instruments, and has a much less readable show. However if you happen to see one for $100 lower than the 2X Photo voltaic, and also you’re somebody with a smaller wrist, chances are you’ll settle for these downgrades. Or, you may have a look at the hybrid Intuition Crossover mannequin with related options (together with a photo voltaic panel) and conventional watch palms for a extra retro look.
If you’d like a long-lasting smartwatch however do not constantly get outside sufficient for a photo voltaic panel to repay, contemplate the COROS APEX 2 Professional. It really beats the Intuition 2X with 75 GPS hours or 45 All-Programs GNSS hours (with out taking photo voltaic under consideration), and has a a lot greater shade LCD show, trendy titanium casing and Sapphire Glass, and loads of helpful software program instruments that mirror Garmin’s.
In any other case, you may clearly wish to have a look at the opposite improbable Garmin watches on the market. The Venu sequence is, in some ways, the inverse of the Intuition sequence, focusing extra on a trendy show and way of life options like music storage and a mic/speaker for telephone calls. Or, for rugged designs paired with higher shows, you may have to show to the dearer Fenix sequence.
Garmin Intuition 2X Photo voltaic: Must you purchase it?
You can purchase the Intuition 2X Photo voltaic if…
- Lengthy battery life is your primary concern.
- You want a design rugged sufficient to deal with something you throw at it.
- You possibly can’t afford a Garmin Fenix, Enduro, or Epix watch, however need the following smartest thing.
You should not purchase the Intuition 2X Photo voltaic if…
- You desire a watch that feels mild and breezy.
- Tons of battery life is superfluous to you.
- You care extra about smarts and telephone connectivity than health monitoring.
The Garmin Intuition 2X Photo voltaic is not designed with me in thoughts. I, sadly, do not get sufficient day out within the daylight to learn from the photo voltaic panel or embark on excursions the place an ultra-rugged design is important. Nonetheless, I can respect an important health look ahead to what it’s, even when I am not the target market.
I do actually like having the flashlight for when my night runs take longer than anticipated, and I might positive love for this instrument to finish up on different Garmin fashions just like the Forerunner sequence sooner or later. But it surely in all probability will not work on one other mannequin since you want an ultra-powerful battery for it to persist lengthy sufficient to be well worth the addition.
In the end, I extremely advocate the Garmin Intuition 2X Photo voltaic to anybody who suits the factors above and may deal with carrying a bigger watch than what most individuals are used to. I referred to as the Intuition 2 Photo voltaic the “marathoner of health smartwatches” in my evaluation final yr, which makes the Intuition 2X Photo voltaic the ultramarathoner.
A rugged design, improved software program, ridiculously good battery life and photo voltaic recharge, and the helpful new flashlight make the 2X probably the greatest health watches of the yr.
[ad_2]
Source link