Garmin has a good reputation in the field of sports smart watches for many years. I have bought many of their products myself. My last Garmin watch was the Instinct Solar in 2020. In addition to its hard-core design, it is also equipped with Power Glass that can be charged by solar energy; two years later, Garmin will also launch the latest style of the Instinct series in December 2022:Instinct CrossoverStill continuing its hard-core characteristics.
Garmin Instinct Crossover launched a total of three styles of watches: the general version of the Instinct Crossover, the Instinct Crossover Solar Edition that supports solar charging, and the Instinct Crossover Solar Military Tactical Edition with military tactical functions. We recently received the highest-end Instinct Crossover Solar Military Tactical Edition , the editor also spent some time actually trying it on. Today, in this article, I will introduce this super cool sports smart watch to you.
Instinct Crossover Solar Military Tactical Edition Unboxing
▲ Instinct Crossover solar military tactical version, the packaging is designed in gray paper, and the product pattern is printed on the front.
▲ The word “Tactical” on the model means it is the highest-level solar military tactical version.
▲ Open the package and first see the watch body.
▲ Pack all accessories including quick start manual, USB charging transmission cable, watch body, and some stickers.
Hardcore appearance, military protection
Like other Instinct series models, the appearance of the Instinct Crossover can be seen at a glance that it is specially designed for men. Its body and strap are all black (the solar military tactical version is only available in black), not only the appearance Rugged, the body of the watch is also made of reinforced fiber polymer and white steel. It has passed the US military standard MIL-STD-810, which is heat-resistant, frost-resistant, impact-resistant, and corrosion-resistant; in addition, it also supports 10 ATM (100m) waterproof, so do not It is said that after taking a bath and swimming, it is no problem even if you wear it to go diving.
Like the previous Instinct series, the Instinct Crossover does not have a touch screen, but is operated by buttons. There are three buttons on the left side and two buttons on the right side, which are used to operate different functions, or to open Specific functions; in addition, it also adds a wrist-mounted optical heart rate detector on the back of the watch, which can detect heart rate and blood oxygen concentration.
▲ The design of the watch body looks quite rough.
▲ The silicone strap can be replaced with other 22mm QuickFit straps.
▲ The overall weight of the watch and strap is measured at about 64g, which is not very heavy to wear.
▲ There is a wrist-type optical heart rate detector on the back of the watch, and the 4 golden contacts are charging heads.
▲ The case is printed with the words MIL-STD-810, which means that it has passed the US military durable certification; it is also marked with a 100M waterproof rating.
▲ There are three physical buttons on the left side of the watch.
▲ There are two buttons on the right side, and the hole in the center is the air pressure sensor.
Power Glass Solar Charging
This Garmin Instinct Crossover solar military tactical smart watch is equipped with “Power Glass” solar charging mirror glass. The thickness of this glass is less than 0.5mm, but it is equipped with tiny solar power generation units, which makes the surface extremely transparent and easy to see with the naked eye. It looks like just a transparent lens; but it can absorb sunlight and charge the watch. Garmin says smart watch mode can provide up to 70 days of battery life, GPS mode can provide 31 hours of battery life, and power-saving watch mode (all functions except the clock are turned off) can reach unlimited battery life. electricity. Even if there is no sunlight at all, the watch itself can provide 28 days of battery life in smart watch mode.
The editor’s own impression is that in the general smart watch mode, although the power of solar charging cannot be strong enough to make the power grow positively, it can still slightly extend the battery life of the watch; and its charging capacity is also related to the type of ambient light source. There is a great correlation. If it is outdoors in the sun, the charging effect is the best; but if it is indoors under the fluorescent lamp environment, its blood replenishing effect is very limited, so if you are an outdoor cafe who likes to go out, then the best Can feel its solar charging benefits.
▲ Equipped with Power Glass solar charging lenses.
▲ The solar charge level of the past 6 hours can be displayed through the curve in the watch, and the current light intensity will be quantified in Lux Hours (lux hours).
pointer + screen dual display
The Garmin Instinct Crossover series of smart watches is Garmin’s first dual-display smart watch that combines physical pointers and reflective MIP screens. It is equipped with a 176 x 176 pixel monochrome transflective MIP screen, which is characterized by viewing in sunlight To be clearer, the backlight can also be turned on to read the information on the screen in a dark environment; and it is also equipped with physical pointers, allowing users to see the current time at a glance. In addition, its hands and clock scales are painted with Super- Luminova luminous paint, after absorbing light during the day, it will emit blue-green luminous light at night, so you can see the current time even in the dark.
▲ The characteristics of the MIP screen allow it to be seen most clearly under strong light, but at night it must rely on the backlight.
▲ The pointer and time scale are coated with Super-Luminova luminous paint, which will emit blue-green light at night.
In addition, the physical pointer of Instinct Crossover adopts RevoDrive impact-resistant automatic calibration pointer. When the pointer is subjected to a strong impact, it can detect whether it causes misalignment and automatically correct back to the accurate time. Users can also calibrate the pointer at any time, not afraid of the difference between the pointer time and the real time. difference. In addition, due to its dual-display design, when the watch receives a notification or is tracking sports, the hour and minute hands will automatically turn to a horizontal state, allowing users to see the information on the screen clearly.
▲ When a notification comes in, the pointer will turn into a horizontal state, allowing users to see the screen information clearly.
How is Military Tactics different?
I mentioned earlier that what we received was the highest-level “solar military tactical version”, so what is the difference between it and the general solar version? According to Garmin, the “Solar Military Tactical Edition” has a built-in night vision mode. After the mode is turned on, the optical heart rate sensor will be turned off synchronously. The screen information can only be read by wearing night vision goggles. There is also a “stealth mode” that can be hidden Your own GPS track; and the “one-click burn” function, which can delete all the information in the watch. In addition, it also adds “Skydiving Mode”, which provides three types of skydiving, which can accurately record skydiving data and help players hit the expected landing point.
However, I am not a military fan myself. I neither have night vision goggles, nor can I actually go skydiving to test the skydiving mode of the watch, so I can only share with you in words here.
Built-in more than 30 sports modes
And when it comes to sports tracking, that is the strength of Garmin watches. It has more than 50 built-in indoor and outdoor sports modes, including skiing, swimming, running, cycling, mountain climbing, rowing, HIIT fitness and other sports, and new sports can be added through the Garmin Connect app; in addition, it also supports GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO three satellite positioning system, making positioning more accurate and faster. The Instinct Crossover also adds tracking and returning functions, altimeter, barometer, and electronic compass for outdoor users.
In addition, the Instinct Crossover can monitor the user’s heart rate, pressure index, blood oxygen concentration, calorie consumption, body energy index, and VO2Max maximum oxygen uptake throughout the day. It is a fairly comprehensive sports smart watch.
▲ Various sports tracking items can be selected in the watch.
▲ Necessary information will be displayed on the screen during exercise.
▲ After the exercise is over, the performance data of this exercise will also be displayed, and the user will be prompted for the time required to achieve adequate rest.
▲ In the Garmin Connect App, you can see more detailed data for each exercise.
▲ The user’s complete body monitoring data can also be displayed in the Garmin Connect App.
Summary: Cool and practical smart watch
The Garmin Instinct Crossover Solar Military Tactical Edition smart watch I tried today is the first Garmin watch that uses pointer and screen dual display, plus the pointer design of luminous paint, not only looks super cool, but also allows users to get used to ordinary pointer watches of users switch more painlessly and use it more intuitively. In addition, its solar charging function can also greatly increase the battery life of the watch to nearly 2 months. Even if the sun is not strong enough, it will have a battery life of at least 28 days.
In addition, the sports tracking function of Garmin sports watches is also used by many users around the world. I don’t need to repeat this point; the Instinct Crossover also inherits this feature, making it a reliable sports watch. If you are a super outdoor cafe or a military fan who wants to try smart watches, you may wish to refer to this Garmin Instinct Crossover.
