Garmin has a line of hybrid smartwatches called Vivomove. “Hybrid” means there are analog clock hands like a classic clock (well, not really – they’re electronically controlled) as well as a digital display. The Vivomove series has an elegant design and is not particularly robust. The more adventurous types should instead look to the new model: the Garmin Instinct Crossover.
It is based on the new Instinct 2 series, which makes it quite rugged – the watch is rated for 10 ATM water resistance and is built to a MIL-STD-810 standard for thermal and shock resistance. Unlike its siblings, the Crossover has analog hands controlled by the new RevoDrive technology. It can automatically calibrate itself if the hands are out of alignment after the watch has been hit hard.
The analog hands give it a classic look (we get G-Shock vibes from those chunky bezels) and act as an always-on display: you can always read the time, even in the dark thanks to the Super-LumiNova coating on the hands and chapter ring.
Like other Instinct watches, the Crossover has a solar charging option: in battery saving mode the watch has practically infinite battery life (assuming it spends at least 3 hours in the sun every day). You will be using it in smartwatch mode most of the time, so the battery life is up to 70 days and the GPS tracking time is up to 31 hours. That’s with frequent tracking, GPS Expedition Mode solar powered watches can last nearly a year!
Even without solar charging (which costs a bit more) battery life can make other smartwatches jealous: up to 28 days in smartwatch mode (up to 71 hours in power saving mode) and up to 25 hours of GPS tracking.
The Garmin Instinct crossover (solar)
Instinct Crossover offers typical smartwatch and health monitoring features. It can measure your VO2 Max, calculate your “fitness age”, report training status / load / effect and calculate a recovery time. It also features advanced sleep tracking with sleep score and body battery.
Supports Garmin Pay and the Connect IQ app store. It has multi-GNSS tracking and TracBack routing (which can guide you to your starting location). The watch has so-called ABC sensors: altimeter, barometer and compass. It can also connect to additional sensors and other hardware via Bluetooth and ANT +.
The Garmin Instinct Crossover starts at $ 500 for the basic version, the solar costs $ 50 more. You can find the new model on Garmin.com.
There’s also a tactical edition, which is compatible with night vision goggles, has a stealth mode, dual-format GPS reading, and a kill switch (Garmin sells watches to the military and is popular with hunters).
Start a new Thread