The new Garmin Instinct 3 had me climbing a wall – in the best way possible

I have a confession to make: I’ve never climbed a rock wall and honestly had no plans to do so. However, when Garmin invited me to take a short break from the CES 2025 grind to try out a pair of its newest rugged smartwatches, I agreed, if only for the chance to try out one, the Solar Instinct 3 with battery life that will last forever.

The Garmin Instinct 3 rugged watches have bold, even aggressive looks and seem more than up to the task of surviving a rock climbing wall fall (Editor's note: Nobody fell).

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There’s the new solar-powered one featuring a non-touch monochrome display surrounded by a metal band that further protects the watch and its screen, most of which is covered by a transparent solar panel. There are ample black areas surrounding the digital display that are more efficient at capturing the sunlight.

The other Inspire 3 watch features a brilliant and colorful AMOLED screen. While the Solar Instinct 3 will, with enough sunlight, run indefinitely, the AMOLED is no slouch, running up to 24 days on a charge.

There are a pair of buttons on the right and a trio of them on the left side of each watch. Navigating the rich interfaces is a bit tricky at first, especially if you’re used to touch screens but I’d reckon you’d get used to it quickly.

I do like that the readouts on both watches are quite clear. And I found them easy to read even as I climbed and glanced at my wrist.

Oh, yes, I did climb. It was a V0 difficulty wall, and I was able to track that exact climb with the Garmin Instinct 3 Solar on one wrist and the Garmin Instinct 3 AMOLED on the other.

Both watches have a deep well of activity-tracking options, and you can add more if you don’t see your preferred workout.

I wore the larger 50mm watches (there are also a 45mm options) but despite their rugged appearance I didn’t find them uncomfortable. The nearly unlimited battery life might encourage you to wear them to bed. Sleep tracking, after all, is a core part of the health tracking features. You get a daily battery level score that helps you decide if you need to fit more in your wellness or fitness activities.

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The watches will provide all the traditional notifications you’d expect from a smart wearable, but you won’t be receiving calls. There are no microphones or speakers on either Instinct 3.

At $399.99 to start for the Solar line ( AMOLED starts at $449.99), this is considered Garmin's more affordable rugged watch. One of the things you lose with a lower price is the detailed, active topo-active maps, but you still have GPS and all the navigation features that come with that.

I didn’t have a lot of time with both watches, mostly just my pair of uneventful climbs, but one cool feature that I did get to try is the built-in flashlight.

On both the solar and AMOLED models, the little lamp sits between the lugs on the top side of the watch. A double press on one button turns it on, then pressing one of the two buttons below raises and lowers the brightness. You can keep pressing, and then the light turns red, which might be a pleasant surprise for those who hate bright white flashlight lights.

Generally, I liked what I saw in these Garmin Instinct 3 rugged smartwatches. They're comfortable and fun-looking, have great screens, and have incredible battery life. The prices are decent for this near-ultra class of smartwatches and may be a great alternative for someone who doesn’t want to invest in a pricey Apple Ultra.

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