I’ve a confession to make: I’ve by no means climbed a rock wall and truthfully had no plans to take action. Nevertheless, when Garmin invited me to take a brief break from the CES 2025 grind to check out a pair of its latest rugged smartwatches, I agreed, if just for the prospect to check out one, the Photo voltaic Intuition 3 with battery life that may final endlessly.
The Garmin Instinct 3 rugged watches have daring, even aggressive seems and appear greater than as much as the duty of surviving a mountain climbing wall fall (Editor’s notice: No person fell).
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There’s the brand new solar-powered one that includes a non-touch monochrome show surrounded by a steel band that additional protects the watch and its display, most of which is roofed by a clear photo voltaic panel. There are ample black areas surrounding the digital show which are extra environment friendly at capturing the daylight.
The opposite Encourage 3 watch encompasses a good and colourful AMOLED display. Whereas the Photo voltaic Intuition 3 will, with sufficient daylight, run indefinitely, the AMOLED is not any slouch, operating as much as 24 days on a cost.
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There are a pair of buttons on the best and a trio of them on the left facet of every watch. Navigating the wealthy interfaces is a bit difficult at first, particularly in the event you’re used to the touch screens however I’d reckon you’d get used to it rapidly.
I do like that the readouts on each watches are fairly clear. And I discovered them straightforward to learn whilst I climbed and glanced at my wrist.
Oh, sure, I did climb. It was a V0 problem wall, and I used to be in a position to monitor that precise climb with the Garmin Intuition 3 Photo voltaic on one wrist and the Garmin Intuition 3 AMOLED on the opposite.
Each watches have a deep effectively of activity-tracking choices, and you’ll add extra in the event you don’t see your most well-liked exercise.
I wore the bigger 50mm watches (there are additionally a 45mm choices) however regardless of their rugged look I didn’t discover them uncomfortable. The practically limitless battery life would possibly encourage you to put on them to mattress. Sleep monitoring, in spite of everything, is a core a part of the well being monitoring options. You get a each day battery stage rating that helps you determine if it’s essential to match extra in your wellness or health actions.
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The watches will present all the standard notifications you’d count on from a sensible wearable, however you received’t be receiving calls. There aren’t any microphones or audio system on both Intuition 3.
At $399.99 to begin for the Photo voltaic line ( AMOLED begins at $449.99), that is thought-about Garmin’s extra reasonably priced rugged watch. One of many stuff you lose with a lower cost is the detailed, lively topo-active maps, however you continue to have GPS and all of the navigation options that include that.
I didn’t have a variety of time with each watches, largely simply my pair of uneventful climbs, however one cool characteristic that I did get to attempt is the built-in flashlight.
On each the photo voltaic and AMOLED fashions, the little lamp sits between the lugs on the highest facet of the watch. A double press on one button turns it on, then urgent one of many two buttons under raises and lowers the brightness. You’ll be able to preserve urgent, after which the sunshine turns crimson, which is perhaps a nice shock for many who hate shiny white flashlight lights.
Usually, I preferred what I noticed in these Garmin Intuition 3 rugged smartwatches. They’re snug and fun-looking, have nice screens, and have unbelievable battery life. The costs are respectable for this near-ultra class of smartwatches and could also be an awesome various for somebody who doesn’t need to spend money on a dear Apple Ultra.
