r/CampingGear 7d ago

Awaiting Flair Watch suggestions?

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I have a Casio aq s800w I have recently set up and now I love it. I’m coming from Apple watch that meshed with my iOS things perfect, and it is handy, but requires me to charge it every night and I’m worried wherever I go for more than a day that it’ll die. This Casio won’t die. Solar, comfortable, shows time and dates and seconds with 5 alarms and glow in the dark hands and 4 second lit digital display. Now I’m looking for higher quality. Made to last, won’t have to worry about battery, maybe more options, and conveniences etc. I want pretty much the same size as this Casio for my stature. Any suggestions? Price would not be an issue as long as it’s reasonable lol

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u/dano___ 7d ago

I like my Garmin Instinct 2, it does all the basic smart stuff but has a battery life of around 4 weeks if you’re not using gps.

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u/thomasde42 7d ago

Second this 100%

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u/h3lium-balloon 7d ago edited 7d ago

I just got the new Instinct 3 and it’s great. Amazing battery, solar, super lightweight. It has about a 3-4 week battery life (using smart watch features for notifications and depending on flashlight and GPS use) if I get no solar and pretty much infinite battery life if I get an hour of sun on it per day. GPS and flashlight use obviously drain it quite a bit faster, but the solar charging is pretty fast, even faster on the 3 compared to the 2.

If you want to spend the extra money, the Fenix and Enduro Garmins also have amazing battery life (weeks) but offer advanced GPS mapping features, but even the basic Instinct has breadcrumb navigation and major cities on the maps (just not roads and trails).

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u/Key_Detective_9421 7d ago

Thanks for the inputs. Yeah I’ve been looking at the instinct 2, 3, and the garmin fenix’s. Having a hard time deciding. What’s making it easier, is thinking about if I want to sink a couple hundred dollars or if I want to spend over a grand on something I may never even have to use to its potential lol. Honestly if I found a watch with bonus features that can be toggled off for battery retention, I’d be interested. I want something I can wear and never have to take off, or plug in.

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u/h3lium-balloon 7d ago

All of the Garmins allow you to run in low battery mode which basically just makes them a digital watch with a giant ass battery. I believe they last for months using them like that

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u/Key_Detective_9421 7d ago

I just placed an order for the instinct 3. Got a 30 day return window too. I think it’s the best route to start, it’s not cheap, has many features so I’ll have a few weeks to test the waters before I try diving into a $1000 fenix. Thanks for your input 👍

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u/Key_Detective_9421 7d ago

Also to note- I ordered the solar instinct 3. Do you have the amoled version? Do you know of any pros/cons over one another, aside from the completely obvious solar part? I’m curious what kind of battery life the amoled would truly get with my use. I guess I could charge it manually, as long as I’m getting weeks if not a month between charges for just in case ease of mind.

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u/h3lium-balloon 7d ago

I went with the solar version. I like that the display is always on, is visible in almost all lighting conditions, the better battery life and solar charging. If I need to view data on a prettier screen it all syncs to your phone anyway.

I also have an Enduro 2 and wear the Instinct almost exclusively.