The Garmin Instinct is designed to be durable

The new Garmin Instinct outdoor GPS watch comes with a TracBack feature to help users plan trips via the Garmin Explore website. — THE STAR/Angelin Yeoh

Garmin launched the Instinct, a GPS watch that’s built for challenging environments. 

The watch has a fibre reinforced polymer case and can withstand temperatures ranging from -20° C to 60° C. It also meets the US military standard (MIL-STD-810G) for thermal, shock and water resistance.

The company also claimed that it can survive multi-directional shock from a drop distance of 1.22m. The Instinct is also water resistant up to 100m, and can be dunked even in salt-rich seawater.

The watch has a monochrome screen with a resolution of 128 x 128 pixels – Garmin claims that it will be visible even under direct sunlight but only has 16MB for memory and storage. 

Instinct can also track heart rate, steps taken, distance travelled, calories burned, and activities such as hiking, running, biking and swimming.

Other than GPS, it also has sensors such as a three-axis compass and barometric altimeter. Users can use the Garmin Explore app to plan a trip in advance and when it’s time to head back, the TracBack feature on the watch can help the user navigate the same route back to the original starting point.

When paired with a compatible smartphone, Instinct can receive notifications like texts, email messages and other alerts. 

The watch has a battery life of up to 14 days in smartwatch mode, up to 16 hours in GPS mode, and up to 40 hours in battery saver mode.

It has a dimension of 45 x 45 x 15.3mm and weighs 52g.

The Instinct is available in three colours – Graphite, Tundra and Flame Red – for RM1,450.