Garmin Instinct 2 Solar Review: Rugged, Reliable, and Renewable Energy

 Introduction:

As an outdoor enthusiast, finding the right GPS smartwatch that can keep up with your adventures can be a challenge. Garmin, a brand renowned for its expertise in navigation and wearables, has recently released the Instinct 2 Solar, a rugged GPS smartwatch designed to withstand the toughest conditions. In this review, we'll delve into the features, performance, and overall value of this solar-powered smartwatch, perfect for those who love to explore the great outdoors.

Design and Build Quality:

The Garmin Instinct 2 Solar boasts a robust design that can withstand the rigors of outdoor activities. With a fiber-reinforced polymer case and a chemically strengthened glass lens, this smartwatch is built to last. The design is purposeful, with a prominent button layout that makes it easy to navigate through menus and functions, even with gloved hands.

Solar Charging:

One of the standout features of the Instinct 2 Solar is its ability to harness solar power to recharge its battery. When exposed to sunlight, the watch's Power Glass lens can generate up to 50% of the battery's capacity in just three days. This means that, with moderate usage, you can enjoy extended battery life without needing to recharge. Perfect for those long backpacking trips or multi-day adventures!

GPS Performance:

The Instinct 2 Solar features Garmin's advanced GPS capabilities, providing accurate and reliable location tracking, even in the most remote areas. With support for multiple satellite systems, including GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo, this smartwatch can pinpoint your location with ease. The watch also includes advanced features like route tracking, elevation data, and geocaching, making it an excellent choice for hikers, runners, and cyclists.

Fitness and Wellness Features:

In addition to its outdoor-focused features, the Instinct 2 Solar includes a range of fitness and wellness features to help you stay on top of your game. The watch tracks your daily activities, including steps taken, calories burned, and sleep quality. It also includes advanced features like stress tracking, lactate threshold tracking, and VO2 max estimation.

Smart Features:

The Instinct 2 Solar is more than just a GPS watch; it's a fully-fledged smartwatch. With Bluetooth connectivity, you can receive notifications from your phone, control music playback, and even make payments with Garmin Pay. The watch also includes access to the Garmin Connect IQ store, where you can download custom watch faces, apps, and data fields to personalize your experience.

Verdict:

The Garmin Instinct 2 Solar is an outstanding GPS smartwatch that has impressed us with its rugged design, reliable performance, and innovative solar charging capabilities. Whether you're a casual outdoor enthusiast or a seasoned adventurer, this watch has something to offer. With its advanced GPS features, fitness tracking capabilities, and smart functionality, the Instinct 2 Solar is an excellent choice for anyone looking for a reliable companion for their outdoor pursuits.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Recommendation:

If you're in the market for a rugged, reliable, and feature-packed GPS smartwatch, the Garmin Instinct 2 Solar should be at the top of your list. With its innovative solar charging capabilities and advanced outdoor features, this watch is an excellent choice for anyone who loves to explore the great outdoors.

I hope you find this draft helpful when looking for a good reliable watch

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Tips onTraveling with a Rescue Dog

When we lost our Blue Heeler that traveled everywhere with us. It was a very hard decision to decide whether to get another dog or not. We were in our late 70's therefore we were not sure if it would be fair to get another dog at our age.

We could not stand the quietness it was like a morgue at home without the interaction of a dog.  We lasted 2 weeks and then we got excited at the prospect of bringing another dog into our home.

We decided to look for a rescue dog as they needed a good home.  Well, we went to a dog's refuge in Perth and my husband was set on bringing home a big big dog called Benson.  I have to admit he was beautiful.  He slept all the way home without any problems.

Home Arrival

I was in the kitchen and suddenly Benson jumped up at me his front paws on my shoulders. Yes, he was very friendly, but with the size of him he was pushing me back into the cupboard.  I managed to get him down and made a cup of coffee.  He followed my husband out to the bathroom.

I took my hot coffee into the lounge and sat down.  The next minute I saw this blur on my left and Benson jumped onto the lounge spilling hot coffee all over me.  That was it. He had to go back.  But having said that it was not his fault.  As when we were at the refuge I had seen him run from the front of his cage down the back and jump on top of his kennel.  That is probably what he thought he was doing. 

Keizer

A week later we saw this little x dog in another refuge home in York.  We rang up and went to see him.  He was in the same Kennel as his mother a full boxer. The guy told us that Keizer was a Jack Russel X Boxer.

We brought him home and a week later had him sterilized

Traveling with Keizer

Three weeks later decided to do another trip around Australia.  We have always kept our dogs on a leash so this was no different. We knew about the 1080 poison so we bought him a soft breathable dog muzzle so he could not pick up any baits.

Before we left home we bought a Seresto Tick and Flea Collar Which we put on him before leaving.

Another good idea is to have a full safety harness so your dog cannot be propelled out the window if you break suddenly

Great watch Dog

Can you believe that just 3 weeks out on our trip Keizer showed us just how important we were to him. 

My Husband was walking around with him and stopped to talk to a fellow traveler. about 5 vans away from ours.   A man knocked on our door asking about something and Keizer spotted him. He went beserk pulling on the lead dragging my husband towards our van.  We knew from that day that we had made a good choice getting Keizer.

Other tips when traveling with a dog

Beware of snakes in the long grass.  

If you are from west Australia like us, we were not prepared for crocodiles.  Yes, we knew they were in Queensland but not where they were.  We went fishing at Port.....................where the tide rushes out in the morning and back in the evening.  We had driven down different tracks each day and had caught a few whiting but nothing else. Then one day we drove up further where the big bridge is and there right in front of us was a big sign.   BEWARE OF CROCS. We looked at each other horrified, realising what a risk we had been taking by fishing down those little tracks unaware of the dangers. So do your homework and be prepared.

OTHER DOG PRODUCTS ON AMAZON TO KEEP YOUR FUR BABY SAFE

I hope these tips will help you to choose and keep your dog safe on your travels. Let me know if you have any better ideas in the comments.

My Favorite No Bake Chocolate Slice

 I love this chocolate no bake chocolate slice as it is so simple and quick to make and even faster to eat.

This is also a great treat to have around Christmas time

Ingredients

125 g Butter or Margarine

1 egg

1 cup mixed fruit or sultanas

1 tablespoon coconut

3/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cocoa

1 x 250 g packet Marie or arrowroot biscuits crushed

Kitchen 10 Inch Nonstick Springform Pan, Professional Spring Form and Cheesecake Baking Mold, Leakproof Cake Pan with Silicone Handles

Method

1. Heat butter, add egg, sugar, fruit and bring to the boil

2. Mix in the cocoa, coconut and crushed biscuits

3 Press mixture into a greased swiss roll or similar tin

4 Ice with chocolate icing while hot

5 Sprinkle with coconut if desired

Now sit back and enjoy.

Well, what do you think of that?

Ideal Smart Watch for Men and Women

Smart Watch for Men Women with Call Answer/Dial, 

This watch has a 1.8'' HD Screen Activity Tracker with Built-in Alexa, 100 Sport Modes Heart Rate/SpO2/Sleep Monitor,IP68 Waterproof Smartwatch for Android iOS

Make/Answer Calls & Alexa Built-in】The latest answer/make call smart watch, connected to Bluetooth, can use the watch to dial and answer calls through the built-in microphone, Tensky bluetooth watch also supports synchronizing mobile phone contacts and call records. Also, you can talk to Amazon Alexa on smartwatch. Ask questions, control music playback, check weather, set alarms, timers, and more just by speaking to your watch. Help you free hands and making communication more free.

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I bought a guardian smart watch and I love it as you can answer your phone. It takes your blood pressure and heart rate so it does all the things I need which is important.

Popglory Smart Watch Answer/Make Calls & 2 Straps, 1.85" Large Smartwatch for Women Men, Fitness Watch Blood Pressure, Blood Oxygen, Heart Rate Tracking, Step Counter for iPhone & Android

Make and answer calls and comes with 2 straps. It has an alarm and stopwatch plus more options

For other options check these out

I hope you enjoy shopping from AMAZON

Womens Two-Piece Outfit for Travel Comfort

 We all need to be comfortable when we spend long hours sitting in a car traveling.  That's why I have looked for some things for women like me to travel in comfort.

I found this PrettyGarden Women's Two-Piece Outfit short sleeve pullover with drawstring Long Pants Tracksuit Jogger Set. Designed in classic solid color and simple style so you can wear them separately or mix with different tops or pants. 

The high elastic waist can be adjusted according to your waistline to achieve the best fit. 

You could even wear these for joggers or don't tell anyone your pajamas, or any informal occasions.

These will also make a great special Christmas or Birthday gift. They come in a variety of colors. 

Like anything that you order online READ all the information before ordering to make sure you also order the right sizes.

PRETTYGARDEN Women's Tie Dye Two Piece Pajamas Set Casual Long Sleeve Sweatshirt with Long Pants Loungewear

As I said above read all the information on the ads as sizes could be different.  Have fun lounging about in one of these.

Check out these other outfits

Wearable Fitness Health and Activity Trackers

 There are so many ways that we can actually track our fitness these days.  It makes you wonder if we all had these would it stop us from having heart attacks and other problems.   I think anything that can warn or prepare us like this Health Tracker must be a good idea.

That is why I have tried to pick out a few of these things for anyone to have a look at.  If you have any ideas on these products, then let me know what you think in the comments section below if you would like to.

This one is the WHOOP with 12 month subscription.  It is a Wearable health, fitness and Activity Tracker.  It has Continuous monitoring and performance optimization. Improve sleep, strain and Heart rate tracking.

This Captures unlimited medical-grade EKG's in 30 seconds and will get and instant analysis on your smartphone.  It is small enough to fit in your pocket so you can take it anywhere with you.

The Activity Tracker is Simple to Use - Just place your fingers on the sensors to detect atrial fibrillation and normal sinus rhythm.

EKG History- With the press of a button, email your EKG's to your doctor or save them to your phone.

Works with most tablets and phones. Like with anything read all the information before buying as to what is included in this product.

Smart Watch for Women   Alexa, Bluetooth call, receive text 1.8 Inches smartwatch heart rate sleep monitor for Android iOS phones, Waterproof Fitness Tracker Watch.

This smart watch allows you to answer and make calls on your wrist with it Bult in speakers and Bluetooth connection. You can also email, SMS and use Facebook.

Alexa has a built-in assistant so you can ask for things like weather, find phone, music control and other features. 

Smart Sport watches for women are equipped with high performance optical sensors, it records steps, calories and monitors heart rate and blood oxygen.

Like with anything make sure you read all the details before buying anything.

When Travelling the Elderly Need a Phone

It is important when travelling to have a phone with you. You don't have to buy an expensive phone, although you need it to be reliable with a decent size keyboard.  As we age our fingers are more fragile and our hands often shake so that's why you need a larger keyboard.

This phone that I have picked out would be a nice gift for an elderly person, or even as a second phone for a partner.  It is a F2FTlk Reno 10 phone.  It is not expensive with a 5.0inch Display screen.

This Reno Phone is loaded with the most stable smooth Android system 9.0 which means it has less bugs than the newer ones. The bonus with this phone is you don't have to upgrade the system. And you can still download a few of your favorite apps. Plus, you can still add another memory card to expand it to a 128GB. You can actually add 2 nano SIM card and a memory card.  And it is compatible with all pre-pay SUM cards except for CDMA carrier.

It comes with a Dual SIM, a Dual Camera.

The Reno Phone Battery is a3000 mAh very efficient. I can be charged in 3 to 3-1/2 hours and provide 7 days standby time. Plus you have good after-sales service.

This may be helpful check it out if interested, even for a second phone.

Large Key Wired Telephone has an Adjustable Ring Tone with a large warning light at the bottom so you will no longer miss any calls and it comes with an adjustable earpiece Volume.

This Large keypad is ideal as the very hard to see person can clearly see the numbers to dial a number which will avoid them calling a wrong number like with smaller numbered keyboards.

This also helps when answering calls as you can still adjust the volume for the impaired person.

The Large Key Wired Phone is connected to line power and the added benefit is that if the power fails you can still communicate with your loved one or use for any emergency.

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• This Large Key Wired Telephone is Ideal for the elderly, although I would suggest that you still read all the information before buying anything.

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