Garmin Instinct 2 vs. G-Shock: do I really need a smartwatch?
2026-07-26 10:01
The battery life on my Garmin Instinct 2 is really good. If I run a couple of times a week, it can last about 20 days. Obviously, the more I run, the less it lasts. There was one time, on a very long trail hike, that the charge dropped considerably in that single day. But most of the time, charging the watch is something I only do twice a month. Which, in my opinion, is an impressive feat, especially compared to other smartwatches.
Even though it is something as rare as that, I've been increasingly thinking about the features I actually use every time I have to charge the watch. And there aren't many!
For example, it has a GPS so in theory, I could go out for runs with just the Garmin, but I end up bringing my phone anyway because when I run, I like to listen to podcasts. In other words, that tracking could easily be done by an app like OrganicMaps. That is, if I even need to track anything at all.
The watch also tracks my heart rate, but, honestly, I've never used that data for anything. I'm not training for competitions, trying to improve my time, or anything like that. I run because I enjoy it. Plus, it's good for my health and helps me clear my mind.
I wear tougher watches because I'm always doing hands-on work like gardening and woodworking. Also, when I play with my dog, he has a habit of biting my watch to grab my hand. The Garmin is basically a tank that stands up to all of that and more. Just like the G-Shock GBD-800 I used before it.
So what if I went back to the Casio?
I bought it in April 2021, and sometime later it ended up abandoned in a drawer. It stayed there for a few years, alerting me hourly that it was still alive. As expected, everything was fine, and the quartz movement ensured it was only off by a few minutes.
This G-Shock has Bluetooth and a smartphone app, but none of that is necessary. Everything can be configured and used directly on the watch. According to Casio, the app only exists to make life easier when setting alarms, time, etc. To me, it feels more like an excuse to track user habits. But as I said, the app isn't required.
The Garmin also works without the app, but since it has local storage, I imagine everything gets pushed to the company's servers at the first connection opportunity. Don't quote me on that, though. I need to look into it a bit more.
Back to the Casio.
I completely disassembled the watch and got a rather unpleasant surprise. Even though I always washed it after my adventures, the internal parts were quite filthy. All the pieces you see clean in the image below were so gross on the inside before I washed them that I didn't even have the courage to take photos, let alone share them here.
The Garmin is made as a single block, which means there are no nooks and crannies for dirt to build up. On the other hand, there's no easy way to swap the battery, which will definitely be a future-me problem. Even though it's rechargeable, it will eventually need replacing. The only way to open the watch is by heating the bezel around the glass to melt the glue. Why?!
On the G-Shock, the battery lasts up to 10 years and can be replaced without much trouble. The display legibility, however, is pretty poor compared to the Garmin. Its strap is also stiffer and even a bit uncomfortable, but that's something I can easily fix.
On the Garmin, I've always kept notifications turned off. But every time I install a new app on my phone, notifications for that app start enabled by default. I don't know if it's a setting on the phone or the watch. I never figured that out. The fact is, I always have to turn them off manually afterward.
The G-Shock, on the other hand, is an old-school watch — for my generation at least. It shows the time, date, and has a few alarms. Basically, the features I actually use on the Garmin. Plus, there's the nostalgia factor, since the first watches I ever wore were Casios. Finally, a detail I didn't notice when I bought the G-Shock: in the photo above, you can see that the date format is year-month-day, exactly how I like to write it.
I'm not someone who considers watches a fashion accessory. I always wear the same one all the time, but I think I'll take the G-Shock out for a spin to see if I miss the Garmin. If I like it, I'll buy a more comfortable strap.
P.S. To understand why I was wearing a Garmin in the first place, you can read this post from 2022: Why not an Apple Watch or Wear OS?
