First review i've ever written on anything
Bought this about a month ago, had the instinct 2 for about 2 years before this. The tactix 8 is an amazing watch. Was just on a 7 day long ski trip (ski'd 70 miles) and it tracks like no other watch. It is just so accurate (it also looks amazing on the wrist). Very excited to use it for turkey and whitetail season this year. Thank you garmin for the great watch.
Customer review from Garmin
Great watch!
I mainly upgraded my tactix delta because of the Rucking app. It’s been great! After I turned off a lot of things the battery lasts over 3 weeks. I love it!
Customer review from Garmin
Best Value
Hands down the best value Garmin watch you can buy today. I also own the Instinct 2X Tactical Solar, which is an outstanding watch, yet the Tactix 8 over delivers for the price. Yes, it is expensive but you can wait for a seasonal sale if needed. Regardless, the features included blow away the competition (I own an Apple Watch Ultra 3 as well…which hasn’t been turned on in over a month), I’m specifically talking about the tactile buttons, LED flashlight, included fitness tracking and robust build quality. There are myriad apps available for Apple’s offerings, however, they are all wonky and Garmin just includes 90% of what you really want. Besides, Apple can’t even get the bugs out of their “sleep/alarm” functionality, which will leave you high and dry on the days you need to be to work early. Ridiculous. Get the Garmin. You won’t regret it.
Customer review from Garmin
Great watch, but little bulky and weak battery
This watch is a great watch with a cool design. The brushed titanium looks stylish, but it’s likely to scratch easily. The battery life is not as good as advertised. Even with normal use, it showed 6-7 days of battery life, even without always on screen. To get better battery life, you have to turn off many features. I don’t think it makes sense to put the watch in power-save mode and not use all the features to have longer battery life. I think the Apple Ultra can get similar or close levels of battery life with power-save mode. The watch is great, but the 47mm size was bulky for me. I can’t think of a 51mm size. I would be happy to have a 45mm option but that’s not available, which I believe would be a perfect size for many people. Although that watch size, the watch band is incredibly narrow, only 22mm. I think that’s not wide enough for a 47mm watch. There’s something wrong with the ratios. Overall, the software is great, the buttons and touch screen are great to have, and the design and look are great. However, i believe Garmin still needs to work on the battery life for Amoled. 45mm watch size would be a great option. Definitely thy need to rework on the band sizes.
Customer review from Garmin
Love the Tactix 8
I used a Samsung watch for hiking and always had issues with battery life; it would stop working after 3 hours. The Tactix 8 is amazing. I can go on a 5-hour hike, and in full-on tracking mode, it uses less than 10% of the battery. Furthermore, I never take my phone out of my pocket anymore with all the amazing tracking and mapping features right on the watch itself. I am super happy with this watch, and in combination with my Garmin InReach Mini, I'm connected as well.
Customer review from Garmin
Great watch, very rugged
I got this watch as a gift for my wife. So far it has been amazing. I had an instinct solar and upgraded to this one and I couldn’t be happier. I love the touch screen, flashlight and all the upgraded workout and ruck functions. It was overall very robust and the battery life is outstanding. I have not got to use the AB function yet but I’m sure it will be great for my Dasher, 5 out of 5 stars. If you are thinking of upgrading this watch is for you.
Customer review from Garmin
One of the greatest "do-it-all" watches ever made.
The Garmin Tactix 8 is a modern marvel of wristwear. The watch combines a pleasing aesthetic, with superb quality hardware and well thought out software for the target consumer. The features of the watch work beautifully in a variety of conditions and it does it all while looking great. The display is impressive. It's bright, colorful and smooth. The wrist gesture works very well with only the occasional hiccup. The auto brightness is a bit clunky at times, but it generally functions well. All of the button shortcuts are super useful and being able to control and access important features of the watch with a simple button combo is great. Navigating the UI with the buttons is easy and intuitive, especially if you've had any other Garmin watch before. The touchscreen is responsive and large enough that navigating via touch is also a breeze. Battery life is phenomenal, with an average of about 25 days for me recording 4-6 activities a week. Prior to this watch, I had a Fenix 7 Pro Sapphire Solar. The solar function added very little life to the battery so I was fine trading that for a bigger screen with smaller bezels. Calling works great and the speaker is plenty loud unless you're in an already loud room, but that's typical of any watch speaker. I love how well Garmin has integrated connectivity with Inreach devices on their watches too. Controlling my InReach Messenger from the watch is super easy and well laid out. You can even activate SOS through the watch if your Inreach or phone is not immediately in hand, like in a pack or vehicle. Maps work great, look great and are well detailed. Having the ability to navigate anywhere from my watch, even if my phone doesn't have service is huge. Even the weather overlays work well in my experience. Running, rucking, HIIT and other activities are tracked very accurately with this watch. The GPS accuracy is incredible, even in more urban areas. The watch is also able to keep up with me during shooting events using the Tactical activity mode. Also, if you've never owned a Garmin watch with the built in flashlight, you are missing out greatly. It is an extremely useful tool and I use mine daily, despite also usually carrying an EDC flashlight. I really cannot think of any downsides to this watch aside from the price. This is a well made, secure, accurate and stylish piece that will work just as well in an office as it will in the back country or out in the field.
Customer review from Garmin
Great features!
Just about a month in and loving it. I’m still on my charge! Replaced the Delta Tactix, so many more options. So far, I love it!
Customer review from Garmin