The ifrothgolf review
A rugged solar-powered hybrid GPS watch (real analogue hands sat over a small digital screen) that doubles as a proper golf GPS, aimed at the bloke who wants one tough watch for the course, the gym and everything else.
What's great
The golf basics are sorted: over 43,000 courses you download free, plus front, middle and back of green yardages on your wrist, so it does the job a budget golf GPS does. Battery is the real party trick. With solar topping it up you genuinely go weeks between charges, and a full round barely dents it, so you'll never get caught short on the back nine. The transflective screen is dim indoors but properly shines in bright sun, which is exactly when you're reading a yardage. And it's built like a tank, so it shrugs off knocks, rain and the inevitable bag-chuck.
Worth knowing
The headline gimmick is the headache for golf: the physical hands actually sit over an already small, low-res screen, so glancing at a yardage means peering past the dial. No touchscreen and no full hole maps either, just basic layout, so it's a step behind dedicated golf watches for visual detail. The backlight is weak and lume barely charges, so dawn rounds are a squint. GPS is single-band (still accurate in testing, but behind pricier Garmins), and the big one: it costs a fair chunk more than the near-identical Instinct 2 Solar for little beyond those hands.
The verdict
A brilliantly tough, near-unkillable battery champ that handles golf yardages fine, but you're paying a premium for analogue hands that get in the way of the very screen you bought it to read. If you don't care about the hands, buy the cheaper Instinct 2 Solar and pocket the difference. If you love the look and want one rugged do-everything watch, I rate it.
What reviewers say
Reviewers love the toughness, solar-extended battery and accurate GPS, comparing it to a smart G-Shock. The main knocks are price and that the analogue-hand hybrid format adds little beyond novelty.
