Polar Electronics
Polar M2
Okay, I was a huge fan of polar. This was my fourth watch. And last! Sadly the M2 has a known fault with the bottom left button becoming stuck - non… Read more
responsive. Means you can't use it. This watch lasted me 2 years 8 months. Not long enough for the purchase price. Polar customer care, sorry out of warranty (just). So you've lost a customer. I'd suggest product review users look at a watch that is more robust and well built. I've now converted to garmin and won't go back. Much stronger build and more data options for same / cheaper price.
Polar Grit X
Amazing value for a real fitness watch – I have had the Polar Grit X for a few weeks after picking it up on-line from the manufacturer in a model run out sale. This is an upgrade from my… Read more
Polar Unite watch and is my 4th Polar sport watch in 11 years. Polar clearly understand the meaning of Kaizan, Ie the ongoing improvement of products. During workouts I use a Polar chest strap and heart sensor in addition to the watch (bought separately from Polar) - the combo works seamlessly for industry leading accuracy in HR monitoring. The chest sensor transmits HR to all the cardio machines in my club as soon as you hop on - it's like magic. Outside of workouts I rely on the on-wrist HR measurement. Form - the watch only comes in 3 color choices, so after eliminating all black and all white, mine is a silver/grey case with a green silicon strap. The color combo is nice, its sporty but not in-your-face look-at-me sporty. And I never lose sight of it being silver. The watch has FIVE buttons, but this works well. They are up, down, enter, backlight and back buttons. The best part is the display screen - it doesn't look much at first, but it is a dual mode color screen. It uses regular LCD type digits for reading in sunlight or daylight and uses a LED backlight for darker scenarios. A bit like an Amazon Kindle. The display is not super bright, but it is very clear and easy to read. The watch now has a small amount of sound capability too. The display is scratch proof, and the watch case is water resistant to 100M, so ok for basic swimming. Fit - The strap has a zillion holes and a conventional tang buckle. The strap is wide and thus a very comfy fit, and easy to adjust so its snug but not tight. Easy to wear all the time, during workouts and even during sleep. The strap uses easy fit pins so no need for tools if you want to upgrade the band. The watch has a medium to light weight, you barely notice it is there. Function - I love how the Polar tracks workouts, sleep, and daily effort with very little fuss - unlike some other watches. It tracks sleep totally autonomously - no need to tell it when you are going to sleep. At night it auto syncs Do Not Disturb with my phone, so no random bright lights in the night. It provides basic notifications from your phone and now YES even during workouts (FINALLY). The notifications are just enough to keep you in touch without being nagged 24/7 like some other watches. The Polar app on your phone sends all your data to the Polar Flow cloud it is THE BEST. I can get workout and sleep summaries from the watch, from my phone, or by logging on to the cloud. I LOVE THIS. The charger is improved too - it is a one-piece USB cable that fits magnetically on the back of the watch to charge it. Very easy. The watch is very well designed to preserve battery life and mine goes a week without a problem, even with HR set to Always. Pretty sure it only runs the GPS when you are training, very clever. When I upgraded to this watch, it just started adding data to my existing cloud database where the old Polar did - seamless and easy. If I had to pick one thing to improve, it might be the responsiveness of the touch screen. It works but can take a few attempts sometimes to get where you want to go. OH and I would also like the ability to actually switch the watch off, just to save battery when not in use. Great job Polar.
Polar OH1
Very frustrating experience. Was faulty from brand new. Long process to get replacement – Purchased from my gym, never turned on from the beginning. When plugged in to laptop or wall only red light came on. Would not sync as never turned… Read more
on when not plugged in. Customer service were frustrating to deal with, could not call or chat online, was over email back and forth. After them finally agreeing it was faulty and under warranty they asked me to send it to NSW office via registered post at my cost. I asked if they could please express post a replacement item as It had already been over a week process to get to this point. NO the replacement item will be shipped to me from Hong Kong??? seriously...... waiting another two weeks to get a replacement. Such a long and frustrating process. Not happy at all. Would not recommend a polar branded item ever. Only buying this as its all that sync's with my gyms equipment. If you purchase and its faulty, don't bother dealing with Polar, return it straight to where you got it from for a replacement.
The new Polar Loop is a screen free wearable fitness/sleep tracker from Polar. I have used the Polar ecosystem for 13 years and I like to wear a… Read more
regular watch most of the time, so I thought I would give this a go for $299. The Polar Loop (new version) comes well packages with short and long straps (black) and the charge adapter cable. Different coloured straps can be bought on-line for a decent price. The device is easy to set-up, charge and to use. It works pretty well, you don't even know you are wearing it most of the time. It works via the Polar phone app and free Cloud storage. It tracks HR and sleep quite well, with only a few quirks. 1. It will only record sleep if sleep is 4hrs or more. So if you sleep 5hrs, get up, then sleep another 3hrs, it only records the 5hrs. NB other Polar devices do the same, and it is annoying. 2. Battery life is about 5 days, I'd really like to only charge it once a week. 3. Unlike other Polar watches, it leaks red light out of each side, visible in the dark. Not a real problem, just seems weird. 4. Sometimes the band slips when removing/putting it on, then its a pain as it wont fit without quickly adjusting it back. The velcro strap is otherwise pretty good. 5. If I could improve ONE thing, it would be for it to be able to provide a near real-time measure of HR via the App. On the PLUS side. 1. Its very easy to wear and to charge with the federated USB-C adaptor. 2. Tracks HR quite accurately (I dont use it for workouts) 3. The best thing - NOT having phone notifications on it is quite liberating. From a marketing perspective I don't know how it will go competing with the new Polar STREET-X which is a lower end watch for about the same price. I recommend this product.
Polar M430
Costly to maintain – The wristband failed after 17months and Polar Australia want AUD$52 to replace it. You can get generic replacements much cheaper, but there is a… Read more
plastic piece that has broken where the band joins the watch, and the generic bands dont have this piece. So for general training i will return to using a phone which can record all the same data, including heart rate with a chest strap. I think the watch is now overpriced for the level of technology. Not recommended.
Polar Pacer
I have had a couple of Suunto sports watches but my latest (Suunto S7) has developed some pixel burn-in obver the years so I thought it was a good… Read more
time to buy a new watch. During the black Friday sales I saw a good deal on the Polar website for aPolar Pacer (non Oled/Amoled so less subsceptible to burn-in) and ordered one. Polar was one of the first brands providing sports watches and GPS watches for more serious athletes when I was young so I thought this would be a pretty safe bet.
THE GOOD This seemed like a pretty good deal at $185 instead of the usual $299. Compared to a decent Suunto this is pretty much less than half the price so I was quite happy with that....... for a bit. The shipping is exceptionally fast, I ordered the watch on a Friday morning and received it Monday afternoon...... and it came from Hong Kong. I'm usually quite impressed if products get sent that fast when they're already in Sydney and the shipping didn't cost anything either, full marks for that! Unfortunately that is also where the good news ends.
THE BAD While very happy with the fast delivery, that excitement disappeared quickly when I opened the box. This watch is incredibly underwhelming and does not feel at all like the quality product I was expecting. The watch is very light (which itself is probably a good thing) but it's very flimsy as well. The buttons feel inaccurate (they sometimes respond and sometimes don't), the strap feels like it can fall off any moment (the watch comes with a second strap..... I wonder why) the screen looks very low-rent and when it's even slightly light is illegible. Now I understand why everyone else is moving to Oled and Amoled screens, my Suunto S7 screen even with the burn-in is a lot easier to read in light or dark environments that this.
What is also incredibly frustrating is that the charging cable barely attaches to the watch. when I tried to charge it and put the phone on the table, it straight away disconnected. I had to check 3 times over if I had mis-aligned the charger magnets with the watch or tried to attach it incorrectly but none of that was the case, it's just VERY weak. This is also not exactly a strong point of my Suunto S7 and I often want to use my watch only to find the battery is empty (why they don't just use a USB C is beyond me, my running headlight which is as small as my watch is has one and it works perfectly).
THE UGLY I mentioned the screen and while I wasn't expecting Suunto or Apple watch like "visual pleasantness", this display just looks very cheap. After I scrolled through it a few times I knew enough...... this is NOT for me and I will not be wasting my time trying to get used to this ultimately very disappointing watch. While I got the watch cheap ($185 instead of $299), I feel the $185 price is still a stretch. My son's Samsung watch is also pretty simple but feels a lot better made with a display that looks a lot more attractive than this. I cannot help but feel this is a rip-off not worthy of the Polar brand..... or perhaps not worthy of what I (perhaps incorrectly) thought the Polar brand used to represent.
As Polar's return policy is not as generous as some these days (I have asked if I could return it but as I opened the box they don't accept a return..... unfortunate but understandable as well) I am selling this watch and will soon be buying another Suunto (my 3rd).