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 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… Read more ·  1

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.