POLAR Vantage M Multisport Smart Watch
Challenge your limits with Polar Vantage M, an all-round multisport GPS watch for anyone who loves setting new records. This slim and lightweight training companion provides you with all the data you need to improve your performance in all your favorite sports. Push your limits using data driven insight with the Polar Vantage M Multisport GPS watch. Next generation optical heart rate technology with Polars Training Load Pro feature calculates how training effects your body for a more complete picture. Go long with up to 30 hours of GPS training time.
- ULTRA-LONG BATTERY LIFE: The Polar Vantage M Advanced GPS Running & Multisport Watch lasts for up to 30 hours of training time
- POLAR PRECISION PRIME HEART RATE: Polar’s heart rate monitor watches redefine the gold standard in optical heart rate accuracy by combining the latest in bio-impedance electrodes and optical sensors
- TRAINING LOAD PRO: The Vantage M is the ultimate fitness tracker, separating cardio load, muscle load and perceived load. Polar’s Training Load Pro provides an unparalleled look into how your training affects your body
- SWIM/BIKE/RUN FUNCTIONALITY: As a waterproof watch, long-distance running watch and biking activity tracker combined, you can capture key metrics like swimming stroke and pace. You can even pair with your favorite compatible cycling accessory
- PERSONALIZE WITH YOUR OWN STYLE: With customizable fitness band options, tailor your Vantage M with replaceable wrist bands of multiple colors
Display resolution 240 x 240. Sizing M/L – wrist circumference 140-210 mm
PGZ –
I was torn between the Vantage V and the Vantage M. Since I don’t do much more than running I opted for the M. This is the most comfortable watch I’ve worn and the wrist based heart rate is way more accurate than my current Garmin 235. It was easy to set up (thumbs up to Polar for the ability to customize the screens right from the Flow App!), accurate heart rate and GPS, and the color screen was easy to see while running outdoors. Couldn’t be happier
Girl mom –
Maybe I got a defective unit, but the display was much to dim. There is also no adjustment available in the settings. I suspect this is the main reason for the better battery life, but after using a variety of polar and fitbit products, I found this unacceptable. Really disappointed since I’ve been waiting for the Vantage for awhile now. I love polar products, but I’m sitting this one out until it improves. Wore for a day and returned.
JPS –
I have been a dedicated Polar user for years as a competitive athlete. I still use my Polar M400 with great success; however, I was really hoping to ditch the strap after 15+ years. Below are some pros and cons that I found:Pros1. I do like the button layout since this is the standard (or has been) for Polar so if you’ve been using Polar, it’ll be much easier to adapt.2. I’m not a fan of touch screen watches. I train to train, not to play around with watch faces. I completely get the fitness enthusiast that wants a fitness/smart watch they can wear all the time. I probably like this watch’s button navigation process because it’s what I’m used to in prior HR watches.3. It has a clean look. Much better looking than the older Polar watches or those space-age looking watches. It might be a little big on someone with thin wrists.Cons1. HR measurement is not accurate. I did multiple comparison tests with my Polar M400 strap watch, with several different types of training modes, and readings were erratic. HR readings were closer to what the strap gave when there was less distal movement or wrist movement. At rest it was close (most of the time) but once I started to increase my movement and exercise intensity, the readings were inconsistent. For performance based training, this would NOT be a good choice.2. Kcalorie expenditure was off by at least 20% (lower than strap monitor). This makes sense if the HR readings were off. For those trying to gain or lose weight, it would NOT be a good choice either.3. In my opinion, the size of the watch is fine for a man’s wrist, but may be large for a woman’s. Of course, this is completely subjective since I do know some women that now like larger watches. Keep in mind that most comparable watches from other competitors are similar.4. The sync and customization options are limited, even when you use the computer app, which has slightly more options than the watch and phone app set-up. I would love to be able to lock the screen so I don’t inadvertently hit a button that might pause the session, or whatever.5. I’d love to have a brighter screen and a way to keep the light on. It does turn-on with a flip of the wrist, but it’s not always reliable and I don’t always need to turn my wrist to want that.6. The charger is horrible. Rather than a straight forward wall-to-watch plug, its some fancy magnetic connector. The USB cord from the wall extends to a magnetic attachment which easily detaches from the watch if its not laying on the watch face. Hard to explain but you’ll have to look at some of the online videos to get it.Just a note: I did the same comparison testing with the Garmin VivoActive 3 (versus Polar M400), and it was just as bad. In fact, for fun, I got my hands on a FitBit Alta HR and it actually had better readings than the Garmin or Polar; but still not accurate enough for me. Either way, I don’t think they’ve perfected this wrist based technology yet. I questioned it’s accuracy when it first came out but after reading an article saying it was very accurate compared to the “old strap” monitors, I thought I’d give it a try. I was really hoping this would be it; I REALLY want to ditch the chest strap…but not willing to sacrifice accuracy. Perhaps the watches at a much higher price-point work better, but I’d guess it would be the same. My next step is to test the arm strap.Good luck.
Tap Dancer –
Overall, i really like this heart rate monitor, the only flaw is that it does not track my heart rate correctly 100% of the time. I bought it to replace a very very very old Garmin. I think the ability to wear it 24/7 and track your activity + sleep is ‘fun’, but not why I bought it. I just needed to track my workouts and heart rate.Some Pros: I think it is a good looking watch. The interface is easy to use, and I love all the sport profiles that are available. My favorite thing so far has been the ability to buy this in a small. I have very small wrists, and it’s a luxury to be able to get it tight enough with out a long tail on the wrist band.Cons: My only con is that it does not track my heart rate correctly for all sports. It works just fine for weight training, pilates and indoor cycling. But when I wear it to walk or do the elliptical it is wildly inaccurate. Based on reading another review, I think it has trouble reading it correctly when I have a lot of arm movement. Therefore, I will be buying a strap to monitor my HR during these activities. Admittedly, it would have been convenient if the HR tracking via my wrist worked 100% of the time. But I was skeptical about this from the beginning, so I’m not shocked there are issues.
RunnerBoy –
As an avid trail and road runner (running 80-100 mi/week), I cannot review this watch highly enough. Having trained in a variety of watches over the years (Garmin, Suunto, Epson, and Polar), this watch is by far the best. The battery lasts forever before recharge, it is easy to figure out how to use, and it has all of the relevant features (HR, current pace, average pace, POWER!!!, splits, elevation, etc). As a trail runner, the new power metric has been extremely valuable since it is the only metric that remains constant through hills (HR goes up, pace goes down, power stays the same). Moreover, the watch is comfortable enough to sleep in, and is sleek enough to wear to work in a professional environment! I really have no critiques at this point and would recommend to anyone looking for a performance-oriented, good-looking, comfortable watch.
Spends2much –
Received the item on time. Quality of the watch is good. Feel incredibly light but I’m pretty sure it’ll hold up.I bought this mainly for it’s heart rate monitoring but without the chest strap.Like many other reviewers , the HR lags the chest strap in terms of rise and drop but in the end the average will mostly match the strap by 1 or 2 beats on average. The more steady the pace ie Jogging then the Hr from the vantage will pretty much match the chest strap but if you’re performing Interval Training or a gym workout then the immediate HR response will be consistantly 10 beats off . Again at the end of the workout the average will pretty much be inline with the chest strap which is fine with me as I use average rather than peaks and low HR .Also like many reviewers the watch is a little dim but this isn’t a deal breaker.Overall the watch is nice , a little expensive for my use as I only use it for HR monitoring but I guess it’s worth it for me as I’m sick of the chest strap.Overall I would recommend this product
Jon2473 –
Having used the M400 and M430 i thought it was a good time to purchase another so i went for the Vantage M. My partner purchased a Polar Ignite and this has a fantastic display, nice and bright and very clear, well done Polar on that watch, back to my new Vantage M, well…. dont get me wrong, its a great watch but i believe theres a lot of false advertising regarding the pictures Polar put out.The display is no where near as bright as any of the photos ive seen, it is advertised as bright and clear! how wrong they are, now ive seen a lot of complaints regarding this issue and also Polar did put an update out to fix this issue. Still the same.If the screen was as the Ignite this watch would be 100% but for now its sitting at a very low 20% Purchased this 28 November 2019.
Christian Freisinger –
10.03.2020Hier die ersten Erfahrungen, wird immer mal wieder upgedatet.Die Polar Vantage M, die richtige Wahl für mich.–Vorweg–Ich hatte zuvor eine Garmin Fenix 3 zum testen. Ich habe mich bewusst gegen die Marke Garmin entschieden.Garmin bietet eine fülle an Informationen und Auswertungen, für meinen Geschmack zu viel.Die Polar ist nicht ganz so “überladen mit Infos”. Für mich ist hier weniger mehr. Die Entwicklung der Software ist in Deutschland, was auch ein persönlicher + bei mir war.–Synchronisierung— “Polar Flow” App auf Mobilgerät –> Langes drücken der “Zurück-Taste” bewirkt Sync/Verbindungsaufbau mit der App. Am Anfang hatte ich Probleme, dass nicht immer eine Verbindung aufgebaut wurde, darauf hin habe ich die Uhr einmal in den Flugmodus gestellt. Seitdem gab es nie wieder Probleme beim Verbindungsaufbau.- “Polar Flow Sync” auf PC–Sportarten für die ich sie verwende— Laufsport- Zirkeltraining- Krafttraining- Die Uhr schlägt Übungseinheiten vor(Kraft ; Cardio ; Unterstützend), je nach persönlichem Trainings verlauf. Dabei ist ein Strichmännchen zu sehen welches die Übungen vor macht und daneben ein Erklärungstext worauf zu achten ist. Schaut man sich die Erklärung an bevor die Zeit ist für die jeweilige Übung gestartet wurde, stoppt die Uhr auch die Zeit und versteht sozusagen dass man sich erst noch die Übung verinnerlichen muss. Ich persönlich finde es genial.- Es können noch viele weitere Sportarten gewählt werden. Von diesen Sportarten können bis zu 10 auf die Uhr konfiguriert werden. Bei Bedarf auch wieder ersetzt/gelöscht werden.–Bedienung— 5 Tasten, super Intuitiv. Enter-Hoch-Runter-Zurück-Licht- Kein Touchscreen, ich wollte bewusst keinen Touchscreen da mit schwitzigen Händen schlecht zu Bedienen.–Interessante Features— Auto Stop Funktion beim Laufen. Steht der Läufer still, stoppt die Uhr die Aufzeichnung.(In meinem Fall die erste und einzige Fußgängerampel auf meiner Hausstrecke) Beginnt man wieder zu laufen startet die Uhr selbstständig wieder die Aufzeichnung- Kopplung mit anderen Diensten, z.B. Strava.- Das Armband verfügt über einen Schnellverschluss, dieser ist ohne Werkzeug lösbar. Dies ermöglicht das schnelle wechseln des Armbandes.Ich habe mir ein Armband mit Stretch und Klettverschluss zugelegt. So liegt die Pulsmessung immer sauber an und die Uhr kann auch unkompliziert kurz gelockert/gedreht werden.To be Continued