Español HEADS UP!!
The complete analysis of the Polar Vantage M and Polar Vantage V is now published.
Click here to see all the details and opinion of Polar's GPS watches.
Yesterday, Polar published its update calendar for new products that should start selling by the end of this month. One thing has become crystal clear, and that is that they have listened to users.
Initial criticism has been fierce in the face of the absence of navigation, with Polar indicating early on that it was on its calendar of possible updates and, by the way, it seems that it was not something that was too high up.
HEADS UP!!
The complete test of the Polar Vantage M and Polar Vantage V is now published.
Click here to access and know all the information and updated details of both models.
I think it was a reality check that they took away. In their opinion the watch will be destined to asphalt runners and triathletes, and not so much to mountain runners who are the ones who can make the most use of route navigation. Correct, and I agree with their reading. But perhaps they forgot the detail that when you put a 500 euro watch on the market the public will inevitably compare a list of functions and features, and there the Polar falters.
Yes, maybe the average user of this model is not going to go out on new routes every week, but what are the chances that he will go out at least once, twice or three times a year? Well, they are quite high.
Luckily, Polar has been attentive to the initial reactions and has already promised route navigation, but this will be a function exclusive to the Vantage V, as the Vantage M will have to be content with a return-to-begin function but without a specific route navigation function.
There aren't many more details about how the integration of the function will be, but I don't think it will be very different from what the V800 offered. Which seems right to me, because I still think that the watch, by concept, is not meant to be used regularly in the mountains (even though the huge autonomy announced).
In any case, here are the features that are coming in the near future. As always in this market, look at the dates with a bit of skepticism. I'm not saying this because I'm a Polar, it's just something that all manufacturers sin in more or less measure.
Polar Vantage Upgrade Calendar
Update 2.0 - December 2018
Polar Vantage V and M
- Stopwatch, countdown and interval timer
- Enhancements to existing functions (basically, bug fixes)
Upgrade 3.0 - Beginning 2019
Polar Vantage V
- Mobile Phone Notifications
- Route tracking with return to start and route navigation
- Enhancements to existing functions (basically, bug fixes)
Upgrade 3.0 - Beginning 2019
Polar Vantage M
- Mobile Phone Notifications
- Route tracking with return to home (but without full route navigation, that's just the Vantage V)
- Enhancements to existing functions (basically, bug fixes)
Other planned updates
- Strava Live Segments
- Fitness Test
- Correction of errors and other functions to be confirmed later
Thank you so much for sharing and commenting on this good news about the future inclusion of routes in the new Vantage! ???? ???? ???? ???? ???? ???? ???? ⌚ ???? ???? ️Me ️ ⌚ ️Me
A greeting from Murcia,
Joaquín
It's a pity that they don't consider full navigation on the M. Probably to force the purchase of the V
There are already differences but not so justified for the price.
I am still shocked to see how products are still being brought to market without being fully developed. I understand that soon they can be updated for error corrections, but that they do not yet have a stopwatch, notifications, navigation...
In addition, they dare to publish the dates of these improvements, which then if they are not produced is but for their image and for that of the client who bet on a device that was already on the market and that was not finished.
I totally agree it's unacceptable that unfinished products are put on sale. But the fault lies with the users, who buy them. I have a V800 and I've already been through the upgrade deliveries as if they were a bundle, and I don't intend to go through them again. If when I have the acceptably finished product, I'm convinced and I haven't bought a competitor's, then I'll buy it. Currently, switching from the V800 to the Vantage is a step in the right direction.
Well, Polar has it easy:
don't put route navigation on it, but don't take Vantage V out at a retail price of 499 euros.
With 350-375 it goes that it kills...
I'm not sure about the accuracy of the GPS? we know it's the same chip as suunto 9, but suunto I understand it has Fused Track (I think it's called that) that helps with the accuracy, but I don't know if Polar uses the same thing.
Another question, will the M come to compete with the 735xt and the Spartan Trainer? if so which one would you choose, the important thing being the GPS accuracy (distance, pace changes) and the ease of carrying manual laps?
Thank you
FusedTrack is a specific function of Suunto. It doesn't matter the GPS chip as it is software.
As for the Vantage M yes, perfectly comparable to the 735XT and Spartan Trainer. accuracy? I'll have to test it first 🙂
Eduardo, I can give you my short experience with the recently bought Polar Vantage V; of 3 running outings, in 2 of them the GPS went out of control marking speeds over 50 Km/hr and out of the circuit. It seems that I will have to take my V800 out of the box which never gave me any problem.
Many greetings from Chile.
Thank you for your work, it's a pleasure to read you, a question you've asked yourself, how long does the battery last in use without training or with one hour a day?
Thank you from Madrid.
Fernando
Well, it lasts a long time... I've been working with them since last Friday. I'll have about 45-50 kilometers of running accumulated, plus a couple of hours of biking and some gym. And I still have some battery left in the V while the M is being put in charge.
Autonomy is not an issue for either of us.
Hello,
I'm a mountain runner and I'm very attracted to the polar v because of the watt theme, I think it's something we'll use for running in a short time.
But I'm not sure if I should take a Phoenix5, Sunnto 9 or the Polar. What do you recommend?
Greetings and thank you very much.
I just published the 2019 shopping guide a few minutes ago. Take a look at it: https://www.correrunamaraton.com/reloj-gps-2019/
Hello!
I bought the Vantage V at the end of January 2019 after much thought, asking around and making my comparisons.
My sport is very varied, what is more is running, cycling, crossfit, canoeing and gymnasium, as well as classes directed in the same.
My criteria is as follows;
Running, the altitude fails, and the pace goes up and down, and you're absent for half a minute or a minute, depending on what you're doing, something that's annoying, and even more so at close range.
With the bike, apart from the difference in level, it is the pulse that is stronger and it happens with the climbs, which you know, you go to 170 and this one marks 115 and as you go up and more you accelerate, it marks less. On worse slopes, I go out on the coast, I take Strava and it marks 57m+ and this one tells me 240+ and 130- in a round trip on the same road, it leaves me with this ????♂.
In crossfit what you measure is basically pulse, I realized that making burpees, dominated some kind of press fails, subtract pulse, I think it is because having the arms up comes less blood pressure and gets no signal, I do not know!
After 10 days I took it to the place where I bought it, the English cut, no problem, except that it took me 3 weeks to bring it up to date, I already warned that if I opened it I didn't want it.
I have it 4 days and with 11 hours of training, it comes updated but I must say that it still has the same faults as before: Heart rate, rhythm, power and accumulated unevenness.
Good morning to me too.
I've always been a polar bear and even thought about selling it, you spend 500 euros thinking you're going to get better and when you realize you've gone backwards. I had the v800 and it was a thousand times better in terms of pace and distance.
If I was prepared for athletes and triathletes I think they have failed, the other day in a half marathon I stopped counting just over 500mts that's a lot of distance and the pace is no longer the one that marks you. In short quite disappointed, I do not know what I will do whether to expect updates or sell it and change brand
Hello, I am a user of garmin many years I have used the Vantage V a couple of weeks ago I want to tell you that in the tests I have done, has not had significant differences in the measurements vs 935 if I mean that the connection to the gps polar is slower if you activate both clocks polar takes between 40 and 1m to find signal then the metrics are similar, as the pulse both clocks give failure of polar measurement is more accurate but for proper measurement must be carried well tight.
In the pool the performance is more erratic than the 935 does not register all the laps, it presents problems with the technical works. What works is the measurement of the pulse.
I'll be telling you about the many tests I do on both watches.
In summary a 5 on a scale of 1 to 7 passes the tests but does not stand out.
If it's really a shame that they've been out for more than 5 months and they're only correcting faults or including basic functions, I've been a Garmin user for several years now, and I'm a bit annoyed with Garmin because they don't have any loyalty to their users and you can buy the top of the range and every year they bring out new versions with functions that should support your watch and they don't give them to you as an upgrade. I saw at Polar that a watch like the V800 was given multiple upgrades and functions and I thought that Polar would do something better with the Vantage V that currently doesn't even have the functions of the V800. I'm beginning to wonder if I did the right thing because it's better to spend a year with much more functions for the same price in the case of Garmin than to spend two years hoping that it will reach that level.