Best Polar M430 Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals & Sales 2020:

With his M430, the Finnish Polar capitalizes on his know-how and widens his range thanks to a multi-disciplinary cardio watch full of promise. With, in filigree, ingenious finds.

Presentation

Beautiful season requires, new watches and bracelets dedicated to the practice of sport are flocking. Signed Polar, the M430 is added to an already rich range of sports tocants. Launched at € 229.90, the little one finds its place between the M400 (€ 159.90), which it seems to look a lot like, and the M600 (now € 299.90). The Finnish brand thus operates a fairly intelligent move upmarket. What is the M430 worth compared to its illustrious sisters and does it deserve to hang on our wrist?

Best Polar M430 Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals & Sales 2020

1. Polar M430 GPS Running Watch

2. Polar M400 GPS Smart Sports Watch

3. Polar Ignite – Advanced Waterproof Fitness Watch (Includes Polar Precision Heart Rate Integrated GPS and Sleep Plus Tracking)

4. POLAR VANTAGE M –Advanced Running & Multisport Watch with GPS and Wrist-based Heart Rate (Lightweight Design & Latest Technology)

5. Polar M200 GPS Running Watch with Wrist-Based Heart Rate

Characteristics

Available with three bracelet colors (gray, orange, white), the M430 looks aesthetically like its predecessor, the M400. A slightly fluffy sports watch, the M430 has a 6-diode heart rate sensor where the M400 offered a less relevant one.

Attention to precision requires, Polar has obviously implemented the same sensor as in its M600. The 23 x 23 mm (128 x 128 px) screen of the M430 sheds the icons that occupied the dial around the M400. At the same time, Polar modified the charging connector. If it is still at the back of the watch, it becomes the owner and replaces the disturbing USB socket which was on the M400 and which was one of the weak points of this watch.

The buttons surrounding the screen remain. Despite the anxiety-provoking aspect that such paraphernalia could have in the eyes of Sunday athletes, their use is simple. The red central button on the right side of the watch allows you to launch an activity and to validate choices. The design of up and down buttons are for navigating. On the left side, the up button activates the backlighting of the screen and the design of down button is for backspace during navigation, but also to interrupt and save a workout. Note that the GPS of the M430 is not duplicated – unlike that of the M600 – of the Glonass geolocation.

The M430 is also equipped with an altimeter (non-barometric) and measures the difference in altitude according to GPS data. It is also waterproof to at least 30 meters. The watch also acts as an activity tracker with sleep assessment and display of notifications

Functions and training

First of all, take advantage of the Fitness Test offered by the watch. This calculates the VO2max of its user … by proposing to relax and lie down – instead of going for a 10 minute run! As a reminder, the VO2max is the maximum amount of oxygen consumed during an effort in a fixed period, a key data to perfectly dose a training. However, we had to go through it several times to obtain a measurement and then add it to our physical profile 

Once the activity has been chosen from among several dozen proposed (including swimming – even if the M430 does not measure lengths or determine the type of swimming performed), the measures proposed are numerous. Obviously, let us cite the heart rate (with good precision), the cardio zones, the time in each cardio zone, but also the speed, pace and the various measurements concerning the laps or the altitude. One, two, three or four measures displayed? The user is free to choose in the settings. Their display on the screen of the M430 is excessively clear. This is an essential point that should be emphasized. Recorded data can be automatically synchronized with Apple Health, MyFitnessPal, TrainingPeaks and Strava.

An interesting function of the M430 is to program a competition through the manufacturer’s Polar Flow app. By selecting a type of race (5 km, 10 km, half-marathon, marathon) and a date. Flow offers a training program adapted to everyone’s ability to train more or less regularly. Just download and use it right on the watch.

Interface

We have long appreciated Polar Flow, its dual mobile / web input, and invite you to re-read our comments made during the recent test of the M400  for more details. 

In a few words, this application is full of features, with a calendar, a map, curves dedicated to the pace and other data, etc. Special mention to the “Relive” function which creates a short video of the training in 3D. The result is very interesting and really motivating. It is also punctuated by photos of the places encountered on the course and music. It’s pretty impressive, even if, in the end, the function is a bit gimmicky.

We should add that since the update of Polar Flow, we have been able to assess for ourselves the quality of our sleep and to indicate if we have the feeling of having more or less slept well. This allows (trait) the algorithms to refine their evaluations and comments.

CONCLUSION

Polar offers with its M430 an extremely interesting mid-range multisport watch. Easy to use and simple to live, it manages to innovate with various functions which will attract novices (programming a competition, automated calculation of VO2max), as much as the most assiduous sportsmen (very sharp cardio). Despite a somewhat massive design that can complicate everyday use. The M430 displays a quality / price ratio that makes you want to run after it.

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