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

Four years after the excellent V800 , Polar is finally offering its new flagship: the Vantage V. A watch dedicated to top athletes. On the program, a quality heart rate monitor, a measure of the power deployed during the effort as well as a marathon runner’s autonomy.

Presentation

According to Marco Suvilaakso, chief strategy officer at Polar, the manufacturer ” wishes to bring significant innovation to each new product, even if it means not renewing its range every year “. The least we can say is that this innovation was long overdue. Thus, four years separate the V800 from the Vantage V, the new high-end connected watch from Polar. And the Finnish company did not do it in detail. With its new model, the Polar brand wants to reach ” top athletes and those who want to train like them“. Thus, the novelty of this Vantage V lies in its Power Mode allowing to calculate an estimate of the power deployed during the effort. A first in the world of connected watches. This flagship also incorporates a heart rate monitor, absent from the V800 

Positioned at € 499, this model copes with the best, like the TomTom Runner Cardio 3 , which is sold for considerably less. But the Vantage V will also have to prove itself against generalists who are improving from year to year, like the Galaxy Watch .

Best Polar Vantage V Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals & Sales 2020

1. Polar Vantage V – Premium GPS Multisport Watch for Multisport & Triathlon Training (Heart Rate Monitor, Running Power, Waterproof)

2. Polar Vantage V Screen Protector, BoxWave [ClearTouch Glass] 9H Tempered Glass Screen Protection for Polar Vantage V

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

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

5. Polar M430 GPS Running Watch

Ergonomics and design

Quite large (46 x 46 x 13 mm) and heavy (66 grams). The Vantage V does not bother with aesthetic eccentricities. Purified as possible, the watch offers a real impression of solidity, rather pleasant. If the product is not certified waterproof by an external body, the Vantage V is capable of operating underwater. It is in any case largely capable of ensuring swimming monitoring without the slightest problem. 

Once on the wrist, this robustness is felt. The buttons are very hard, so much so that you have to press them hard to activate them. A resistance that makes navigation sometimes laborious and unpleasant. Fortunately, the watch limits the menus and submenus. Of the five buttons, two of them allow you to navigate through the menus. The third proposes to return to the previous screen while the fourth boosts the brightness of the touch screen, which is generally too low. Finally, the last, central and remarkable by its red coloring, makes it possible to launch a sporting activity. 

The Vantage V’s touch screen measures 1.2 inches and displays in 240 x 240 px. The screen is quite limited in terms of resolution (282 ppi) and tactile feedback. At the rear, in a protrusion, the new flagship of Polar embeds its heart rate monitor. This one does not have 4, but 9 LEDs. Four green and five red, enough to improve the measurement of heart rate, according to Polar. This sensor is accompanied by electrodes allowing the watch to understand that it is securely attached to a wrist. 

Interface

If the design of the Vantage V is very sober, its interface is just as much. No WearOS, but a proprietary operating system. However, if the visual simplicity is undeniable, the whole is far from intuitive. A real effort of adaptation is necessary during the first navigations. Button sequences are not necessarily the most consistent and it is not uncommon to press the wrong button to stop a workout. Fortunately, browsing never requires more than three or four consecutive clicks.

Sobriety requires, the home screen shows the time, date and battery level. It is also possible to display a fourth complication such as the time spent since the last training session, the live heart rate or the activity rate during the day. This is done by passing his finger from left to right on the touch screen.

Once you are used to the difficult logic of the Vantage V, launching a running, jogging, swimming or other session is done very quickly, in just over three clicks. Only the few seconds required to calibrate the GPS slow down the maneuver. Finally, a rotation of the wrist causes a temporary increase in the brightness of the screen. It is also permanent during physical activity. A good point.

Dédiée aux sportifs, la Vantage V n’embarque pas de notifications extérieures liées aux SMS ou aux appels. Pas non plus de contrôle de la musique ou de carte sur la dalle.

Application

Comme les autres produits de Polar, la Vantage V fonctionne via Polar Flow et Polar Beat. Et s’il y a un point sur lequel l’entreprise venue du nord est irréprochable, c’est bien celui-là. Les deux applications sont très fluides et faciles à utiliser. Que ce soit sur smartphone ou sur ordinateur. 

Polar Flow offers an overview of physical activity. True temple of statistics, the application lists rest time, time spent in movement, steps taken, but also tracks sleep. All through a whole series of graphics that can be adjusted and adapted to what you want to know. Flow also offers very clear navigation with very quick access to various information. But beyond the raw data, Polar wants to help move forward. So, like a personalized trainer, the Flow app warns when excess physical activity can lead to injury. A recovery period is then recommended. 

Polar Beat is more down to earth. The application offers a history of all the physical activities carried out. With also a good dose of graphics, Polar Beat decrypts each session, showing the evolution of the heart rate, the pace, but also the power developed during the effort, the novelty of the Polar Vantage V. 

There remains a problem: for several days, the Polar Vantage V failed to establish a connection with a Huawei smartphone ( Mate 20 Pro ), a recurring problem, it seems for the smartphones of the brand. Owners of Huawei smartphones will therefore have to take an interest in Bluetooth compatibility before embarking on the Vantage V adventure.

Uses and precision

To measure the performance of the Vantage V, we compared its results with those of the Polar H10 chest strap, which we consider to be very reliable in terms of measurements. We measured the running by linking the laps on a 1.9 km circuit. Regarding cycling, we had a typical circuit, 3.12 km.

It has obviously happened to the precision of the measurements that a sports watch reveals its true value. And we must admit that the Polar Vantage V offers halftone results. Let’s first take a look at the heart rate sensor on the back. During a running trip, he displayed values ​​slightly below those taken by the Polar H10 chest belt. The difference generally remains less than 10% (ten beats for a heart rate of 160 bpm), the results remain exploitable, even if other watches, like the Galaxy Watch, have been shown to be more specific on this kind of exercise. 

On the other hand, the Vantage V stands out on significant changes in heart rate due for example to a workout. If the watch is not as precise as the Polar H10 belt, it has the merit of recognizing and recording sudden variations; which many of its competitors fail to achieve. Thus, the Vantage V offers an interesting experience. Not yet ultra-precise despite its nine LEDs, it still allows you to have a very consistent assessment of the heart rate.

The GPS built into the watch is also of high quality. Allowing to be independent of a smartphone, it offers realistic and faithful paths.

By bike, the measurements are just as precise. Whether it’s heart rate or distance, the Polar Vantage V responds in an exemplary fashion. The data is always consistent and allows a realistic reading of the session.

The sleep analysis, however, leaves something to be desired. The Vantage V tracks sleep sometimes in the middle of the evening. And as long as you look at your phone when you wake up, the watch may prolong your sleep.

Autonomy

Without notifications and other hybrid measures, the Vantage V and its 320 mAh battery had to offer quality autonomy. It’s the case. With daily sports and repeated sleep monitoring, the watch takes just over 4 days before falling below the symbolic 10% mark. The results are all the more positive as the watch quickly picks up again. 

CONCLUSION

Designed for determined athletes, the Polar Vantage V undoubtedly does a good job. The watch offers consistent and precise measurements. It is accompanied by quality smartphone applications, allowing complete sports monitoring. But all these qualities are hampered by an ergonomics and an interface to review which cost it a fifth star.

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