The new Polar Vantage M and Polar Vantage V have finally hit the communications channels on the net…if not quite yet the shops (late October). A Polar Vantage Review will not follow until late October and that will be with a proper production model not this beta unit.
This post gives a detailed, tabular comparison of the V and M models compared to the M430 and V800. It’s mostly GREAT news but not if you like navigation. I’ll start off with some headlines first.
MORE INFO: You can find all related posts listed in this tag as I add them https://the5krunner.com/tag/PolarVantage.
HEADLINES
| Vantage V | Vantage M | |
| Design | Premium, stainless steel, gorilla glass, bands only changeable in repair type situations | Plastic, metal bezel, easily interchangeable 22mm bands |
| Display | Always on, touch screen, 5 buttons | Always on, 5 buttons |
| Size | 46mm dia, h 13mm @66g | 46mm dia, h 12.4mm @45g |
| Training Time | 40 hours GPS+GLONASS+oHR per second recording | 30 hours GPS+GLONASS+oHR per second recording |
| Altitude | Barometric | GPS |
| New Features | Training Load Pro (requires power internally or 3rd party source for a complete picture) Real-time running power from wrist Recovery Pro | Training Load Pro (requires power internally or 3rd party source for a complete picture) 3rd party unning power support |
Details
Lack of navigation will be worrying for some. The 240X240 display looks better in reality than those specs suggest. This info comes from the Polar website. I have made some corrections to it but there could still be errors, please point them out. Thank you. Some of the ‘blanks’ against the Vantage V and Vantage M are effectively covered by new features and included in them – especially the new physiology stuff.
| Vantage V | Vantage M | V800 | M430 | |
| ACTIVITY | ||||
| Continuous heart rate | • | • | No | • |
| 24/7 Activity Tracking | • | • | • | • |
| Sleep Plus | • | • | • | |
| Activity Goal | • | • | • | • |
| Active Time | • | • | • | • |
| Steps and Distance | • | • | • | • |
| Activity Summary | • | • | • | • |
| Activity Benefit | • | • | • | • |
| Inactivity Alert | • | • | • | • |
| Sleep Duration and Quality | • | • | • | • |
| TRAINING | ||||
| Recovery Pro | • | No | No | No |
| Running power from wrist | • | No | No | No |
| via 3rd party sensor | • | • | • | No |
| Running Program | • | • | • | • |
| Training Load Pro (cardio load, muscle load, perceived load) | • | • | No | No |
| Speed and distance from the wrist | • | • | No | • |
| Running cadence from the wrist | • | • | • | • |
| Route import | No | No | • | No |
| GLONASS | • | • | No | No |
| Wrist-based heart rate measurement | • | • | No | • |
| Heart rate | • | • | • | • |
| HRmax | • | • | • | • |
| Heart Rate zones | • | • | • | • |
| Speed/Pace zones | • | • | • | • |
| Power zones | • | • | • | |
| ZoneLock | Planned | Planned | • | • |
| ZonePointer | • | • | • | • |
| Strava Live Segments | No | No | • | |
| Orthostatic Test | • | No | • | |
| Polar Fitness Test | • | • | ||
| Running Index | • | • | • | • |
| Jump Test | • | |||
| Smart Calories | • | • | • | • |
| Training Benefit | • | • | • | • |
| Training Load | • | • | • | in Flow web service |
| Recovery Status | • | • | • | in Flow web service |
| Back to Start | No | No | • | • |
| Distance | • | • | • | • |
| Altitude, ascent/descent | • | • | • | • |
| Sport profiles | • | • | • | • |
| User-adjustable training displays | • | • | • | • |
| Multisport training | • | • | • | |
| GPS | • | • | • | • |
| A-GPS | • | • | • | |
| GPS Power save mode | • | • | ||
| Race pace | • | |||
| End Time Estimator | • | |||
| Route guidance | No | No | • | No |
| Speed/Pace | • | • | • | • |
| Training targets | • | • | • | • |
| R-R Recording test | • | |||
| Training history | • | • | • | • |
| Training diary | • | • | • | • |
| Interval Timers | • | • | ||
| HeartTouch | • | |||
| Laps, manual | • | • | • | • |
| Laps, automatic | • | • | • | • |
| Swimming Metrics | • | • | • | |
| Tap gestures | • | • | • | |
| Training reminder | • | |||
| Personal Bests | • | |||
| Autostop/start | • | • | ||
| Stopwatch | • | • | ||
| Countdown Timer | • | |||
| Barometer | • | • | ||
| –Cadence sensor Bluetooth® Smart features | ||||
| Cadence | • | • | • | |
| –Speed sensor Bluetooth® Smart features | ||||
| Speed | • | • | • | |
| Distance | • | • | • | |
| Incline measurement | • | • | • | |
| –Stride sensor Bluetooth® Smart features | ||||
| Cadence | • | • | • | • |
| Distance | • | • | • | • |
| Average stride length | • | • | • | • |
| Speed/Pace | • | • | • | • |
| Jump Test | • | |||
| DEVICE | ||||
| Setup via mobile | • | • | No | No |
| Battery life | ||||
| Training time | 40h | 30h | ||
| Measurement | ||||
| Weight | 66g | 45g | 79g | 51g |
| Display | • | • | • | • |
| Color | • | • | No | No |
| Color touch display | • | No | No | No |
| Resolution | 240X240 | 240X240 | 128X128 | 128X128 |
| Water resistance | WR30 | WR30 | WR30 | WR30 |
| Rechargeable battery | • | • | • | • |
| USB cable | Custom | Custom | Custom | Custom |
| Bluetooth Smart + GymLink (5kHz) | No | No | • | No |
| Bluetooth Smart | • | • | • | |
| Smart Notifications | • | • | ||
| Audio alerts | • | No, but the vibration is faintly audible | • | |
| Vibration alerts | • | • | • | • |
| Alarm | • | • | • | • |
| Button lock | • | • | • | • |
| Temperature | • | |||
| Backlight | • | • | • | • |
| Date and weekday indicator | • | • | • | • |
| Time of day (12/24h) | • | • | • | • |
| Bike settings for three bicycles | • | • | • | |
| Firmware update | • | • | • | • |
| FLOW | ||||
| Diary | • | • | • | • |
| Running Index analysis | • | • | • | • |
| Season Planning | • | • | • | • |
| Map view | • | • | • | • |
| Relive | • | • | • | • |
| Explore | • | • | • | • |
| Social feed | • | • | • | • |
| Instant activity and training analysis | • | • | • | • |
| Advanced activity and training analysis | • | • | • | • |
| Training planning | • | • | • | • |
| Sport profile settings | • | • | • | • |
| Progress follow-up | • | • | • | • |
| DATA TRANSFER | ||||
| Compatibility | ||||
| Compatible with PC Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, and later | • | • | • | • |
| Compatible with Mac OS X 10.6, OS X 10.7, OS X 10.8, and later | • | • | • | • |
| Compatible with Polar Flow web service | • | • | • | • |
| Compatible with Polar Flow mobile app via Bluetooth Smart | • | • | • | • |
| Data export | • | • | • | • |
| Training history export (from polarpersonaltrainer.com to Polar Flow) | • | • | • | • |
| 3rd party compatibility | • | • | • | • |
Availability
Price, Availability & Discount
The Polar Vantage M retails at $260/GBP250/Eur280,
The Polar Vantage V retails at $499/GBP439/Eur499
The Polar Vantage now has general availability. There do not seem to be widespread discount yet in the EU. I’ve included the Amazon international link below but you will find a better deal at New Running Gear and Power Meter City. New Running Gear (NRG), below, were also bundling in GBP50 of running freebies. Help support this blog with the great deals below:
- Power Meter City (USA) with the coupon code ‘the5krunner10’ – click the image below
- New Running Gear in the EU/UK with the code ‘the5krunner10’ – click the image below
Click http://geni.us/PolarVantage to buy in UK/Eu/USA
Best Amazon price is linked to. Prices could fall below existing level from 2019 onwards £249/$259/Eu279. Buying from Amazon supports this site.
Best Amazon price is linked to. Prices could fall below existing level from 2019 onwards £439/$499/Eu499. Buying from Amazon supports this site.
I hope they bring back race pace for the Vantage V. I like that feature on the V800. The Strava Live Segments were pretty cool too, better for cycling than running as a mad sprint to beat a PB half way through a 10k training run was never ideal. Hopefully a lot of these issues will be addressed with firmware updates over the (hopefully) long product life.
i hope so too. I got the definate impression that they are no longe trying to compete on NUMBER of functions. they just cant win that battle. so they will be focussing on what their target markets want. I *THINK* they are targetting high level triathletes and runners and what they need….then there is a trickle down effect of those who try to emulate them. not sure they are going for the ultra runers per se,…that’s just my impression
for trail runners navigate by path profile is a big miss.A few things related to training planning and following it which was missing in v800 is still not here which is disappointing. And the navi!!!!
i hear ya !!
keep making these comments everywhere with your fellow trail runners and polar will hear if enough of you shout loud enough.
IIRC the device IS capable of it. it is just a question of prioritisation. I would imagine that implementing it as per v800 is non-trivial.
Sorry, i discover one error in headlines. you putted 43 hours for two models. One thing i didn’t understand. You don’t have intervals repetition program (simple) in watch, but there will be structured intervals from Flow?
Ordered but….
1/ Disappointing they dropped the GymLink (5kHz) and the R-R Recording test
2/ How often is Continuous heart rate monitoring when not in training mode? Every second?
3/ Would love to see Strava live segments make a return
4/ Be interesting to see if you can now set different power zones (1 thru 5) for running and cycling. Up until now, same power zones have been used for both which clearly makes no sense.
5/ GPS accuracy was always the V800 strength so let’s hope they have got that right here
6/ No temperature measurement is disappointing – although it was never accurate on V800. Maybe they can get a web service to import this data in to Polar Flow.
7/ Personally I don’t care much for smart notifications but I know this is a big thing for other people.
8/ How strong are the vibration alerts? A370 vibration is unnoticeable.
9/ I guess Polar Fitness Test is redundant with the new Recovery Pro metrics?
10/ 3rd party compatibility – would love to know what this means e.g. Humon?
Great articles there mr5k. Thanks for your efforts.
ty !! Mr ML
1. yep. but polar expect to have usable hr data
2. it flashes all the time. i dont know the answer. looks like every second
3. IIRC they would have to pay for it
4. IIRC I did look at that (and 1000 other things over last week). I believe it is still as you say.which….. (you can see foryourself in flow my flow online posts were NOT from beta)
5. yep. it’s better than suunto at same stage of release but needs tinkering IMHO
6. dont know
7. i care so much i haven’t even looked at it 😉 then again i haven’t got hold of an iphone yet either which could have been a limiting factor;-)
8. could be stronger. i’ve only noticed them from the orthostatic test . perfectly fine.
9. that’s my working assumption too
10. i do NOT think it means humon (but it might). I think its more like assima stages etc etc. stryd works tho as a running PM.
Thanks for all the info!
Disappointing that the connectivity options have been reduced instead of increased.
GPS accuracy will never be good enough for instant pace and power measurement from wrist will probably also not be very accurate so I still need a footpod (Stride).
But as there is still no Ant+ and the gymlink has been dropped I will have to use it without a heart rate strap.
The wrist heart rate reliability should be very good to consider that…
Oscar…yep they are all super valid points and right to the heart of the whole thing.
you sound like you are me pretending to post as someone else 😉
1. connectivity lower: yes but this is onyl beta. lets give them a chance.
2. yep stryd like me.
3. why do you NEED ant+ (I need it for all the squillions of sensors i use). but as me the runner i might make my project this year to migrate my personal data colelction and workout execution to ble and polar and see what happens
4. whr reliability…yep i agree. If they can just get 5 or 10% better than garmin’s elevate i would consider finally using it without a hrm strap. i have got bored with HRV so don’t need that except in the morning (and coffee)
1. Apparently it does not have the hardware to support GymLink so that will never be fixed. Not sure of Ant+ requires special hardware or could be added thru firmware.
3. Well I don’t need Ant+ but as Bluetooth Smart only allows one connection it is either a heart rate strap or the Stride. Ant+ or GymLink would have allowed another connection besides Bluetooth Smart.
Oscar,
You can connect more than one Bluetooth Smart sensor (like HR strap AND Stryd) to the watch at the same time. Absolutely no need for Vantage to have either Ant+ or Gymlink to do this. However, You can’t connect the same sensor to your Vantage and to for example your BLE cycling computer simultaneously (except Polar H10 HR sensor you can, as it is able to have two concurrent BLE connections).
Are you sure?
On the V800 I have to delete Bluetooth pairing with HR strap and use that via GymLink if I want to connect the Stryd.
Has this been changes in the Vantage?
@the5krunner: could you test this on your Vantage or is external sensor support disabled in your unit?
i was told gym link will not be supported.
but i have some more news on this whole area later
Hope the news is that it does have 5khz radio in it, even if not initially used?
IIRC it is NOT in it and wont be used.
It will use the oHR instead
The H10 CAN cache.
as oscar said, you can pair multiple btle sensors to v800, i bike with btle hrm, separate btle speed/cadence sensor, and btle powermeter all linked. It is the other direction, each sensor can only pair to one item. Do you have your hrm paired to your phone also? i used to, big mistake, the phone will also steal the hrm, meaning as youbsay you have to swap to 5khz. Unpair the strap from anything else around you except the v800, and you should be able to pair both.
nope that is not strictly true.
unlike the H7, the H10 *CAN* pair simultaneously to 2 devices using ONLY BLE not 5Khz. There is a setting for that in BEAT when that is linked to H10. I have written about that elasewhere.
How would you migrate your personal data collection to Polar? I’ve never found a good way to import data in to Flow accurately.
This might be helpful.
https://the5krunner.com/2015/11/11/1-minute-review-syncmytracks-software-app/
no i wouldn’t do that. i use spoirttracks, golden cheetah and some other niche sites. so MY issue is getting it out of garmin.,polar/suunto
Think it looks really good…I currently have a Garmin Vivoactive 3 & was looking for an upgrade…due to multiple issues I have seen with the garmin firmware upgrades, was keen to jump ship & good to see Polar have a great device
Curious that they decided to drop some of the nice to haves like interchangable bands which I would have thought is quite basic & strava live segments. I suppose they have taken a call to just focus on the pros & not try to be everything to everyone.
Wonder if it will still come with basic bells & whistles of alert notifications from phone so that an average weekend warrior like myself can still make most of it.
Like the price point though especially when comparing against the $1,000 fenix plus models..appreciate your discount code as well..wish they shipped them out sooner though, looks like they have a terrible procurement/sales cycle…2 months waiting time for ship out in this day & age is a bit silly, IMO
the M DOES have interchangeable bands…not the V
yeah the is smartphone stuff…just not very exciting but agreed it needs to be covered at some point (review)
the productrion is just started so they are ramping that up…it takes time. Poalr are a large compnay and this will sell lots of units
Are the M and V watches compatible with the polar hr7 as well as the 10? Great intro to the watches.
Yep same question here.
I’ve a h7 and wonder if all the functionality on the V work without the h10 (recovery pro,…)
finally an easy question from you guys !! 😉
YES
any ble will pair but i think that for the HRV stuff (recov pro) then it MIGHT WELL jsut be the h7 and h10. IIRC polar do a special sensor check
Was looking to upgrade my V800 to the Vantage V (watch strap on V800 has broken and cannot get the pins out to replace with a new strap). However, there are a few functions on the V800 that I’d struggle to live without
Race Pacing – Great for marathons to hold pace in the first 20 miles.
Route Navigation – I create a lot of custom routes to makes the recovery & long runs more interesting
Polar has always been good with releasing new feature upgrades over time so hoping v800 functions will make a reappearance
Nothing personal towards you Darren but I find it intriguing how the reputation of Polar for bringing out an incomplete product (software wise) has changed into appreciation for them releasing new features. But let’s face it, software development just does not get enough attention within Polar: – It has taken them 5 years to come up with a successor of their flagship model and it’s still missing functionality. Polar might state this is due to the complete rewrite of the code, but one could also argue that the software team is just too small… – This is now the second time in their flagship line that they are pushing out a product that is incomplete considering the intended use (multisport watch), its users or what could be considered industry standard. I am not talking Go-Pro control, e-mail notifications, Strava Live Segments or other niche functionality. I’m thinking of the interval timer (introduced 4 months after release), speed and pace zones (7 months), open water swimming metrics (14 months), phased training targets (14 months), etc. – It also not only took many months for the improvements (gap and bug fixes really) to come out but the updates often introduced new bugs… Read more »
Agree on the frustration of the first few months with the V800 – although to be fair to Polar they have continued to improve it over the 5 years – adding Stryd compatibility and other functionality etc. They definitely supported the V800 well. Much better than some other manufacturers in other industries do.
@darren in theory power is your marathon pacer but, yep, i’ve no answer to the nav point that you and several others make.
@Oscar, some good points there. the early adopter is probably a truism you could apply to any manufacturer in this sector. your ‘fave feature’ that doesn’t work will always be done superbly by someone else (whose other features may well be sub par)
Darren – I had the same issue and sent it back to Polar. They replaced the strap for me. Keep the V800 and use it for those times that you need the navigation. I mean the Vantage V will occasionally need charging.
I’m going to take the “Garmin owner” Perspective here, but everything about this watch left me underwhelmed. I had high hopes for this (bordering on unrealistic I know) but really, and after five years… Polar put out a subfunctional Fenix/Forerunner 935 watch that doesn’t even pace the pedigree that came from the v800. We can argue that Polar is the superior company when it comes to tight algorithmic metrics and delivery of meaningful information, but how consistent is that going to be with users forced to choose how many external sensors they can use. They removed some options that were on the v800. I’m never going to be convinced running power from the wrist is going to be not only accurate but consistently accurate, nor will wrist-based oHR measurements once you get beyond the equivalent of z2/z3 HR zones. And it doesn’t matter how many LED’s they throw in there; there are far too many hindrances on the wrist to make it worthwhile. I’m even worried about how effective the oHR is going to work with the additional magnetic charge ports that double as a skin sensor, so the oHR doesn’t needlessly stay active if not touching your skin. My… Read more »
that’s a bit harsh but i see your angle. first thing is “how can polar bring a watch to market that justifies it being sold”. i think they have done that. the real question then is how can the platform be developed over the next 3 or so years. actually i see it as having pretty much most of what i need and maybe the oHR if it works properly. and it’s pretty. they specifically KNOW that they can’t compete with Garmin on features and so they have had to, i assume, do some market research and choose the most productive features to include for the release. the only real widespread gripes have been about NAV. doesn’t bother me…DOES bother others. notification is on the menu, it will be on I assume. power/hr…yeah may not be perfect but there are some interesting angles here that appeal to certian people eg those who don’t want to buy stryd. touchscreen…yeah i’d agree with that. “way behind the curve”…hmm. they ‘re not way behind the curve…just way behind apple and garmin software features (maybe wearOS maybe fitbit) if it can get accurate gps AND accurate ENOUGH HR. And then if they introduce custom… Read more »
Behind the curve for who? Potential purchasers have different requirements and therefore need to evaluate whether this device is for them. What is important for you is not as critical for me and what is important for me may not be for you. Let’s take being behind the curve on onboard storage for music. Really? This is 2018 and the age of streaming. I personally don’t want to go back to 2005 and be transferring music on to a device to listen to it. Life is too short. If somebody can get Spotify streaming working on a sports watch then I’m probably interested – otherwise bleh!! So I guess if I want to listen to music, I’m carrying my phone. Which also can make calls and do payments etc. Given the Vantage V is $600 cheaper than a 5S Plus, I guess that’s more than half the payment towards a new iPhone X. I personally like where Polar are focused on this device. Accuracy and indicators on training intensity and recovery. For me, they need to nail GPS accuracy, oHR accuracy when not training / sleeping and provide me some insight from all the data they collect to make meaningful… Read more »
Is vantage m supporting all external Bluetooth sensors like Powermeter? In the past the m series didn’t.
i believe so. but it is something i need to double check as what you imply is usually that ‘lower’ models do not have bike PM support. and yes i would agree that it is a super important thing to know.
this functionality has not yet been enabled (although i have a new firmware waiting to upload)
yes, main review links to page showing compatibility of many power meters
Are there any screws on the watch under the strap? It would be good if the battery could be replaced like on the V800 and M430.
Is it possible to switch off the Vantage models or they run continuously?
Thanks in advance!
i dont plan to take the vantage to bits
yes you can switch them off but even my M has been on watch mode for more than a week with power left (just got back home after holiday)
The Vantage M does not have audio alerts. Only vibration alerts.