This post gives a detailed, tabular comparison of specifications of the Polar Vantage V and M models and compares them to the M430 and V800.
MORE INFO: Here is the FULL Polar Vantage Review
Polar Vantage Specifications – key 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 |
Polar Vantage Specifications – all the 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 some deals 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.
- Power Meter City (USA) with the coupon code ‘the5krunner10’
- New Running Gear in the EU/UK with the code ‘the5krunner10’


