More: Polar Grit X2 Pro Review Here are some relatively interesting but obscure things about the Polar Grit X. All the things you really need to know are linked here in the snappily-entitled post "Polar Grit X All you NEED to know". The post, below, is the stuff you don't need to know but might want to know if you are thinking of buying one. Here are a few relatively unimportant things then. Please suggest more trivia and I'll add it to the list. There is a permanent 'ON' backlight setting for when you workout STRYD seems to work as with the Vantage V. ie you can input a manual calibration factor and all the rest of it. Not all 22mm straps will work sweetly with the Grit X. I've tried a few from different manufacturers and the diameter of the 22mm pins vary. Most seem to fit the Grit X to some degree but some of the thinner ones wobble a bit in the hole and do not feel 100% secure. Conversely, the Polar strap's pin is a bit too thick for my Amazfit Stratos. #FirstWorldProblem. The Polar straps are of nice quality. Dual-sided bike power meters appear to be correctly added up to get a total. However, only the total can be seen in FLOW..no LR split (at least not with ASSIOMA). There is a LR power metric on the watch, this would require LR being transmitted over BLE by the PM (just because it transmits it over ANT+ doesn't mean it will over BLE) Hill splitter seems to work on most (all?) run and bike profiles. Whilst it DOES seem to nicely recognise uphill and downhill slopes correctly it doesn't recognise non-continuous hills ie where a 1000m total climb is made up of multiple up/down sections...or a 100m one ;-) like this The grade/incline reported on FLOW might be wrong. I didn't get anything above 1 & 2% on the ride above. You can't see the ambient temperature on the watch AFAIK. However, it is saved and visible on FLOW. It seems to affected by body temperature. You'd have to use a chest strap and wear it over clothing to perhaps get a better reading. You can manually calibrate altitude from the full-screen altitude page whilst in a workout. #Nice Syncing new Komoot or Strava routes to the Grit X is super quick...like it's pretty much instant to get them to flow. The subsequent sync to your watch will vary in duration. The breadcrumb route following is relatively basic...but functional. If your route goes from A to B to C to D then to B again and a few repeated laps then, well, Grit X will get confused. A to F via BCD and E is cool. You can start a route even though you are not on the route. However, Grit X really likes you to properly find the route but will point you to either the mid-point or start of the route to get you started. Once you find the point on the route, all will be good...in a breadcrumb kinda way. FWIW: That's fine for me almost all the time When you press the button the internal vibrator does a tiny little buzz (not the button itself). Very exhilarating (works well) The cardio Load screen is shown below. Cardio load takes, I think, about 5 days (7?) before it appears on the watch. Some of the Polar displays, like this one, look quite quirky but, they are generally quite good at getting over the key numeric info IMHO. When anyone says 'IMHO', they're usually not being humble. I digress ;-) Pressing and holding the top left button locks and unlocks the screen. STRAVA Live Segments requires a premium STRAVA account. I can't remember what they've called it this week. I'll stick with premium. Whilst Grit X has its own menu option that merely tells you how many run/bike segments are sync'd to the watch, to actually use the Live Segments feature you need to enable the STRAVA screen from FLOW. Although it should be on by default. Like this... Grit X really can use Galileo and the Far Eastern QZXPFGRDQSZ constellation (or whatever it's called...it has a 'Q' in it for sure) Warning: Galileo may eat quite a bit of battery. (I think it does from what I've seen but haven't quantified it yet). GPS+GLONASS might be best to use and GPS-only is not available, which is strange as I would have thought that would save some juice. Basic phone notifications seem to work quite well and are shown very quickly after the phone is aware it needs to send one (iOS) Swim stroke detection probably works as well as the Vantage but no-one has any idea. I think I've forgotten how to swim. It must have been a month now. (2020 lock-down for future readers) Zone Lock is an AWESOME feature. Once your pace/HR/power is within any given zone you press and hold the middle button and are alerted if you then try to leave that zone. Especially on longer easyish runs/rides, this can be a much easier way to do zone-based training than faff about beforehand making a structured workout and syncing it to your watch. Zone Lock is great as you can stop or start it easily and whenever you want The LEDs on PRECISION PRIME are a different colour to those on the Vantage. Make sure you choose the right LEDs on the right Polar watch to match the colour of your favourite running shirt ;-) #Important...errr The compass requires you to be a contortionist to calibrate, although it has quite a fun game where you (literally) have to roll a ball across the screen to hit various segments of the edge of the screen. Hit them all, do some more contorting and the compass is calibrated. You can also lock the compass on a bearing You can press pause and change the various settings during an exercise eg POWER settings or BACKLIGHT permanently on. Polar FLOW also links to RELIVE. You can replay a video of your run/ride on a map and it highlights some of the notable performances, like here where I touched on 656w for about 0.1 seconds. I'm claiming it was a recovery ride and I'm going to stick to that story ;-) Polar Grit X is a recommendable watch. It's good in the right person's hands. What's your favourite Vantage/Grit 'tip'? Back to: Main Review
