Polar - Ignite 2

Your reaction "LOL First of all, if you get up to 90% of your max heart rate in less than 30 seconds you sound quite unfit to me." says just one thing - you ran out of the arguments and now make it personal insults. But if that really says something about anybody, it's about you. Just few last things to mention I tested Ignite, Ignite 2, Polar Pacer and Verity Sense vs H10. All of them on the wrist and the bicep. Same unreliable results for stairs workout. I don't care what TQS or DSC or you think about this. I did all of these tests in the same method (that you don't need to know for it to be reliable) with N=1 and they are 100% reliable for me. But the most important thing. Please, do not ever give anyone advise on how to train in HRZ as you have no idea what you're talking about. Training in HRZ2 is exactly what it says - being in HRZ2 most of the time. Being half time in HRZ1 and half in HRZ3 doesn't make your training on average HRZ2. My watch shows HRZ in % not in bpm. So 90% is the limit of zones 4/5. If I need to stay in Z4, i don't go over 90%. Where you got that I don't understand that zone4 is 80-90% or zone5 90-100% only you know, but from what I read it looks like you've been training your whole life not understanding how heart rate zone training works. Sad to hear, but you can thank me for explaining this to you.

Polar Ignite is still perfectly fine as a software machine, but there are 2 buts... 1) Buying such an old used device you risk battery life to be 1-2 days pretty soon and it's not replaceable; 2) If you're serious about tracking your fitness, some external device like a Verity Sense or H9, H10 chest strap for accurate HR tracking is a must - these also could be used with multiple apps to get more accurate recovery data.

The Ignite 2 and Vantage M have metal bumps on the back as part of the sensor. The Pacer sensor is flat and non-metallic. If you are at all prone to watch rashes, your skin will likely be happier with the Pacer. If you like touch screens it could be worth trying to get a used Ignite 3. I have one now and it is my favorite watch I've ever owned. It's flat and plastic on the back, has most of the major features, decent battery life, and feels very thin and lightweight compared to the Pacer.

I started with Polar M400, then Polar M430 (which is now with my father in law) and now Polar Pacer Pro and my wife has the Polar Ignite 2... After starting my running path with polar, because of a friend I decided to stay. It works for me. I don't like apple or samsung devices. Maybe some day I will change to Garmin or Suunto, but now I am happy with polar.

Blood pressure and that stuff isn’t working at all. I recommend a fitness watch. Either the ignite or the vivoactive. Finally a personal decision.  Garmin shows tons of raw data, Polar combines them to some core metrics. 

I second this. Had an original Ignite and loved it. It finally died after many hard years of use so I got the 3. It’s amazing. Comfortable, accurate, and fairly affordable.

I would go for the Grit X2 (latest, just a bit more expensive than the M3). Polar watches have the same OS, so the only difference will be design, materials (for sturdiness go for the Grit X2), weight and battery life. For premium feel and long battery life go for the V3 or Grit X Pro. Pacer is old, it has MIPS display, the above mentioned have nice AMOLED. Ignite does not have maps and navigation. You cannot import workouts to polar flow platform, but if you wear your watch during workouts it will sync them to Strava. You can even pair your compatible sensors too (H10, speed/cadence), so you won’t miss any data.