Garmin
Forerunner 255 Series
Long battery; but wrist HR tracking is inconsistent.

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I have to say I’m really disappointed/underwhelmed about the Polar Loop and Polar Flow announcements. Firstly, the Loop just seems like a copy+paste of the Business version of the band. Secondly, why announce it back in June/July (whenever it was) making us wait till September, if all the key features are not ready at launch. The Whoop’s app UI/UX is one of the main reason it is the market leader by a mile. And one of the core principles of being a consumer is do not buy something today, on the promise of an improvement tomorrow. … since I’ve been eagerly awaiting the band, I’ve pre-ordered it anyway In general it seems like they do not have their shxt in order. Thoughts? EDIT: - Cancelled my pre-order. Tried to have faith in the product but I just don’t, the more I learn about it. Will wait for full reviews to come before I make a decision now.
Random thought but Wow, Polar even recycled the name LOOP from a 10+ year old device.
Surely it’s not missing HRV? If anyone can confirm that please let me know lmao, I’m cancelling my order
Just got the Polar Loop and honestly not a fan at all. Has anyone here gone through their refund process? Was it smooth?
I love my little loop. I wear it on one hand, then I can wear a smart watch on the other. I also love that if I’m chasing the kitty around the house or lifting heavy groceries, I get credit for it. My Garmin would just give me intensity minutes or move IQ but Polar gives me training load. I can also go for a walk around the mall and get credit for that too. If I’m walking around the neighbourhood I can choose to use my phone for distance and route or just enjoy the walk and get credit for that too. I trust Polar’s science more than Helios band. I find most of the negative reviews are from able bodied people that don’t appreciate the loop for what it is. I recommend reading the manual to see if it meets your needs.
If you want things like pace, or lap counting while you are swimming then you would wear a watch at the same time. I leave my phone in a locker outside the change room at my local YMCA so I use a watch and loop while swimming. If I’m just wandering around the neighbourhood I may use my phone (Polar Flow app) for the route and distance. If you were somewhere without phone connectivity, such as hiking in the mountains then I would use a watch with gps. I love that Polar has inactivity stickers on the daily activity screen so I can see where I’m less active. It’s usually because I’m reading a book or watching tv with the family but at least I can see it in the app which none of the other ones do. All sports watches/smartwatches do have “get up lazybones” vibration/notification though. The Loop doesn’t really vibrate for that though a notification will come across your phone. You can also check charge level of your loop on your phone as well.
For me the loop seemed to be most accurate compared to my Apple and Garmin products when I wore it and didn’t track anything manually or automatically.
Huh, it does measure your HRV during the night? (which, from scientific point of view, is the only sensible time to continously measure it) All I cared from this release is info about new app and it is coming, so I guess my needs are met. The Loop itself is pretty much what I imagined it would be, so kinda meh. I was hoping Polar would come up with some new feature but it's just rehashing old stuff in new body, which it was Polar has been doing lately.
Yes. I have trialed it for a few months. Got at launch. Not that good. The hardware feels nice. Looks solid... But not as useful as the whoop for actionable data. In fact not useful so have stopped wearing it recently
Garmin
Forerunner 255 Series
Long battery; but wrist HR tracking is inconsistent.

Garmin
Forerunner 955 Series
Best value, clear MIP screen; limited smartwatch features.

Garmin
Fenix 7 Series
Durable, multi-week battery, flashlight; high price, buggy software.
Garmin
Instinct 2 Series
Rugged, solar multi-week battery; bulky, small screen readability issues.

Garmin
Enduro 3
Multi-week solar battery, lightweight; but bulky form factor.

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Oura - Oura Ring Series

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Apple - Ultra Series

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Garmin - Enduro 3

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Garmin - Fenix 7 Series

Ranked #1
Garmin - Forerunner 255 Series

Ranked #1
Oura - Oura Ring Series