Polar - Pacer

Just purchased a basic Polar Pacer. It works without smartphone. It is simple and straight forward to operate, and amazingly light. The thing that has impressed me about it is that it tracks distance on the 1/8 mile indoor track that I train on. I was surprised that it was able to connect with GPS satellites through the metal roof of the fitness facility. I purchased a chest strap heart rate monitor with it but have not found reason to use it. The sensors in the watch are accurate enough for my purposes. Another good feature is the diary on Polar Flo. Connect your Pacer to a computer after your workout, access the Polar Flo app, and your workout data is recorded on the Polar Flo diary

Sunnto is chinese owned but has a better app and better integration with third party apps. Plus the social aspect is really cool if you have a lot of friedns with suunto hardware.  Polar on the other hand is finnsh, but their app really sucks. Is cluttered, unintuitive. I really like my polar pacer tho. But i sort of regret switching from suunto. Not a helpful post, i know 😀

I have a Polar Pacer and my wife has the Pacer Pro. We've had them for 3 years plus and have been very happy with the performance and reliability. We are regular but not hard-core runners

Polar is great for stats especially if paired with heart rate monitor. I have Polar Pacer for watch and H9 for strap. The only downside is im unable to play music - but you said not relevant so might be good option for you.

Polar pacer is not heavy and is great for tracking sleep too. GPS, never had a problem.

Polar Pacer. I use it for walking, Crossfit and Strengt training. Shows all the basic info you need without any software needed to mess things up.

I would recommend a cheap Polar watch. I have a Pacer and it is not connected to my phone at all. It is wonderfully simple and a joy to use compared to my previous bloated/ overcomplicated Garmin.

Polar Pacer. Don't connect it to my mobile at all. It's wonderful, especially in comparison the awful Garmin user interface.

Well, I am not competing, far from it, started climbing 3 years ago, I just have a plain polar pacer from my skating activities. While climbing, I often check my HR to see if I have rested enough in between climbs. Just a visual check, nothing major happening. I am not even sure what I should look for, but after a climb, I am maybe at 130-140+ (I am mid 40s), and I wait for my heart to drop down closer to 100-110 to start a new climb if the projected climb requires come muscles.. I can be doing this totally wrong.. so, that's my very non scientific and non medical input. Though.. from my also non very scientific feedback, I inadvertently tested holds against my watch, the rim... did not like it at all..