Polar - Vantage M3

Best recommendation is to get an external heart rate monitor to go with your watch for strength training. This is true of any watch on any platform though. I would recommend watching/reading some reviews on each model. The V3 and M3 share the same software experience, they are just different case and size (for the price). The Ignite 3 if I remember correctly doesn’t have buttons like the other two which have a 5 button configuration. Reviews on YouTube: DC Rainmaker, DesFit, Matt LeGrand, Chase The Summit, The Run Testers.

True, which is why the Polar M3 will fit me best as a cyclist, swimmer, hiker and while I get back into running. The Vantage M3 has a replaceable battery while the ignite 3 doesn’t according to the Polar support website. Search battery replacement and it will give you a list of which ones can have the battery replaced and which ones can’t. That can be valuable when choosing a watch.

True, which is why the Polar M3 will fit me best as a cyclist, swimmer, hiker and while I get back into running. The Vantage M3 has a replaceable battery while the ignite 3 doesn’t according to the Polar support website. Search battery replacement and it will give you a list of which ones can have the battery replaced and which ones can’t. That can be valuable when choosing a watch.

In my experience Precision Prime is way better than Elixir. I returned my M3 for that reason.

As a polar vantage m3 owner I'm hoping this means some polar flow updates to support the new fitness band. Also hoping it can be concurrently used with a polar watch so I can wear my nice watch on non-workout environments while wearing the hand on the opposite wrist. Polar needs to survive the review onslaught though for me to consider buying it though.

Polar has activity tracking over steps. The target is based on your current fitness level, and your own personally daily activity, it gives you a custom target to hit out of 100%. Any movement contributes to the activity tracking. Why this is considered superior to steps is maybe you bicycle, or do indoor rowing. These activities will contribute to the 100% goal but do not have "steps" involved. Polar does estimate steps, but I've never paid attention to it in all honesty. It's a sub menu of the "activity" watch face. There's a lot more sensors in the M3, longer battery life, and the M3 has maps. https://www.polar.com/en/comparison/#IGNITE_3&VANTAGE_M3&undefined

Polar M3 is still waiting (due Q2 2025) for the update from v1 to v3 firmware. This (amongst other things) will add the V3 watch faces with 2 additional fields. It all depends on whether Polar has an offer on one or the other of their top sports watches which you choose. The Grid X/V3/M3 should soon have the same sports functionality so it just depends on the look & feel, and what you can afford. The Ignite is not for serious sporting types, so I rejected upgrading to it from an M2 !

Dang, I have a Polar vantage M3. A little old, but it does the job

Stress measures are not reported by Polar. You could read an ECG instead. It reports HRV.  The m3 supports blood oxygen measurements and ECG. Both is not available on the Ignite. 

The Polar Vantage M3 is on sale for 299€ where I live (Grit X2 378€) which is a good price and I bought it. I am happy with the purchase and can easily recommend it to especially all beginners (Fitspark, nightly recharge and overall an easy to use system). I have previously had the Pacer Pro (very good basic whatch) but like the M3 more. I have also a Suunto 9 Peak pro and the Race. Both Suuntos are good watches, but I wanted to try Polar again. No regrets so far and it will be interesting to see the comming software updates which are said to be released by the end of the year.

I'm quite happy with my polar vantage M3 watch. It has gps maps through komoot. I have always used it on my wrist and the navigation went quite well. The only problem was on the downhills, I couldn't look at the map to see what curves were coming. I now bought an accessory so that I can put the watch on my handlebar (and another accessory so that I can still see my heartrate...).