Polar - Vantage V2

I miss the non-running/cycling workouts suggestions that polar fitspark provides, its something i was just thinking about too. but iirc polar did not give the vantage v2 fitspark initially, and it only came only after users complained that it only came to lesser models.

_ polar is known for amazing HR tracking Funny.. I thought the same because of H10 which is good but that is the only product with goo HR tracking and polar has been siding that horse for so long. I have V2 and HR tracking is unusable for sports. Just like any other Polar optic HR sensor. So for daily activity tracking, and sleep, ok might be fine. Sports? No.

I already have the Samsung Watch Ultra, along with the Polar Vantage V2, so once my Charge 5 dies, my Fitbit days are done and over.

My V2(edit)was pretty amazing at first, I used to have the heart rate monitor on 24hr/day and it lasted at least a week. Later I turned that off for night only because I got a skin winkles under the HR sensor. And it used to last at least 2-3 weeks between charges. I climb outdoors and do long days, with the sensor and gos running. Again at first it’s lasted a long time without charge. I could easily do 2-3 days of 11hr hikes and it faired ok. For a while it seemed pretty amazing, the first 2years at least. I bought it in 2019. 2025 and the battery totally died. And I’m in the UK which no longer has a service centre. So I’m attempting to find out how to replace the battery myself. I’m questioning if I will get another polar if it only lasts five years. I’m not happy about the fact a battery can’t be replaced easily.

Good spot, yes I have the V2 I was looking to get the V3 to replace the V2 hence the confusion.

If you bought your watch in 2019 then it would be the original Vantage V, not the V3. The V2 only came out in the fall of 2020, and the V3 in the fall of 2023. I have both the V2 and V3 and despite the AMOLED screen, the V3 has better battery life.

Its about as good as you are going to get. Apple does lock certain features to apple watch only - so an apple watch ultra 2 is an alternative option you can look at - as does include recreational diving features - but not as much as the fenix 8, and you can cover the gaps the F8 misses via 3rd party apps - but does leave out the cohesive eco system garmin provides - and considering that you barely mention any smart features would then say you are looking at the right watch (definitely from fitness tracking and progress tracking point of view). Fishing - actually it does - you can log your catch and log the spots where you catch..... [https://www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/GUID-EECCAC99-90D6-4AB1-9A3A-EC433D3365E2/EN-US/GUID-A6881EE1-DB08-4922-925F-C7526EFAE8A2.html](https://www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/GUID-EECCAC99-90D6-4AB1-9A3A-EC433D3365E2/EN-US/GUID-A6881EE1-DB08-4922-925F-C7526EFAE8A2.html) and then you can used those saved location spots to navigate back to them at any point (can be very useful for fishing holes whether out on the water or fishing from bank/beach). All garmin have a built in coach for running - think C25K but does up to half marathon distance, then F8 incldues a Daily suggested workout option which you can then add a race event to it, to get the DSW to try and get you to peak for your event - so if you want a hassel free experience and a watch to build your training programme - hard to beat what garmin offers. Hiking- get offline maps and offline navigation (think satnav from car on watch) - so can create routes and get tbt directions on watch and via audio. Plus love the climbpro feature. Maps will work with all outdoor activity so can use for paddling as well as running / hiking etc (have a couple of paddle routes for when on canals / rivers especially canals in towns - great way of seeing parts of a town via water). So yes there isn't really anything else that comes close to matching it. Nearest alternative options would be apple watch ultra 2 (and losts of 3rd party apps); polar grit/vantage and coros pace pro /apex pro / vertix all include built in training systems and with training metrics and analytics like garmin to track progress; suunto at this stage is training metrics and analytics - though their suunto ocean is a full dive watch (garmin equivalent is the descent mk3 which is basically a fenix with full dive capability);