Polar takes watch-based training & GPS tracking to the next level with the all-new outdoor sport focused Grit X smartwatch. The Grit takes everything users love about the activity, fitness & recovery tracking of their Vantage watches, then adds several more useful outdoor sport features for cyclists & runners – like Komoot navigation, real-time nutritional fueling guidance & more!
Polar Grit X GPS + heart rate smartwatch for cyclists & runners
Polar has built wrist-based heart rate trackers for 40 years, but for cyclists looking for one-stop fitness & ride tracking, several features like routing were still lacking. Now, the new Grit X adds that and more in a smartwatch built for athletes looking to transition from one outdoor sport to the next seamlessly, making this look like a solid upgrade for cyclists over the current Vantage range.
What’s new in the Grit X?
The most obvious addition for runners & cyclists is probably the new routing possibilities, tied in with Komoot. Plan any route in the Komoot app directly from your mobile phone, and Polar will sync it to your screen. The Grit X gives a simple line drawing track to follow and turn-by-turn guidance of when the next is coming. Sure, it’s not a full-featured background map on your wrist, but for a 3cm diameter screen it looks promising. There’s also a digital compass display if you get your self more lost.
After that, a new FuelWise assistant will help you prevent bonking, by helping you stay on track for your calorie intake. FuelWise can work either automatically based on your level of exertion, or you can program manual reminders so you remember to stay fueled & hydrated during long endurance activities.
A new Hill Splitter screen also helps better gauge how fast you are up and down climbs, breaking down ascent & descent rates from your route whether biking or running to track your improvement and help better plan future efforts.
Lastly, when we all return to exercising outside, new weather forecasting displays will help you get outfitted for your ride or run. The Grit X will show current weather conditions, as well as a reliable short-term 2-day weather forecast, all on your wrist.
What carries over from the Vantage?
Beside the new features, pretty much every feature of the top Vantage family carries over to the new Polar Grit X smartwatch as well. The core of that is precise optical heart rate tracking from your wrist, multi-system GPS/Glonass route tracking, on board altimeter, BLE sensor connectivity, and Bluetooth connection to your smart phone for notifications and data transfer.
Beyond that core functionality, the Grit X includes all of Polar’s extra Smart Coaching features like in the top Vantage V… From a training specific perspective, Training Load Pro quantifies the extent to the strain your training regimen puts on your muscles and how that impacts different parts of your body, FitSpark training guides offer personalized ready-made daily workout suggestions based on your prior activities and tracked recovery level, and Running Power that calculates how intense of your running workouts really are rather than relying on split times.
It also means around the clock wrist-based heart rate tracking/sampling with Polar Precision Prime, Nightly Recharge tracking to determine how your body recovers from training, Sleep Plus Stages that offers insight into how much sleep you really are getting and how effective your sleep habits are for recovery, and lastly Serene guided breathing exercises to help learn how to relax to clam mind & body.
Everything is then connected and synced wirelessly through the Polar Flow app and web service, so you can set up short & long-term training plans, and track progress as you go with Polar’s extensive analysis tools.
Polar Grit X – Tech details
The new Grit X is said to meet several US military-grade performance tests ensuring reliability in extreme temperatures, humidity, and impact conditions (MIL-STD-810G). It has a claimed battery life of up to 40 hours of continuous GPS activity tracking and 100 hours in standard operating modes (7 days in watch mode with continuous heart rate tracking), and is recharged with a proprietary magnetic connector over USB. The 47mm diameter, 13mm thick smartwatch itself weights just 64g (44g without band), and features a 1.2″ 240x240px always-on color touchscreen display with laminated Gorilla glass lens. It is available with silicone rubber, textile & paracord wristbands.
Grit X – Pricing & availability
The new Grit X is exclusively available through Polar.com through the end of April for $430 / 430€ with black or dark stainless steel bezels, and with various color bands. The larger M/L version comes black or green (for larger wrist sizes, but with the same 47mm bezel), and the smaller S/M in white. Black, white & green silicon bands are available separately for or $30 / 30 €; Green Tundra, Red Paracord & Blue Paracord textile bands for $40 / 40€; or a leather band for $50 / 50€. The Grit X will be available at select Polar retailers starting in May 2020.
