Polar Vantage V vs. Polar Vantage M | Which is right for you?

When you choose the best sports watch for you where should you start?

Your personal goals and needs as an athlete.

If you don’t need everything, maybe focus on the essentials? If you don’t need all the pro-level goodies, but you want them and having them gives you joy and pleasure… well, we totally get it!

Luckily, both new Vantage series multisport watches are designed with ambitious goal-oriented athletes in mind so whichever you choose, you will have the most reliable optical heart rate measurement, accurate data and advanced training features.

Both Polar Vantage M and Polar Vantage V come with cutting-edge Polar Precision Prime™ sensor fusion technology and a new approach to measuring your Cardio, Muscle and Perceived Training Load as a whole. They offer a true multisport experience with more than 130 sports profiles and a multisport mode to track different sports in the same session.

The difference between the two is that with Polar Vantage V, you can take your training and performance even deeper into the pro level (with longer battery life, recovery measurement, running power from the wrist and a barometer).

TL;DR – Quick comparison chart

If you want to cut straight to the chase, here’s a shortcut to comparing the features between Polar Vantage V and Polar Vantage M. Or use the comparison tool for a more detailed list.

We’re also rolling out a number of enhancements to both Polar Vantage V and M so make sure you check our Vantage updates page to see what’s coming.

The key differences between Polar Vantage V and Vantage M

Running power from the wrist

With Polar Vantage V you can measure running power from the wrist without any additional sensors or pods. Measuring running power is possible with Polar Vantage M, too, but you need to pair it with a third-party running power meter, like Stryd.

Muscle Load

Both new Vantage products come with the new Training Load Pro feature that measures your Cardio Load and Muscle Load and combines the data with your Perceived Load. This way you get an accurate and holistic understanding of how strained your body is.

The difference is that Polar Vantage V automatically measures your Muscle Load from running (and even from cycling if you use a cycling power meter). If you opt for Polar Vantage M, you can measure your Running power and Muscle Load with a third-party sensor.

Recovery

To help you find the perfect balance with different types of training and rest, Polar Vantage V not only measures your training load as a whole but also your daily and long-term recovery levels with the Recovery Pro feature.

To provide even more in-depth pro-level guidance, Polar Vantage V combines your Training Load and Recovery Status to give you a personalized daily training recommendation and warn you when you’re at risk of overtraining, injury or illness. It also recognizes if you have too much stress from something else than training and will motivate you to keep training if you start to lose your momentum.

Look and feel

The design of Polar Vantage V is a more robust and it has a stainless steel front case. It’s lightweight (66g), but slightly heavier than the super lightweight Polar Vantage M (45g).

Both Polar Vantage products come with a color display and buttons but as a bonus, Polar Vantage V has a color touch display with Gorilla Glass. Buttons are in both multisport watches so that you can focus on your training to the full and use the watch without looking at the screen. Buttons minimize any accidental presses (e.g. pausing/stopping exercise, changing to another training view, taking accidental lap, etc.) when you’re training and that’s why the touch screen on Polar Vantage is disabled in training mode.

Battery life

The battery life for Polar Vantage V is 40 hours of continuous training with GPS and optical heart rate measurement as opposed to the battery life of 30 hours of continuous training with GPS and optical heart rate measurement for Polar Vantage M.

Both batteries last up until around one week of daily use, meaning ca. one hour of training per day with 24/7 heart rate tracking on and mobile notifications off.

Still not sure which is right for you?

 

How would you answer these questions?

• Are you a pro or do you train like a pro and need a premium multisport watch with all pro-level goodies?
• Do you want to measure your Training Load as a whole, including Muscle Load, without additional sensors or pods?
• Do you wish to get feedback on your recovery level and personalized training guidance?
• Have you been hoping that you could measure Running Power straight from the wrist without third-party sensors?
• Do you need accurate altitude information via barometer when you train?

If your answer is “yes”, Polar Vantage V is the sports watch you need.

Do you agree with these statements?

• “I’m an ambitious athlete and need an all-in-one multisport watch – without breaking the bank.”
• “I want to measure Running Power and Muscle Load but I’m fine with using a third-party sensor to do it.”
• “I want a multisport watch that is light as a feather and fits perfectly on my wrist.”
• “Style is important! My sports watch should be customizable to match my style.”
• “I need the essentials, like accurate optical heart rate measurement, holistic training load, swimming metrics, multisport mode and ultra-long battery life.”

Sounds about right? In that case, Polar Vantage M is the best choice for you.

When you’ve made your choice, buy Polar Vantage V or Polar Vantage M on the Polar webstore or find a store closest to you.

Please note that the information provided in the Polar Blog articles cannot replace individual advice from health professionals. Please consult your physician before starting a new fitness program.