Polar Grit X vs Polar Vantage V

Posted on May 3, 2020 in Compared, Cycling, Running, Triathlon

With the introduction of the Grit X Polar now has three multisport watches. In this post I’ll go into the differences of the most expensive two. The Polar Grit X compared to the Polar Vantage V. 

To start, there aren’t a lot of differences, you can see the specifications on Polar’s website youself. I’ll try to explain what these differences actually mean so you can make a decision on what watch would be best for you.

Technical

The two watches have some technical differences, which are not listed on the Polar compare list. For one the Grit X weighs only 2.25 ounces, compared to 2.33 of the Vantage V, but it is slightly larger, 1.85″ for the Grit X to 1.81″ for the Vantage V.
They both have Lithium-Polymer batteries, but again there’s a slight difference. The Grit X has 346mAh and the Vantage V has 320mAh. In real life numbers everybody can understand, this means that the Grit X and Vantage V get the same usage time. Weird huh? Well, this is most likely due to the Grit X’s Precision Prime heart-rate monitor. In the back of the watch you’ll find 10 leds on the Grit X compared to the Vantage V’s nine leds. The 10th led is again for accuracy.

Further down the details, something interesting for divers, is that the Grit X is 328 feet water resistant (or 100m). The Vantage can get up to half. For a casual diver this shouldn’t really be an issue though. Even if you are thinking of starting with diving, you won’t go below the 164 foot (50 m) any time soon and you’ll probably buy a dive specific watch by then to help your decompression and ascent.

The Grit X appears to be built towards customisation too, with it’s standard 22mm quick release band, you can buy a number of third party bands to customise the watch to your liking, Polar sells a couple of different options too.

Grit X Only features

Navigation

In my opinion, one of the main selling points is the navigation on the Grit X, using Komoot. When you are in unknown territory or just want to explore some new paths around your trusted area, navigation is ideal. No puzzling where to turn and just focus on your exercise.

Hill Splitter

Sadly (or luckily..) I live in the Netherlands. One of the flattest countries on earth. But Hill Splitter will give you detailed data about your uphill and downhill performance. This allows you to work on your technique specifically for these parts of your runs or rides.

Fuel Wise

I’m not sure about Fuel Wise. I’ve seen similar features on the Recon Jet and other devices (P.S. I was hoping that thing would get somewhere, but sadly it didn’t). Anyway, Polar says that the Fuel Wise feature will help you to remember to drink/eat. But from what I’m seeing it that ‘take 10g of carbs’ doesn’t sound all the useful, for one, 10 gr is hard to measure out while running. But I’ve got some hopes for it. The algorithm is set to become more and more personalised so suit your body in the most optimal way. The most useful part I’ve seen so far is the estimation of how much carbs you’ll need to consume, so you’re not bringing too much, but definitely not too little and hit the wall.
And if you ‘know what you’re doing’, you can just set it to remind you.

Weather

I almost forgot! Another feature on the Grit X is a weather information right there on your watch. It is detailed in the first 12 hours and gets less detail from there on, just like any forecast. Super convenient if, again, you are out and about some location you don’t know and has different weather predictability. Take Melbourne, where one day can be a nice 77F (25C) and the next morning, walking out in shorts you discover it’s 40 degrees (5C). Brrr! (This actually happened to me!)

Vantage V Features

The features that only exist on the Vantage V are the Orthostatic Test and the Recovery Pro. Both require that you have the H9 or H10 hear rate sensor. Personally, the Recovery Pro feature isn’t a deciding factor on which watch you should get. I don’t think buying a $90 HR strap to measure just this is going to be something you should be looking at.

Prices

For the latest prices check out my productwatch, where I keep track of the lowest prices for all variations but also have more photo’s, videos and reviews for you, all in one place:

Polar Vantage V

$470 at writing and £329.00 at Wiggle or €429.04 for the rest of the EU at Wiggle.

Polar Grit X

$429 at writing and £378.90 at Wiggle or €447.00 for the rest of the EU at Wiggle.