Polar Grit X – New Outdoor Multisport Watch Launched
Polar has released a new sports watch for outdoor enthusiasts – the Polar Grit X. Find all information about the new sports watch that is dedicated to trail runners, mountain bikers and hikers.
Countdown for Polar Grit X release (Source: Polar)
Almost 18 months ago Polar released the Vantage M and Vantage V. Both sports watches have been specifically designed for runners and triathlets. The Polar Ignite, which has been released last year, is more like a general purpose sports watch to fill in the gap between Polar’s activity tracker A370 and the Vantage series.
While Polar’s strength always have been its sports watches for runners and triathlets, the Finnish company lacks products that focus on outdoor sports like trail running, mountain biking and hiking. With the Grit X Polar is trying to change this situation and as the Garmin Fenix 6 is likely to be the most relevant competitor, Polar is longing for some of Garmin’s customers.
Grit X – Designed for outdoor sports
The Polar Grit X is a multisport GPS watch designed for outdoor sports off the beaten tracks. As such, the Grit X had to pass MIL-STD-810G tests, including extreme temperatures, drop and humidity.
The watch’s dimensions are 47 x 47 x 13 mm, which is about the same size as the Vantage V. The battery has some more capacity but battery life is equal to the Vantage V. Even the display specs do not differ. The Grit X is having a 1.2″ transflective colorful always-on display with a 240×240 pixels resolution.
Screenshot – Polar Grit X Teaser (Source: Polar@Youtube)
To protect the display, the watch features scratch-resistent tempered Gorilla Glas and a stainless steel bezel.
| Display | 1,2" transflective, colorful always-on display |
| Resolution | 240x240 pixels |
| Dimensions | 47 x 47 x 13 mm |
| Weight | 64 grams (with wristband) 44 grams (without wristband) |
| Battery | 346 mAh |
| Battery Life | up to 7 days (watch mode with heart rate monitoring) up to 40 hours (training mode with GPS and heart rate monitoring) |
| Water Resistance | up to 100 meters |
Grit X – New Features
Concerning its functions and its price, the Grit X is positioned between the Vantage M and the Vantage V. The Grit X is missing some of Polar’s more sophisticated running features, but it is going to sport two brand new functions that haven’t been seen on any other Polar devices:
Hill Splitter™
Hill Splitter™ automatically tracks uphill and downhill sections during your outdoor activities. It does so by taking the altitude, pace and distance into account. The provided data allows for detailed insights and comparing the heart rate, distance, speed, ascent and descent, for every detected hill on your route.
FuelWise™
FuelWise™ is a smart assistant, which ensures that you drink and refuel your system carbs regularly. Both are essential to best performances during long lasting activities.
Basically FuelWise consists of two reminders: The carb reminder is based on the number of calories burned and automatically reminds you to refuel in order to keep a constant level of energy. The drink reminder is manually set up. The reminder frequency is based on your personal preferences and conditions.
Komoot Support
Just in case you don’t know, Komoot is a community and plattform for outdoor sports like trail running, hiking and mountain biking. Thanks to transferring tours to the Grit X the device offers a wrist-based turn-by-turn guidance, which allows for easy navigation on unknown terrain.
Buying the Polar Grit X allows for 30 days free access to Komoot premium.
Weather Forecast
To be prepared for unfavorable weather, the Grit X features the current weather as well as the weather forecast for the next two days.
Battery life
The Grit X has a 346 mAh battery which has slightly more capacity than the Vantage V’s. It is enough capacity for up to 40 hours of tracking activities with enabled GPS and optical heart rate sensor turned on. The more efficient watch mode sports 24/7 heart rate tracking but lacks the GPS support. Since the power consuming GPS has been disabled, the battery life extends to up to 7 days. There are additional power settings that affect the battery life.
Release Date, Price and Availability
The Polar Grit X has been launched on April 22. The recommended retail price is 429,95 € which is midly less expensive than the Vantage V which is 499,95 €. Compared to the Vantage M’s recommended retail price of 279,95 € the Grit X is way more expensive.
The multisport outdoor watch is available in black, green (large wristband) and white (small wristband). You can order the Grit X via Polar’s website. My guess is that it’ll be a couple of weeks before the Polar Grit X is hitting the shelves in retail business.
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