Polar Vantage V

$680; $710 WITH H10 HEART RATE SENSOR Renowned for its heart rate monitors in year’s past, Polar’s Vantage V does much more than simply measure your heart rate or provide pace, distance and time. That said, the Polar Precision Prime wrist-based sensor offers extremely accurate heart rate measurement, but if you need even more precise measurements you can also pair the Vantage V with a strap or the company’s OH1 sensor, which easily slips onto the strap of your swim goggles while you’re swimming.

Available in two sizes, the Vantage V also can track your running power without any additional sensors and can even gauge the load your training session has put on your joints and muscular system. The touch screen helps with navigation, but you can also use the five different buttons to navigate through menus with ease. The watch monitors your training and rest to provide training load and recovery tracking information, which can help prevent overtraining and injuries. There’s even a fitness test that will help you set goals and training zones.

Once you’re all done your workout, the data is transferred to the Polar Flow platform, where you can easily review your effort and sync the info to other platforms like Strava or Training Peaks. There’s even a free Polar Flow for Coach service so your coach can monitor your training, too. (The Strava Live Segments feature will even alert you about nearby segments during your workout in case you’re in the hunt for any KOMs.)

Battery life is very impressive – you’ll get up to 40 hours in training mode and seven days in watch mode with continuous heart rate tracking. The Vantage V serves as a smartwatch that can keep you connected with calls, messages, emails and calendar events. Somehow all this comes in a sleek watch that weighs just 66 g.—KM