Polar Grit X is an endurance watch for those that own the trails
Polar has unveiled its most advanced sports watch to date – the powerful Polar Grit X, which is aimed at ultrarunners and outdoors enthusiasts.
The Polar Grit X GPS running watch takes aim at the Garmin Fenix 6 and Suunto 9, with promises of long battery life and a new focus on performance, nutrition and recovery for endurance athletes. It was described by the company as the “Vantage V with outdoor features”, meaning it has the company’s most potent performance insights, but a new focus on endurance activities.
But let’s start with the hardware.
It features a 1.2-inch color screen, with a 240 x 240 resolution, packed into a 47mm case that’s water resistant to 100m.
Built to MIL-STD-810G military toughness, the Polar Grit X weighs in at 64g, making it around 30% lighter than the Garmin Fenix 6 (83g). Of course, there’s the company’s Precision Prime Optical HR sensor too.
It promises 40 hours of continuous tracking, which can be boosted up to 100 hours with power saving modes – making a direct play for multi-stage runners and hikers who will be away from power for long periods.
But it’s the software features that really put the Grit X apart from the competition.
The Hill Splitter feature puts an onus on ascents, helping you to plan for hilly runs and work to maintain pace both on the ups and downs, and post workout reports will inform you if you’re losing time.
Along with Hill Splitter, the Grit X also logs running power, so you have the option to run by effort rather than pace. Running power is increasingly catching on as a GPS watch metric, especially for ultrarunners who like to be guided by effort, rather than have pace scuppered by terrain.
And for those who are spending hours on the trails, the FuelWise feature will remind you when to take on fluids or nutrition, and the required amounts of carbs – so you can stick to carefully planned nutritional intake, when things get a little addled mid-run.
Nutrition also feeds into post workout analysis, and recovery will also report the amount of carbs, proteins and fats burned, to help you replace what you’ve lost faster.
Polar has also partnered up with Komoot for GPS tracking and routes on the watch itself – plus two days worth of local weather.
FitSpark was a big part of the Polar Ignite, and the company’s training plans also make an appearance here on the Grit X, which use the watch’s recovery and training data to adapt around how your body is feeling.
And biometric analysis is also integrated into the sleep tracking – which measures and recovery, as well as offering a nightly sleep score, just like Fitbit, Garmin and other mainstream sleep tracking programs.
The Grit X launches today for $429 and will be sold exclusively by polar.com until hitting other retainers in May 2020.
