Polar M430 GPS Running Watch with Wrist Heart Rate

I use this watch predominately for swimming and gym sessions and it's ridiculously good. The constant heart rate monitoring during training sessions lets me know if I'm in the right zone and the fact that it's fully waterproof has been invaluable. The interface is easy to use and the app is as well. The GPS on walks/runs/cycling works really well but naturally does run the battery down faster. Without using the GPS, I'm charging every 5 or 6 days and with it about every 4. It's really made my training sessions a lot more effective!

Been using this for about a year and I'm very happy with it. You wouldn't want to wear it all day because it doesn't look that great, but it's ideal for running and walking - reliable, hardy, accurate. My only caveat is battery life. Although I think Polar claims it's 8 hours, if you set the GPS to record as frequently as possible, then that drops down to around 4 to 5 hours. So long as you can do marathons in under that time, then you've got no problem, but if you're doing ultras or day-long walks, it won't last the course. It may do if you set the GPS to record less frequently, but if you're a stats nerd like me, you probably won't want to lose accuracy. Perhaps you'll need to charge it in the pub at lunchtime...

Over the past year I have gotten more and more into running. First it started off with 1 or 2 runs a week, then I had what might be called an epiphany when I heard that you need to build your base by running sloooowly. This helped to improve my endurance and stamina and suddenly running became so much more enjoyable. I figured I'd put myself through a running program to improve. I love some stats and graphs, so I embarked on a major research project into finding the right GPS running watch for me. I already have a Polar HR monitor (H10) which I got over a year ago because it was cheaper than a watch and I wasn't that serious about training, just curious. It's very accurate, which seems to be what Polar's reputation is built on. So it seemed logical to stick with one brand. What the watch does over the HR monitor is allow you to load a specific running program from the Polar Flow website, which then tells you what kind of run or exercise to do each day and what targets (heart rate and distance) to hit. The program is pretty comprehensive and includes easy, medium, interval and long runs, mobility sessions, and core and strength work outs. There are supporting Polar videos on YouTube for the recommended exercise routines for anything that's not running. If you follow the program, you will get better. I couldn't stick rigidly to the program due to work commitments but I still shaved 5 minutes off my 5k time in 3 months. Pretty chuffed. So you set up everything in the Polar Flow website, and then sync your watch. It's pretty simple and operates smoothly for me. Syncing with the Polar Flow app on my Android phone is a bit more hit and miss though. The watch also allows you to record your sessions doing a multitude of other sports - it will record your heart rate, time, and calculate calories burned based on your other metrics. It's waterproof so you can go swimming with it. It will record most things, but it doesn't automatically register laps. There is a manual option for this if you so wish. It will also monitor your sleep and churn out a report on it. I really only use it to log exercise sessions. Finally, it will do a "fitness test", which involves monitoring your heart rate while you sit or lie still. As far as accuracy goes, wrist-based heart rate monitors are accepted as less accurate as chest-based ones, especially when you're doing interval work, but the Polar M430 is pretty good - accurate enough for me that I don't really use the HR10 much now. GPS takes a few seconds to lock, and it's also very accurate, much more so than my phone, which was temperamental, and another reason why I went into the market for a GPS running watch. Battery life lasts around 4-5 days for me, although this is mostly on standby as I only really wear it when I'm working out. Still, it's pretty impressive. I wore it fairly continuously when I first got it and had to charge it after 3 days. There is an option to have constant heart rate monitoring, which obviously uses more battery. Finally, with regards to aesthetics, I wasn't sold on the look of it. It's quite chunky on my smallish wrist (I'm a 5'4" woman), and it's square design is definitely less common than the current trend of round faces. However it was the least important factor for me. For what it's worth, initially I tried the Suunto Spartan, but this fell short on accuracy and was returned. I've met people who rave about Garmin, but I'd also read reviews about them having a cheap-ish build quality for the price, and the ecosystem seems to divide opinion like Marmite. Some guys who ran a running shop told me that TomTom was going to stop producing watches and so support would fade over time. Overall, this ticks all the boxes that I wanted out of a running watch, with features and a build quality at a price that I think beats other alternatives.

I have had Apple & Garmin watches I borrowed a polar and I liked the features the m400 is good it gives you all what other smartwatches have it’s buttons not touch screen and the gps is also good I would recommend it if you want a good priced watch

Having gotten more and more in to running I decided it was time to purchase a GPS running watch. I was weighing up whether to go with a Polar or a Garmin but my partner who already owned an M430 steered me towards Polar. So yeah, as has been said already aesthetically the M430 is not the most stylish and probably something you are not going to wear throughout the day like say a fitbit. Despite that, the watch is really light and not nearly as bulky as some of the pics would suggest. On to the serious stuff. Substance over style is what the M430 is all about. I didn’t want to spend a fortune but wanted something reliable that would give me some decent metrics to work with. Having used it regularly for over two weeks this has ticked all the boxes and more. Admittedly I do not have previous experience in using either wrist based or chest based heart monitors; however, having analysed numerous runs at various distances / paces it’s pretty clear to see that it is consistent and accurate. GPS tracking is spot on and my runs sync to my Strava seamlessly. I really like the display features which can show time, distance, pace and heart rate together without things looking too cluttered. If you wish you can also adjust the display features at the press of a button to show less. The Polar Flow app should not be overlooked either. Before I purchased the watch I didn’t think I would delve too far in to analysing my runs but Polar Flow presents these metrics so comprehensively that you cannot help but get in to it. This truly is data you can use and even after just two weeks I feel I have learned allot about my running performance and it has changed my approach to training. Workouts sync effortlessly to Polar Flow and as I said, the data is presented brilliantly. Then there is the great battery life! I got just under 3.5 hours of running time last week before I needed to charge. Charging time is also very quick and yes where the charge port is located is a bit awkward but I’m not going to dock any points for that! All in all, top stuff here from Polar. I’m loving it so far and really don’t see that changing. Great product at a more than reasonable price.

I've been using this watch on my runs for nearly 2 years. GPS accuracy is fantastic, the display is functional and highly configurable, and the Polar Flow summaries/analysis are great on the PC or phone. UNFORTUNATELY, the heart rate monitoring is a big disappointment. Initially, the heart rate monitor seemed to work well (see first photo). After the first year, it started giving me persistently nonsense readings (photos 2 & 3). It doesn't seem to lock onto my actual heart rate, and just makes up some silly low number. All three photos are on the same route at pretty much the same constant effort level. I always have the battery charged up. I haven't changed the way I wear the watch (snug with no wiggle). I can't really recommend this watch to anyone until they acknowledge and correct the issues with the heart rate monitor.

Superbly accurate HR monitoring and GPS. Couldn't be happier - a great piece of kit.

I've had this watch a couple of months now and I still absolutely love it. Prior to getting this watch I had a Garmin 45S and I really did not like it for many reasons (mainly it does not work!). However,this watch does everything I need and more without being too technical. It is very easy to use, I use it for running outside and also on the treadmill. On the treadmill it tracks both my walking and running. It also has 100 different sports profiles including indoor rowing (not included on the Garmin), indoor cycling, strength training and yoga. Although the watch takes a while to sync it has worked every time on the computer. Had some problems initially trying to sync with phone but changing some settings on my phone seems to have resolved this. Also it works perfectly with a blue tooth heart rate monitor which doesn't need to be a Polar. Personally I love my new Polar H9 heart rate monitor (Birthday present). I never got the Garmin watch to work with a heart rate monitor despite the fact that it was supposed to. I was so happy with this watch I even persuaded my husband to buy one. He is a cyclist who does a bit of running and is also very pleased with his watch. As a fitness tracker I think it is probably as good as anything else, the sleep tracking is quite good, certainly better than the Garmin but the step count seems a bit high. As I mainly wanted something to track my workouts and runs the other features do not bother me. Wish I had bought this watch sooner but spent a great deal of time deliberating after such a bad experience with the other watch. One reason I took so long in my decision was the bad reviews about Polar customer services which fortunately I haven't had to deal with.

5 días con él y genial. el modo de entrenamiento es muy bueno. Me he propuesto puesto hacer una carrera de x km y en la agenda tienes una serie de ejercicios para los días que tú le digas que vas a entrenar. Los programas van geniales. El resto de funciones van muy bien y es cómodo puesto. La app sincroniza los datos y tienes datos y análisis para aburrirte.

Great Value for Money. Stats are good, distance recording great.

Adoro, já está durando um tempão

Die Polar M430 eignet sich für Hobby- und Gelegenheitssportler perfekt zur Aufzeichnung sämtlicher Läufe, Walking-Runden, Wanderungen etc. Das GPS ist recht solide, ab und zu habe ich Probleme in bewaldeten Gebieten vernommen. Die Pulsmessung scheint mir recht stabil, da habe ich aber leider keinen Vergleich. Der Akku ist top, bei drei, vier Einheiten pro Woche (GPS-Nutzung bei Einheiten braucht viel mehr Akku) muss man die Uhr nur einmal pro Woche aufladen. Abseits von den Einheiten trackt die Uhr die Tagesaktivität mit (ohne GPS/Puls) und gibt ein Tagesziel (drei verschiedene Stufen je nach Arbeit etc. auwählbar) an Bewegung vor. Dies geschieht nicht ganz so genau, ist aber meiner Meinung nach ausreichend um einen kleinen Überblick über seine Tagesaktivität zu erhalten. Die Uhr ist recht einfach zu bedienen und auch sehr kompakt gebaut. Das Gummiband ist jedoch anfällig für Kratzer oder Abnutzungen, die Größe M/L reicht sicherlich nahezu für jedes Handgelenk. Abgerundet wird die Uhr durch die Smartphone-App (Polar Flow), in der man alle Aufzeichnungen begutachten kann, am Desktop ist die Analyse dann noch ausführlicher. Die Schlafaufzeichnung ist ein ganzes interessantes Tool, aber meiner Meinung nach nicht wirklich aussagekräftig. Übrigens ist die Wecker-Funktion auch sehr gelungen und ideal um z.B. den Partner nicht mit aufzuwecken. Mir fehlt lediglich ein einfach zu bedienender, herunterlaufender Timer. Alles in allem verwende ich die Uhr jetzt seit drei Monaten tagtäglich und bin - zu diesem Preis - absolut zufrieden damit! Klare Kaufempfehlung...

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