POLAR Grit X Rugged Outdoor Military Sport Watch

Last updated: October 5, 2023

POLAR Grit X Rugged Outdoor Military Sport Watch

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We looked at the top Sport Watches and dug through the reviews from some of the most popular review sites. Through this analysis, we've determined the best Sport Watch you should buy.

Overall Take

This hardy, lightweight sport watch is water-resistant to 100 meters with a long battery life. It includes a GPS, compass, and altimeter and automatically detects hills. It also tracks your heart rate and provides access to an online training platform for analysis.

In our analysis of 37 expert reviews, the POLAR Grit X Rugged Outdoor Military Sport Watch placed 11th when we looked at the top 15 products in the category. For the full ranking, see below.

From The Manufacturer

MILITARY-LEVEL DURABILITY: U. S. Military standard 810G passed for extreme temperatures, drop, humidity and water resistance (up to 100 meters). Polar Grit X shows you current weather and a 2-day forecast. LIGHTEST OUTDOOR WATCH WITH BUILT-IN GPS: This multi-sport watch comes with a compass and altimeter (in a training mode), ultra-long battery life and Polar’s unique training features. LEARN TO REFUEL: Stay energized throughout your sessions with the new FuelWise fueling assistant. ELEVATE YOUR GOALS: Automatically detected uphill and downhill stats from Hill Splitter tell you how you performed on the ascent and descent sections of your route by using your speed, distance and altitude data. STAY ON THE RIGHT PATH: The real-time turn-by-turn route guidance and route import from Komoot keep you on the right track and help you explore new areas safely. Plan multi-day routes, create personal collections, use worldwide offline maps and much more.

Expert Reviews


What experts liked

The watch has some new features including Hill Splitter which automatically counts your hill repeats, as well as new nutritional guidance bits mid-workout and post-activity. Plus, it’s got turn by turn routing instructions when paired with Komoot. Plus a handful of other minor tweaks like improved waterproofing specs and added weather information. Oh, and the new 100-hour GPS battery life.
Physically, the Polar Grit X strikes a balance between robust build and streamlined design. Though it’s tough enough to pass several military durability tests – including water resistance to 100m – it’s less overtly rugged than its Garmin or Suunto counterparts. Same goes for the silicone strap, which is sturdy yet comfortable, with 22 adjustment options and a premium textured finish.
A multisport GPS watch that introduces several new features to Polar’s line, all of which are a boon to adventurous, off-road runners in particular. It has a beefy battery life, turn-by-turn navigation and a fuelling assistant that can help you avoid hitting the wall during epic sessions. All of which comes on top of Polar’s solid sports tracking and detailed sleep tracking.
- Coach
A best-in-class multisport GPS watch with a rugged yet attractive design, good battery life, and a wealth of useful outdoor-specific features.
It packs 40-hours GPS battery life – extendable up to 100 hours low GPS modes; heart-rate based fuelling guidance that helps you avoid hitting the wall on longer endurance feats; Komoot-powered route planning with turn-by-turn nav on the wrist and a Hill Splitter tool that unpicks your performance on the ups and downs. That’s all wrapped up in a design that’s as light as a Garmin Forerunner 945 and almost as rugged-looking as a Fenix 6 Pro.
- Stuff
The wristband itself wears comfy too. Since it is made from rubberlike material it has a decent amount of stretch and the tightness is well adjustable. And this last remark is very important in relation to the optical sensors. The sensors are positioned on a small ‘hill’ on the bottom and it is like Polar wants to ensure that the sensors make a good contact with the wrist.

What experts didn't like

The inability to pair to a smart trainer on apps like Zwift or TrainerRoad as a second connection of Bluetooth Smart (only Wahoo KICKR’s support that, due to most other devices using older Bluetooth chipsets), means that you won’t get all of the training load bits into the watch.
Five-day battery life is average. Hill Splitter mode is unreliable. No offline maps when navigating. No Spotify support.
Sleep tracking went completely off the rails for me – for the final two weeks of using the watch, either I didn’t get any info on my sleep or it was inaccurate.
- Coach
Expensive. No smartwatch features aside from phone notifications.
The Hill Splitter stats are also really limited by comparison, for example there’s no average heart rate or running power readouts for that segment. These would be really useful to help you understand how hard you’re working. Overall it felt a bit basic and even the post-workout info for analysis wasn’t that useful.
- Stuff
While you are sleeping a low-pressure weather front is approaching. The pressure sensor registers this and the watch translates this as an increase in height. Without having moved a single meter, you wake up at 3000 meters. You will therefore have to keep a close eye on the weather when you are using the watch as an altimeter or as a barometer.

Overview

If you want to improve your fitness and optimize your performance, a sport watch is a useful gadget to have. The watch can help you measure important metrics and track your improvement over time, ensuring you achieve your goals and overcome physical challenges. With a sport watch, you can track how well you’re doing, where are you are in meeting your goals and what else you have to work on to get there.

There are many different sport watches available, and the type you need will depend on your physical fitness goals. Some sport watches act as a fitness tracker. These watches capture basic data you need to know about your fitness performance, such as steps taken, calories burned and distance walked. Some fitness tracker sport watches also monitor things like how much sleep you had or what your heart rate is. They are ideal for beginners who are just starting out using sport watches to monitor their performance.

GPS sport watches are another choice for those who want to record their routes and analyze them to optimize training. For example, they can help you see things like pace, elevation or cadence. GPS-equipped watches are perfect for long-distance runners or cyclists.

A next level of sport watch offers advanced heart-rate monitors through an external wrist monitor or chest strap. They can help you analyze your pulse during a workout to boost your fat burn, endurance, strength and speed. Many of these kinds of sport watches also enable you to see your maximum oxygen consumption and your recovery rate.

If you participate in different types of fitness activities, go with a multi-sport watch. It has many of the features of the other watches, but can actually be programmed for specific activities. For example, you can set it for running, cycling, hiking, skiing or snowboarding. If you have a waterproof watch, you can also wear it while swimming and paddleboarding.

Buying Advice

  • The features you need on a sport watch depend on your fitness goals. For example, do you want to see how many calories you burn with each workout or do you want to know the optimal pace you should run to burn the most fat? Do you want to set routes for the best workout or do you just want to see how many steps you took in a day? Outlining your fitness goals will help you figure out the best kind of sport watch for you.
  • While you’re busy working out, you may not want to be constantly checking your sport watch. Opt for one that has audio or vibration prompts so you can set it to alert you at specific times or when you’re in a certain heart-rate zone.
  • Many sport watches are connected to apps or websites, where you can upload your personal data and analyze it. This is a great feature to have if you want more insight on your fitness performance.
  • If you train alone but like being competitive with others, check to see whether your sport watch’s manufacturer has built an online community. You may be able to compare your data with virtual fitness partners, join group challenges and get insight on your performance. Being competitive can motivate you to exceed your goals.
  • Some sport watches can help you create customized workouts or training circuits, which is a great way to optimize your fitness and improve your performance. It’s like having a little personal trainer right on your wrist.