The Polar Vantage M2 was one of two new watches from Polar in March. We will talk about the second, the Ignite 2, in a later post.
Designed as an upgrade to the Polar Vantage, it lacks some of the features of the V2. However, it is still a great mid-priced device, especially if running is your sport.
So, let’s take a look at the new design, smart features and fitness capabilities of the Polar Vantage M2.
Design
The Polar Vantage M2 has had a design upgrade. You can certainly now tell the difference between this and the Vantage. Firstly, the M2 is available in 4 different colour choices; black/grey, copper/brown, gold/champagne and grey/yellow. Personally, I love the gold and champagne; however, it does look great in the darker styles.
Whilst the Vantage M2 is a similar size to its predecessors, it’s considerably lighter at just 44g. The glass fibre reinforced polymer keeps the watch strong, and the etched bezel, buttons and buckle are stainless steel.
The Vantage M2 also has interchangeable straps. However, the strap it comes with is exceptionally comfortable. There are many small holes on the silicone wristband, allowing air to get to the skin easier.
As the display is a non-touchscreen, there are 5 small buttons around the outside of the case. On the subject of the display, The Polar Vantage M2 has an always-on colour display. It’s 1.2-inch across with a resolution of 240 x 240. The watch faces are also customisable to allow you to choose the most important data, although options are somewhat limited.
Sports Features
The Polar Vantage M2 doesn’t have all the features of the V2. However, it is still an excellent multisport watch for non-professionals. With up to 130 different sports modes, it is sure to track your preferred activity.
Other features found on the Vantage M2 include FitSpark. This essentially gives you tailored daily workouts to help you maintain your fitness levels and notifies you when you have completed your goals for the day. The running programme provides you with a personal and adaptive training plan to fit you and your goals.
The Training Load Pro feature enables you to review how much training you have been doing lately. Furthermore, it provides advice around the strain on different parts of your body. The Vantage M2 can also track swimming metrics such as style, distance, pace and strokes in both pool and open water settings.
One of the best features of the Vantage M2 is the support provided for nutrition and hydration. It enables you to see which energy sources are used during training sessions (fats, carbs, proteins). It then reminds you when you need to refuel or re-hydrate, recommending which energy sources will be best.
Other Health Features
Sleep monitoring is becoming an increasingly standard feature of wearables, and the Vantage M2 does this well. Broken down into two sections, the first informs you of your sleep phases. For example, when you go to sleep, if you wake during the night and when you wake in the morning. However, a second feature tells you how well you recover during your sleep. This needs three days of data to start working and becomes more accurate over time. It’s an excellent way of reviewing not just how much sleep you get but also the quality of your sleep.
Another feature becoming more popular with smartwatches is stress monitoring. The Polar Vantage M2 has fully customisable guided breathing sessions. Change the duration, lengths of breath and more, then sit back, watch the bubbles on the screen and relax.
Smart Features
As we have said, this is a multi-sport watch, and the smart features included are basic. You can control your music on your smartphone and receive notifications. Unfortunately, you can not interact with these notifications. So, you will still need your phone with you to deal with any messages you want to read or reply to. It does give you detailed weather forecasts and the standard alarms, date and time.
Inside the Polar Vantage M2
The Vantage M2 does not have the sensors we see in the V2; however, the heart rate sensor is accurate and can monitor 24/7. It is stored locally on the device and then syncs with the Polar Flow App.
The integrated GPS & GLONASS has mixed reviews, some reports saying it can take 1-3 minutes to acquire a signal (which, in 2021, is painfully slow). The best advice is to try and avoid large buildings or covered areas and to stand still rather than trying to pick up a signal whilst walking around.
The battery life is reasonable. Offering up to 30hrs in training mode (GPS and wrist-based heart rate) or up to 5 days in watch mode with continuous heart rate tracking. Furthermore, a new feature on the M2 is various power save modes. These can give you up to 100 hours in continuous workout mode. So, we suggest trying the various settings until you find the optimum mode for you.
Whilst some sensors are excluded from the Vantage M2; it is compatible with the following:
- Bluetooth Smart Heart Rate Straps
- Bluetooth Smart Cycling Power Metres
- Bluetooth Smart Cycling Cadence and Speed Sensors
- Bluetooth Smart Running Footpods
- Bluetooth Smart Running Power Metres
Should you buy the Polar Vantage M2?
It seems as though Polar are trying to make the Vantage M2 appeal to the broader smartwatch market with the new style and various colour options. However, that doesn’t stop it from being an excellent multi-sport watch. It has a wide variety of fitness features, doesn’t cost the earth and looks great. So, why not?
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Last Updated on September 24, 2021
Emma brings over a decade of freelance copy and content writing experience and is our Editor, Social Media Manager, and regular contributor. Specializing in long-form content such as blogs, articles, lead magnets, and white papers, Emma also provides businesses with email marketing, website copy, and landing pages.