There aren’t enough people talking about this Garmin competitor that wins in unique ways

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Polar has some of the most powerful and capable training tools in its Polar Flow software available online and in smartphone apps. The newest watch, the Polar Grit X2offers a rugged wearable that captures all your important health and fitness data and feeds it into the Polar Flow ecosystem, so you can measure your performance and track trends to help you achieve your goals.

Also: I tested the best sports watches of 2025: here are the latest and greatest watches, whatever your budget

While Garmin has expanded into the smartwatch space with features like speakers, microphones, payment systems, music subscription support, and satellite services, Polar (like Coros and Suunto) continues to focus primarily on health and wellness. Polar’s rugged watches are built to withstand the rigors of an active lifestyle while offering some basic smartwatch functionality, like app notifications.

I tried the Polar Grit X2 Pro in 2024. The Grit X2 offers the same experiences, but in a slightly smaller and sleeker package, for a price of $200 less. (The Grit X2 Pro has increased in price by $250 to $1,000 since my 2024 review.) The Grit

Garmin’s Venu Suunto’s new models, the Vertical 2 and Race 2, are closer in features to the Grit X2, but cost $600 and $500 respectively.

The beautiful 1.28-inch AMOLED display has a sapphire crystal glass material and the watch weighs only 2.2 grams. Considering the smaller size and weight, the battery also has a smaller capacity and can last up to 30 hours in GPS tracking mode and around seven days in typical smartwatch mode. Charging a sports watch once a week is fine, especially considering the AMOLED display with vibrant colors and a stark black background.

The GPS tracking with the Grit X2 was accurate, and the heart rate readings also closely matched those of other watches in my tests. The maps and routing performed well. If you’re looking for a rugged watch for hiking or trail running, consider this model, especially if you can find it on sale for a lower price. The five hardware buttons make it easy to use in the rain, which is the condition I spent most of my time testing in.

Also: I walked over 10,000 steps with 3 sports watches – this one was by far the most accurate

The Grit X2 launches with the Polar OS 4.0 user interface; other watches received this update, which includes features like Find My Phone, PIN security option, updated workout summaries, points of interest on maps, and more. The Polar Flow smartphone application provides access to the data collected by the Grit X2, but it’s getting a bit stale and isn’t the most intuitive app to use.

I’m also not a fan of having to press and hold the button to start syncing the watch with the Polar Flow app, and I prefer automatic syncing of the watch and phone. I’d love to see an update to Polar Flow, especially if we see great user experiences like Fitbit Premium on the Pixel Watch 4 and other AI-based guidance and coaching on other sports watches.

Polar Nails sleep tracking, training load measurements, running stats and other advanced fitness monitoring. You can fully customize the on-screen data that appears on the watch for more than 170 sports and activities, so spend the time and let the watch perform the way you want. The Grit X2 is designed for smaller wrists than the X2 Pro.

Buying advice from ZDNET

Polar is new Grain X2 offers a rugged sports watch in a smaller and lighter form factor than the Grit X2 Pro with an emphasis on maps, navigation and performance tracking. The watch performed well in terms of location tracking and heart rate measurements, but the user interface and smartphone app seem a bit dated and the watch is priced relatively high compared to competitors like Suunto, Coros and Garmin.

If you’re a fan of Polar’s ecosystem, this might be a watch worth considering. The Vantage V3 is priced slightly lower, offers longer battery life and offers almost all the same functionality.