10 Critical Difference Between the Polar Vantage V2 & M2

[@mlegrand]

Another note that I didn't mention in the video is that the M2 seems much dimmer than the V2. When you hit the backlight they both measure the same light output according to my test so I didn't add it to this list.

[@ChaseTheSummit]

Nice video Matt! This video has been on my To-Do list for a while. Now I'll just suggest folks watch this! 👍

[@mlegrand]

We're all so predictable. 😂 I feel like either you or Des make a video on my list at least once per week. Thanks for watching 👍🏻

[@ENJOY_THE_JOURNEY]

The hill repeat feature seems interesting. Always impressed by how much information you can pump out in such little time. Great job! 👍🏽

[@mlegrand]

Thanks buddy! That’s super nice of you to say. There’s a few guys on KZbin that amaze me with this stuff.

[@RunWithMyDog]

V2 user here! Thanks for making this Video. I finally know the key differences

[@mlegrand]

Glad I could help! That V2 is fantastic. Hope you're enjoying it. 👌

[@davids7600]

Thanks for the comparison video and enjoyed your channel! I decided to go with the M2 as the V2 is almost double the cost of ownership (seeing we need the h10 cost as well to enjoy the advance tests of the V2). So far I’m quite happy with the M2 with the built quality, look, comfort and core features. Cheers.

[@mlegrand]

Good call David! That M2 does everything I need as a triathlete and I think the price is pretty competitive. Thank you for watching and taking the extra time to comment. I really appreciate it. 👍

[@panquecaaladacomcreme]

Do you think that M2 sleep trackness is accurate?

[@mlegrand]

@@panquecaaladacomcreme - I don’t think any of the watches on the market track the stages of sleep tracking accurately but I think it’ll follow the basic trends correctly.

[@panos9186]

David, how is the watch after 6 months? Still worth it? Are you doing any functional/crossfit type of exercise in order to shed some light if it's worth it or pass?

[@ACaseyPodcast]

Another great video Matt, I’m finally going to the V2 from the V1 next week. Looking forward to it. Loved the video

[@mlegrand]

Oh that'll be interesting. I never had the V1. You'll have to let me know what you think. 👍

[@ACaseyPodcast]

@@mlegrand I will do. Thanks Matt, still loving the editing , great stuff 👌

[@fitgearhunter]

Excellent summary and super useful video for someone looking at both. Great job.

[@mlegrand]

Thanks Hunter!

[@ZeRo-22-]

Great review Matt! I noticed you mentioned on another comment that you’ve decided to venture off into reviewing “smart watches” from a triathlete perspective - I think that’s awesome! Looking forward to this 👍

[@mlegrand]

Yes, planning on making something like that in September. I'm really excited about it.

[@bonn1771]

Thanks for doing this was looking at getting one for my family because v800 is gone

[@mlegrand]

You're welcome Bonn! Thank you for watching and taking the extra time to comment. I really appreciate it. 👍

[@javierf55]

Great video and I really appreciate those where the conclusions are presented in advance as it gives more trust and invites to see it to the end. I personally tend to spend more money in advance and not ending up with two or three watches in the garage due to the step by step progress.

[@mlegrand]

Thanks Javier! Yeah, I think that's smart. Are you're still thinking the V2 or the 945?

[@javierf55]

@@mlegrand thanks, I think I like the 945 better as I believe Garmin is doing a better job in terms of technology and software

[@mlegrand]

@@javierf55 - Garmin is tricky right now. That 945 is 2 years old and the 945 LTE is a very different watch. Good options for sure! The Garmin Enduro is another really nice watch that you might want to consider.

[@ProjectSOG]

Great review!! I'm leaning towards the M2 but I do like the convenience of the touch screen and from what I hear the screen being a bit brighter. How is it navigating the M2 with buttons vs V2 touch screen? Also, is the V2 bright enough to notice the difference? Thank you for your help!

[@mlegrand]

Hey Dell! Thanks for the kind words. The M2 buttons are fine for navigating but the screen brightness is pretty bad in my opinion. When I measured the backlight brightness it actually measured about the same as the V2 but when not using the backlight the M2 is really hard to read. It'd be nice if you could see both for yourself. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help. Thank you for watching and taking the extra time to comment. I really appreciate it. 👍

[@ProjectSOG]

@@mlegrand thank you so much for the quick reply. I subscribed to your channel, great content. One thing to add is that I mainly workout in a gym and do crossfit workouts, not a triathlete. However, I would like to get one of the two so I can train in different heart rate zones when I run or bike, and track the training load. But definitely would not want to compromise the readability of the screen.

[@mlegrand]

@@ProjectSOG - Both of these would do well for tracking cross fit style workouts. Good luck and let me know what you end up going with. 👌

[@ProjectSOG]

@@mlegrand will do thanks again!

[@panos9186]

Hi Dell, have you bought and used any of those two yet? I am also doing functional/crossfit training and would like to know if any of these 2 watches worth the spend.

[@gbdjski231]

Thats a great comparison man! Im decideing which one to buy. I am currently a very dissapointed owner of Garmin Vivoactive 4 which proved to be way more inaccurate than my old Polar m430. GPS is way off, so is HR. Not to mention you cant get sleep summary on the watch and it has a weird auto stop and save feature which in case of a longer break on top of a climb auto ends your workout and you have to start a new one for the descend. These Vantage watches dont have that, right? Also, how do you like the strap on the V2 compared to M2? Looks like M2 is more flexible on the hinge as the V2 looks like its fixed where the strap meets the watch just like on the M430.

[@mlegrand]

Yes, you’re exactly right about the straps. I like the V2s strap a little more than the M2. The other thing that’s worth mentioning is how dim the M2 is compared to a lot of the other watches I test. Thank you for watching and taking the extra time to comment. I really appreciate it. 👍

[@gbdjski231]

@@mlegrand Thanks for that input! Oh, another thing that comes to my mind and a feature I use regularly but nobody seems to test it in the reviews is the altiutude measurement. Does the M2 have it and how accurate it is? I use it a lot when hiking in the Alps and I again noticed huge inaccuracy with Vivoactive 4 which has a barometer compared to m430. Do you have some input about that?

[@piiak6848]

Good summary. I've been a bit disappointed with Polar. In any case I ended up tot he conclusion that I want a smart watch with LTE to be my next one now that I have a dog and really just do not want to drag my phone around on walks. Waiting for a few developments this year to make a final decision.

[@mlegrand]

Piia, that new 945 LTE is pretty impressive if you're mostly going to use the LTE for emergency type of situations. Otherwise, something like an Apple Watch might be more versatile but not as strong on the sport specific side of things. I do hope to review some of these other 'smart watches' from the perspective of a triathlete in September. Thank you for watching and taking the extra time to comment. I really appreciate it. 👍

[@CraigularjJoeWoodworks]

This is a very good video. In canada they are so much more. 50 percent higher. V2 is 725 in canada.

[@mlegrand]

I need to start giving details on pricing in various countries. I’m also guessing we’ll see some big holiday discounts soon. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@snooki9]

Great video Matt ! Have you ever compared the estimated power meter of the V2 with some device like strid or stride ? I wonder witch one is the more accurate and if the difference is huge ☺️

[@mlegrand]

Yes, I've looked at some of those numbers and I don't think it's really fair to compare for accuracy because each company has their own algorithm for creating and estimating a power number. Some companies even refuse to call it power because it isn't a true measurement of force. It'd be like you and I thinking of random colors and then comparing them. There's no correct answer and it's odd to compare. You will see Coros numbers line up with Stryd numbers but only because Coros licensed the algorithm for power from Stryd. And these companies have put in a huge amount of money into their own power formulas so no one is willing to give away their algorithm in order to formulate a standard. Power on a bike is a bit different because you're using a strain gauge to measure power in watts. It's nice because it's a real measurement and can be compared between all of the different power meter devices. Sorry for the long rant 😬

[@mamadove76]

Great video and review! I've learned to watched these videos whether or not I'm interested in or in need of the product just so I have an idea of what is out there. Also if and when I am in the market for a new product I can use your videos a resource for information. I actually just had my daughter watch your video on heart rate monitors as she needed to purchase one to help her make a decision. She went with Moofit! If it weren't for your video I wouldn't have known about all the options for her to check out and she probably would've (unnecessarily) spent more money on Garmin since that was all I knew about before your video. So thanks for saving my kid some $ and keep cranking out those videos!

[@mlegrand]

I use that One a lot. So nice to have an affordable option. And all of these straps wear out eventually anyway. 👌

[@mamadove76]

@@mlegrand I know, but didn't know about your channel when mine did, so bought another pricey one. Next time I'll probably go the cheaper route. :)

[@kithinders1086]

Do you have dueling tanlines on both wrists? Asking for a friend.... +1 on the conclusions at the beginning and then going on to explain your findings. I feel like you had an excellent high school English teacher in your life! The watches themselves...for the money, both watches feel like they're behind the Garmin curve in terms of features. Except for that hill repeat function, that looked cool (if I was a runner). How does Polar try to compete with the market? XOXO

[@mlegrand]

My english teachers would probably deny that they ever worked with me to save face. I currently don't have too sharp of tan lines on my right wrist. Maybe by the end of the summer? Garmin has some of it's own hill tech. I really like Garmin's Climb Pro feature where you can actually account for and get details on up coming hills within a race. Excellent for bike racing.

[@szymonjarzabek8128]

Polar vantage v2 or suunto 9 peak , which chose?

[@mlegrand]

Polar Vantage V2 only because I haven’t tested any Suunto watches yet. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@TheCelticClydesdaleShow]

Seems like both cost less than a Garmin 745 or 945. Interesting comparison. I'm curious if anyone that gets the V2 will ever actually take it to a 100m depth. lol

[@mlegrand]

And what's funny, this V2 could probably go even deeper than 100m but that's just as far as it's rated to go.

[@martuchna6084]

Any of those can check your oxygen level when you sleep?

[@mlegrand]

I don't think Polar's optical heart rate monitors include the oxygen saturation sensor. Seems overdue for them to slip that in there.

[@saucyisawesome]

Unless you’re a sponsored tri athlete…. Get the V2. If you’re just going for a run and doing daily workouts then the M2 is perfect. It’s also more minimal. Even the Apple Watch series 3 just as good and accurate.

[@mlegrand]

I’ve found the M2’s screen to be a bit dim. You’re liking it ok? Thank you for watching and taking the extra time to comment. I really appreciate it. 👍

[@saucyisawesome]

@@mlegrand it’s definitely much darker. That’s the only downside for me. I wish it was much brighter. Even the ignite 2 is so much brighter.

[@Julijall]

​@Paul Fulgencio hi! I have mine polar m430 and want to change it with M2. I dont know if you're familiar with m430, but the screen is kind of dark,old, and has no colours. Do you think m2 is just as dark or a bit brighter?😊 sorry if you don't know this or question sounds stupid

[@samuelbonacorsi2048]

Nice comparison, people should get the one they will use the most because nothing is more expensive than a heart attack.

[@mlegrand]

Good point. Thank you for watching and taking the extra time to comment. I really appreciate it. 👍

[@dreamingrightnow1174]

"Slightly" more affordable? The M2 is 300 and the V2 is 500.. Clearly we live in different worlds, lol.

[@mlegrand]

Good point. I need to choose my words a bit more carefully. Thanks for watching this one and calling me out! 🙌