Last April, in the depths of pandemic-imposed isolation, Polar released the Grit X, which aimed to get people active in the great outdoors, now its successor – the Grit X Pro – is here, along with a number of other additions and updates to Polar’s current watch lineup.
The Grit X Pro looks like an incremental upgrade on 2020’s Grit X, with a familiar design, a hardy build, long battery life, and extensive route planning and tracking features. In addition, Polar is introducing a Titan variant, that swaps in an aerospace-grade titanium casing that’s 12% lighter than the one found on the standard X Pro, for a more premium look and feel.
The Pro (and Titan edition) sports a toughened sapphire glass front and a MIL-STD-810G-certified design that’s resistant to challenging conditions, like shock and temperature extremes, as well as sporting water resistance up to 100m.
Like its predecessor, it also offers 40 hours of battery life – with both GPS and heart rate tracking enabled, plus there’s a watch-only mode (that still includes activity tracking), designed to last up to seven days at a time.
Software-wise, everything that appeared on last year’s Grit X – including signature Polar technologies – carries across to the Pro; with smartphone notifications, on-wrist weather reporting, sleep tracking (with sleep stage breakdowns and a Nightly Recharge sleep score), energy intake and tracking via FuelWise, Running Power, turn-by-turn navigation (once again powered by Komoot) with Track Back (to find your way back in the wilderness) and more.
In addition, Polar has graced the Grit X Pro line with new always-on dashboards, providing pertinent glanceable information, when you’re out on the trail. The location dashboard includes insights like coordinates, altitude and a compass, while the sunrise & sunset dashboard helps you keep track of available daylight hours for better real-time route planning and adjustment.
Polar is also bringing a lot of the functionality found on the Grit X Pro to its existing Vantage V2 multi-sport watch in a forthcoming software update, while also offering up two new variants of the V2: the Vantage V2 Red (a new colourway with a vibrant red casing) and the V2 SHIFT edition, which includes adapters that let you snap on any 22mm Polar bands of your choosing.
In the same announcement, Polar also unveiled new red and teal colourways of its popular Unite watch, as well as updated features that include Weekly Summary, Energy Sources and HR Sensor Mode, to allow for connectivity with compatible gym equipment.
The Grit X Pro and Grit X Pro Titan edition are now available, direct from Polar.com for £449/US$499.90 and £519/US$599.95, respectively, while the Vantage V2 Red and SHIFT editions cost £449/US$499.95 and £489/US$549.95, respectively.
