Finally, a compact sports watch that competes with my Garmin in training guidance

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Polar has some of the most powerful and capable training tools in its Polar Flow software that is available online and in smartphone apps. Its newest watch, the Polar Grit X2–>, provides a robust wearable that captures all of your key health and fitness data to feed into the Polar Flow ecosystem so that you can measure your performance and track trends to help you achieve your goals.

Also: I tested the best sports watches in 2025: Here are the latest and greatest watches, no matter your budget

Whereas Garmin has been expanding into the smartwatch space with features such as speakers, microphones, payment systems, subscription music 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 providing some basic smartwatch functionality, such as app notifications.

I tried out the Polar Grit X2 Pro in 2024. The Grit X2 provides the same experiences, but in a slightly smaller and sleeker package, priced $200 less. (The Grit X2 Pro increased in price by $250 to $1,000 since my 2024 review.) The $800 price point of the Grit X2 remains rather expensive for a GPS sports watch with limited smartwatch capabilities. 

Garmin’s Venu X1 is normally priced at the same $800 level as the Forerunner 970 $50 less, and both of these watches offer much more than Polar does with the Grit X2. Suunto’s new models, the Vertical 2 and Race 2, are more closely aligned with the Grit X2 in terms of features, but are priced at $600 and $500, respectively.

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The brilliant 1.28-inch AMOLED display has a sapphire crystal glass material and the watch weighs in at just 2.2 ounces. Given the smaller size and lighter weight, the battery also has a smaller capacity and provides up to 30 hours in GPS tracking mode and about seven days in typical smartwatch mode. Charging up a sports watch once a week is fine, especially given the AMOLED display that has vibrant colors and a stark black background.

The GPS tracking with the Grit X2 was accurate, and its heart rate measurements closely matched those of other watches in my testing as well. 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 at a lower price point on sale. The five hardware buttons make it easy to use in the rain, which is the condition I spent most of my time in while testing.

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

The Grit X2 launches with the Polar OS 4.0 UI; other watches received this update, which includes features such as Find My Phone, PIN code 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 growing 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 initiate syncing of the watch with the Polar Flow app, and I prefer automatic syncing of the watch and phone. I would love to see an update to Polar Flow, especially when we see fantastic user experiences such as Fitbit Premium on the Pixel Watch 4 and other AI-based guidance and coaching on other sports watches.

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Polar nails sleep tracking, training load measurements, running metrics, and other advanced fitness monitoring. You can fully customize the on-screen metrics that appear on the watch for more than 170 sports and activities, so spend the time and make the watch perform as you desire. The Grit X2 is designed to fit smaller wrists than the X2 Pro.

ZDNET’s buying advice

Polar’s new Grit X2–> offers a rugged sports watch in a smaller and lighter form factor than the Grit X2 Pro with a focus on mapping, navigation, and performance tracking. The watch performed well in terms of location tracking and heart rate measurements, but the user interface and smartphone app appear somewhat dated, and the watch is priced relatively high compared to competitors like Suunto, Coros, and Garmin. 

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

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