The Polar Grit X2 Pro is Polar’s best sports watch ever, with a rugged design and a bright AMOLED display. It’s built to rival the Garmin Epix 2 and Garmin Epix Pro watches, but does the Polar match Garmin’s best? Nick runs through the key features, pros and cons of the watches in this video.
Check out our full reviews of all three watches:
Garmin Epix Pro Review From 3 Runners:
Garmin Epix 2 Review After 8 Months:
Polar Grit X2 Pro Review:
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
00:00 – Intro
00:17 – Design & Key Stats
02:00 – The Run Test
04:14 – Design & User Interface
05:25 – GPS Accuracy
06:49 – HR Accuracy
07:58 – Sports Tracking & Training Analysis
09:47 – Maps & Navigation
10:51 – Smart Features
11:32 – Battery Life
12:46 – Activity & Sleep Tracking
14:12 – Verdict
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Hello and welcome to run testers my Name's Nick in this video I'm going to Be comparing the polar gritex 2 Pro to The Garmin Epic 2 and the Garmin epic [Music] Pro so first the reason why I'm Comparing two Garmin watches well for The most part the Garmin epic Pro and The Gin Epic 2 are very similar the Newer epic Pro comes in a range of sizes All of which have flashlights which Don't get on the epics and there's also A new heart rate sensor but all the Software features are otherwise the same So I thought it makes sense to compare Them both to the PO grit X2 Pro which is Also an AMOLED sports watch that came Out more recently been wearing the Garmin epics Pro for pretty much the Entirety of the last year and used the Garan epics 2 for a long time before That obviously we've had the grit x 2 Pro in recently to test it ahead of our Full review so I've been testing that Out over the last month or so so with Their Garmin epic Pro you've got three Sizes the smaller 42 mm the standard 47 Mm watch which is the same size as the Epix 2 and then there's a larger 51 mm Epix Pro which is the one I was testing For the most part over the last year That's the largest model in the range All of them have an AMOLED touchscreen As you'd expect and the same five button
Design you always get with garban Watches the polar grit X2 Pro is 48.6 mm So in between the larger two epic sizes And it's thinner than lighter than the Garmin watches across the board when You're comparing models made from Equivalent materials epic Pro is Expensive it starts at £830 or $900 for The standard models and that price price Rises up to £1,100 or dollar for the the Best Sapphire titanium watch then the Epics 2 is a little bit cheaper in fact It's very cheap for the standard model In the UK at the moment it's £400 it Doesn't seem to be marked as a discount But yeah it's £400 whereas in the US it Is $800 so quite a big jump in the US And it's £800 or $900 for a sapphire Model the polar is cheaper than the Epix Pro it's £49 or $750 for the standard Model and it's £49 or $870 if you're Looking at the Titan model which is made From Titan tanium it's more in line with The Epic 2 pricing in general especially When you look at the materials use so With all of these watches you've got Base models that have steel cases and Bezels and then titanium models the more Expensive ones they're called Titan in Polar's range and then with the Garmin Range if you get a titanium model you Also get a sapphire crystal screen and Then with polar's range you actually Have sapphire crystal across both ranges
Where if you get one of the cheaper Garments with a steel bezel you get a Gorilla grass screen when it comes to The size of the screens the with the Gins it depends on the watch you get so The smallest model has a 1.2 in screen It's 1.3 in for the standard Epix Pro And the Gin Epix 2 and it's 1.4 in for The 51mm model and the polar grit X2 Pro Screen is in line with the largest Garment so even though it's a smaller Watch has an equivalent screen to the Largest garment other little design Differences you've got a built-in Flashlight on the Garmin epics Pro Whereas the Garmin Epic 2 and the polar Grit X2 Pro have a flashlight mode that Uses the screen that's not quite as Bright and as useful as the one as the Built-in one on the Epix Pro the Epic Pro and the git X2 Pro have the latest Heart rate monitors from their Respective companies and both of them Are capable of taking an ECG although With Garmin that's only in the US with The Epix 2 you have a large gen Optical Heart rate monitor from Garmin you can Connect external sensors to all the Watches you can do that with gin watches Via ENT Plus and Bluetooth and just Bluetooth with the polar so multiband GPS is available on all the watches Although with the epics 2 it's important To not it's only available on the more
Expensive Sapphire models if you get the Base Epic 2 model it just has garments All systems on GPS it doesn't offer dual Band like the sapphire models and indeed All models in the grit X2 and epic Pro Ranges So as I said at the start I've been Using the Epic Pro for most of the last Year and I used the Epic 2 for a long Time before that got a long-term review Of The Epic 2 up on the channel uh I've Been testing the polar against both Watches since it came out mostly against The Garmin epic Pro and then recently Against the Gin Epic 2 just to compare Them with real world use and I will say For the most part the Epix 2 and the Epic Pro performed very similar on Really all counts except the obvious Physical differences you have there with The in built-in flashlight and also the Larger battery life of the 51 mm model Which actually do have a full epic Versus epic pro video up on the channel If you want to just dive into Differences between those watches in General what I'm going to say here in This vers is it's going to be Garmin Versus polar with the Epic and epic Pro Performing very similarly on nearly all Categories so it comes to design and the User interface of the watches I'll say The design of the Polar really is very Very good it is thinner than the Garment
And notably so it's a really Good-looking watch all around I really Like how bright the screen is as well I Think polar has done a slightly better Job than Garmin in making the colors of The Amed screen really pop even though It's a sapphire crystal screen sometimes With sapphire screen screens gets a Little bit dull underneath them and That's the case I think sometimes with The Garin although the AMOLED screens on Both of the epics are still really Really nice will say that Garmin does Have better watch faces though available I think polar's not got very many and They don't look that great so far They're not quite as data rich as well And Garmin has a lot more native options Available and there are loads more watch Faces available in the connect iQ app Store also slightly prefer the uh General user interface on the Garmin I Think the widgets are done better you Can scroll through them more easily you Can see a lot of data quite easily They're pretty good on the Polar though And it'll just be a case of getting used To whichever one you buy and they're Both quite enjoyable to use dayto day One big design difference is definitely The flashlight it is very handy on the Garmin epic Pro and that's for me Someone who doesn't really do anything Adventurous I use it most nights to go
Up and downstairs and check on kids and That kind of thing if you're someone Who's out camping a lot having the extra Flashlight on your screen is really Useful and the fact you can actually Still see your screen whilst using the Flashlight is also a big difference to The kind of torch mode you get on the Polar and the epics 2 so it comes to GPS Accuracy polar definitely took a big Leap forward this year with the dual Band available on the Vantage V3 and now The grit X2 Pro that said overall I do Think Garmin wins out here I think Garmin's dual band GPS accuracy is the Best on the market sunos is pretty much Equivalent I'd say and both the Epix 2 And the Epic Pro have been a little bit More reliable for me than the polar few Little things on the Polar that just Have come up to be a little bit of Annoyances are not quite right it's Often a bit dodgy in the first K of a Run and takes a bit longer to lock onto GPS and I'm wondering if sometimes it's Not really locked on because when I Start a run the pacing in the first C of A run is often a bit wrong and then it Very closely matches the pacing on the Gins in later stages of the run you can See the GPS Trace sometimes go Completely wrong in the first K where It's clearly said it's locked on and Hasn't locked on which is quite annoying
And then it has more runs where it will Do things like cut Corners put me on the Wrong side of the row just get things Slightly wrong so it's very good GPS but Garments is better and it's notably Better over the course of all the runs I've done with the Gins and the polar The garmin's been very reliable for me For over a year of use and the polar's Just thrown up more errors in the month Or so I've used it than the Gins have in That time and when you're comparing GPS Tracks of both watches you're just going To get a more eras on Polar in general I'd say outside of those first K wobbles You can still very much Pace races and Pace your workouts with the polar the Pace STS are good enough for that so It's not a huge concern the GPS on the Polar like I say is very good I do think That gin wins this category quite Clearly even though the actual Day-to-day difference isn't going to be That notable and you certainly can still Use the polar to train very accurately So when it comes to the heart rate Tracking on the watches I'd say we're Quite even here I do think the new heart Rate sensor on the Epic Pro is a little Better than the one on the Garmin Epix 2 But it still struggles in similar Conditions like when it's cold I do find The optical heart rate sensing doesn't Work that well for me these are all
Quite big watches I have quite thin Wrists and I just often get errors Thrown up by watches like they can be Okay for entire runs sometimes they'll Really nail like a very hard session or Something like that when compared to a Chest strap or an armband but overall I'd say the optical tracking on all of These three watches isn't reliable Enough that I use it to judge all of my Trainings so if you are going to use Heart rate to judge your runs whether That's to make sure you're at the right Intensity or you're taking things nice And easy or if you're using the training Analysis and any of these watches you Need to get accurate heart rate data Into that and for all of them I would Connect an extern strap to make sure I Was getting the most accurate data they Will be right A lot of the time Especially for training in warm weather Conditions where I think Optical Tracking Works a bit better but you are Going to have enough errors from all Three of them that I don't I would say It's worth pairing an external sensor Don't really think any of them are Notably better than any of the others Maybe the epics Pro's new sensor is Pretty good and and the polar tracking Has certainly improved from the Vantage 3 to the grit X2 Pro it's the same Sensor so obviously they're working on
Stuff behind the scenes there to keep Making it more accurate so that's Promising it's still not something that I trust myself I'd pair a sensor with All three watches Sports tracking and Training analysis in general I prefer Garmin Sports tracking I find it's Easier to use it's more intuitive things Like structured workout builders make Creating quick interval workouts on the Watch itself it's all much easier to do In Garmin and it makes more sense Polar's structured workout Builder I Think is a bit of a faf to use you keep Having to set targets I don't think you Get data presented as well on the Polar Either either during workouts or in General runs you can still only have Four data fields on the Polar even Though it's got this huge watch face the Same size as the larger Garmin on upon Which you can see up to eight stats at Once polar restricts you to four which Is not the end of the world but a little Bit annoying one thing I do like about Po tracking though does show your manual Lap split as well as the automatic lap Split if you have that set up you can Have both of those in your data fields Which is not something that's available With Garmin uh the training analysis it Can be useful on both watches if you do Use an external heart rate monitor like I mentioned you are getting a lot more
Data with Garmin now I'd say like polar Hasn't really pushed on this area of its Watches for quite a while now and while You still get the basics there and They're done quite well in terms of got Overall training load kind of basic Recovery advice and that kind of thing There's a lot more going on with Garmin Now you're probably not going to use all Of this stuff like things like the Endurance score and Hill score and all That stuff you know you might not use it Very much but it's all there and some People will find it very useful and That's kind of a theme with Garmin in General there's a lot more there and Even if you think oh I don't need any of That you know it is there and some People will want it and it offers you a Lot more features in terms of the Training analysis it has and it also has Training readiness which is a stat that Gives you that rough idea of how ready You are to train each day based on a lot Of stuff like sleep and all that again There'll be accuracy concerns under this You might not use this stat but it's a Lot easier to use that polar has some Interesting stuff with the fit spark it Will recommend workouts each day and you Can check on the state of your body Using the nightly recharge function and Stuff like that but overall I'd say the Garments are more feature Rich in terms
Of training analysis and I think a bit More useful I find things like the Training readiness thatat a bit more Practical and also the training load Analysis they have in general just a bit More applicable to what I'm doing as a Runner comes to Maps this is obviously a Big new feature for Polar added to the Vantage V3 and the git X2 Pro and the Maps are really good they're very bright And colorful they're really shine on That AMOLED screen it's very easy to see The route ahead of you if you're Following a route or just look at a map In general and get a bread crumb of Where you've come from think they're Really well done however garmin's Maps Navigation features are better they are The best on the market at the moment cuz Garmin has rootable maps that actually Know where you are so you can create Routs on the fly or it can direct you Back to a trail if you've got lost that Kind of thing they're a bit more Detailed there's also really useful Extra features like garmin's climb Pro Which will break out all the climbs on The route and the descents so you can Judge your effort on uphills in Particular is where I find it really Useful CU that individual climb is on Your wrist and you can see if it's got a Twisting you know Switchback Trail you Don't really know how far you have still
To climb the watch will give you the Amount in meters and distance so you Know how long the climb is and you can Judge your effort you don't overdo it Early on navigation in general is just An area where Garmin is ahead of the Pack also in the Garmin app you can Create routs quite easily and send them To the watch something you can't do with Po yet and in general to get turn BYT Navigation on the pole you have to use Kut or something like that or another Partner app it's a bit more faffy all Around Garmin is certainly better when It comes to navigation Smartwatch Features is's another area where Garmin Is a clear winner you can get music Storage and NFC payments on the Garmin Epic Pro and Epic 2 they both have Access to the iQ app store which is not An app store that's anything like Something like the Apple App Store or Google play but it does have some useful Apps like a parkon barcode and you can Also get watch faces and stuff in there Polus does have some smart features it's Got quite a nice weather forecast wiget I really like the look of that obviously Can get your notifications on there and It does offer music controls so you can Control the playback of music on your Paired phone if you have it with you but Obv it's nothing like what you get with Garmin which you can actually store
Music on the watch itself and the Garmin Does offer music controls as well if That's all you want to do with it so None of them are really the match of a True Smartwatch but the garments are Certainly smarter than the polar so it Comes to battery life I found that the Garment epic2 and the polar git X2 Pro Are pretty comparable in terms of Battery life lasting me about four or 5 Days on a charge with pretty heavy use Running every day with the multiband GPS Enabled the always on screen enabled and Having notifications coming in so it's Not too bad four or five days of use I Will say the garmin's always on screen Is a bit more feature and detailed than The one you get from The Polar which is Just a basic digital screen or a basic Analog screen in general the polar seems To drain a lot more in between Activities but cly for the inactivity Use they're pretty comparable and polar Has quite a big headline figure for the Battery life if you're can using the Multiband GPS mode we say if you can use The ORS on screen have it set to quite Bright you probably won't hit the Numbers listed by polar but it does Outdo the Gin epics for the multibend GPS battery life for a single activity Which is obviously important if you're Someone who does those big long Ultra Expeditions and then the Garmin epic Pro
51 mm is in a different League entirely It doubles the battery life of the Others it will last up to 10 days on a Charge with the always on screen enabled Running every day like I say noic is Coming in it's a bigger watch but it Certainly makes use of that size to Really pack in a lot of battery life if You have the screen set to raised away You're going to start looking at weeks Of battery life which is obviously Pretty incredible for an AMOLED watch And is a big step up on the smaller Epic 2 and indeed the polar grit X2 Pro but You do pay quite a lot more to get the Larger watch with that extra battery Life comes to activity and sleep Tracking both do a pretty solid job of This in terms of tracking your basic Stats throughout the day polar does a Thing with steps where it include other Activities and add kind of steps on just To give you a higher step number if You're doing activities that don't NE Neily include involved doing a lot of Steps but I'd say all the watches are Similar useful in tracking your daily Activity and making sure you're staying Active in between workouts on the sleep Tracking the Garment is less accurate i' Would say but it does give you a reading Every single night and this is one thing I've had with polar watches where do get Quite nice and detailed sleep analysis
From Polar and it can be quite useful I Do think it's more accurate when it Tracks but quite a lot of the time I Will wake up uh and the grit X2 Pro will Have no sleep date it won't have given Me the nightly recharged thing with the HRV analysis and all that cuz it hasn't Tracked it for some reason during the Night maybe I was moving my wrist around Too much much or something like that but That never seems to happen with Garmin Or indeed other watches so maybe the Polar sensor is a bit more sensitive and That's why it is more accurate but That's also why it won't give me a Reading sometimes yeah polar sleep Tracking is probably a bit more accurate Than garmin's Garmin does have a habit Of showing a light sleep when actually You're just awake but still like reading A book or watching TV or something late At night and that obviously skew some of The other stats on the watch but doesn't Ruin any of those stats too much you can Take that into account and it does have That training readiness stat which I do Think is pretty useful if you judge it Over time it does give you a good idea Of the state of your body each day when Compared to other days like recently I Actually managed to achieve the very Rare score of one out of 100 because I Had food poisoning overnight and barely Slept and was throwing up and stuff like
That so you don't need a watch to tell You you're not ready to train after a Night like that but it's good it picked Up on [Music] It so it comes to the verdict I would Say that the polar git X2 Pro is the Best attempt polar has made to really Run garmin's topw watches close it's Added some useful features it's got a Really nice design it's got a really Nice screen and it would work very well As a great watch to use every day I'd be Happy to use this every single day but You are getting more features and better Features from the Garmin and I think is Quite telling really that the Garmin Epics 2 now came out over two years ago And it is still I would say ahead of the Best watches from other companies like Polar who are you know some of the other Biggest companies in this area Garmin Really is very dominant when it comes to The top end of watches I'd say because You're getting more features in general And I'd say that when you are getting The same features on Garmin and other Brands Garmin is doing those features Better things like navigation is better Things like smarts the GPS accuracy I Think edges out the polar all around it Just is very easy to use and all the Features are very polished they're a bit More new on the Polar but then even
Features that polar's had for a while They haven't really pushed on in the Same way Garmin has does like pman Po's Training analysis hasn't changed very Much Garmin keeps adding things and you Know you might not use all these Features that's the big thing with Garmin like there are all these features There and you might say well I don't Want any of those and that's fine but Some people do want them and actually You might want just one of them and They're all there on Garmin and they Aren't all there on the polar watches And even when they have them they're Just not quite as well done on the Garment so there are loads of things That could make you pick the Garment Over the I'd say it could be the GPS Accuracy it could be the music storage It could be the extra navigation Features could be the extra training Analysis there's not really anything That I pick out that would make me pick The polar over the Garment although I do Maybe slightly prefer the design Although I don't like the watch faces as Much so then I'd probably go back to the Garmin because again you've got more Choice on that with the watch faces in The connect iQ app store but the polar Is a really nice watch I'd be happy Using it but to make me buy it over one Of these Garmin watches it have to be a
Lot cheaper now it is a fair bit cheaper Than the epex pro especially if you're Comparing the same materials you know Steel versus steel Uh titanium versus titanium epic Pro is More often in sales though so that could Bring it down a bit closer and it is a Better watch and the Garmin epic Pro 51 Mm does stand out from these Trio of Watches because it offers so much more Battery life than these AMOLED watches Or other AMOLED watches I've tested even The sunto race however the Garmin Epic 2 Is not a lot more expensive than the Polar in fact it's cheaper randomly in The UK at the moment and it's often in Sales that's the think it's an older Watch you're nearly always going to be Able to find the Garmin Epic 2 cheaper Than the polar grit X2 Pro I'd say and You are getting a more feature Rich and Better watch I'd say for for your money There so git X2 Pro is really good I Like the Po's made some big steps this Year but price is high and Garmin is so Dominant this area to convince people to Move away from them you've got to bring Some fantastic new features to the table That Garmin doesn't have which polar Hasn't done here they've brought new Features here which are really good but Garmin is doing them and doing them Better has been doing them for a while We've got try and undercut them and they
Haven't really managed to do that I Suppose you could say they have done That with the equivalent models of the Epic Pro but the Epix 2 is still out There easy to get and the better watch And a bit cheaper so yeah that's where Probably go for it I think the Epic Pro 51 mm does stand out as a very enticing Watch but it's much more expensive the Epix 2 is probably the best watch of This bunch in terms of features for Value the Epic Pro is the best watch Polar is a very good watch but it Doesn't beat out either Garmin for [Music] Me that's a comparison of the Polar Gitex 2 Pro and the Gin epics 2 and pro Let us know what you think in the Comments below please like And subscribe Ring the little bell and we'll see you Next time
