I haven’t swam much with it due to covid, but it’s certainly as good as my garmin based on my small sample size. The GPS definitely tracks me better it seems. Doesn’t haven’t me out of the water during my open water swims as much as my garmin.

I'm another happpy Vantage M user after getting fhecked off with multiple Garmin failures (Barometer, battery, buttons, etc all failed). Garmin service / support in UK is shiiite too (different to what folks say in US). Mrs' watch also problematic and Garmin support just woeful.

And to get the battery life I want the Garmins are getting more and more £££ - the new 745 still doesn't have a good enough battery life really.
I don't want all the extra shiiite for another £300 more on a 945 like pay and music. I just want a watch that really works for multi sport.

M doesn't have Barometric - it uses the GPS altitude. Its not as good as baro for lots of little ups and downs but OK. (Say on a 11,000 ft climbing ride over 100 or so miles it may read circa 10k ft vs the Garmin reading 11k. But we have lots of 100ft here, 100 ft there sort of climbs, with the largest around 600-800 ft. Will prob be better on big passes. BUT it doesn't keep failing unlike the Garmin baro.

If you want Baro, get the Vantage V or the new GritX.

I'm v happy with my Vantage M. Had it about 20 months now.
There's a couple of bits I preferred on the Garmin... can't get a permanent 'last lap' display page on the Polar watch (gives it briefly when you lap tho) . And on pool lap swims it only gives distance and not a 'lengths' figure (if that matters to you). Also lap counter doesn't work if you have the watch on the inside of your wrist (has to be on the outside of the wrist as 'normally' worn - I did like turning the garmin to the inside of my wrist to be easier to read mid-swim)
But some other features better on the Polar, esp some swim metrics.

Polar Flow is waay better than Connect.

If I was to get something different to Polar, I'd be onto a Suunto 9.

thanks for the detail sounds interesting, will have a look at the other additional metrics that polar use in the pool, do they have a drills screen too like garmin allows as i use that often? i too have heard that polar have much better system that garmin connect.

It's been a couple months, how are you liking (or not liking) your Apex Pro?

I've been a Suunto person for a while, first a Core then Ambit and currently Spartan Sport. I'm looking for something with better battery life, barometric altitude (Ambit had it, my Spartan doesn't), and optical heart rate that's ideally thinner and lighter than the Suunto. I don't care about music. I picked up a Polar Vantage V2 but wasn't very impressed. Apex Pro looks like a great option.

Would you recommend the Apex? Any pros/cons? Thanks!

Any thoughts on the new Wahoo Rival? It seems slim on specs now but does have some interesting features and Wahoo always seems to release a GPS product and then constantly add tons of new features to it. I think that I would miss the music feature of my Fenix 5 Plus but won’t miss how the music/podcast stops playing as soon as I run away from my phone on every other run.

as a big wahoo fan, i was really disappointed in the rival i purchased on release day. so much so that i sent it back for a refund.

GPS where i live is nowhere near as responsive and accurate as my garmin 945.
no structured workouts (as of release, i expect it will be an added feature down the line).
the treadmill feature is total garbage. over several runs it is inconsistent and even at a steady pace over an hour run drifts wildly.
no support for a couple of the external devices i use.
its bulkier than the garmin 945.
this is minor, and will probably be "fixed" down the road, but the watch faces flat out suck.

i think that given a year or two this device may mature to something really great, but as of now its a total pass.

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80/20 Endurance Ambassador

And that is my apprehension. I am a Wahoo fanboy as well and I have confidence that the product will eventually be awesome but I also completely disagree with paying a premium to basically be a beta tester. That being said, I also get incredibly frustrated with the bugs associated with Garmin and hate how quickly they stop updating older devices in order to get you to buy the latest and greatest.

Not replying to anyone in particular...
Are any of the watches head and shoulders above the rest in terms of how easy it is to see the display?
I've been using a Garmin 920XT for several years now, and it has worked flawless the entire time, through several IM's, etc. But I am having a much harder time seeing the screen as my eyes get weaker..... :(

I don’t think there is. Head-and-shoulders watch display for viewability except for the Apple Watch. But the Apple Watch sucks for sport and especially for multisport.

The 945 and Rival are both pretty good. The key is high resolution and auto lighting.

I am very happy with the Polar Vantage M screen. It is easy to read while running and displays the important metrics HR, pace, distance and time. I have had mine for about a year now and it has worked flawlessly. The accuracy, durability and reliability make it a great option. Consistency of training is of the utmost importance and the Vantage M will be right there with you, along with consistent results.

I am very happy with the Polar Vantage M screen. It is easy to read while running and displays the important metrics HR, pace, distance and time. I have had mine for about a year now and it has worked flawlessly. The accuracy, durability and reliability make it a great option. Consistency of training is of the utmost importance and the Vantage M will be right there with you, along with consistent results.


Agreed.

I think there is a tendency to get WAY too much into all these data and info options. For the vast majority of athletes even those training for higher level performance - tracking the basics, is really all you need. If that helps you as a motivator - so much the better.

Remember, Polar has been around since the actual dawn of wearable sports technology - before they even called it "wearable"!

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Does your 920XT have issues with battery life, and the occasional issue with a sticking "start/stop" button? I've had mine for 4.5 years (which I'm 98% sure is the overlying problem) and I'm debating if I should just bite the bullet and send it to Garmin for a battery replacement, or replace it. I mainly use it for swimming and as a head unit for biking..and then during triathlons. It barely lasted 6ish hours for the spontaneous DIY 70.3 my friend and I did in October (with a pool swim not using GPS at that)...after I finished the activity it said 2% battery left. Hopefully the next 70.3 I do will be a legitimate race, and much faster due to better circumstances and training, but I'd like to ensure that it survives a 70.3, and maybe 140.6 if I make that jump.

So far no issues with battery life, has gotten me through at least three full ironman races with no issues. Now that said, I really only use it for running and swimming during my training, as all my biking is indoors.
And yes, I do notice the buttons getting a little sticky. I'm tempted to buy something new, but at the same time, figure I likely won't be racing much in 2021 due to covid, so might just hold off. Maybe Garmin will have yet another forerunner model next year and the 945 drop in price a bit.
Though I am going to look into the Polar models mentioned here.
I have a couple friends who tried Suunto just for something different from Garmin, both regret it and plan to go back to Garmin, though I didn't get around to asking them what specifically they didn't like about Suunto.

This was my first HR monitor, which I used for biking back around 1990 I think.. :)