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I'm thinking about returning to my tri roots and jumping ship, after 15 years, from Garmin back to Polar. I loved my Polar stuff until they fell behind the tech curve as Garmin was first to prefect GPS in a watch. I've been so-so with Garmin. Recently, the problems have mounted with my Garmin wrist devices. Notably, I have returned three different devices with their optical HR sensor (1x735, 2x935) due to cracking on the sensor's face to the point it stops operating and/or fails to be waterproof. Garmin has been hit or miss in regards to returns. Once it was smooth, the other two times I had to fight to get the device replaced even though I know, they know, it is a defect that they can't figure out how to fix (this after speaking with one of the device engineers).
Anyone move from either the 735 or 935 that has thoughts? My major factors in changing are: Obviously I hope the optical HR on the Vantage is more robust and will not have to be replaced after 4-6 months. I'm having increasing difficulty in connecting my 935 to my iPhone or WiFi on a day to day basis and especially after software upgrades. Finally, it sounds like the optical HR sensor on the Polar is far superior to the poor one Garmin has and I'm intrigued by the possibility of having wrist-based HR in the water.
Any insight would be great from those that have gone from one to the other. Thanks in advance.
I am a long time (20+ years) Polar user but also have the 935. Honestly, the Vantage V has some issues at the moment:
1. The GPS chip is sourced from Sony; it provides longer battery life but is inaccurate but comparison with the Polar V800
2. The Vantage does not yet have the ability to calibrate a foot pod (such as the Stryd) manually
3. The optical heart rate monitor is good, and appears in my testing better than the 935, but the H10 heart rate belt is still the gold standard.
4. The 935 has a broader range of features at the moment (some of those features I would never use, but other look to check feature boxes)
Polar is improving the Vantage with regular updates; the next update will hopefully address items 1 and 2 above, and possibly introduce ANT+ capability. Where Polar remains much better - even today - is in its back end platform. Polar Flow provides instantly useful (and easily accessible) sport-relevant data. Garmin Connect tries to be all things to all people (from athletes to golfers to pilots) and is poorly designed - using it leaves me feeling vaguely nauseous.
The objective view is that the 935 has a better feature set and a more settled firmware at this time. It’s the safe choice, and when the H10 is updated to broadcast heart rate via ANT+ (rumoured to be later this month), the 935 will have all the functionality required by a triathlete. The Vantage looks better (at least on my wrist), may have a better optical heart rate functionality, and has a more attractive platform on which to analyse performance. But it still needs improvement.
I had the exact same decision to make last week. In the end, on balance I stuck with Garmin and ordered the 935 (to replace a 735 I've had less than a year, but want more battery life). Functionality of the Garmin was what won-out, and not quite yet wanting to rip-off the plaster of the Garmin ecosystem. I do wish Garmin would make better looking watches like Polar though.
29 years and counting
I had a similar thought cross my mind this year. I've had to replace the 920XT twice and my 935 once. The 935 had the sensor which records temperature and air pressure (and thus elevation) break (and 1 920 had the same), it also had the sensor cracked but it was still working. The device was about 10 months old and Garmin replaced it. It's about 6 months old now but I was thinking: What do I do if it breaks again? Should I switchto Polar or something else? So reading this with interest.
I buy all my electronics through Wiggle. If it goes awry in the first year, straight back to them for replacement/refund; easier than dealing with Garmin. I had a couple of Garmin HRMs go bad on me inside a year (they are pants), so switched to Wahoo Tickr for half the price.
29 years and counting