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Buy Polar Pacer & Pacer Pro with New Heart Rate Monitor, Improved GPS & More | 2022 Comparison & Review
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Now Showing: Polar Pacer Pro in-depth review from our partner, Dave, at Chase the Summit.
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SHOP POLAR PACER & PACER PRO 2022 RUNNING WATCHES
Polar Pacer Pro — Snow White
(45 MM)
Polar Pacer Pro — Autumn Maroon
(45 MM)
Polar Pacer & Pacer Pro | Table of Contents
Polar Pacer & Pacer Pro Running Watch FAQs
Polar Pacer Pro Video Review
from Our Partner, Chase the Summit!
Polar Pacer & Pacer Pro Comparison
vs Garmin Forerunner 55/245, COROS PACE 2, & COROS APEX
Polar Pacer vs Garmin Foreunner 55
Polar Pacer
What You Need To Know:
-
Size
- The Polar Pacer is larger with a 1.2" display
- The Garmin Forerunner 55 has a 1.04" display and is slightly lighter at 37g.
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ANT+ Connectivity
- The Forerunner 55 has ANT+ so that you can use more than one sensor.
- The Polar Pacer & Pacer Pro do not have ANT+
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VO2 Max (Run)
- The Forerunner 55 offers VO2 Max while the Pacer does not.
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Training
- The Pacer offers more sport activity profiles than the Forerunner 55 and a bit more training analysis like Training Load Pro.
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Safety
- The Forerunner 55 offers Incident Detection and Assistance when set up in the Garmin Connect app.
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Battery Life
- The Forerunner 55 battery life in smartwatch mode is 2 weeks compared to the Pacer's 7 days. But the Pacer can offer more hours in GPS, 35-100 hours, vs the FR55's 20 hours.
Garmin Forerunner 55
Polar Pacer Pro vs Garmin Forerunner 245
Polar Pacer Pro
What You Need To Know:
-
Size
- The Forerunner 245 is a bit smaller with a 42.3 mm case & 38.5g weight vs the Pacer Pro's 45 mm case and 41g weight.
- Both watches have a 1.2" display.
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Barometric Altimeter
- The Pacer Pro has a barometric altimeter for uphill and downhill tracking.
- The FR245 does not.
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ANT+ Connectivity
- The FR245 has ANT+ so that you can use more than one sensor.
- The Polar Pacer & Pacer Pro do not have ANT+
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Health
- The FR245 has Garmin's full suite of health monitoring, including Women's Health, Sleep, Fitness Age, and Body Battery.
- While the Pacer Pro offers sleep insights, it doesn't provide much health-monitoring beyond that.
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Safety
- The FR245 offers Incident Detection and Assistance when set up in the Garmin Connect app.
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Music
- For $50 more, you can get the FR245 Music model, which allows you to store up to 500 songs on your watch for phone-free listening.
Garmin Forerunner 245
Polar Pacer vs COROS PACE 2
Polar Pacer
What You Need To Know:
-
Size
- The PACE 2 is a bit smaller with a 42 mm case & 35-36g weight vs the Pacer's 45 mm case and 40g weight.
- Both watches have a 1.2" display.
-
ANT+ Connectivity
- The PACE 2 has ANT+ so that you can use more than one sensor.
- The Polar Pacer & Pacer Pro do not have ANT+.
-
Battery Life
- PACE 2 battery life in smartwatch mode is 20 days compared to the Pacer's 7 days.
- But the Pacer can offer more hours in GPS, 35-100 hours, vs the PACE 2's 30-60 hours.
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Barometric Altimeter
- The COROS PACE 2 has a barometric altimeter for uphill and downhill tracking. The Polar Pacer base model does not.
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Third-Party Integration (Strava, etc.)
- The PACE 2 offers this, while the Pacer does not.
COROS PACE 2
Polar Pacer Pro vs COROS APEX
Polar Pacer Pro
What You Need To Know:
-
Size
- The Pacer Pro has a 45 mm case & 41g weight.
- The APEX is available in 2 sizes 42 mm & 46 mm case and weighs 55.3g & 49g
- Both watches have a 1.2" display.
-
ANT+ Connectivity
- The APEX has ANT+ so that you can use more than one sensor.
- The Polar Pacer & Pacer Pro do not have ANT+.
-
Battery Life
- APEX battery life in smartwatch mode is 24-30 days compared to the Pacer Pro's 7 days.
- But the Pacer Pro can offer more hours in GPS, 35-100 hours, vs the APEX's 25-35 hours.
-
Lens Material
- The APEX has a sapphire lens.
- The Pacer Pro has Gorilla Glass.
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Always-On Display
- The Pacer Pro has an always-on display.
- APEX does not.
COROS APEX
Polar Pacer / Pacer Pro GPS Running Watch Features
The 2022 Polar Pacer or Pacer Pro might just be the new essential GPS running watch you're looking for. Here's what you need to know:
- Pacer running basics include: Pace, Time, Distance, Stopwatch, Lap Timer, Interval Timer, Training Targest, Training Load Pro, Running Program
- Pacer Pro adds: VO2 Max, Running Performace Test, Running Index, Race Time Predictor, Running Power
- Assited-GPS for faster fix times and best positioning
- Advanced optical heart rate tracking
- A sunlight-readable display
- It's 40g light with a minimalist design
- Ergonomic, super-grip buttons with non-touchscreen
- Rapid charging and data transfer
- Faster processor for a faster performing running watch
Polar Pacer & Pacer Pro Heart Rate Sensor
Polar Precision Prime™ sensor fusion technology tracks your heart rate from the wrist. This innovation combines optical heart rate measurement with other sensor technologies to rule out motion artifacts that might disturb the heart rate signal and produce unreliable readings.
On the Pacer and Pacer Pro, Polar optimized the heart rate sensor by taking the algorithm that omits motion from the equation and made it better. Then they made the sensor smaller and removed the famous Polar bumps. Why? It's the “Goldilocks Zone” for HR measurement—not too big, not too small, but just right.
Polar Pacer / Pacer Pro Review
In his review of the Polar Pacer and Pacer Pro, one of our reviewing partners, Dave, from Chase the Summit, offers some in-depth details about this 2022 Polar running watch, like:
- Improved CPU for a faster performing running watch.
- No touchscreen, which is fine because Polar touchscreens can have some lag. The 5-button operation is easy to use without looking.
- GPS accuracy is improved, although still not perfect.
- The new Pacer/Pacer Pro's heart rate monitor technology was right in line with his chest and bicep straps—no major deviations.
- Running power on the wrist of the Pacer Pro is a plus.
- Strava Live Segments on Pacer Pro gets a thumbs up.
- The Pacer Pro's navigation—Turn-by-Turn guidance from Kamoot & Route Guidance—gives it an edge over the Pacer base model.
- A built-in barometric altimeter in the Pacer Pro allows for the HillSplitter feature which automatically detects all uphills and downhills by using your GPS-based speed, distance, and barometric altitude data.
- Dave was happy to see that Polar made a running watch that allows you to accept notifications while you are runs.
- Thinner Gorilla Glass brings the LCD display closer to the surface for better reading conditions.
- No ANT+ connectivity may be a downside for anyone who wants to add multiple sensors.
Polar Pacer & Pacer Pro Running Watch Colors
Polar Pacer Colors:
- Night Black
- Cloud White
- Deep Teal
- Purple Dusk
Polar Pacer Pro Colors:
- Carbon Gray
- Snow White
- Midnight Blue
- Autumn Maroon
- Aurora Green
Polar Pacer / Pacer Pro Battery Life
The Polar Pacer and Pacer Pro have the same Battery Life.
- Battery life training mode: up to 35 hrs
- Battery life watch mode: up to 7 days
- Battery life with power save training mode: up to 100 hrs
- Battery capacity: 265 mAh
- Battery type: Li-Pol
- Battery rechargeable: Yes
Polar Pacer vs Pacer Pro — What's the Difference?
There is a substantial price difference between the Polar Pacer—$199.99—and the Polar Pacer Pro—$299.99.
Here's what you get with the Polar Pacer Pro for that extra $100:
- The Pacer Pro has navigation that is not available on the base model Pacer. Make routes on the Kamoot app and use on your Pacer Pro or import routes from other platforms. It's not a full base map with details, but basic breadcrumb navigation that will keep you headed in the right direction and show you when you are off your path.
- The Polar Pacer Pro has a built-in altimeter that can show elevation change over time. This enables the Pacer Pro only feature called HillSplitter, which automatically detects all uphills and downhills by using your GPS-based speed, distance, and barometric altitude data.
- Want running power data collected from the wrist with no additional sensors required? The Polar Pacer Pro can do that. This data is a great way to guage your effort level on a run and can be combined with your heart rate data to get a well-rounded idea of your performance level.
- The last major feature you'll get on the Polar Pacer Pro that you won't get on the base model is Strava Live Segments. It's a special data page within your activities that will display your current position and ranking when you're out on a run and on an active Strava Segment—it can be a lot of fun!
Polar Pacer & Pacer Pro Charging Cable
The Polar Pacer and Pacer Pro have an entirely new, updated charging cable!
It clips on to the back of the watch with magnets. It's very secure—you can dangle the watch from it.
Because it's shaped differently than the disc-shaped charging cables for previous Polar watches, you won't be able to swap out chargers.
But who cares, when this new charging cable is less cumbersome—and charges fast!
Polar Pacer / Pacer Pro Size & Specs
The Polar Pacer and Pacer Pro running watches are the same size with the specs.
Dimensions
- Width: 45 mm
- Height: 45 mm
- Thickness: 11.5 mm
Weight
- Total weight: 40 g (Pacer Pro: 41g)
- Total weight without wristband: 23 g
Display
- Display type: MIP (memory-in-pixel)
- Display size: 1.2 Inch
- Display resolution: 240 × 240
- Touchscreen: No
- Always on display: Yes
- Ambient light sensor: No
Does the Polar Pacer or Pacer Pro Have a Touchscreen?
No. Neither the Pacer or Pacer Pro have a touchscreen.
Polar designed this watch with the essentials for runners in mind. The ergonomic super-grip and 5-button operation offer confidence and convenience—even with sweaty skin and in all weather conditions.
In his review, Dave explains that he prefers not to use the Polar touchscreens as they tend to lag.
Polar's button operation design makes it easy to navigate features on the run.
What Is the GPS Accuracy of the Polar Pacer / Pacer Pro?
The Pacer and Pacer Pro running watches offer improved Polar GPS that works anywhere in the world.
Pacer/Pacer Pro's built-in GPS works together with GLONASS and Galileo global navigation satellite systems, and QZSS regional navigation satellite system for East Asia and Oceania to provide accurate speed, distance, and route data anywhere on the planet.
Assisted-GPS provides faster fixes and tells your watch the predicted positions of the satellites, making it possible to receive signals from them within seconds wherever you are, even under difficult conditions.
When put to the test against the Garmin tactix 7—the most accurate GPS smartwatch Dave from Chase the Summit has experienced—the Polar Pacer Pro wasn't perfet, but defiinitely improved.