POLAR Pacer Pro Advanced Ultra-Light GPS Fitness Tracker Smartwatch for Runners with Training Program & Recovery Tools; S-L, for Men or Women, Grey-Black

I wanted a fitness watch with an accurate and reliable HRM function that I could use for training, with a chest strap HRM.I wanted a watch with an intuitive interface and easy-to-use buttons that I could manage easily even when sweaty and gasping for breath, because, ya know, that’s how it goes when you’re training.I needed a watch face that I could glance at and read quickly without glasses, while running.And I needed a watch that would show the functions I wanted to know most while I was running… usually time elapsed, HRM, and distance covered.That’s apparently a lot to ask from a “simple” training watch, because I’ve been looking for a long time for one that fits those particular requirements, and I’ve been SUPER cranky about it. I don’t want a wrist-based HRM, because they’re always inaccurate. I don’t want a $3,000 Garmin supercomputer on my wrist that will show me a 3D rendered topo map of my route. I don’t need to know the barometric pressure, or how far off true north the compass function is. I don’t need a watch that will recite Hungarian poetry to me while I run, or anything like that. I just need some basic training metrics, delivered in a reliable form. The Polar Pacer Pro delivers. I am solidly wowed by it.The Pacer Pro watch face is easy to read even with my 55-yo eyes; the interface is dead easy to use, and the watch itself is pretty slim and not too bulky for my wee wrists. It measures the functions I want. Paired with the Polar H10 chest strap, it delivers a rock solid HRM readout, updated in real time. (The wrist-based HRM is pretty good, but when I tested it against a chest strap, it was off by as much as 7-8 bpm and lagged a few seconds in updating its reading. Better than a lot of wrist-based HRMs, but still not as good as a chest strap.) I want to be cranky about having to use an app to get full readouts on my workouts, but the app is really easy to use and I’ve been really happy with how it presents the info.One thing I didn’t think I wanted or needed was the sleep tracking function, but having tried it, I’m finding it’s really useful. It made me realize that I do not relax well before going to sleep most nights, and therefore get subpar sleep…so I’ve started doing some meditation and guided relaxation for a few minutes before bed, and wow, I’ve been sleeping a lot better, which is making me feel better overall every day.The battery life has been quite good; it goes about a week between charging, and the charging itself doesn’t take much time. Rather than draining the battery fully between charges, I’ve been taking it off my wrist occasionally and putting it on the charger while I eat lunch or take a shower, and that’s enough for several days’ worth of charge. I would feel absolutely confident it would last through a full weekend of ultramarathoning, although I haven’t tested it on that long a run yet.