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Add to SafariWhen comparing Polar M400 vs Garmin Forerunner 235, the Slant community recommends Polar M400 for most people. In the question“What are the best fitness trackers that pair with iPhones?” Polar M400 is ranked 2nd while Garmin Forerunner 235 is ranked 7th. The most important reason people chose Polar M400 is:
The "Sport Profile" feature allows you to customize what stats you want to see for each type of exercise. For example, you may want the GPS on for running but not for a circuit workout. These preset profiles save you from having to set up the device each time you exercise.
Specs
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Gives you a lot of options for customizing different types of workouts
The "Sport Profile" feature allows you to customize what stats you want to see for each type of exercise. For example, you may want the GPS on for running but not for a circuit workout. These preset profiles save you from having to set up the device each time you exercise.
Pro Gives you custom activity goals suitable for your level
The daily activity goal is a good way to find out how active you really are in your everyday life. Here you can choose your typical activity level from three options and see how active you need to be to reach your daily activity goal.
The time you need to complete your daily activity goal depends on the level you have chosen and the intensity of your activities. Age and gender also affect the intensity you need to reach your daily activity goal.
Pro Detailed reports
The fitness tracker offers excellent reporting including distance, speed, cadence, heart rate (if paired with monitor), ascent, decent, calories, recovery status, and more.
Pro Ability to add training notes
The app allows you to add additional notes to your workouts for better tracking.
Pro Ideal tracker for runners
It's quite lightweight at 1.6oz and has a large bright display for easy reading while on the move in all types of lighting conditions. It's water resistant up to 50 meters so you're safe to wear it running in all types of weather.
Pro Quickly picks up a GPS signal
It picks up the GPS signal much faster than most other GPS fitness trackers available, so there is little waiting around for it to connect before you start your run.
Pro Customize the display screen to display the data most important to you
The display screens are fully customizable so you can control which stats you want to see.
Pro Extremely lightweight and comfortable
Despite the amount of hardware this tracker contains and it's large size, it's very lightweight and comfortable to wear.
Cons
Con Sleep tracking lacks detail and accuracy
If you are awake for an extended period of time in the middle of the night and then fall back asleep, the fitness tracker may not see the additional hours as part of your sleep.
Con Unattractive and bulky design
The tracker is quite wide and hard to miss, it's not something that can blend in with what you're wearing outside of sport/exercise type settings.
Con Short battery life when using the GPS
With the GPS turned on, battery life goes from around 24 days to 9 hours.
This is likely fine for people who will always have opportunities to charge it after their run. However for anyone hoping to use the GPS for longer activities, such as hiking, that may not be long enough to be useful.
Con Has trouble tracking heart rate during intervals
During interval training when there is a frequent change of exertion, the Forerunner 235 has trouble continuously providing accurate readings. It's better suited for running with a sustained pace.
Con Needs to be recharged often
Garmin states the watch has a battery life of 11 hours training and 9 days of use as a watch, which is a fairly short charge compared to other fitness trackers.
However many people have found the actual charge to be much less, often needing to be recharged every couple of days.
