When comparing Polar M430 vs TomTom Spark 3, the Slant community recommends TomTom Spark 3 for most people. In the question“What are the best GPS sports watches?” TomTom Spark 3 is ranked 2nd while Polar M430 is ranked 3rd. The most important reason people chose TomTom Spark 3 is:
You'll never have to worry about getting lost with a Spark 3 on your wrist. First of all, you can create a new interesting route in the app from the comfort of your home and then simply follow it with your watch during the run. Or you can record your whole route as you run or hike and then trace back your steps in case you get lost.
Specs
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Pros
Pro It doubles as a great general-use fitness tracker
Not only is this watch useful for running, you can leave it on for the whole day and it will monitor your sleep, give recommendations on training intensity as well as recovery, and keep your heart rate in check. With GPS off, it can work for 20 days, so you'll only have to take it off twice a month or so to recharge.
Pro The price is very competitve
This watch offers great value for the money - usually, you have to be ready to pay $300 and more for a decent sports watch, but M430 does the same job and costs around $200.
Pro It can track a variety of activities
Although this watch is targeted primarily at runners, you can also use it for biking, swimming, strength training, and many other indoor and outdoor activities that you can choose in the Polar app.
Pro It has one of the most precise on-wrist heart rate monitors
Even to date, the majority of sports watches don't offer particularly good hear rate tracking capabilities. You either have to buy an additional chest strap or rely on built-in sensors that are often imprecise. The M430 offers the best of the two worlds - you can get data nearly as precise as from a chest strap without having to buy and wear one.
Pro The mapping features work great and are easy to use
You'll never have to worry about getting lost with a Spark 3 on your wrist. First of all, you can create a new interesting route in the app from the comfort of your home and then simply follow it with your watch during the run. Or you can record your whole route as you run or hike and then trace back your steps in case you get lost.
Pro It's a good fit for amateur/casual athletes
This watch keeps track of your pace, calories, and heartbeat without overwhelming you with highly specialized fitness metrics that usually don't add any value for a beginner anyway.
Pro You can get a specialized watch with extra funcitonality
The Spark 3 comes in several flavors: the basic Spark 3; Spark 3 Cardio with a built-in heart rate monitor and Spark 3 Music that can store music and connect Bluetooth headphones. There's also a combination of Cardio + Music.
Pro You can use it for triathlon training
This watch will work for tracking running, biking, and swimming, which makes it a good option for triathletes.
Cons
Con No music playback
This watch can neither store any music or control the playback from your phone.
Con The software is somewhat limited
You are basically stuck with only three watch faces, which limits your ability to customize the watch for your particular needs and preferences.
Con You'll have to rely solely on GPS for tracking
Overall, the tracking works well, but it would be much more reliable if the watch also had Glonass capabilities, in case you lose GPS signal.
Con The battery life is disappointing
The Spark 3 will last only about 4 days with GPS off, when you can find watches that hold charge for 5-7 days and more.
Con TomTom products may become increasingly hard to find
There has been information that TomTom is decreasing its involvement in producing wearable tech, so their sports watches may become hard to find in stores.
Con There's some trouble linking it up with headphones
Sometimes it takes a couple of tries before you can get your headphones working with the watch.
Con The controls are a little confusing
All modes and functions in the menu are represented with icons that can be hard to decipher for a new user.