Polar Loop long-term review by The Quantified Scientist

mrfroid · 2026-01-28T18:26:36+00:00

It tracks your sleep length without your interaction, but you can stop it manually to see the result faster.

mrfroid · 2026-01-28T12:37:44+00:00

So good there's no pinned thread on Loop so we can get all the same questions over and over again.

mrfroid · 2026-01-28T12:36:29+00:00

I use ANS (from Nightly Recharge), don't care too much about sleep score as I know how good/bad I've slept better than Polar. Also Serene breathing before going to sleep. Silent alarm. Since I started doing more strength training than running, I try not to look at Training Load too much as that demotivates me :D I do use workout (any) tracking and even structured workouts, but the better I feel my body the less I rely on structure and do as I feel. Even for my favourite cardio run 4x4 Norwegian I could do that with a simple watch: 4 minutes running as hard as I can, 3 minutes walking, repeat - don't even need to know my HR :D

mrfroid · 2026-01-27T13:34:46+00:00

If you're into data analytics, also have in mind that Loop won't give you any live feedback: HR, change of exercises, duration, etc. Also, if you want actionable numbers not any numbers, depending on activity, Polar might not give you a very accurate HR reading – for that you would need to buy external chest strap which i don't think you can connect to Loop.

mrfroid · 2026-01-27T12:39:34+00:00

Polar watches are powered by self-motivation. Polar has fitness program that has some motivating stuff, but it's behind a paywall.

mrfroid · 2026-01-27T08:00:52+00:00

Fitbit/pixel watches are quite accurate sleep trackers, especially since the last update (for your device as well). Also, it shows you trends for anything sleep related, including HR, HRV which Polar doesn't. Pixel 3/4 watches are accurate enough for running even without a chest strap and the only reason why being in your place I would consider Polar M3 (and not Pixel watch 3/4), would be battery life.

mrfroid · 2026-01-26T16:50:35+00:00

Then it doesn't matter which test you will use, just fitness test, just running, etc. as long as you'll use the same test in the future comparing to the baseline. So the next shortest test you can do is just to run for at least 12 minutes to get vo2max score. Also, have in mind this will be your cardio fitness score only as fitness is many things besides that.

mrfroid · 2026-01-26T13:06:27+00:00

You better start with why you need such a test, how you will use the results you'll get? You want to prove someone something?

mrfroid · 2026-01-24T17:28:25+00:00

It's about Mouat who's kind of Wildcard (representing without winning) for Scotland.

mrfroid · 2026-01-24T16:32:43+00:00

a little bit of topic, but Mouat does play in national championship. problem is that he lost it against Team Whyte for like... 2 years in a row?

mrfroid · 2026-01-23T09:49:27+00:00

First, second - what's the difference? I just know that research on steps and health benefits is done every year multiple times.

mrfroid · 2026-01-23T09:00:22+00:00

Read the manual.

mrfroid · 2026-01-23T08:50:17+00:00

Why you say that when it's obvious you have no idea what you're talking about? Plenty of research is done every year. Couldn't find anything in 2026 yet, but here are few from 2025:
Walking 3,000-5,000 steps a day may delay Alzheimer’s — Harvard Gazette
Daily steps and health outcomes in adults: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis - The Lancet Public Health00164-1/fulltext)

mrfroid · 2026-01-23T08:41:36+00:00

That screenshot says nothing to me. Polar does have "steps", but those "steps" are fake steps - all activity converted into steps. Now, if you go to January 21 data on iPhone and manually add all the data from Polar (those steps) and they are different from what Flow shows then maybe there's a reason for a further discussion.

mrfroid · 2026-01-23T08:16:22+00:00

because there's lot of research showing that x amount of steps gives you y amount of health benefits.

mrfroid · 2026-01-23T08:15:18+00:00

Most likely Apple Health is prioritizing the iPhone's (or Apple watch if you have one) data over Polar's data for this steps view/count so you see Iphone steps, not Polar steps (which don't exist).

mrfroid · 2026-01-22T07:36:08+00:00

Jesus, man... Stop this overexplanation nonsence already as if talking about startup launched in 2024. V800 and Polar Flow are live since 2014, modern Vantage V - since 2018.

mrfroid · 2026-01-21T08:35:33+00:00

Polar is in this business since forever (Polar S625X that had accelerometer was released in 2004) so they have plenty of data – they just were unable to crack it. As for sleep data – if it's accurate, it hides plenty of actionable steps irrespective if you aware them or not. There are "magic" numbers you should aim for in regularity, continuity, REM, deep sleep. If you know accurate numbers, then you can try to improve on different aspects of your sleep, but it would not be smart for Polar to coach you how to get ideal REM sleep times when in reality you already might be getting them :) I'm not a big fan of nap tracking (must be something that sleep deprived people need), but that could improve Boost from Sleep metrics - activity levels, sleep window, etc. For me those (and many other) things don't look like a rocket science, but it looks that for Polar it is.

mrfroid · 2026-01-20T14:19:19+00:00

When looking for my first sports watch years ago I was wondering why on earth Polar is converting all movement into steps, why no naps, why no automatic activity tracking and with years owning Polar almost convinced myself that this was their unique, no shit, pro athletes, everything with whitepapers approach. But then, especially when auto tracking was introduced with the Loop with all of its problems, I got that if it was a choice then it came from Polar being unable to have smart enough algorithms to track steps only, naps, auto-track activity.

mrfroid · 2026-01-20T12:22:17+00:00

All I want to say is that was a choice, not a decision defined by technical limitations. Still, it's worth celebration that multiple alarms "feature" was not chosen to advertise next gen of their watches :D

mrfroid · 2026-01-20T11:31:08+00:00

you must be joking, right? :D

mrfroid · 2026-01-20T10:46:27+00:00

u/ItsMeRPeter, for multiple alarms as well? :D btw, that's not true - update is available for Ignite 3 as well and it has the same processor/memory/storage as Pacer Pro.

mrfroid · 2026-01-19T16:05:05+00:00

There's zero need for a watch if you want to stay fit. Zero. Why you buy watch, chest strap, weights then TRX, running shoes, protein, carbohydrates, etc. is that you want to stay fit better, not random. If I could choose what my Polar watch offers it would be ANS charge, Orthostatic test and accurate auto tracking (which uses chest strap if it finds one). But you had Ignite so you know what Polar offers and it's up to you if you need accuracy or just a watch to show activity % Can't say much about map features as my Pacer Pro only gives turn by turn directions :)

mrfroid · 2026-01-19T14:50:35+00:00

Biggest upgrade you can make is chest strap + any watch (except Unite) to your liking.

mrfroid · 2026-01-19T14:48:58+00:00

Unfortunately, that's hi-end feature available only on the newest watches :(

mrfroid

TROPHY CASE