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* The M430 can only act as a simple activity monitor, with the only motivation display a simple progress bar. If you compare this with Garmin watches that support [[Connect IQ]], which can provide things like a graph of the daily activity over the last week.
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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Polar M430 Review}}
I rather like the M430, but I fear it's not enough of an improvement over the M400 to justify the extra cost, nor is it good enough for me to recommend it over the equivalent Garmin watches. The main a change from the M400 is the addition of an [[Optical Heart Rate Monitor]], which would be a truly wonderful invention if it worked. Sadly, I don't see this replacing the traditional ECG-based heart rate monitor anytime soon, as much as I hate the inconvenience and chafing of the chest strap. I've tested the M430 over about 700 miles of running, and I've found it a fairly solid running watch, but I've found that by comparison with the [[Connect IQ]] enabled Garmin watches, the M430 seems a little dated and limited.
=The Big Questions=
I use four simple questions that I think cut to the heart of want most runners are looking for in a running watch. There's obviously a lot of nuance and detail that you can dig into, and I try to provide that as well, but hopefully these questions and their answers will give you an idea of whether or not it's worth reading further.
* '''How far did I run?''' This is the most basic question, and the M430 has middling GPS accuracy, but this can be offset by using the [[Stryd]] Footpod. The M430 can use the Stryd and record a GPS track, something that some of its competition can't manage. If you dig into the details of its GPS accuracy, you'll notice that it's distance errors are more likely to even out over greater distances than you might expect from its overall accuracy score.
* '''How fast am I running?''' Knowing how fast you're running can be a nice to know, or it can be vital for your training or race performance. Because of the nature of GPS, watches that rely on GPS signal alone tend to have serious problems with current pace. With the [[Stryd]] Footpod, you can get extremely accurate pace information. If you can't afford the Stryd Footpod, then you can use the [[MilestonePod]] which requires calibration, but is cheap and accurate. Without a Footpod, the M430's pace display is pretty hopeless.
* '''Where am I? '''The M430 has only a simple "back to start" arrow, which is better than nothing, but remember this is an "as the crow flies" direct path, not a backtrack. I've also found it doesn't work in extended power mode (60 second polling), though this is hopefully just a bug that will be fixed soon.
* '''What's my cadence? '''[[Cadence]]''' '''is one of the most critical and often overlooked aspects of running. If you get your Cadence right, many other things naturally fall into place. The M430 has support for other [[Footpod]]s besides Stryd, plus it has support for Cadence from the internal accelerometer. There are no Cadence alerts which is a shame, but typically this feature is only available on more expensive devices.
The M430 is not a good choice for ultrarunners, as its battery life is too short at just 8 hours. If you set GPS polling to 60 seconds and combine the M430 with the [[Stryd]] Footpod, you should be able to extend the usable, accurate recording time out to between 20 and 30 hours. See [[Best Running Watch#Watches for Ultrarunning| Watches for Ultrarunning]] for more details.
{{BuyAmazon|AZID= B06Y22KHKK|AZN=Polar M430}}
=Should You Buy The M430?=
* Buy the [[Garmin Vivoactive]]. The Vivoactive has far more functionality than the M430, including Connect IQ that allows for expanded functionality through downloaded apps. The Vivoactive is a vastly better activity tracker, especially when combined with a good Connect IQ watch face that gives you better feedback on how you're doing. The main limitation to the Vivoactive is that there's no [[Optical Heart Rate Monitor]] and it can't record the GPS track whilst getting pace and distance from a [[Stryd]] Footpod. If these are problems, read the next bullets.
* Buy the [[Garmin Vivoactive HR]]. [[Optical Heart Rate Monitor]]s don't work well enough for real world usage, but if you want one anyway, then consider the [[Garmin Vivoactive HR]]. Like the non-OHRM Vivoactive above, it can't record the GPS track whilst getting pace and distance from a [[Stryd]] Footpod. If you really want the GPS track and accurate pace/distance, then look to the [[Polar M400]].
* Buy the [[Polar M400]]. With the release of the M430, the [[Polar M400]] has dropped in price, and I think in most cases I'd go for the previous generation, or the. The main change to the M430 from the M400 is the addition of it's its [[Optical Heart Rate Monitor]] (OHRM), but like most similar systems, it doesn't work well enough for real world usage, so the M400 is a good option.
* Spend more. If you have a larger budget, I'd recommend taking a look at the [[Garmin Fenix 3]], or check out the decision guide at [[Best Running Watches]].
=Polar M430 Pros=
* The support for [[Stryd]] is pretty good. As noted above, you can get pace and distance information from the Stryd whilst still recording a GPS track. The limited navigation features mean that the GPS data doesn't provide much value while you're running, but it does allow you to see where you went afterwards. You can only get the Stryd estimate of power through the cadence field, and that feature might disappear in the future.
* The M430 also supports the [[MilestonePod]], which is the best option if you can't afford the [[Stryd]] footpod.
* The Polar web site is broadly similar in capability to the Garmin and Suunto alternatives. Each has its advantages and issues, but they are all "good enough". I'd say the Garmin web site is the most mature and most comprehensive, but it's also a little easy to get lost in the details.
* Polar, like Suunto, allow their watches to be configured via the website, which is easier than fiddling with the watch itself. Some of the options can be also set on the watch, which means you're not stuck if you're away from the Internet.
* The Polar smartphone app is also broadly similar to the Garmin and Suunto equivalents, though I'd say that Polar is still playing catch-up in this area.
* The M430 provides more information when you press the lap button than most other watches, including average and max heart rate, etc.
=Polar M430 Cons=
* Unlike the [[Polar V800]], the M430 has poor [[GPS Accuracy]], though I think there may be scope for improvement. See below for more details.
* The M430 can only act as a simple activity monitor, with the only motivation display a simple progress bar. If you compare this with Garmin watches that support [[Connect IQ]], which can provide things like a graph of the daily activity over the last week. I found that the sleep tracking didn't seem as accurate as the Garmin watches, though I don't have a way of verifying this.
* The M430 will auto-pair with Bluetooth sensors, which sounds useful until you find it trying to repeatedly pair with sensors nearby. The only way of disabling this that I could find is to put the M430 in airplane mode, which means it won't pick up the sensors you're using. Hopefully Polar will fix this soon.
* Like the Polar V800, the M430 uses visual tricks to appear smaller than it is. The watch is curved, so the first part of the watch strap is really part of the watch body. This can cause problems for runners with smaller or larger wrists. I have to wear the V800 and M430 over a wrist sweat band as my writs are quite small. (I have no problem with watches that appear to be bigger, like the [[Garmin 310XT]].)
* The M430 will give an estimate of [[VO2max|V̇O<sub>2</sub>max]] if you're wearing a Heart Rate Monitor, but I didn't find its estimate as accurate as the [[Firstbeat]] software used by Garmin and Suunto.
* There is now a rather limited selection of watch faces, but don't expect anything like the flexibility of a Garmin [[Connect IQ]] enabled watch.
* The use of a Micro USB connector of the M400 has been replaced with a nonstandard connector. Using a micro USB connector has the obvious appeal of using any cable, but it seems that this has caused too many problems in practice. (I found it worked fine for me, other than the typical USB problem of not knowing which way round to put in the cable.)
=Sensor Support=
The M430 only supports Bluetooth sensors, so anything that's Ant+ based won't work. An intrinsic limitation of the current Bluetooth specification is that a sensor can only be connected with one receiving device (watch) at the time.
* '''Bluetooth Heart Rate Monitor'''. The Bluetooth heart rate monitor support seems to work perfectly, overriding the Optical Heart Rate Monitor when the external sensor is connected. I tested it with the Suunto and the Polar H7 without any issues. (See below for notes on the [[Wahoo TICKR Run]].)
* '''Stryd Footpod'''. The [[Stryd]] Footpod is both a Footpod and a power meter, but the M430 will only use it as a Footpod (unlike the [[Polar V800]].) To use the Stryd with the M430, pair it as a normal footpod using Settings -> General Settings -> Pair and Sync -> Pair Other Device -> select Stryd. Then go to Settings -> Sports profiles -> Running -> Stride Sensor. Calibration=manual, factor = 1.0, sensor for speed=Stride Sensor. You'll then have extremely accurate pace and distance information, as well as recording a GPS track for later analysis via the polar website or app. Unlike first-generation Footpods, the Stryd does not require any calibration. I tested the Stryd in extended a GPS mode, where the M430 only turns on the GPS chip once per minute to save battery, and this works perfectly.
* '''Milestone Footpod'''. The [[MilestonePod]] is not as accurate as the Stryd, but with a calibration it can do better than any GPS based system. Note that the milestone Footpod can be calibrated through the milestone app or within the watch. I'd recommend using the milestone app to calibrate, but don't try to use both or you'll end up double calibrating.
* '''Other Footpods. '''I would recommend avoiding any other type of Footpod. If you can afford it, you should absolutely get to the Stryd. If you can't afford it, and are prepared to put in the effort of the calibration, then get the milestone Footpod. Other Footpods are more expensive than milestone and not as good.
* '''Biking devices (Speed, Power)'''. The M430 doesn't support biking specific sensors.
* '''Wahoo'''. The [[Wahoo TICKR Run]] is a little unusual in that it not only supports both Bluetooth and Ant+, but it also pretends to be both a heart rate monitor and a Footpod. I found that in doing so, it really confused the M430 and I had all sorts of strange behavior.
=GPS Accuracy=
The [[GPS Accuracy]] of the M430 is a fairly reasonable for a modern running watch, though you could argue that's "damned with faint praise." I believe that with the advent of the extremely accurate [[Stryd]] Footpod, GPS accuracy is rather less of an issue. However, for runners not wanting to spend so much on a Footpod, GPS accuracy may still be important. For a detailed comparison of the M430 with its competitors, check out my [[GPS Accuracy]] page. For those wanting something a little more qualitative rather than quantitative, the image below may help give a more intuitive look at the accuracy. You'll see that generally the tracks follow the path reasonably well, with only a tiny number wondering off on their own. The M430 does a pretty good job in the curvy sections of the path, an area that typically reveals weaknesses in the GPS accuracy. You'll notice that most tracks are a similar shade of green, showing a good degree of consistency, though not the highest level of accuracy. One peculiarity with the M430 is the way it records lap markers so far away from the actual location; there is no clustering of the lap markers at all, and it looks to me like a strange skin disease. I feel like this is a software bug rather than an intrinsic problem in of the hardware, and I'm hopeful that Polar may be able to improve their GPS accuracy in future firmware releases. (I tested with the 1.0.28 firmware.) If you look at the statistical analysis of this watch, your notice that it's trueness score is disproportionately high when compared to its precision score. This means that over longer distances this watches errors are more likely to even out than you might expect from it overall accuracy score. This does make me wonder if there's more room for improvements in software we might see in the future.
Here's the tracks from the extremely accurate [[Suunto Ambit3]], showing how the lap markers should look.
[[File:BridgeSuunto Ambit3 R.jpg|center|thumb|x400px|The [[Suunto Ambit3]] tracks.]]
=Optical Heart Rate Monitoring=
I've gathered all the results of my testing under my [[Optical Heart Rate Monitoring]] page. In addition, it's worth noting that the Polar fitness test on the M430 only supports the optical sensor and won't work with an external chest strap.
=What's Missing=
While I don't consider these missing features as 'cons', it's worth understanding the features that are missing compared with other watches.