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From Fellrnr.com, Running tips
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* The V800 provides more information when you press the lap button than other watches, as well as far more useful data at the end of the run.
* Like the [[Suunto Ambit2 R]], the V800 can be configured via the website, which is easier than fiddling with the watch itself. Most of the options can be also set on the watch, which means you're not stuck if you're away from the Internet.
* The battery life is 13 hours with With GPS recording set normally. If you change the recording interval to once per minute, the battery life extends to 50 hours, but there are no settings in between. For most runners is 13 hours which is adequate, but for most runners. However ultrarunners may need to use the extended power save modethat extend the battery life up to 50 hours. Recording While the documentation claims that the power save mode records GPS point location once a per minute can provide reasonable accuracy for straight, I've found that in practice it's a little more random than that (see below).<br/>[[File:Polar V800 Power Save.jpg|none|thumb|500px|The GPS track from the Polar V800 in power save mode. Each blue dot is a GPS point-to-point coursesfrom an out and back run that, with the route covered twice at a steady pace. You can see areas where the V800 is recording the GPS location quite frequently, but could be very misleading in and other situationstimes the frequency is quite low.]]* The V800 provides some interesting analysis of your training. This is similar to the [[Firstbeat| Firstbeat Training Effect]] used by Garmin and Suunto, which is a simple number between 1.0 and 5.0. The V800 provides more detailed analysis with a text description of its evaluation. It has 17 different classifications including things like "maximum training", "tempo training", or "steady-state training". Each classification has a little congratulatory message associated with it that explains the benefit of that particular type of training. This is a nice feature, though it can be a little simplistic and may not be it was far less accurate for youme than the [[Firstbeat]] approach. If you're prepared to take it with a pinch of salt, it's a nice feature. (This requires the [[Heart Rate Monitor]].)
* The V800 also provides some guidance on your recovery. Again this is a little more sophisticated than the Garmin and Suunto approach which give the number of hours until you are recovered.
** The V800 will tell you how many hours of recovery are required for the latest workout, which gives a nice evaluation of that workout in isolation.
** The V800 will give you your overall recovery/stress level as a bar graph.<br/>[[File:V800RecoveryBar.jpg|none|thumb|100px]]
** The V800 will then tell you when you will reach the next recovery level.<br/>[[File:V800RecoveryTime.jpg|none|thumb|100px]]
** I think this is rather more useful information than the [[Firstbeat]] systems used by Garmin and Suunto, but I'm not convinced it's as accurate.
** The V800 can include stress/recovery information from general daily activity as well as exercise sessions, which is nice. However, because the V800 is a poor activity monitor (see below), this value is a little limited.
* The V800 can display your [[Heart Rate Variability]] (HRV), something that is quite unusual. I really like having HRV displayed, as it gives another indication of how stressful my current training session is. The V800 can also record your HRV, but not during a normal training session.
* The V800 includes a barometric altimeter, which is helpful given that GPS is notoriously poor at estimating altitude.
* You can use the V800 as a simple activity monitor, something that's common to many new sports watches. However, when the V800 acts as an activity monitor it only has only an internal accelerometer, which provides poor accuracy. If you need an activity monitor, I'd recommend the [[Basis Activity Tracker]] which has sensors for heart rate, skin temperature and perspiration.
* The V800 includes a thermometer, which I rather like, though obviously the accuracy suffers because it's attached to your arm.
=Polar V800 Cons=
* One of the big downsides to the V800 is its cost, which is far more expensive than the watches that I highly recommend. Given the V800's functionality, it's too expensive to be "highly recommended" at this price point.
* The polar website has some basic functionality, but it has the feel of an unfinished beta release rather than a complete solution. This feeling of being unfinished extends to the watch itself, but at least Polar are giving a timeline for new functionality.
* The V800 will predict your [[VO2max|V̇O<sub>2</sub>max]], but unlike the Garmin devices that used [[Firstbeat]] technology and give a good result, the V800 is wildly wrong for me. Obviously this is a sample of one and Your Mileage May Vary.
* Another irritation is that the V800 will sometimes ask you a question when you press the start button, which is not the ideal time.
=Comparison Table=
{{:Best Running Watch-table}}
