Both are top-rated, and also the creme’ de la creme’ of the fitness world. They are both from two fitness tracking companies that have recently been in a head-to-head battle of supremacy and technology dominance.
Both offer almost similar features, or at least have performance specs that overlap.
What’s more, the two tech gizmos are marked at almost the same price point. Which once again really does very little to help with the indecisiveness should you find yourself at crossroads on which brand to carry home.
So the big question is; which tracker carries the day when the two are placed at a head-to-head comparison column?
Well, let’s find out!
Polar Loop Vs Fitbit Flex
The Features
Round one of this duel is fueled by analyzing the features that both trackers bring to the table.
Starting with the Flex, it allows you the luxury of tracking your steps, your daily rate of burning calories, distance covered and, of course, cumulative active minutes.
Instead of a heads up display, you get a system of Penta LEDs on its face that act as an alternative goal tracking system.
This way, you can set your daily goal and these LEDs will come to life to give you a rough idea of your expected percentage for that day. For instance, 3 LEDs lighting up implies a 60% target.
Far from that, the Flex comes fitted with an integrated auto sleep function that kicks in immediately you lay down to rest.
It does not call for any user interaction to activate it and while at it, you can set a silent alarm ( in the form of a vibration function ) to wake you up.
As far as synchronisation goes, Flex is compatible with Bluetooth and as well supports iOs and Apple devices.
It is fairly waterproof ( up to 1 ATM ) and thus rugged enough to be both sweat and splash resistant. You should, however, shy away from fully submerging it if you want it to last you a while.
- Track steps, distance, calories burned and active minutes
- Ultra-thin, removable tracker hides in bands, pendants and bangles, The Fitbit Flex 2 wristband is made of a flexible, durable elastomer material similar to that used in many sports watches. It also has a surgical-grade stainless steel clasp
- Swim-proof for tracking swimming, life-proof for wear in the ocean, shower, pool and beyond
- Smart Track automatically recognizes select workouts and records them to your Fitbit app; Get call and text notifications on your wrist with unique vibration patterns and color-coded LED lights
- Automatically track how long and how well you sleep, and set a silent alarm to wake with a small vibration; An LED display lights up when you get calls, texts and Reminders to Move, and shows you how close you are to your daily goal with a simple tap.
Like its rival above, the Polar Loop utilizes a LED heads up display ( that only lights up in red ) in place of a more helpful LCD screen.
From here, you can view your progress bar and track your daily fitness goal as well as read helpful messages that are displayed periodically.
The loop’s tracking prowess is pegged on the total number of steps taken plus the distance covered in the process.
It can, however, also track up to 5 separate present activities, be it cycling, running, walking, swimming or jogging. Speaking of swimming, the polar loop is fully waterproof, unlike the Fitbit Flex.
To up its game and also set a pace for other competitors, Polar saw it fit to equip the Loop with an inactivity alarm that goes off after the user has been inactive for some time.
And this is, of course, adjustable and controllable to reflect one’s schedule.
To top it all off, the Polar employs a smart calories algorithm to track how many calories that you’re burning per day.
To match up Fitbit’s ‘active minutes’, the Loop has ‘active time’ that records and keeps track of the cumulative duration that a user has been active. This is consistent with other Polar models including M400, FT7 and A360.
This data is then later used to calculate the overall intensity of your workout schedule.
This way, the device can easily differentiate between high-intensity physical activity from moderate intensity exercise such as a brisk stroll.
For compatibility, the Loop supports Bluetooth 4.0 and is also compatible with both iOs and Android handsets.
But unlike the Flex above, the Loop can connect and pair up with Paul Lars H7 heart rate sensor, although this has to be purchased separately.
- Motivates you to reach your daily goal by tracking your steps, distance, and calories burned 24/7
- Vibrating inactivity alerts help you keep moving throughout the day
- Automatically tracks your sleep time, quality of sleep, and sleep patterns
- Compatible with H7 Heart Rate sensor for continuous, accurate heart rate
- Syncs with free Polar Flow app and web service for additional workout planning, motivation and guidance
The Winner: As much as both devices have almost similar features, it is evident that the Loop clearly wins this round, albeit with a very slight margin. The bonus, of course, being that it can pair up seamlessly with an external heart rate monitor and is waterproof up to 5 ATM.
Whose Battery Life Is Better?
The Loop’s battery life can last you just under 5 days of continuous non-stop use in between charges.
The Fitbit Flex, on the other hand, is rated for a week of juice and can therefore hold over 7 days worth of motion tracking data and store the consecutive analysis for up to 30 days.
The Winner: The winner is clear here - Fitbit Flex
App Support and Software Superiority
You probably already know that Fitbit is a household name when it comes to fitness tracking.
They have been in the game for such a long time that their apps have undergone several upgrades and iterations over the past few years.
The Flex app is thus quite intuitive and feels refined and ‘complete’.
Apart from having a simplistic dashboard, the Flex automatically syncs with your phone whenever the tracker is within range, a feature that most other fitness braces lack.
And the synchronisation does not end there; it can connect effortlessly to the web through the Fitbit’s cloud app allowing you the ability to keep track of a few extra ‘complex’ things such as sleep and water intake.
But it is not all glory as the Flex has a very limited, basic sleep tracking app drawer. It only gives a brief breakdown of your restfulness showing your awake and slumber periods.
Loop, on the other hand, has a detailed home screen that resembles a clock.
The interface is programmed to display your different workouts for the day the respective levels of activity. From here, you can also access data that shows yours total recorded active time in a day, week, month or so.
The sleep analysis is a little more detailed than in Flex as you can also keep track of several phases of your slumber such as restless and restful sleep.
The biggest downside to having a Polar as far as this goes is that the device has limited app support.
While the Fitbit is quite compatible with many 3rd party apps in the fitness industry, the Polar Loop can only work with its native application.
The Winner: The winner is clearly the - Fitbit Flex
The Bottom Line: Polar Loop vs Fitbit Flex
If you’re looking for raw functionality, you would be best served with the Polar Loop. It is not only a little cheaper but also has the provision for supporting a heart rate sensor.
But if you feel that third party app support is something you would care about, then by, all means, go for the Fitbit Flex.
Last update on 2023-01-09 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API