Don't believe all the negative reviews, I purchased this after a lot of online research. I'm not a fitness fanatic, and before the Ignite I wasn't even wearing a watch, but wanted something which gave me a nudge / reminder to get up and do some exercise (I lead a sedentary lifestyle, though I am pretty fit - 56yrs, 5'9, 75Kgs, BF16%). I was going to hold off until I could get a Samsung Active 2 with my phone upgrade, but read enough about how inaccurate its HRT monitoring was (as well as its GPS) that I decided I wanted more of a fitness watch than something on my wrist that'd literally double up as a phone (because I've already got my phone for that, right ?). I also didn't want to pay too much for my first fitness watch as I believe this is still quite a moving technology and new/better ones will be coming out all the time. Finally, I was more steered towards Polar because I have had Garmin products before and didn't like their software. Polar have been in the HRT monitor space the longest (as far as I know) and felt if anyone could produce a great fitness watch, they'd be the favourite. So far, I've had it a week and absolutely no complaints ! Well, okay, a few improvements I'd personally like :) 1) The strap is a) too rubbery/grippy, and b) the strap loop keeps sliding down each time you try to put the watch on. a) + b) = A very frustrating experience every time you try to put the watch on, since to slide that loop up once the watch is on your wrist is very difficult to do since the rubber material is too grippy, preventing you doing so without a few blue words during it...... (I’ve since superglued the strap loop permanently in place and so have eliminated the above mentioned frustration). 2) The watch face is switched off until you bring the watch up to your face to look at it. That is fine except that this only works when you're in the upright position (either sitting or standing is fine). Try bringing the watch up to your face when you're lying down or in bed and you’ll find the watch face will not wake up.... it's as though the orientation of the watch is what is important to it, not that you're making a sudden movement with your arm to wake it up. 3) You have a choice of analogue or digital watch faces, one of each. That's fine, but when you choose the analogue face, the face I prefer, then the watch hands obscure the health data and information. If you choose the digital face, no obscuring takes place. It's a shame that Polar didn't design TWO positions for that data, one for the digital version of the watch, and another for the analogue version. Other than that, I'm completely satisfied with my Ignite watch, I've had NONE of the issues I've read in online reviews elsewhere, no issues with it measuring my sleep within the first three nights, no issues with the software, the GPS is accurate (I tried it on a local walk I do every other day) and the data itself is very useful. If you're a fitness fanatic, take your marathons and training very seriously, then you probably want a more sophisticated and accurate device - and for that you’ll need to pay two or three times the price of a Polar Ignite. But for those of us who want a watch mainly for fitness, aren't fanatical about that, and don't want smartphone features, this watch is not only perfect in my view, it is also VERY attractive on the wrist. A great purchase decision !
