Polar Loop Review: Better Than a Whoop 5.0?

"Screenless fitness trackers can sometimes feel like they aren't doing the job they set out to do. Sure, there's no constant stream of data to obsess over every time you turn your wrist. But in the absence of that quick peek, I find myself opening a tracker's companion appconstantlyto check on the data it's collected. In the end, I find myself spending more time staring at those charts and figures than if I took a look at the tiny screen on my wrist."

"So when I began testing the Polar Loopa new screen-free wearable health and fitness bandI wasn't all that excited. After all, the new product from Polar (the company that introduced the first wireless heart rate monitor nearly 50 years ago in 1977), almost exactly resembles the Whoop 5.0. In fact, the device, which came out in early September, has been nicknamed the subscription-free competitor to Whoop."

"If you want a true break from all the distracting data some health trackers provide, but still want to track your basic health, the Polar Loop could be an ideal companion. If you anticipate using your device for more than a year, the cost of a Whoop 5.0 really adds up whereas the Loop, literally, does not at all. I spent a few weeks training with the Loop, and in the end,"

Polar Loop is a screen-free wearable band priced at $199 with a free companion app and no subscription. The device focuses on minimizing constant data exposure by avoiding on-wrist displays and limiting pushed metrics, encouraging users to spend less time obsessing over charts. The Loop closely resembles Whoop 5.0 but avoids recurring membership costs that can total more than $199 per year. Weeks of hands-on use emphasized the Loop's appeal: basic health and training tracking without dumping excessive fitness data, promoting a balance between monitoring and living.

Read at gizmodo.com