On the lookout for a GPS watch with a more budget-friendly price tag? Find out how the Polar Pacer Pro performed on test. <\/p>

Our review: <\/strong>Does a lot of the basics well, but doesn\u2019t quite match up to many of its competitors<\/p>

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Jump to product specifications <\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>
If you\u2019re after a watch with GPS tracking, multisport functionality and a host of training features, there aren\u2019t many options cheaper than this.<\/p>
As such, the Polar Pacer Pro is competing with Garmin\u2019s Forerunner 255 (\u00a3299.99), the same brand\u2019s Instinct 2 (\u00a3249.99) and either the Coros Pace 2 (\u00a3179.99) or the brand-new Pace 3 (\u00a3219).<\/p>
So does it live up to the competition? Let\u2019s find out\u2026<\/p>
With a current retail price of \u00a3289, you could say the Polar Pacer Pro sits at the budget end of the scale <\/figcaption><\/figure>
What\u2019s the design like?<\/h3>
Visually, the Pacer Pro looks more \u2018sports watch\u2019 than it does \u2018rugged outdoors watch\u2019. That\u2019s most likely down to the lack of a chunky case and its rounded edges.<\/p>
In this sense, I find it a little dull to look at, and it doesn\u2019t quite have the same gravitas as some of the other best GPS watches for hiking.<\/p>
The case material is plastic, the bezel is aerospace aluminium and the display uses Gorilla Glass, so it should stand up well to the rigours of an adventurous life.<\/p>
That being said, the bezel isn\u2019t the largest and is already slightly marked on our test unit.<\/p>
Meanwhile, the strap fits securely enough and you also get two strap lengths included in the box, which is a nice touch.<\/p>
How easy is it to use?<\/h3>
There\u2019s no touchscreen here, which means you\u2019ll be relying on the five buttons to operate the Pacer Pro.<\/p>
That\u2019s not an issue for me, as I prefer using buttons, but this is a personal preference.<\/p>
The buttons themselves depress well and there\u2019s dedicated ones for select, up, down, back and the backlight.<\/p>
Once you\u2019re used to it, it\u2019s pretty easy to find your way around.<\/p>
That said, I wasn\u2019t a huge fan of the layout of the different glances on the home screen, as the different data is displayed around the time, which isn\u2019t all that easy to digest.<\/p>
How does the display perform?<\/h3>
It\u2019s okay, but not as good as some of the other GPS watches we\u2019ve tested.<\/p>
It felt necessary to crank the backlight up to its highest setting permanently, but even this wasn\u2019t as bright, vibrant or as clear as I\u2019ve seen from Garmin and Suunto.<\/p>
There\u2019s also a large bezel around the display, resulting in a lot of wasted space. A display size of 30.5mm is also on the smaller end of the scale.<\/p>
How good is the navigation?<\/h3>
The Polar Pace Pro has breadcrumb-style navigation, meaning you can load up a route and follow it as a solid line on a blank background.<\/p>
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The Polar Pacer Pro is available in a host of colours including gold dust (shown above), plum and teal <\/figcaption><\/figure>
That\u2019s fine for most people, especially if you\u2019re using an OS map alongside your watch (which you should be!), but it is sometimes nice to have extra detail.<\/p>
As it is, the route stands out well against the background while a pointer marks your location.<\/p>
It\u2019s worth noting that the watch doesn\u2019t lay down a track as you walk and there\u2019s no back-track function to guide you back along the way you came.<\/p>
There is a back to start function, but this comes in the form of an arrow pointing back to where you started as the crow flies, so it won\u2019t take any cliffs or lakes into account, for example.<\/p>
You can add a GPX route to the watch via the web software, but that won\u2019t have any turn-by-turn directions, which you\u2019ll only get if you import a route from Komoot.<\/p>
Of course, you can create a route in Komoot, or you can find pre-made ones, which is useful considering you can\u2019t create a route in the Polar Flow app itself.<\/p>
The Pacer Pro also has a barometer and compass.<\/p>
What training and performance features does it have?<\/h3>
Well for a start, there\u2019s well over 100 sport profiles for you to choose from, though you can only have 20 loaded up to the watch at once. You can pick your priorities in the Polar Flow app.<\/p>
Data screens are customisable for each sport profile, allowing you to tailor the information you want to see.<\/p>
This includes everything from heart rate data (which largely proved accurate, though a chest-based monitor is more so), pace, distance, elevation gain, running power and so on.<\/p>
The Pacer Pro also has a gamut of fitness tests to help you work out how fit you are, including a walking test, running test and cycling test, though it\u2019s worth taking those with a pinch of salt.<\/p>
Another useful tool is the Hill Splitter feature, which automatically detects how many uphills and downhills you tackle.<\/p>
It\u2019ll give you performance info and tell you how many uphills you\u2019ve taken on, which is great if you\u2019re doing hill training.<\/p>
And then there\u2019s Training Load Pro, which helps you establish if you\u2019re overtraining, undertraining or being productive with your exercise.<\/p>
What other features are there?<\/h3>
As is standard these days, you also get smartphone notifications, sleep tracking, music controls (but no onboard music storage), fuelling reminders (to make sure you\u2019re eating enough to power your exercise) and weather.<\/p>
How good is the battery life?<\/h3>
Polar says when the Pacer Pro is in watch mode you should get up to 144 hours of battery life, which equates to six days, while it offers up to 35 hours in training mode with GPS tracking.<\/p>
That\u2019s not bad for GPS tracking at this price point, but the six days in watch mode isn\u2019t the greatest, and the day-to-day battery drain was noticeably quicker than many of the other watches I tested for this group test.<\/p>
You should get a weekend of walking out of it, though.<\/p>
Buy if\u2026<\/h3>
You\u2019re on a budget, value training functionality and are happy with fairly basic navigation functionality.<\/p>
However, this isn\u2019t for you if you\u2019re hoping you won\u2019t need to charge it very often or you want a highly impressive screen.<\/p>
Facts at a glance: Polar Pacer Pro GPS Watch<\/h4>
Price:<\/strong> \u00a3289Size:<\/strong> 45mm x 45mmThickness: <\/strong>11.5mmWeight:<\/strong> 41gDisplay type:<\/strong> MIPDisplay size: <\/strong>1.2in (30.5mm)Battery life: <\/strong>144 hours in watch mode, 25 hours in training mode (with GPS)Barometer:<\/strong> Yes<\/p>
Ready to buy?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>
For more models and expert reviews, check out our full roundup of the best GPS watches<\/a>. <\/em><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n
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How good is the navigation?<\/h3>The Polar Pace Pro has breadcrumb-style navigation, meaning you can load up a route and follow it as a solid line on a blank background.<\/p>

What other features are there?<\/h3>As is standard these days, you also get smartphone notifications, sleep tracking, music controls (but no onboard music storage), fuelling reminders (to make sure you\u2019re eating enough to power your exercise) and weather.<\/p>

Buy if\u2026<\/h3>You\u2019re on a budget, value training functionality and are happy with fairly basic navigation functionality.<\/p>However, this isn\u2019t for you if you\u2019re hoping you won\u2019t need to charge it very often or you want a highly impressive screen.<\/p>

What other features are there?<\/h3>
As is standard these days, you also get smartphone notifications, sleep tracking, music controls (but no onboard music storage), fuelling reminders (to make sure you\u2019re eating enough to power your exercise) and weather.<\/p>

Buy if\u2026<\/h3>
You\u2019re on a budget, value training functionality and are happy with fairly basic navigation functionality.<\/p>
However, this isn\u2019t for you if you\u2019re hoping you won\u2019t need to charge it very often or you want a highly impressive screen.<\/p>