Polar Loop ZDNET's key takeaways The Polar Loop is available in three colors for $199.99 Extra wristbands are priced at $29.99 each, with an exclusive Ocean Blue color on Polar.com The band is very comfortable, the heart rate readings are accurate, and the sleep tracking is useful The app doesn't align well with this type of wearable, there is no alarm, and automatic tracking may be a bit delayed. View now at Polar Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. It seems that in the world of 24/7 activity tracking, what's old is new again, as we see a resurgence in the availability of fitness bands that have no display and offer a distraction-free approach to measuring key health and wellness metrics. Polar has long set the standard for optical heart rate monitoring, and it brings its latest heart rate technology to a simple tracker with the new Polar Loop. Also: Forget Whoop: I found a worthy fitness tracker alternative with none of the subscription fees Smart rings have dominated the distraction-free fitness sector for the past couple of years, and now we have major fitness brands offering alternatives to the Whoop band but without subscription fees. Amazfit's recent Helio Strap is very popular, and Garmin has a new band focused on measuring your sleep in a more comfortable form factor than a smartwatch. Works with Polar watch Like the Amazfit Helio Strap, the Polar Loop works in conjunction with your Polar smartwatch, so if you have focused activities where you want to capture your location via GPS, measure details such as laps, or connect to other sensors such as bike cadence sensors, you can use your Polar watch for advanced activity tracking. I've been running, walking, working in the yard, sleeping, working, and more with the Polar Loop for a couple of weeks. September was a crazy month for me with many family matters to deal with, so it was a breath of fresh air to wear the Polar Loop and focus on life instead of my wrist. Also: Watch out, Whoop: Polar joins the fitness band race with a premium option A small module measuring 27mm by 42mm by 9mm thick connects to a very comfortable fabric band with a total weight of just 29 grams. Polar includes both a small and a medium/large band in the box with the Loop charger. The Polar Loop has a Bluetooth radio to connect to your smartphone and has been lasting me a week between charges. Matthew Miller/ZDNET Matches other watches closely The Polar Loop relies on the Generation 3.5 optical heart rate sensor and accelerometer to collect key metrics while you wear it. Unfortunately, that's one generation older than the sensor we see on the latest Polar watches. The metrics captured by the Polar Loop include your heart rate, step count, sleep details, Training Load Pro, and inactivity. There is no GPS in the Polar Loop, but if you start a training session on your phone and carry your phone while you complete an outside activity, then the GPS location tracking will sync with the data collected by the Polar Loop after you complete your activity. Also: Finally, I found an OLED sports watch that looks good and won't break the bank Given that I wanted to let the Polar Loop track my life with minimal interference by me, I let the Loop detect my activities automatically and track the metrics without ever manually starting or stopping the session on the Loop or my phone. Most of the time, the Polar Loop showed my activity as Other Indoor or Other Outdoor. I was able to easily switch these to running, indoor rowing, walking, and other more accurate activity descriptions. Matthew Miller/ZDNET The Polar Loop results matched other smartwatches very closely when it comes to heart rate and calories burned. The times were a bit off from actuals, with activities like indoor rowing appearing shorter than actual since the Loop didn't pick up when I started rowing slowly during the warm-up phase, and the time spent running appearing longer because I typically walk for a bit after a run to cool down and get back home. Also: I tested the 4 most popular health trackers for a year - and they're on sale for Prime Day I also spent several days working hard at my mother-in-law's house to perform yard work, move furniture, and stay active, so many of these periods of activity with my heart rate over 100 bpm were captured automatically by the Polar Loop as Other Indoor activities. I had to turn off my automatic Strava sync since this was blowing up my Strava account, but it was good to capture activities like this that were not specific fitness workouts and still contributed to my health and wellness. Matthew Miller/ZDNET Refreshing Polar has an excellent series of articles in the Polar Journal focused on the new Polar Loop, and I highly recommend reading them. I particularly related to the Running by Feel article that brought me back to my teenage years of running when I would just go out and run without any kind of watch or device to track my performance. This was also back in the early 80s when there were not many options, and it was still thrilling to get out and run. When I wasn't testing the Loop against other devices, it was refreshing to just go for a run with the Loop and my running shoes. I didn't wear headphones and listen to music, which I find motivating, and instead enjoyed the beauty of the world around me and listened to my body to guide me with my running pace. Also: The best sports watches of 2025: Expert tested and reviewed Smart rings function similarly to the Polar Loop, and one element of the rings that I find useful is the assessment of key health metrics that have indicated when I'm starting to get sick. The Polar Loop provides good indications when it comes to sleep status and training load, but I'm not seeing much in the way of guidance when it comes to overall wellness, so I don't think it's quite ready to fully replace a smart ring. The Polar Flow application and website are heavily focused on training guidance, and the Loop is more about health and wellness, but I understand there are major updates in the works for the app, so that should be a welcome update for Loop owners. Matthew Miller/ZDNET There is no alarm feature on the Polar Loop, so while you can accurately track your sleep with it, you will need some other device to serve as your alarm. There is also no skin temperature sensor, so some health metrics are not available that are found in the Amazfit Helio Strap and smartwatches. ZDNET's buying advice The Polar Loop is a wearable that provides optimal sleep tracking with a subtle, comfortable wristband and captures key metrics automatically when you work out. The heart rate sensor performance is accurate, and the band lasts a week between charges. It is fairly affordable at $200, and there is no subscription required to enjoy all of the tracking features of the Polar Loop. Looking for the next best product? Get expert reviews and editor favorites with ZDNET Recommends.