Verdict
The Polar Loop offers good screen-free tracking from the wrist, let down by a not-so-slick experience when it’s time to look at the companion app.
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Sleek, albeit unoriginal, design -
Week-long battery life -
Doesn’t require a subscription like Whoop
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The app experience needs work -
Automatic training detection can be unreliable -
Doesn’t include Polar’s latest HR sensor technology
Key Features
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Review Price: £149.50 -
Subscription-free
Unlike the Polar Loop’s main competitor, the Whoop 5.0, there’s no monthly subscription here. -
Screen-free design
Unlike most wearables that pack a screen, the Polar Loop is screen-free and more discrete. -
Long battery life
Without a screen to power, the Loop can go a full week without a charge.
Introduction
The Polar Loop is a screen-free band for those who want something like a Whoop but can’t stomach the cost.
Like Whoop, the Loop promises to track stats like daily steps and sleep, and do it in a discreet fashion. The only screen you’ll need to look at to check progress is that of your smartphone.
Checking all your stats doesn’t come at an added cost, making the Polar Loop an appealing, more affordable alternative to the Whoop.
Being cheaper is only a good thing if the Polar Loop can deliver the goods. I’ve been wearing it day and night, during all of my workouts and everything in between to find out if the Loop is a screen-free wearable to get excited about.
Design and fit
- Knitted band and steel case design
- Waterproof up to 30 metres
- No physical buttons
The Loop could easily be mistaken for a Whoop. It features a stainless steel buckle and case that hosts the sensor smarts. Add in a fabric band that holds things together, with a velcro clasp that does a solid job of keeping things all securely in place.
I had the greige colour version, which, along with a gold, matte steel case, does create a very likeable look. There are a host of other band colours to pick up as well, with additional bands costing a not-too-outrageous £15.90 to give yourself some options.
There are no physical buttons, and you can’t tap or interact in any other way with the case to activate any supported features. If you’ve signed up for a Whoop-style experience, then the Loop certainly gives you that.
If you want to keep it on in the shower or for a swim, it does carry a WR30 water resistance rating. That isn’t the strongest available level of protection against moisture, but it does mean it will survive splashes, sweat, rain and a dip in the pool. I also liked that it dries pretty quickly after a dunk.
While the design isn’t the most original, it’s been a very comfortable tracker pretty much all of the time. It’s light at just 29g and measures just 9mm thick, so it’s slimmer than the Whoop too. It’s been very easy to forget it’s there most of the time, and that includes taking it to bed.
Activity and sleep tracking
- Tracks heart rate continuously
- Monitors sleep and daily steps
The focus for the Loop is to do a lot of the things that other screenless trackers promise to do.
It will monitor your daily and nightly activity across a range of metrics. It can monitor heart rate 24/7, track daily step counts, and factor in any exercise time. For sleep, Polar offers some of its latest sleep metrics, including Nightly Recharge. This looks at heart rate variability measurements at night to tell you how well you’ve recovered from a tough, stressful day.
The sensors that can capture that are pretty much staples for most wrist-worn trackers. There’s an accelerometer to track movement and Polar’s Precision Prime optical heart rate sensor to generate the various heart rate-related metrics it can offer. That does mean the Loop misses out on Polar’s latest Elixir sensor technology, which can offer ECG, SpO2 and skin temperature monitoring.
With no screen to look at, you’re reliant on spending time in Polar’s Flow app. The good news is that the app is free to use on both Android and iOS.
Polar’s heritage lies in heart rate, and the heart rate-tracking performance has been good overall. The Loop band design thankfully provides a very reliable fit, which definitely has an impact on getting good, reliable heart rate data in most scenarios.
I’ve used it for runs, gym workouts, indoor bike rides and home Pilates sessions, and heart rate data mostly matched up to an external heart rate monitor. There have been some higher-intensity workouts, however, where it struggled to deliver the reliable average and maximum heart rate readings. It tended to be around 5-6bpm out from an external sensor.
You can view your daily heart rate data in the Flow app as well, but again, I found some maximum readings were noticeably higher than those of other devices I wore alongside the Whoop.
I’m a bit disappointed the Loop also doesn’t include Polar’s latest sensor technology, which would’ve unlocked more data points and insights. I can also appreciate that Polar wanted to keep things simpler, but it means it’s a little behind what other trackers offer.
It’s a little surprising that there isn’t yet the ability to wear this away from the wrist and on the bicep, like you can with a Whoop or the Amazfit Helio Strap, especially for more strenuous workouts where the wrist is a problematic place to generate reliable heart rate data.
Step counts on most days were generally a few hundred lower than those from other watches I wore alongside it, with similar calorie-burn estimates recorded.
As a sleep tracker, I definitely got some useful data from the Loop. It recognised similar times when I’d fallen asleep and woken up as two other sleep trackers, including the Oura Ring 4. Sleep scores and sleep duration recorded looked good as well.
What didn’t look good was the presentation of this data. It’s a bit too complicated in the Polar Flow app right now. During testing, Polar has made some updates to its app, but if you’re a new user looking for a slick, streamlined experience, that’s not what you get here.
Training features, analysis and battery life
- Offers automatic workout recognition
- Training load insights
- Up to 8 days of battery life
As far as training insights are concerned, you’ll be able to see ones like training benefits after each workout and a record of your training load, depending on the type of exercise tracked. The way these insights are presented, again, isn’t the most beginner-friendly.
This is a recurring theme with the Flow app.
Polar offers an automatic training recognition mode, which means you can leave the Loop to work out when you’ve started to exercise. From the settings in the Polar Flow app, you can adjust the level of training intensity to kick that auto tracking into gear. That goes from low sensitivity up to high.
I started with it set to low, and it literally picked up every piece of activity I did throughout the day as exercise. It didn’t take long to adjust it to the lowest sensitivity. Even when I’d made the switch, the band tended to pick up activities I would not deem as training. Like a short walk to the shops or just around my flat, for example.
Battery life does seem to live up to its billing. Polar says you can get up to 8 days of battery life, and that’s what I’ve seen in my time. That’s still short of how far the Whoop can last on a single charge, but you can comfortably get a week’s use out of it before it needs charging.
It’s a proprietary charging setup here, and is at least the same charger supplied with other new Polar watches.
Should you buy it?
You want a stylish-looking, screen-free fitness band
The Polar Loop looks great and feels great to wear, making it comfortable day and night.
You want a great subscription-free Whoop rival
It might look like a Whoop, but the Loop simply doesn’t match up to the most popular screen-less fitness band.
Final Thoughts
I had high hopes for the Polar Loop, especially as the Whoop continues to become an even greater financial commitment to own.
Sadly, the Polar Loop falls short in some key areas that’d make it a worthy alternative. It’s got the look nailed; it just needs to give it the software to match to be mentioned in the same breath as the Whoop.
How We Test
We thoroughly test every wearable we review. We use industry-standard testing to accurately compare features, and we use the wearable as our primary device throughout the review period. We’ll always tell you what we find, and we never, ever, accept money to review a product.
- Worn as our main tracker during the testing period
- Heart rate data compared against other wearable devices
FAQs
No, the Polar Loop does not require a subscription to use. It works with the free Polar Flow app.
Yes, you can sync the Polar Loop with Strava to share workout data. You need to link to Strava through the Polar Flow app.
Full Specs
| Polar Loop Review | |
|---|---|
| UK RRP | £149.50 |
| USA RRP | $199.99 |
| Manufacturer | Polar |
| Screen Size | 0 inches |
| IP rating | IP68 |
| Waterproof | 20ATM |
| Battery | 170 mAh |
| Size (Dimensions) | 27 x 9 x 42 MM |
| Weight | 29 G |
| Release Date | 2025 |
| First Reviewed Date | 26/12/2025 |
| Colours | Night Black, Greige Sand, and Brown Copper |
