Polar's newest premium sports watch, the Polar Vantage V2, targeted at multisport athletes, combines advanced training metrics as well as features to support the wearer's recovery. Polar has also added smartwatch functionality to the Vantage V2 so that it can be worn day or night.

The Polar Vantage 2 will be available for pre-order starting today (October 7) for $499.95. It is available in black, green, and gray-lime, and comes in two sizes. It can also be purchased with the Polar H10 heart rate strap for $549.99.

S-part accessory bands will be sold separately in black, gray lime, and green for $9.90 each. Silicone accessory bands in black, gray lime, green, red, rose plum, and white sell for $34.90.

The Polar Vantage V2 looks almost identical to its predecessor, the Polar Vantage V. Both are fully circular smartwatches with two buttons on the left side and three on the right.

The aluminum 1.8-ounce Vantage V2 is slightly heavier than the 1.6-ounce Vantage V, but has the same resolution and display size (1.2 inches, 240 x 240 pixels). It has the same screen as the just-released $499 Garmin Forerunner 745, another sports watch targeted at multisport athletes.

Polar says the Vantage V2 lasts up to 40 hours with GPS (same as the Vantage V) and up to 100 hours with certain power-saving options enabled. This is pretty spectacular and comparable to the Garmin Forerunner 945, which costs $100 more.

The Vantage V2 also adds smartwatch-like features: music control, weather, and smartphone notifications. It is not possible to download songs directly to the Vantage V2.

To determine optimal training, the new running and cycling performance tests take into account an athlete's heart rate, speed, and muscle strength to better adapt their fitness regimen.

Once the workout is complete, a new leg recovery test can determine how much rest the legs need before they are ready for the next round. This is similar to other recovery measurements found on competing sports watches, but not specific to the legs alone.

These new features augment the existing Training Load Pro and Recovery Pro features in the Vantage V to help prevent overtraining that leads to injury.

In addition, Vantage V2 includes Sleep Tracking and Nightly Recharge, which shows how sleep quality affected recovery.

In addition to GPS (and GLONASS, Galileo, and QZSS) and heart rate, the Vantage V2 also has a barometric altitude sensor to measure VO2 Max. It also has BLE, which allows it to connect to other Bluetooth sensors, such as Polar heart rate straps.

The Polar Vantage V2 appears to have some modest upgrades over the original, but its long battery life may be very attractive to endurance athletes who don't want to worry about their sports watch running out.