I'm not sure my opinion is all that helpful because I have and use both very regularly
But for what it's worth ... I've had various Polars for a few years, and the GoWearFit for about a year.
The Polar HRM is most helpful to me in these situations:
* when I am doing something that the GoWearFit misreads (like horseback riding and used to be stationary bikes).
* when I am doing interval training, such as CardioCoach, and want a number for my actual heart rate right away. The GoWearFit does not update effort levels immediately so it is not as useful for intervals
* when I want to track and record a specific set of exercises over time. I like the Polar software for reading from the advanced Polar HRMs for this; it makes it very easy to track a given workout over time, and to see where in the workout I am making high/low effort.
The GoWearFit is most helpful to me in these situations:
* when I don't want to bother with taking it on/off, for instance, on a long walk or for a day of gardening
* when I don't want to worry about the band (again, as with gardening when wrist unit might be damaged)
* when I want to know my average movement over a series of days
* for strength training (the band can interfere with some movements, I've found)
* for helping me assess my sleep quality
* for understanding my metabolism - how much am I really moving through the day.
I'd say that the GoWearFit has been one of the best tools I've had for understanding how much effort different activities take, and it gave me many ah-hah moments regarding how much I really ought to be eating (both upwards and downwards) on a given day or week, especially when circumstances are changing. The Polar has been excellent for specific fitness/athletic assessment. So, if I were choosing one device purely for weight loss/weight maintenance, and if my activities were typical whole body movements, I'd use the GoWearFit. If I were choosing for athletic improvements or mainly had biking or the like, I'd go with the Polar.
I've got the display and also a subscription; both are useful to me. I don't believe you need the subscription to use the display - you shouldn't ... The online information is more detailed and I've found that it's a little different; I think that's because they are upgrading the online version to improve accuracy but of course can't for the display band, which does not have an upgrade option. You might see if there is a deal for three months or so to get a free subscription and try it out.
