Polar for windsurfing and wingfoiling: Flow first, water second
Polar does one thing differently from Garmin, COROS and Suunto: the sports do not live on the watch, they live in your account. What you find in the start menu at the spot is what you picked earlier in Polar Flow and synced across. If you do not know that, you will hunt for windsurfing at the water and not find it — even though Polar offers the profile.
Once it is set up, Polar is unobtrusive: record, sync, done. The analysis for windsurfing, wingfoiling and pump foiling then runs in WindSportTracker.
Adding a sport profile in Polar Flow
In the Flow app: open sport profiles, tap the plus at the top right, choose a sport. In the web service: click your name, choose sport profiles, then add sport profile.
Then sync the watch with Flow — only with that step does the profile appear in the start menu.
Two details that get in the way in practice:
- A maximum of 20 profiles fit on the watch. If you have more in the app, the first 20 are transferred. Anyone who has already collected running, cycling, gym and swimming should tidy up before the season, or windsurfing stays behind.
- The sport list belongs to Polar. You cannot invent sports, because every profile carries Polar’s calorie and training logic. You pick from what exists.
Which Polar profiles work for wind and water sports
Polar offers windsurfing, kitesurfing, surfing, SUP, sailing and a general water sports profile, among others. For wingfoiling, parawing and pump foiling there is no dedicated profile — take windsurfing or water sports and set the real sport afterwards in WindSportTracker. Only that setting decides whether the session is analysed for planing share or for flight time.
Feel free to add two profiles if you ride two disciplines. It helps with the activity filter and you recognise the sessions faster in Flow.
Recording at the spot
Inside the sport profile you assemble the training views and define how the watch records. Two points matter:
- record every second
- no auto-pause, no manual pause
Both are set per profile — so check them on the profile you actually start, not on the running profile. A jibe lasts two to four seconds; if points are missing inside it, the manoeuvre is missing afterwards.
Connecting: Flow stays training, the water analysis comes on top
On the Profile page in WindSportTracker you connect your Polar account and set the activity filter to the profiles that should arrive. The filter is a positive list: runs and rides stay in Flow.
Auto-sync is part of the subscription — there is no surcharge for the account connection and no separate import package. New sessions arrive automatically; older ones are not backfilled, so export those as FIT or GPX and import them in the app or at app.windsporttracker.com.
What Flow shows afterwards stays training logic: load, recovery, heart rate zones. That is Polar’s strength and it remains intact. What Flow does not show is jibes with a success rate, planing and flight phases, individual speed runs on map and chart, and the comparison between two sails or two foils. That is what the extra pass through WindSportTracker is for.
Heart rate comes along: heart rate data from the Polar activity is carried over and sits next to the water sports metrics.
Models
Grit X2 / Grit X2 Pro are the outdoor range with the longest GPS reserve — a full day at the spot is the intended use. Vantage V3 covers multisport, Vantage M3 is the more compact option, Pacer Pro the light one with a shorter reserve. Older Grit and Vantage models work as well, as long as the activity arrives as a file or through the account.
Frequently asked questions
I cannot find windsurfing in the watch’s start menu. Then the profile has not been added in Flow yet, or not synced. Do both in the Flow app, then sync once.
I have 25 sport profiles in Flow — why is one missing on the watch? Because only 20 are transferred. Move the unimportant ones down the list or remove them, and windsurfing fits again.
Can I create a custom profile for wingfoiling? Not a custom sport — the list comes from Polar. Use windsurfing or water sports and select wingfoiling in WindSportTracker.
Do load and recovery stay intact in Flow? Yes. WindSportTracker copies the activity, Polar’s training analysis is unchanged.
Does heart rate make it into the analysis? Yes, as long as it is part of the Polar activity.
27 days fully featured, then €2.70 a month or €27 a year when paying through the web app; store prices may differ.