Polar A300 Activity Tracker and Monitor

asia1967

Any one purchase the new Polar tracker/monitor? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

kbunn06

I have one! It is fantastic. I've had an FT4 for the last 3 years that I loved. After having a baby a few months ago, my husband and I decided that I should stay home from work so I knew I would need some motivation to move. The A300 came out just in time. I tracks activity all day long. If you're sitting for too long, it buzzes and tells you "It's time to move." If you wear it while you sleep, it will track your sleep and let you know how many hours you slept total, as well as how many hours were restful sleep. It has really helped me see just how little activity I have been doing during the day, and how terribly I sleep at night. I honestly thought I moved way more than I do. Plus it gives you an activity goal so that's very motivational.

When you workout with the chest strap it will track your heart rate and calorie burn accurately as well. I was so used to that from the FT4 that i had to have something else that did that. Polar has the most accurate calorie burn information because of the chest strap heart rate monitor.

So basically, I HIGHLY recommend as it is a very motivational watch.

IngridGurule91

I love my polar a300! Way better than fitbit and much more accurate with the chest strap than the sensor on my wrist!

CricketClover

I always feel weird awakening a "dead" post, but do you have to charge the A300 every few days like the Polar Loop? I have a Loop and it is sitting in my bag dead because I was 1) getting tired of it draining my phone battery by constantly trying to sync and 2) having to remember to charge it every 4-6 days.

Butterf1y_Effect

I love my Polar M400 (similar to A300, but has GPS). The accuracy is great and I find I only need to charge it every 2-3 weeks...and it takes only a few minutes to fully charge.

duffylynnreb

only thing that bothers me sometimes is sometimes when I'm standing it says I'm sittingand every once in awhile when I'm walking it says I'm sitting

Cronniss

Yes, you do have to charge it. I just got mine Friday (it's Tuesday now) and it came fully charged, and I have not yet had to charge it. The pamphlet that comes with it says that it's charge lasts "up to 26 days with 24/7 activity tracking and 1h/day training." So you'll get almost a month's worth of use out of it before you have to charge it.

And even better, it has a battery meter displayed on the face.



The batter meter only shows for a short time. When you change the screen and go back to the Time/Activity screen (which is the main screen) it reappears.

If you have an alarm set, then a clock symbol will show in the corner all the time. The battery meter will still show when changing screens back to the main screen, however.



These pics may make it look large, but it's really no bigger than a man's watch. Here's a pic of me wearing it. (My nephew took it, so it's not the best. That and I've lost so much weight that my clothes hang off of me...lol. I still need to buy clothes, but I'm still losing weight...so that has to wait.)

(Quote from "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams.)

CricketClover

Thanks for the responses. I already have the H7 chest strap, so this might be the way to go.

Cronnis, a special thank you for the time you put in with the pictures. I like that it has the battery meter and also that it stays charged for so long. Congrats on your progress!

Cronniss

Anytime. So far I love the A300.

The M400 is the step up to the A300, and the only real reason I didn't get it is that I don't need the GPS that comes with it - as I don't run and I'm not going to be cycling, which is what the M400 is made for. What's funny, though, is the A300 came out after the M400. And while the M400 can be used for swimming, the A300 is more suited for it...which is what I will be doing once I start back up with college.

Otherwise, the two are essentially the same. (Except that the M400 comes in two colors, while the A300 can be removed from its strap and put into a new, different colored strap; of which they have 6 colors: Black, White, Grey, Blue, Pink, and Yellow.)

Then there's the V800, which is their top of the line product. It's advertised as a "sports watch for triathletes."

CricketClover

Cronniss wrote: »

Anytime. So far I love the A300.

The M400 is the step up to the A300, and the only real reason I didn't get it is that I don't need the GPS that comes with it - as I don't run and I'm not going to be cycling, which is what the M400 is made for. What's funny, though, is the A300 came out after the M400. And while the M400 can be used for swimming, the A300 is more suited for it...which is what I will be doing once I start back up with college.

Otherwise, the two are essentially the same. (Except that the M400 comes in two colors, while the A300 can be removed from its strap and put into a new, different colored strap; of which they have 6 colors: Black, White, Grey, Blue, Pink, and Yellow.)

Then there's the V800, which is their top of the line product. It's advertised as a "sports watch for triathletes."

So, I went ahead and got the A300. It arrived in the mail on Tuesday and so far I love it. It is taking some getting used to but a lot of the buttons are the same as for the Polar F4 that I had. Its bulk on my tiny (my wrist have remained tiny through gaining weight) will also take some getting used to. Also, it randomly chirps throughout the day and when I look at the screen the battery bar is there when it isn't normally unless I push a button. Is this normal?

ScubaSteve1962

I have a V800, I can go about a month between charges, I use the HRM 5 to 7 days a week, and just added a stride sensor. I used a loop, and ft80 before this one. I usually charge it when I'm in the shower.

The chirping sound is more than likely the inactivity alert, you can turn that off in general setting.

CricketClover

I have inactivity alert turned on and it is generally a more pronounced chirp and a vibrate plus the screen says to move it. This is just a little chirp randomly, sometimes it can do it a couple times a minute and then not do it for a few hours.

ScubaSteve1962

The other thing may be your arm inadvertently hitting the buttons, mine will chirp when it changes screen after timing out, if you don't change it back to the home screen. It chips the same way, but it's usually about once every 2 or 3 days

Cronniss

ScubaSteve1962 wrote: »

The other thing may be your arm inadvertently hitting the buttons, mine will chirp when it changes screen after timing out, if you don't change it back to the home screen. It chips the same way, but it's usually about once every 2 or 3 days

This is what I would have to say is happening. The only time mine has done that is when I have mine pressed up against something so that the buttons are being depressed. Basically it's telling you that it's confused on what it wants you to do. And if the battery meter is showing, then it had just returned to the "main" (or time) screen.

CricketClover

I thought that was the problem but I can't replicate it. If I bend my hand back towards it as far as it will go it is still no where close to hitting the buttons. I think maybe a button got a little stuck or something. Who knows. It hasn't don't it today yet.

CricketClover

Ok, I figured out the chirp. You were right-ish. I had left it on the screen with the activity % and status bar and eventually it went back to the main screen and chirped when it did it. So it wasn't my arm pushing the buttons accidentally but me leaving it on a different screen accidentally.