Polar loop - reviews? To buy or not ?

fyoung1111

Goal calculation is a mystery. The good news is that everything counts towards goal. The Loop really is an activity tracker not just a step tracker. 17K steps sound way to high. being overweight should not be a factor. Same for your short stature (cute).

I'd use the HRM with your loop. Don't bother for walking or running but for your weight-lifting, wear it. Sorry but your HRM won't work in the pool and swimming with the Loop runs down the battery incredibly fast.

You should start the Loop group yourself. It's a good way to accelerate your education about your tracker.

Rlnieman

Thanks. I agree that number sounds high but I don't know how to change it.

I'll probably stay a group when I get home.

Also, I thought you could use the heart rate monitor in the pool. It says you can with something that transmits 5khz, what ever that is. Is there a way too find out if the loop or polar beat app could pick that up?

fyoung1111

I'm not sure what HRM you have on order but it probably does not matter. Your Loop and your phone are only capable of receiving BLE (AKA Bluetooth Low Energy, Bluetooth Smart, and Bluetooth 4.0) transmissions and those only travel an inch or two under water.

The 5.2khz GymLink transmission that the Polar H7 puts out along with BLE is meant for Gym equipment and cannot be used by your phone or your Loop.

As for your Goal question, I went back and looked at the very few days over the last couple of months were I ended up very close to 100%. This is what I found:

DATE

---

% of Goal

---

Steps

---

Active

---

Kcal
4-8

---

104

---

8,026

---

3:12

---

2,274
4-17

---

100

---

11,316

---

4:28

---

2,375
4-29

---

102

---

10,134

---

7:04

---

2,407
5-7

---

102

---

16,075

---

4:40

---

2,602
5-19

---

100

---

3,211

---

2:21

---

2,296

The last two are pretty puzzling. On May 19, I did strap on the HRM and do easy intervals for 50 minutes. Looks like I did very little else that day. On all of these other 100% days I did no HRM "Training".

I'll do a more extensive analysis another day.

Rlnieman

I don't know, maybe I'll try and emaill Polar and ask them too. Like right now I just left the gym and I'm at 4139 steps, granted today was weight training, but I'm onky at 19% to goal. Thanks for checking yours.

I have the H7 on order, hopefully it gets here tomorrow. That sucks that it won't work for swimming laps, but I guess I shouldn't get too bent out of shape about it, I don't do it often enough for that to be a problem.

heybales

Thanks. I agree that number sounds high but I don't know how to change it.

I'll probably stay a group when I get home.

Also, I thought you could use the heart rate monitor in the pool. It says you can with something that transmits 5khz, what ever that is. Is there a way too find out if the loop or polar beat app could pick that up?

What you do in the pool is wear all the stuff, and every 5 laps stop, get chest out of water with loop and let it read the HR.
Then you'll see what the avgHR was when you look at the stats after upload.
Then find similar workout with that avgHR, and now you can figure out how much the swimming burned.

Rlnieman

That's a good idea, thanks. I'll try that next time.

Rlnieman

Well I guess I can confirm that wearing a HR monitor while working out changes your step goal. (Thank goodness)
I've had my loop since Wednesday night, so far mine looks like this:

5/29: 105% goal, 17433 steps, 6:24 active, and 2362 calories (no HR monitor)
5/30: 63% goal, 11355 steps, 5:35 active, and 2181 calories (no monitor)
5/31: 51% goal, 10783 steps, 4:33 active, and 2112 calories (no monitor)
6/1: 105% goal, 13546 steps, 5:46 active, and 2311 calories (30 minute work out to test monitor)
And today, I'm already at 101%, 7185 steps, 3:21 active, and 1369 calories (Weight training with monitor)

I'm really hoping I stay motivated, this thing is a great reminder to me because I like to look at the numbers.

PS: In case I missed anyone I started a group called Polar Loop Activity Tracker Users. Please feel free to join and share!

vinnyvej

Did you try out the LG product? I'm struggling to find a replacement product for the Force I had to return because of skin irritation. I recently purchased the Loop but will return it because it doesn't sync correctly to my S4. I have to press the button on the Loop to sync all the time. And the alarm notifications are on the phone, so pressing the Loop button is counterproductive. Seems like the functionality on the LG product are superior to the Loop and the integration with MFP is a plus. I'm concerned about the battery life, but I suspect I'll have to charge it frequently if I want the Bluetooth functionality.

VegasFit

I am finding recently in the last couple weeks that my Loop will not stop recording activity after my exercise session has ended. I've tried everything. Taking the chest strap off and unhooking the HRM from the strap, taking my wrist unit off. And still it is reading a heart rate so even though my workout might be 90 minutes it's still calculating as I'm driving on my way home and sometimes even when I am in the house and have left the strap in the car and the wrist portion is in my purse.

Anyone else having this problem?

jasonheyd

I'm struggling to find a replacement product for the Force I had to return because of skin irritation.

You might want to hang on for a bit longer... Fitbit's supposedly readying a Force replacement. Or pick up a Flex if you're not looking for integrated HRM.

cmbauer99

I am finding recently in the last couple weeks that my Loop will not stop recording activity after my exercise session has ended. I've tried everything. Taking the chest strap off and unhooking the HRM from the strap, taking my wrist unit off. And still it is reading a heart rate so even though my workout might be 90 minutes it's still calculating as I'm driving on my way home and sometimes even when I am in the house and have left the strap in the car and the wrist portion is in my purse.

Anyone else having this problem?

I had this problem a couple times. I would have to put the Loop in Airplane mode and wiped off the leads on the HRM. This happened a few times on v 1.15 but has not happened on the newest release.

I use the loop EVERYDAY paired with an H7 Bluetooth HRM. I use the Loop and Monitor for HIIT cardio like t25 and p90x. And then use the HRM and the Polar Beat app on my phone for when I do running every morning.

What is great is the Beat App and the Flow app now sync so I can see my cardio and my runs on my Flow app.

LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have used all trackers including the new LG one. The LG one was pretty awesome, but no way to track HIIT! That is a major downfall for me so I returned it

VegasFit

I am finding recently in the last couple weeks that my Loop will not stop recording activity after my exercise session has ended. I've tried everything. Taking the chest strap off and unhooking the HRM from the strap, taking my wrist unit off. And still it is reading a heart rate so even though my workout might be 90 minutes it's still calculating as I'm driving on my way home and sometimes even when I am in the house and have left the strap in the car and the wrist portion is in my purse.

Anyone else having this problem?

I had this problem a couple times. I would have to put the Loop in Airplane mode and wiped off the leads on the HRM. This happened a few times on v 1.15 but has not happened on the newest release.

I use the loop EVERYDAY paired with an H7 Bluetooth HRM. I use the Loop and Monitor for HIIT cardio like t25 and p90x. And then use the HRM and the Polar Beat app on my phone for when I do running every morning.

What is great is the Beat App and the Flow app now sync so I can see my cardio and my runs on my Flow app.

LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have used all trackers including the new LG one. The LG one was pretty awesome, but no way to track HIIT! That is a major downfall for me so I returned it

Thanks! I use it every day too. I will try the wipe down method afterwards too. I don't have the Beat app, just the flow. Yesterday after cardio I disconnected everything and took off the wrist unit and it recorded the 45 minutes that I wanted. I will have to see if I have the newest update. Sine I can sync my activity with my phone now I never connect the unit to my computer anymore.

eimerin

I think the goal for the day is based on the activity level you reported when you first set up the Loop. Mine is set at "Mostly sitting" (based on work patterns), and I reach my daily goal pretty easily (usually at less than 10K steps).



PS - I'm new to posting. This was in response to part of the discussion from a few days ago:
"I've had my loop since Wednesday night, so far mine looks like this:

5/29: 105% goal, 17433 steps, 6:24 active, and 2362 calories (no HR monitor)
5/30: 63% goal, 11355 steps, 5:35 active, and 2181 calories (no monitor)
5/31: 51% goal, 10783 steps, 4:33 active, and 2112 calories (no monitor)
6/1: 105% goal, 13546 steps, 5:46 active, and 2311 calories (30 minute work out to test monitor)
And today, I'm already at 101%, 7185 steps, 3:21 active, and 1369 calories (Weight training with monitor)"

ActSingMom

I did. After trying FitBit Force and then Flex. Force was starting to malfunction after 3 months, Flex after just 1 month I LOVE the FitBit app and especiall how it integrates with MFP. I just wish the darn thing worked better! So I bought the Loop. I have the heart monitor and figured, "Great-they'll all work together."
The app, Polar Flow, is nowhere near what the FitBit app is. It's difficult to navigate and very hard to get to sync from phone to device. I like the clasp better than the FitBit.
The first morning when I woke up and looked at it, it read out "Sweet Dreams." You don't tell it when you go to sleep - it just knows. After my Bootcamp class today, it said I had reached my fitness goal for the day. That was a plus! What it lacks, as far as I'm able to figure out is
1. a food logging place on the website
2. a food database
3. floors climbed

What it has is
1. Calories burned
2. time
3. Activity level for the day
5. Steps

Juan_K1ng

I have used the loop for about 5 weeks totally successfully and can not rate it higher the H7 HRM works flawlessly with it giving me the daily activity goal much quicker, it measures steps even when i'm cycling or swimming, which is why i got rid of the pointless pulse 02, withings make some great intuitive kit but the pulse is so limited in not being waterproof, I have a Galaxy Note3 and at first the App was not available but after an email it appeared in the store and now works great, I would suggest getting rid of the blinkered hand holding Iphone and get a decent Android phone as apple will never tell me how a phone should work or what it can do, the only thing I'd like to see is integration of Polar loop data into MFP then my regime would be easier

tess2303mfp

Hi, I was just wondering how accurate the calorie reader is on the loop and how to compare it to my calorie intake? so for example if my loop says I have burnt 2000 calories, but I have eaten 2500 calories - is my intake for that day 500? On the other hand though, if it says I have burnt 2000 but I only eat 1500, am I on -500 calories for that day? I normally use map my run for calorie burning and record what I eat to compare it to but the loop including my metabolic rate is throwing me off!!

thanks!!

SinCityFit

I could not get it to consistently connect to my HR monitor, it would drop on and off, and finally gave up and returned it. The Vivofit will be here Saturday.

Rubencarrington

Hi all, I have just got to polar loop and after a few weeks of wear I found that my wrist started hurting pains in my wrist, I changed the loop over to the other wrist and the same have now slowly started to happen again, I must stress that the loop is in no way tight on my wrist, I have spoken to polar loop and they inform me that they have not had any problems reported as of yet, and that they could not do anything before they got told otherwise, so if any of you out there have the same problem as me please call polar loop on +44 (0)1926 310 330, also on of my friends got the same product and he have the same problem as me.
Thank you.
Ruben carrington

silvertr

Hi I got my polar 2th of june.. I wear it everyday and use the HR7 monitor while in the gym. I find it absolutely useful to track all day long activity.. This device was what I was waiting for. Before it, I was using nike fuel band and my polar FT4.
I totally recommend it!

davehudsn

I would not buy the Polar Loop. my wife bought it and while she loves the device, the website and support are horrific to say the least. It has a daily "GOAL" that is an absolute mystery. There is no way to 'set' the goal or even see what it really is.

The manual that comes with it is sparse and constantly refers to "see/use the flow web site /service" and the website/service is so flimsy and weak it is not even funny. A few nice charts and graphs, but no real way to do anything.

I have used Garmin for years and their Garmin Connect website is superb. I can set goals, tweak what I need to do and see, etc.

Polar has a nice idea, but falls very short on providing the needed website/service to support the device.

Smirnoff65

Absolutely loving my Polar Loop, so easy to use and sync, would liked the option to change the goal instead of their standard 10,000 steps but this is just a small moan. It works fantastic along with my Polar H7 HRM and I have also worn two HRM's so that I could test the accuracy of the calorie counting during a cardio gym session. I had one HRM connected to Polar Beat app and the other to the Loop in conjunction with the Polar Flow software, have to say the calorie counts for the session were pretty close. I would like integration to MFP but its not the end of the world if it doesn't happen, I just take whatever calories the Loop calculates, subtract the basal calories I would have burnt doing nothing then add them to MFP as my exercise. The polar flow website is very good for looking through your diary of completed sessions and there is a great community forum connected to their customer support with lots of knowledgeable users and Polar employees.

k8es

Bump

DaKrampus

Well i would'nt buy it, actually i threw it away.
I bought it the day before i left for 3 months abroad. sort of travelling holiday after a heart attack. and bypass operation.
I needed a device to monitor my heart rate (taking an additional beta blocker if heart rate goes over 70)

Beeing abroad i did bring my laptop but did not have any internet.
I just wanted to relax.

So the loop was impossible to use because for first use it wants to get synchronized and you can only synchronise it with an internet connection. The software that comes with it also needs the internet.
So it was impossible for me to get it to work. (I was out in the country, the next internet cafe is about 50 miles)

I am to old to drive that far just to get an internet connection. Actually i would not want to post my heartrate and other infos about me on the internet.

When at the end I did travel back, I bought myself a watch from another brand that monitors heart rate. (i cannot use one with a belt around my chest after my bypass operation thats why i wanted the loop in first place)

I was so upset about the loop that I simply threw it into the garbage.

Its my fault, not asking if I had to publish my info on the internet before using it. But when you are in a store and ask for something to view your hartrate without a belt around your chest, that is not the question you ask.

Now i am back, i have my watch that did cost me 3 times as much, it probably has many features i dont need. the only one i use is to check my heart rate 3 times a day (and take a tablet if it is over 70) . I had the GPS chip disabled as i do not want one.
I am very happy with it as i only have to press a little button to see my heart rate. and for the rest of the time i have a normal watch,

So to make a long story short. Before bying one of these c.heck if you want to be obliged to put your data on the internet. Because it wont work if you dont have internet. Not even the simplest features.

Luc

sweetheart21

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE MY LOOP!!! I cant understand why it has some bad reviews on it. It was so easy for me to use and its my first time having a tracker. But of course you do have to do a little bit of research on it to understand it more but its so simple the website even has videos showing you how to set it up and sync it the videos also show you how to change your goals on it. Plus on the polar website it has the instruction manual for the polar loop. The flow website lets you choose which goals you want if you want the shortest goal, the medium, and then the hardest goal which is like running and jogging every day. Plus the reason why the calories doesn't start at zero is because the loop also tracks how much your body naturally burns that's why it ask for your weight and height but its easy to track your calories burned with out a hrm. For example if you go for a walk all you have to do is see where your cals are at before you walk and then look at your cals after you finish walking. I have the H7 hrm monitor and have no problem syncing it with my loop. Plus its waterproof which I love cause I swim occasionally and I can use it while swimming yay. I also don't use any of the apps with my polar loop I just sync it to my computer and it shows me everything I need to know like my heart rates and my fat burning/fit zones how long I worked out for and other neat stuff. I would recommend it to everyone. Also I don't understand how people are complaining about the button on it all you have to do is tap it lightly. The loop is a great tracker it gives me that extra push I need to get up and move around more if I see that my activity goal is almost full and it shows how much more I need to jog or walk for I get up and do it . I love it and soooo glad my brother bought it for me.

hoffmanchristina

I bought a polar FT7. It looks like a normal watch but with the chest strap, you can set it to show either your heart rate, calories burners, or workout time.

This week I bought a polar loop and the H7 monitor. I love the tracking the loop does for all day activity. I wasn't really happy with the way it works with the chest strap. Because it starts counting the second the loop connects. I put my strap on under my clothes so it starts counting about 10 before and after the workout.

What I love is that the new H7 monitor can connect to both my loop and my FT7 at the same time. I wear one on each wrist while working out. I love how the loop keeps track of everything. But I use the more exact numbers from the FT7 to input into MFP.

Ironically, I went to the doctor today. I need my allergy meds and inhalers refilled. And received the standard lecture on my weight. I actually showed my doctor that I had put myself on a 1500 calorie diet and was tracking how active I am with the loop. I was told to keep up the good work and "that thing" will probably save my life.

Overall, I love my loop. I set my goal at "mostly standing" just to give myself a challenge.

Darcer

Hi everybody,

I have switched from the Nike+ Fuelband SE to the Polar Loop because of one simple reason. I am a swimmer and I go swimming about 4 times a week. The Fuelband is only water-resistant, not waterproof, so you cannot submerge it in water. My only two options were the Loop and Garmin Vivofit. I liked the design of the Loop and I also prefer the LED display. It was quite a good buy, factoring in that my version (without HRM) is much cheaper than the FuelBand and I can now track all my activities. I did not want to go the Garmin route, because their web interface is terrible (I have a Garmin Cycling computer and I every second time I try to upload data the site is under maintenance or there is some kind of other problem...).

I would say it is decent for what it is, but the Nike+ FuelBand is better in terms of motivation and getting you to move. Also the battery life is not very good (1 - 3 days of normal usage with Bluetooth syncing on). My suggestion would be: If you need a waterproof band / HRM this is a decent option, but I would not overlook the Garmin Vivofit.

Elanca

Hi Chris@polar

I noticed that you are very active on several forums to respond to customer feedback.

I have been using polar watches for over 4 years now and absolutely love them (I had the FT60, FT80 RCX3 and now V800). I recently purchased the v800 in order to combine my fitbit, RCX3 and external GPS into one device.

Polar is doing extremely well to satisfy the needs of sports enthusiasts (which I assume is your primary market), but does not fully cater for the needs of those (like us on MFP) who are calorie counting in order to manage weight, as well as training.

Since I started using the V800, I really miss the calorie adjustment that the fitbit provided with its real-time calorie burn monitoring function and integration with MFP. This allowed me on a real-time basis to monitor what I eat in order to stay within my calorie goal for the day. It also ensured that I eat enough to help me recover after strenuous exercise (without gaining weight).

I am really missing this functionality now that I passed my fitbit on to my daughter and am using just the V800. Polarflow and the V800 does not give you an exact calorie burn breakdown between activity and BMR. Calorie burn from exercise one can obviously see. It would be really great if one could in addition determine how many additional calories you burn over and above BMR. First prize would obviously be MFP integration and calorie adjustment like the fitbit does!

Please let me know if there is a way in which I can determine how many additional calories I burn from everyday activity, over and above BMR and training. I am also not sure how many calories polarlfow is allocating for my BMR. This could also help to know.

heybales

They would be doing exactly what Fitbit and MFP and all the others do for BMR - formula.

Use the MFP Mifflin formula for BMR. Obviously an estimate, otherwise you need to go get a serious RMR test, which is a tad higher than BMR.

They don't give a total calorie burn for the day after a sync, up to that point in time?

I'm curious why you think having a breakdown of calories burned over BMR would be useful - Fitbit and MFP don't do that either.

fyoung1111

I would say it is decent for what it is, but the Nike+ FuelBand is better in terms of motivation and getting you to move. Also the battery life is not very good (1 - 3 days of normal usage with Bluetooth syncing on). My suggestion would be: If you need a waterproof band / HRM this is a decent option, but I would not overlook the Garmin Vivofit.

I've had the Loop since Christmas and the Vivofit since March 1. I wore them both through June. The Loop is now retired to a junk drawer. The Vivofit was superior in practically every respect before MFP integration. Once they had that it was game over.

drdavidk

I have been using the Loop for about 6 weeks. Do not use it in the shower, swimming or via bluetooth with my iPhone. Despite that, it rarely goes more than 36 hours before the Low Battery display comes up. When I charge it, I get a funky display flashing between 100% and 60% no matter how long I charge it for. Have reset it to default per Polar instructions several times without improvement. Results appear to be reasonably accurate but its lack of integration with websites such as MFP is frustrating and the Flow website is pretty useless.