help me decide between these 3 heart rate monitors

myztic

I live in south africa so pricing is a bit off here(more expensive)...
I wanted to buy a HRM and I had narrowed my choice down to the F11.. but now i see that the f11 is discontinued(although we do have it here in south africa). Are there cons to purchasing a discontinued model? if so .. what do you think they are?

the F7 is about 161 dollars here
the F11 is about 200 dollars
The Ft 60 is about 300 dollars...
Rss300 is about 300 dollars....

if i am going to buy a watch I want to buy the right one instead of going for a lower model and outgrowing it too quickly... should i even be looking at the F series? what about the RS series?

i'd love to know your opinions.. i plan to use this for my C to 5 k workouts as well as 30 day shred... workout dvd's.. maybe join a gym class here and there...

Chenoachem

I bought the FT60 G1. I researched it well and knew exactly what I was getting. I compared the Garmin 305 to this one and they are not meant for the same purposes. I have bad asthma and was training for a half marathon. I wanted to be able to go out my door and run in any direction and know how far I went. The Garmin is great if you want to track your routes, upload the data and don't mind something bulky on your wrist. This watch has a more comfortable chest strap that you can put in a washing machine and clean. The "OwnZones" checks your heart rate before exercising and judges your heart rate zones based on how cardio tired. This helps prevent over training.

The training program allows you to set goals (weight loss, improving fitness, or maximizing fitness) and creates a program to fit your needs. This does not mean it says bike this long, run this long, etc. Instead it gives you a weeks worth of timing in each heart rate zone that you should do to meet those goals. Doesn't matter what activities you do. There are no special bike attachments or anything.

I took my watch with GPS out a couple times with my bike and bike computer. The distances on the bike computer and the watch were only 0.1 miles different from each other. This is similar to what friends get with their Garmin. However, I live in a desert and don't have a lot of trees to contend with.

Pro's:
Easy to pack in suitcase to take on travel
Comfortable chest strap (even for women)
Chest strap machine washable and recommend to be washed every 5 workouts.
You can change all the batteries yourself
Since the battery isn't rechargeable, you can wear the watch anywhere.
Attractive watch to wear around
Good accuracy on the GPS
Training program helps you avoid over training

Con's
Doesn't have a spit timer.
Have to buy the foot-pod separately for track workouts
Have to buy the data link if you want to upload to computer directly
Data link only works on MAC's with Intel processor (or any PC)
Doesn't allow for you to map the route you did

The customer service at polar is awesome. Under warrenty, I was having problems and sent it out right away. They replaced the parts with no hassle and sent it back to me. Their phone support was also helpful.

The only workout that I haven't been able to use this watch for was yoga. The chest strap doesn't stay well enough so the heart rate gets all confused as you are contorting yourself.

135gratitude

If the money is irrelevant, go for the most expensive.

If that extra money could be put somewhere else (I would use the savings, for example, for a new handbag, or outfit, ) then I would go with the most basic one. I have the F6 and it still does far more than I ever want it to do! When working out, I want to know my heart rate, how long I've been working out, and the time. I also find the alarm handy, where when your HR drops too low, or gets to high, you get beeped at!

Good luck!

maddiebabe

I just got the F7 and it is the best product out there. Polar is a great name and the only problem i can see being an issue later on is parts. if something is discontinued it will be very hard to replace the part which could make purchasing a more expensive/better model worthless.

ihope that helps. i find my F7 is great and does way more than I expected it too.

lyla29

If the money is irrelevant, go for the most expensive.

If that extra money could be put somewhere else (I would use the savings, for example, for a new handbag, or outfit, ) then I would go with the most basic one. I have the F6 and it still does far more than I ever want it to do! When working out, I want to know my heart rate, how long I've been working out, and the time. I also find the alarm handy, where when your HR drops too low, or gets to high, you get beeped at!

Good luck!

that's exactly how I feel! I have heard of people who got the more expensive one, and they didn't need all of the fancy stuff on it. You should go to their website so you can compare all of the features that each model has, and see which one has what you want. I love my polar F6.

Good luck.

April0815

bump

SHBoss1673

FYI you can get Brand new Polar F7's at Amazon for about $120.00

Just thought you should know.

And yes, amazon is an Authorized Polar dealer, so you get the full manufacturers warranty.