Polar: FT4 or FT7?

junebaby21
junebaby21 Posts: 260 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Thoughts?

Replies

  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Thoughts?

    For what purpose?

    That's like bike or skateboard. They'll both get you somewhere. But where are you going and over what kind of route and how fast is needed? Maybe neither option is correct.
  • rachelerwin
    rachelerwin Posts: 140 Member
    I have a Polar FT4 and really like it. It keeps track of calories burned during workouts which is what I wanted. I got it for about 60 dollars on Amazon.
  • knightreader
    knightreader Posts: 813 Member
    love my new ft4. gives me a count of calories burned. which was what i was looking for. the ft7 had a bunch of stuff that i didn't think i would use. determine what it is you are looking for, then decide which is the better fit.
  • TXRedDirt
    TXRedDirt Posts: 45 Member
    I love my FT4. Keeps me motivated and haven't had any trouble with it.
  • junebaby21
    junebaby21 Posts: 260 Member
    Thoughts?

    For what purpose?

    That's like bike or skateboard. They'll both get you somewhere. But where are you going and over what kind of route and how fast is needed? Maybe neither option is correct.

    If you were in the market, you might have researched both. If you haven't, don't respond.
  • junebaby21
    junebaby21 Posts: 260 Member
    Thanks for the info - do either of you who use the FT4 have an interest in plugging the info in to the Polar USA website? I see that the FT7 is accessible through the site, whereas the FT4 does not.

    How do you use your information? (Do you plug it in to MFP, use it only during workouts, etc ?)
  • junebaby21
    junebaby21 Posts: 260 Member
    Also, do you wear it all day or just during workouts?
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Thoughts?

    For what purpose?

    That's like bike or skateboard. They'll both get you somewhere. But where are you going and over what kind of route and how fast is needed? Maybe neither option is correct.

    If you were in the market, you might have researched both. If you haven't, don't respond.

    I have and I have FT7, but since you can go out and look at the list of features on Polar's site already, you must be needing help with how does one or the other fit in with your un-described usage of it. Not really possible to respond to a non-question.

    Oh, and you don't wear a HRM all day for purpose of calorie burn. If curious about average HR, sure.

    But they only have a chance of being 25% accurate on calorie burn during steady-state aerobic exercise.
    No activity less than exercise, and no anaerobic like lifting or intervals, because the calorie counts will be badly inflated.
  • jealous_loser
    jealous_loser Posts: 395
    I have an FT7 and I like it, but I have never tried the FT4, so I have no comparison.
  • junebaby21
    junebaby21 Posts: 260 Member

    But they only have a chance of being 25% accurate on calorie burn during steady-state aerobic exercise.
    No activity less than exercise, and no anaerobic like lifting or intervals, because the calorie counts will be badly inflated.

    25% accuracy? I'm not following you.
  • junebaby21
    junebaby21 Posts: 260 Member
    I have an FT7 and I like it, but I have never tried the FT4, so I have no comparison.

    Thanks for your response. You wear it only to work out? What do you do with the information it records?
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member

    But they only have a chance of being 25% accurate on calorie burn during steady-state aerobic exercise.
    No activity less than exercise, and no anaerobic like lifting or intervals, because the calorie counts will be badly inflated.

    25% accuracy? I'm not following you.

    If one of the purposes is estimating calorie burn based on HR, it can easily be 25% incorrect, inflated or deflated. And that can change depending on workout and how you are doing that day, and did you drink a bunch of coffee that is causing elevated HR totally unrelated to how hard you are working, and how much more fit you become over time, ect.

    Neither of those watches allows you to input or test for a stat needed for better estimate, which still could be off that much for women.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/459580-polar-hrm-calorie-burn-estimate-accuracy-study
  • SToast
    SToast Posts: 255 Member
    I've been looking at both for a few days and think the 4 is more simple and basic. Which in my case, is the right choice. The 7 has features I don't need like connecting with polars site. Also, for me, price is a bit of a factor so the 4 looks better that way too. Also the 4 has more and better reviews than the 7. It's close but the 4 has about 1/2 star more overall.
  • junebaby21
    junebaby21 Posts: 260 Member

    But they only have a chance of being 25% accurate on calorie burn during steady-state aerobic exercise.
    No activity less than exercise, and no anaerobic like lifting or intervals, because the calorie counts will be badly inflated.

    25% accuracy? I'm not following you.

    If one of the purposes is estimating calorie burn based on HR, it can easily be 25% incorrect, inflated or deflated. And that can change depending on workout and how you are doing that day, and did you drink a bunch of coffee that is causing elevated HR totally unrelated to how hard you are working, and how much more fit you become over time, ect.

    Neither of those watches allows you to input or test for a stat needed for better estimate, which still could be off that much for women.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/459580-polar-hrm-calorie-burn-estimate-accuracy-study

    I see, that makes sense. Thanks for explaining!
  • junebaby21
    junebaby21 Posts: 260 Member
    I've been looking at both for a few days and think the 4 is more simple and basic. Which in my case, is the right choice. The 7 has features I don't need like connecting with polars site. Also, for me, price is a bit of a factor so the 4 looks better that way too. Also the 4 has more and better reviews than the 7. It's close but the 4 has about 1/2 star more overall.

    That's really good to know. Did you find those reviews from the PolarUSA website? I've been there and also scanning Amazon.
  • jmeyer925
    jmeyer925 Posts: 326 Member
    I have the FT7, looked at both for a long time. And to be honest, I chose the ft7 because I liked the color options better (didn't look as kid like). It was about $10 more than the ft4, and I could've gone either way I suppose. If you're not concerned with color or actually uploading to the polar website I would go with the 4.

    I just strap on the band and watch, do my work out, then record the calories on here each time. The other difference is that the ft7 hold more "data", but for me it didn't really matter, since I just worry about it from work out to work out and record it.
  • tommygirl15
    tommygirl15 Posts: 1,012 Member
    I'm using a Ft4, I use it only for workouts. From what I've gathered, it is a bit more basic than Ft7... and I like to keep things simple :)
  • junebaby21
    junebaby21 Posts: 260 Member
    I have the FT7, looked at both for a long time. And to be honest, I chose the ft7 because I liked the color options better (didn't look as kid like). It was about $10 more than the ft4, and I could've gone either way I suppose. If you're not concerned with color or actually uploading to the polar website I would go with the 4.

    I just strap on the band and watch, do my work out, then record the calories on here each time. The other difference is that the ft7 hold more "data", but for me it didn't really matter, since I just worry about it from work out to work out and record it.

    That's exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for your input!
  • icimani
    icimani Posts: 1,454 Member
    Thanks for the info - do either of you who use the FT4 have an interest in plugging the info in to the Polar USA website? I see that the FT7 is accessible through the site, whereas the FT4 does not.

    How do you use your information? (Do you plug it in to MFP, use it only during workouts, etc ?)



    I have the FT4 and I'm really happy with it. Since I'm using MFP, I really had no interest in using the auto feature for the Polar site and that was the tipping point that made me go for the FT4 over the FT7. At the time I was looking the cost difference was about $20.

    I use it only during workouts and then log the info into MFP. An HRM isn't really made for tracking your heart rate over the course of a day, and I've heard that it can be unreliable if you're out of "the zone" although I don't have any experience with that.
  • WannaGoSCL
    WannaGoSCL Posts: 1
    I´ve had the F4 since 2006 and I love it, it`s simple and straight forward and that`s a plus for me. I just put it on and go work out, then track calories and voila! Maybe somebody who loves gadgets and “studying” all the features would get a better use of the F7, but as I`m a simpler person and really wouldn´t bother to read a 30 something page catalog I prefer the simpler version!
    Keep up posted with what you get finally!
  • junebaby21
    junebaby21 Posts: 260 Member

    I have the FT4 and I'm really happy with it. Since I'm using MFP, I really had no interest in using the auto feature for the Polar site and that was the tipping point that made me go for the FT4 over the FT7. At the time I was looking the cost difference was about $20.

    I use it only during workouts and then log the info into MFP. An HRM isn't really made for tracking your heart rate over the course of a day, and I've heard that it can be unreliable if you're out of "the zone" although I don't have any experience with that.

    That is helpful, thanks!
  • junebaby21
    junebaby21 Posts: 260 Member
    I´ve had the F4 since 2006 and I love it, it`s simple and straight forward and that`s a plus for me. I just put it on and go work out, then track calories and voila! Maybe somebody who loves gadgets and “studying” all the features would get a better use of the F7, but as I`m a simpler person and really wouldn´t bother to read a 30 something page catalog I prefer the simpler version!
    Keep up posted with what you get finally!

    Thanks for the information! I appreciate it!
  • AlissaAngelo
    AlissaAngelo Posts: 72 Member
    I have had an F4 for YEARS and only wanted it to gauge what my calorie burn was during workouts and it gave me just that. I found mine to be fairly accurate when I started using a BodyBugg and compared the two. Mine just died last month and I'm missing it. I will definitely be buying another one... better color options available now too... I could only get blue back when I bought mine and I see they have pink now. Giddy! :)

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