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Polar FT4

Posts: 173 Member
edited January 3 in Fitness and Exercise
Opinions? I'm looking for a heart rate monitor to track my gym burns accurately, plus I'm interested in seeing what I burn at work in a day.

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  • Posts: 134 Member
    Bump
  • Posts: 534 Member
    Go for it, you won't regret it. Polar is about as good as it gets in the HRM business. I have an FT7 and my wife has an FT4. Both are great.
  • Posts: 163 Member
    I'm the wife mentioned above that has an FT4. I like it a lot. I was frustrated with MFP's calorie burn estimates for exercise other than walking... many things I tried to use were giving me too much calorie credit, so if I ate back those calories, I limited or stalled my loss. Using the FT4 results and eating back a part or all of my exercise calories works for me. If there were things I'd change it's that the wrist strap on the receiver/calculator device is pretty stiff... makes getting a comfortable fit take more effort than I'd like. I want to slap it on and go, not readjust 1-3 times. Overall, that's pretty minor. And the other thing is that when you use the feature that turns the light on and displays session progress by putting the wrist unit near the chest strap transmitter, you get only 3 pieces of data, and you can't choose both. You get the time of day and it alternates with whichever display you last viewed. I'd like to pick which 2 are displayed, because I'd rather see time elapsed and current heart rate or session burn. I don't really need to see time of day at all. Still I like the monitor and find it worth the money spent.
  • Posts: 395 Member
    I like my FT7 I liked it even more when I was doing mainly gym ... but now that I run 3 days a week I wish I had something with GPS enabled...
  • Posts: 344 Member
    I just bought the Polar FT4 on Friday and used it today. So far, I really like it.
  • Posts: 180 Member
    I have an FT7, and absolutely love it!!
  • Posts: 751 Member
    I have one and live it! Best fitness investment I have ever made :)
  • Posts: 173 Member
    I'm the wife mentioned above that has an FT4. I like it a lot. I was frustrated with MFP's calorie burn estimates for exercise other than walking... many things I tried to use were giving me too much calorie credit, so if I ate back those calories, I limited or stalled my loss. Using the FT4 results and eating back a part or all of my exercise calories works for me. If there were things I'd change it's that the wrist strap on the receiver/calculator device is pretty stiff... makes getting a comfortable fit take more effort than I'd like. I want to slap it on and go, not readjust 1-3 times. Overall, that's pretty minor. And the other thing is that when you use the feature that turns the light on and displays session progress by putting the wrist unit near the chest strap transmitter, you get only 3 pieces of data, and you can't choose both. You get the time of day and it alternates with whichever display you last viewed. I'd like to pick which 2 are displayed, because I'd rather see time elapsed and current heart rate or session burn. I don't really need to see time of day at all. Still I like the monitor and find it worth the money spent.

    Thank you so much for the reply
  • Posts: 2,654 Member
    My husband has used the FT7 for a couple of years and loves it. I recently purchased a FT4 and am very happy with it as well. Calorie burns are much more accurate than MFP shows and now are consistent with my weight loss.
    Ebay or Amazon has some great prices, much lower than in stores.
  • Posts: 140 Member
    I have an FT6 or 7 (can't remember which) but I love it! I've been using it for 6 months and have had no problems. I find that it's accurate and I have not had to replace a battery yet using it about 8 hours/week or more for 6 months.
  • Posts: 661
    I've had my FT-4 for a few months now, and it was money well spent. I can't imagine going through a workout without it.......
  • Posts: 162 Member
    If you have a newer phone that supports bluetooth 4.0, it's much cheaper to just get the polar H7 and sync it that way using an app. My belt went bad and it was $20 on amazon for a new belt or $60 and I get the new belt and the wearlink that connects to my phone.
  • Posts: 813 Member
    love my new ft4. had it about two weeks. looked in to the ft7, but didn't need all it had to offer.
  • Posts: 5,769 Member
    Opinions? I'm looking for a heart rate monitor to track my gym burns accurately, plus I'm interested in seeing what I burn at work in a day.

    A HRM won't be accurate for your work calories unless you are doing something that keeps your HR elevated for the whole time. The algorithms are set for an accelerated HR. For something you wear all day you need a FitBit type device.
  • Posts: 2,305 Member
    im going to pick up a polar H7 in the next couple of weeks :)
  • Posts: 404 Member
    I ordered an ft4 today and can't wait to start working with it.
  • Posts: 9,487 Member
    show previous quotes

    A HRM won't be accurate for your work calories unless you are doing something that keeps your HR elevated for the whole time. The algorithms are set for an accelerated HR. For something you wear all day you need a FitBit type device.

    This! I have both the FitBit and the Ft4 - love them both. Use the FItBit for all day use and the HRM for exercises that don't involve walking/running.
  • Posts: 1,012 Member
    I don't think any HRM is 100% accurate, but Polar is definitely one of the best on the market. I bought an FT4 about a month ago and haven't regretted it.
  • Posts: 15 Member
    love my new ft4. had it about two weeks. looked in to the ft7, but didn't need all it had to offer.

    Me, too. This website had the lowest price I found for my ft4: http://www.heartratemonitorsusa.com/polar-ft4f-purple.html
  • Posts: 2,335 Member
    Keep in mind that the polar is only accurate when you're working in your target heart rate zone. That's the formula it's equipped with; if you wear it all day doing everyday things, it will be wildly inaccurate. If you're looking for something to wear all the time, get a fitbit or a Body Media Fit. I have a polar and a BMF; the Polar I only wear during a workout.
  • Posts: 384 Member
    I love my Polar FT4.
  • Posts: 2
    I love mine at the gym, but I wish now that I'd bought something GPS enabled or something I could sync with an iphone app, or this site.
  • Posts: 453 Member
    I have the FT7 and love it. I highly recommend it.
  • Posts: 2 Member
    Anybody know if myfitnesspal will ever sync with the Polar App?
  • Posts: 173 Member
    Thanks everyone, went out and bought the FT4 today.
  • Posts: 89 Member
    I have an FT60 and love it. You don't need to go that high, I know many ppl who have FT4 and are happy. I found a good deal for which this more updated model was at the same cost as the FT4, so I bought it. I use it every time I do sport and it is great to properly calculate the calories burned. I have seen others with other brands and those hugely overestimate the calories spent.

    Go for it!
  • Posts: 78 Member
    I just bought one from drugstore.com. I waited until they had a 20% off everything sale so I only paid about $50 with free shipping!
  • Posts: 39
    Anybody know if myfitnesspal will ever sync with the Polar App?

    I think you can do it in a bit of a convoluted way - Polar will sync to Endomondo, and Endomondo will sync to MFP. So if you have a smartphone, you can have the step in between to make it all jive.
  • Posts: 2,480 Member
    I've had my Polar FT4 for 3 years and I love it.
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