Polar loop - reviews? To buy or not ?

Thanks for the input. I got him this because i thought it was an easier thing to wear for him that is rather than strapping on a HR monitor along with a watch. I need more accurate readings, hence why I have the FT60 so thought this would be more of a general thing for him.

Not sure why it starts out with calories already when I sync it. I didnt find the manual nor the site too helpful, but will probably look again, not thinking I should have just gotten him a tradition HR monitor.

I get it. My BF has a hard time with the chest strap too. When I contacted Polar in the beginning I was so frustrated I was going to return it but I do like it now. If I had decided to return it they were nice enough to offer me a discount on the FT60 even though I didn't even buy the Loop through them. They have been doing updates since I first got it in November and I have seen improvements but I do think their website could still use some more. Not sure where you bought it buy maybe you can exchange it. Good luck.

When someone comes up with an android app for the LOOP I may reconsider but for now you have lost me POLAR.

From that review above, where the reviewer has access to Polar's inside people, March/April is when the Android app is expected.
They are basically using the iPhone app as beta since it's more restrictive, and if it works well there, Android should be easy conversion as most of the guts stay the same.

The app does appear pretty slick, but again, up to Polar to make their stuff work with others like MFP, or for MFP to see a financial advantage to spend their own money coding not only their side, but Polar's side of the equation as well.

do you have to pay a monthly subscription fee for the polar loop website like with bodymedia?? if so, how much?

Going to write off my Loop as a bad purchase. Recent problems with Polar's Chest strap that sends two signals have caused me to turn away from BLE sensors or at least Polar's.

I posted this on another thread but think it fits here

Maybe the perfect solution is about to come out.

Garmin Vivofit, water resistant to 50 metes, one year battery life, always on display which can show time, learns your activity and notches the goals up a tad each day to keep you pushing, will pair to a HR chest strap that DOES NOT have to be Bluetooth and will connect and update to a Phone app. Does all the Loop promised but better since the HR effort is combined with your activity unlike with the Loop. Shipping in 5-8 weeks. Downside cost $129.

Also Google Nabu by Razor. Lot of new products on shoes a CE.

Another option coming that includes HR.

http://www.t3.com/reviews/lg-lifeband-touch-review

http://www.lg.com/us/fitness-activity-trackers/lg-FB84-BM-activity-tracker

Almost a month now and here's my feedback on the LOOP, in a PROs/CONs format:

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PROs:
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Hardware:
* the loop is a very good piece of hardware, it's quite comfortable. I wear it 24x7 except to charge it, which takes 30 minutes.
* step counting is accurate, I have walked MILES and manually counted, and after a mile walk it's within 30 steps...I've done this several times.
* it pairs very easily with the H7 heart rate monitor - just by raising your wrist to your chest, I hit the button to cycle through the modes (TIME, STEPs, Calories, etc.)...by the 2nd time I cycle through a HEART icon shows up, with the Beats Per Minute showing...
* I'm not an engineer/medical person, so I can verify the CALORIE accuracy, but it IS a motivator!!
* the graph on the device of how close you are to your goal is also motivational and I love how it recommends things to do in order to hit your goal - 3x now I have walked the dog for 10 minutes, just to get to my goal...that's effective.
* I think battery life is good, I charge 2x a week, but that's because I want to SYNC...it's never below 30%
* you can put it in AIRPLANE mode to turn off the Bluetooth - that's nice!
* it's waterproof - I wash dishes, shower, swim, etc. all good!

SOFTWARE
* I don't "NEED" an App, I'm happy with using a web site, to me, that means I can see from my phone, my PC, my iPad, my wife's android...if I want to see how I'm doing, I hit the buttons on the screen...
* the website is called FLOW - I like that you can put your stats (weight, age, lifestyle) and the device will use this in helping to calculate calories. If you do a professional fitness test, you can enter in values for VO2, resting/max heart rate, etc. and this is also used - adds to accuracy...this is nice.
* the website gives you the ability to see stats by Month, Week, or Day - with increasing detail as you drill down. in particular I love the WEEK view, as you can see active time, training time, and calories at a weeks view, very nice.
* the DAY view, allows you see how much time was spent sleeping, sitting, standing, walking, and being very active - this is very nice.
* the TRAINING view, allows you see which training zones you spent time and calories in, this is great detail.

================
CONs
================
HARDWARE
* you have to cut the strap to get it to fit - this CAN BE problematic - I suggest you watch the videos on the polar site. if you hold the strap wrong and try to take the pin out, it's spring loaded and can shoot across the room and be lost...so be careful.

SOFTWARE
* The FLOW site is down way too much, and it doesn't tell you, you'll know when you can't log in, and it asks you to reset your password, which DOESN'T work - come back tomorrow, you'll probably be able to log in.
* The views aren't consistent...sometimes data is missing in one view, but you'll see it in another - it's buggy.
* my loop isn't syncing ACTIVITY for the past 3 days, I'm waiting to hear back from POLAR - so I'm putting this under SOFTWARE - but that sucks.
* it doesn't integrate with MyFitnessPal - I wish it would - so I take the calorie burn every day, subtract my goal at MFP and add that as a POLAR EXERCISE that created at MFP...they then take that into a NET calorie calculation...could be better but it works.
* now that my activities aren't syncing, I can't see my % of goal reached for the entire month n the month view...
* their support team has been inconsistent in getting back to me, it SEEMS to be getting better, but end of December they were non-existent...they are responding a bit more now as I have questions....


in Summary:

I love the loop, at the end of the day, it's achieving what I wanted, it's motivating me to be more active...I have hit my goal 13 days in a row, and am off the couch - my wife says I'm looking slimmer.

I HATE their website, it's buggy, inconsistent, and I know it says BETA...but if I can't get syncing my data working it will ruin my experience...I'll post an update later this week to see if it gets resolved.

I'd like the ability to integrate with MyFitnessPal or even better, export to Excel...

I think this has got such great potential, I hope they come through!!!

Update: I woke up and did a sync and all my data synced up - I guess Polar had to reset set something. for all the buginess, and I admit it's been frustrating, I'm glad to see that once things are reset it works again.

I don't care so much about waiting a day or so, as long as I don't lose my data...that's the most important thing..I can review at the end of the week and see my progress and I'm happy.

I DO hope they keep improving their web experience as it does need work.

summary: I"m happy again.

I am disappointed to find out that it is not compatible with the H1 HRM. I have a Polar FT4 and HR1 HRM. I think this would definitely be a cool buy if I didn't have to get a new chest strap.

I see that there is a LOT of experience on HRM' s here! Great! I am looking for an HRM, not too expensive, that will work with my samsung galaxy s3 and that I don't have to wear a wrist unit. Any suggestions?

I've had my loop for about a week and I am really disappointed. After walking all day yesterday, my fitbit registered about 10000 steps, but the loop had me at about 5000. That's too much of a difference to discount, I'm afraid. I love the polar websites (beat and personal trainer) but not enough to warrant an eighty-seven dollar investment with the loop.

I've had the opposite experience.

For the last few days, I've been wearing a Fitbit Force and a Loop on the same wrist. They turn in very similar step counts except when I walk at an aerobic pace. Then the Fitbit falls apart and fails to count about 35% of my steps. I posted some information on this in a Force User's group that I created yesterday. Check that out for more detail.

anyone help me set up a group for this on MFP.

A group for what?

I am going to buy the H7 transmitter because I do want to swim but that isn't a compelling enough reason to buy the loop rather than the FitBit Flex which has excellent software with food / calorie counting and all the bells and whistles.

Passed my Loop on and am waiting for a Garmin Vivofit in hopes it will do what I expected the Loop to do. I am not sure why you are saying you want an H7 to swim with because the Bluetooth signal will not transmit in the water. When polar says the loop works in the water they did not point out the HR feature does not. Polar does make a watch and chest strap that does work in water but it is an android signal. The H7 does send out tow signals but the android on is "Gymlink" that works with most gym equipment, well is supposed to. I have two and both suffer on the gym signal after a little battery use. I think the Bluetooth signal robs to much power so now I am not using any of Polar's Bluetooth products and warn away from them as well.

SJ Con. I do not have personal experience with this but read somewhere that the H7 (which I do have and like very much) is the ONLY Bluetooth HRM to use with swimming. The logic given is that Bluetooth Low Power will NOT penetrate water but the GymLink frequency which the H7 also transmits will. Where this logic may fall apart with the Loop is that, it is my understanding that it only recieves Bluetooth Low Power and NOT Gymlink.

This is what Polar has to say "Using Your Heart Rate Sensor in Water Polar H7 heart rate sensor is water resistant. The GymLink technology can be used in water activities, but Bluetooth® wireless technology will not work in water. Please notice that sea and pool water are very conductive, and electrodes may short-circuit, preventing ECG signals from being detected by the heart rate sensor" from http://www.polar.com/e_manuals/H7_Heart_Rate_Sensor/Polar_H7_Heart_Rate_Sensor_accessory_manual_English.pdf

While I haven't taken my H7 into the water (I just figured out it is waterproof) I've synched it with both my Loop and my iPhone 4s and 5s for use with Runkeeper. It does that very well although it won't synch with both devices at once (fault of the Bluetooth Low Power specificatoin--a slave can only server one master at a time). It also synchs with either iPhone or Loop and cardio machines in the gym simultaneously.

Mine has gotten a lot of use in the three months I have had it and I couldn't be happier. I wish I could say the same for my Loop. I don't understand what Android has to do with any of this.

I meant to say Analog not Android, and the reason aI said the H7 would not work was because he was using it with a Loop. Like I said I have two h7 purchased a couple of month apart and both have a problem with the gymlink signal eventually. My testing says it always works with a new battery but I don't want to put in new batteries one a month.

"I am going to buy the H7 transmitter because I do want to swim but that isn't a compelling enough reason to buy the loop"

The H7 works perfectly in the pool with a Polar S610i, but NOT with the Loop.

Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't.

In my book that means it doesn't work.

No response from Customer Service Polar on this issue.

The H7 works well, and does what it says on the tin.

The Loop does not.



brendan