Polar heart rate monitors. Which one to buy?

Soufre
Soufre Posts: 236 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So yesterday was my 24th birthday (yayyy!!) :drinker: As a little present to myself, I'm getting a HRM (also yayyyyy!!) I'm just having trouble picking one.

Right now its a four way tie between several Polar models, FT4, FT7, FT40, and FT60. I'm *pretty sure* you can input your VO2 max for FT40 and FT60. Does that make these two model more accurate? The main reason I want one is to record calories burned from cardio more accurately. Any tips, experiences, and what have you with these four models would be greatly appreciated. :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • rjdunn87
    rjdunn87 Posts: 385 Member
    I've had the Ft4 for almost two months now and really like it. It's simple to use, doesn't have lots of bells and whistles but I wasn't looking for anything fancy--just a way to keep track of calories burned during my workouts without spending a fortune. I can't speak for the other models but I'm really happy with mine so far. :)
  • hazleyes81
    hazleyes81 Posts: 296 Member
    I had the FT60 for a very short while and didn't like it. I switched to a RS400, which I really liked, but last month I got a RCX5 which I do really like.

    What is it about the four models that is making you consider each? It will be easier to help if we know specifically which features you really want, and which you could live without.
  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
    FT40 is amazing and cheaper than the other ones you mentioned for what it can do..

    A word of advice about the FT4 and FT7.. earlier this year I was looking for my FT40 watch, got frustrated and bought the FT4. It doesn't have the Fitness Test function (which is pretty cool if you like to see progress e.g. 32 poor to 42 fitness). I hated how I couldn't input beyond age, weight and sex. You might as well just trust the treadmill if you buy one of those IMO. The FT4 said I burned 300 cals with the 30DS for 24 minutes of exercise... the FT40 at the same stats (weight, height, sex) burned 202. HUGE difference.

    At risk of being jumped on, I don't want to say that the vo2max models are more accurate because to know your true v02max you'd need to be hooked up to a machine... but I think definitely the calories tracked on models with this capability are closer to the mark than ones without.
  • cndslee
    cndslee Posts: 256 Member
    I have a PF 7 and love it. Really depends on what you want to track. there are a lot of folks on here that have a PF 4 also.
  • Soufre
    Soufre Posts: 236 Member
    Thanks everyone. My main concern is accuracy, esp in tracking calories burnt. I chose FT4 and FT7 because they're cheap...buuut if the 40 and 60 are more accurate, I'll go with one of them.
  • gcbma
    gcbma Posts: 112 Member
    I have an FT4, and it does exactly what I need it to do. I like it, except sometimes the chest strap irritates me on the sternum/crest of ribs with crunches.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    Go to the Polar website. They have a "compare" option where you can see the different features side-by-side.
  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
    Thanks everyone. My main concern is accuracy, esp in tracking calories burnt. I chose FT4 and FT7 because they're cheap...buuut if the 40 and 60 are more accurate, I'll go with one of them.

    Poster above mentioned that Polar has a compare section on their website.. check that out.. but def IMO spend the extra $10 or $20 on amazon and get a watch that isn't the FT4 or 7
  • Soufre
    Soufre Posts: 236 Member
    Thanks everyone. My main concern is accuracy, esp in tracking calories burnt. I chose FT4 and FT7 because they're cheap...buuut if the 40 and 60 are more accurate, I'll go with one of them.

    Poster above mentioned that Polar has a compare section on their website.. check that out.. but def IMO spend the extra $10 or $20 on amazon and get a watch that isn't the FT4 or 7

    I know. I just want some feed back from actual users :tongue:
  • blleadon
    blleadon Posts: 187 Member
    I have the FT4 and I love mine. I personally didn't need all of the extras, just the calorie count vs the mfp count. Seems to be working for me. My best friend has the FT7 and she loves hers, but she wanted the extras.
  • Smirnoff65
    Smirnoff65 Posts: 1,060 Member
    I have the Polar H7 which I use injunction with the Polar Beat app on my smart phone, I love this HRM and the app does everything I want from it.
  • davisrl0
    davisrl0 Posts: 93 Member
    I have the FT4. I'll just add my two cents about it... It worked great for a little while. Then the watch display started saying "Check transmitter". I would, I'd hit reset and it would be fine again for a while. Then it got to where it was saying that pretty consistently. I changed the battery in the chest strap. It helped for a while. Then back to the same ol' "Check transmitter". It was saying that every single time I used it and got to where it wasn't working at all. Just kept saying heart rate was "0", but I wouldn't notice til half way thru a workout, which just really irritated me. I changed the battery in the watch and it didn't help. So now I haven't used it in months because it just doesn't work. I'm super bummed. It worked for most of a year, then just started having too many issues. Now I feel like I'm out that $100...and am so hesitant to buy something else. I googled about the issues and found where lots of people have issues with it. Apparently there can be a factory default with the chest strap. But at this point, I don't even care anymore to do anything about it. I started the Focus T25 program and would love to know what I'm burning with it, but I'm just over the darn thing.

    So that's my input. I'm sure there are lots of great products out there. I just happened to get one that didn't hold up.

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