Any Of The Polar HRMs Any Good?

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Graelwyn75
Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I used to have the Polar FT4 but obviously it is outdated technology now and only available on ebay.
Are any of the current ones with chest strap any good ? I just want to use it to get a more accurate idea of my burns during intense exercise as I lost weight using the mfp counts for most activity. (the fact I have COPD and have to put more effort into breathing while exercising is most likely the cause)

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  • Kintsugi_Haikyo
    Kintsugi_Haikyo Posts: 361 Member
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    I've never tried the Polar, but I have a Garmin Vivofit HR + and I love it. I did some research and what I found said Garmin was a little more accurate than the others.
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
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    Thanks. I shall look into that. So many out there now that it is very time consuming to research.
  • theritestuff
    theritestuff Posts: 101 Member
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    Polar is highly rated! I have a Garmin forerunner and it's great but I have heard of issues with some models re accuracy.
  • MsPris12
    MsPris12 Posts: 7 Member
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    I just purchased the A370, and I absolutely love it! I had an older model Polar for years, it was big and clunky and it could not sync unless I purchased another accessory.

    The A370 is also a fitness tracker, that uses GPS from your phone, continuous HR and can be paired with the H10 HR Chest strap (I have that as well)
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
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    Hmm, I might look into that since I now have the H10 chest strap. It would be interesting to use something that tracks throughout the day.
  • slowbubblecar
    slowbubblecar Posts: 91 Member
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    I use the h7 strap and polar beat on my phone. Works well for me and is cheap.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    Graelwyn75 wrote: »
    Thanks. I shall look into that. So many out there now that it is very time consuming to research.

    You've got two aspects to think about; does it give you an accurate HR reading, and does it extrapolate a meaningful calorie estimation from that?

    In practice there isn't much to distinguish Garmin, Polar and Suunto in the former. You're then needing to think about whether you want optical or electrical sending. Again, not much to distinguish them but wrist worn optical can be vulnerable to the type of training that you do. If your wrist flexion is significant you'll get inconsistent readings. I wouldn't use wrist worn for cycling but for example.

    I'd then think about whether you need a visual display or not. My Forerunner allow me to see HR if I choose to set up the display that way. It's useful to see changes over time, but it's not meaningful in a sprint interval duration due to rate lag and response periods.

    Extrapolation to a calorie estimate is then retirement on what type of training you do. For many people the accuracy of HR monitoring is irrelevant if they're doing training where HR isn't a meaningful proxy for calorie estimation; circuit training, interval training, resistance training, team sports etc.

    Personally I'd say pick one of those three suppliers and select to your price point, rather than anything else.
  • Kollane
    Kollane Posts: 45 Member
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    I have M400. It doesn't track in water, but I'm not swimming anyway, so it's not like I'm missing anything. Some also say it is too big for women, but I think it looks perfectly okay. Waterproof and GPS were the main points why I chose it over A360.

    Newer M430 is out too, but one of my trainers said she doesn't trust wrist-based HR. She uses V800 instead. However, other trainer used chest strap and A360 during same training and said the difference was 1-2 beats during whole bodypump class. She now wears A360.

    My SO also has M400 with H10. That way he can turn on the recording from Polar Beat, should he swim.

    So yeah, Polar is worth it.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
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    Just threw away one.
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
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    Love my Polar H7, on my 2nd one in 3 years (first one got a bit flaky so I retired it, but it's still a spare). Very accurate and dependable, and less than $60 delivered to my door. Syncs with both my phone and any gym equipment that supports Bluetooth LE or ANT+.
  • kevinf2380
    kevinf2380 Posts: 256 Member
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    I use a Polar HM with my M400. Seems to work decent.
  • julesEMS2016
    julesEMS2016 Posts: 44 Member
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    I really liked the Polar FT7 but quick using it when I got my Fitbit.
  • PositiveChange2013
    PositiveChange2013 Posts: 25 Member
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    I have the H7 and I have a love/hate relationship with mine. I've had a lot of issues trying to sync the thing up with my phone. I would often times have to remove the battery, wait a bit, then re-insert the battery. Once the thing syncs up, it seems to work fine.
  • fiddletime
    fiddletime Posts: 1,862 Member
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    Have used Polar FT7 with a chest strap to tighten up my calorie counts. Use a Fitbit daily but for biking and rowing it isn't very accurate. I love it for walking and hiking however.

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