Polar HRM, is this the right one?

I have the FT40. It has a chest strap with sensors which is where your heart rate is monitored, and then a transmitter sends the info to the wrist watch component for you to read. I can't say which is better as I have no experience with the other one, but mine does what it is supposed to do.

I will admit that I've been a bit frustrated with it recently though as I feel it isn't reporting accurately, but it may be. I've had it for about a month now, and for the 30DS, my average calorie burn has always been mid 200s and up, then this week I can't break out of the 100s even though I feel as though I'm working just as hard. It is saying my heart rate is also lower, which is where the lower cals are coming from. Although my heart rate doesn't get as high as it had, the average is only lower by a few beats, and I haven't changed any settings. And I did Zumba for the first time last night, which everyone says you should burn around 700 cals/hour - my hrm said I burned 330. Granted, it was my first time so I was more or less flailing around, but come on! I was sweating my a*# off.

But like I said, it is doing what it is supposed to, and I can't fault the readings just because they don't match what I think they should, or what they did just one week ago.

I am searching myself. There are many Polar HRM's that track calories. If you go to the Polar website they have a tool that asks questions about your needs/desires in a HRM then shows you which of their models fit that need. Then you can examine the selections in more detail and make your choice.

FT4 and FT7 both track calories too. I have the 7 and love it.

I have the ft4. Pretty basic but works great. The main reason I got it is to track my calories! I didn't need any "bells and whistles". I have been very happy with it. A HRM is a very good investment. Before getting my watch I was overestimating the calories I burned - not good.

Never heard of those, but I have the Polar FT7 and love it! I had one problem with the chest strap, but the customer service was awesome and sent me a new one within days, for free!

Well I'm in the minority here. I have a Polar FT4. I bought in February. It worked great for about a month, then it started going all wacky.

Sometimes it says my HR is over 200, and sometimes it says 37 or so. Most of the time it says 00, check transmitter! I have tried all things with the strap, water, rinsing, gel. It frustrates me so much that I don't bother using it anymore.

Just be warned that they do malfunction occasionally. With my luck, maybe I just got a bad one.

Bump for later

Well I'm in the minority here. I have a Polar FT4. I bought in February. It worked great for about a month, then it started going all wacky.

Sometimes it says my HR is over 200, and sometimes it says 37 or so. Most of the time it says 00, check transmitter! I have tried all things with the strap, water, rinsing, gel. It frustrates me so much that I don't bother using it anymore.

Just be warned that they do malfunction occasionally. With my luck, maybe I just got a bad one.

make sure you're getting the strap and transmitter thoroughly wet. i run mine under water before putting it on. if it's only damp or too dry, it will often stop reading.

I just bought the FT4 and love it so far. Simple to use and definitely motivates you to work harder and burn more.

I own the FT40 model. it has a fitness test which you can take to give your V02 max.

If you just want to track calories, as did I, then go with the FT4. Otherwise, you will be paying for bells and whistles you don't need. I love Polar. I had my last one for 14 years and the only reason I replaced it is because I wanted to see calories burned. I have found that the MFP calories burned estimates are grossly overstated and others are grossly understated. If you want accuracy, go with a Polar. Some of the Polar HRMs have a WearLink chest strap that has a detachable coded transmitter. You can purchase a Polar Cardio Sports Bra with a built in strap and you just snap in the transmittter that came with the HRM of your choice. (Cardio Sports Bra only works with the WearLink chest strap transmitter.) Recently, I did 5000m on an indoor row machine... the machine said I burned 225 calories, the Polar (programeed with my stats) said I burned 224. I feel confident in the Polar readings. (If you are considering a strapless HRM, BEWARE, as they only read point-in-time heart rate - not good for continuous monitoring.) Looking back, there are a few features of the FT40 that I wish I had. Notably, the FT40 has a Fitness test to determine your VO2 max, it will tell you whether the main effect of your training is fat burning or improved fitness, and it is compatible with the data transfer into the PolarPersonalTrainer.com site. (The FlowLink accessory is sold separately.) The training effect is based on heart rate though, so all I have to do is calculate at what percentage of my max HR is the fat-burning range.

However, if all you want is continuous HRM and calorie expenditure, then go with the FT4. I love it for that feature. (And I got the pink one - FT40 only comes in white or black.)

FA20 - a glorified step counter
FT40 - compatible with data transfer (accessory sold separately),
FT4 - a basic top-of-the-line HRM with calorie expenditure, more aesthetically pleasing than the FT40

I recently bought the Polar RS300x, which tracks calories burned and other information. I am still getting used to it. It is easy to set-up and use. I love it.

Polar....enough said and I have had a few others. Simple and to the point.

Her question was *which* Polar to get, so actually your response of "Polar" is not enough said. Which Polar do you have? Do you like it?

Well I'm in the minority here. I have a Polar FT4. I bought in February. It worked great for about a month, then it started going all wacky.

Sometimes it says my HR is over 200, and sometimes it says 37 or so. Most of the time it says 00, check transmitter! I have tried all things with the strap, water, rinsing, gel. It frustrates me so much that I don't bother using it anymore.

Just be warned that they do malfunction occasionally. With my luck, maybe I just got a bad one.

These things typically happen when the battery starts to go. I sell these and on occasion, I have had batteries that needed replacing pretty quickly. Once the battery is changed, assuming that's the issue, you should be good to go for 1-2 years depending on use.
That being said, I have the FT60 because I won it. Had I been spending money, I would go for the FT4. The extra features on the FT60 are cool, but realistically most people use it once, say that's cool, and use the basic calorie counting and heart rate features. I even got the GPS, but am selling it as I now use Endomondo on my iPhone.

I have the ft4 and it is fantastic. I use it all the time and would recommend it.