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 On: 2009-10-17
I purchased this on the advice of a well respected personal trainer with many years of experience. It is JUST GREAT! The belt that I wasnt excited about having to wear is very comfortable and even works when I swim. I can come home and load my information onto my computer with little effort and this helps motivate me more than I realized. When I meet my goals for the week I even get a trophy to look at for the entire week that follows.
Be sure you look at the functions and those of the higher end and more expensive models to make sure you choose the one suited for your needs. The computer program has the ability for me to add in distances and modes of exercise even though it idoes not track distance itself. You can even add in your medical information such as BP, HDL and LDL levels, as well as any particular personal information of your own choosing to track with the computer.
On: 2009-09-22
I lost 60 lbs and have kept it off for 2 years using this F11 Heart rate monitor. The built in trainer is very motivating to me. It lets you know when you need to pick up the pace, and also lets you know when you can back it off a bit and "stride it out." I love the fact that when you get tired and want to quit you look down at the watch and it looks back at you and says come on man, 6 more min. or 85 more calories. You can do it.
Best tool I have ever bought for myself![[
ASIN:B0009HN5Y2 Polar F11 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Grey Pepper)]]
On: 2009-09-20
I have owned my unit for 2 years now and have loved it. If you want to do the work outs that come with it after you put in your stats, you can do that, it is very helpful and keeps you on task & motivated. If you dont want to do those, you can silence the beeping and do whatever workout you choose and it still records your stats. I think some people who are saying it was giving strange readings or none at all dont realize that you have to moisten the sensory pads BEFORE you put it on and some times have to move it to the right spot on your lower chest area. It is extremely easy to adjust the chest strapm, I am not sure what that review was about. I had one time where it kept giving me a strange heart beat reading, I simply took off the strap, ran it under the faucet again, and restarted my workout on the watch and didnt have another problem. Sending it in to get the battery replaced is a pain, but you can take it to a local jeweler if you dont care about the waterproofing of the watch. The one feature I wish this watch had was a GPS unit to track your distance. Other than that, I wear this watch/strap for my daily work outs of running, lifting, riding and everything in between and love it.
 On: 2009-09-20
I chose this heart rate monitor for 3 reasons:
1. It has a chest strap transmitter - far superior to the type where you need to pause from a work out and put your fingers on a watch unit to get your HR. With this unit your HR is shown constantly. Depending on the mode you choose you can also see HR and calories burned at the same time.
2. The battery can be replaced in this unit - that alone ensures a long life for this product !
3. It blocks interference from other heart rate monitor signals. I take a spinning class with 30 people where heart rate monitors are required. I wanted to make sure not to have a problem with interference from someone elses unit.
This unit works perfectly. Constantly transmitts accurately. I have never had a problem with it. Its comfortable to wear, and the readout is large and clear. Its got lots of other functions, and was fairly simple to set up.
The ONLY reason I did not give this HR monitor 5 stars was due to its price. I think $160 is too steep a price for any HR monitor.
 On: 2009-08-27
I should have paid attention to the bad reviews. But the idea of a HRM that keeps track of workout and calorie burn was too tempting, so I have this a try. Geesh, where do I start. First of all, the belt is poorly designed (and by the way the old transmitter works just fine--I tried them both and it makes no difference). Secondly, the instructions are poorly written, which is true of most electronics anyway. Whats worse, the part about workout (zone, etc) is completely uninformative, because you get a series of symbols with no clue as to what they mean. I will make a long story short and not get into all the frustration that this thingy caused in one evening: it does NOT measure your heart rate, period. After a hour long strenuous workout, spent mostly in the 75%-85% zone I stop. In a minute or so, according to fancy-schmancy Mr. Polar, my heart rate is down to 50bpm. 50??? Are you kidding me? This thing goes back in the box, pronto. At least it NEVER worked, thus sparing me the frustration of dealing with Polars nonexistent customer service. Back to guessing how many calories I am burning, then.
On: 2008-06-02
I love this HRM! It has helped me to know exactly how hard (or not hard enough) Im working. I especially love the % of calories from fat calcuation so I can target my heart rate to my goal. Taking the data and downloading it has been a nice feature so I can chart my progress. There is much more to this monitor that I havent even begun to explore. You cant go wrong with this model.
On: 2008-05-24
Great product. I havent had time to figure out and use all the features yet. Im mainly tracking heart rate and calories burned right now. It works great so far!
On: 2008-03-26
Very happy with the heart rate moniter, calorie counter and exercise review functions. Also happy to be able to use during swim workouts, as the watch and moniter are both water resistant to 30m.
Only disappointment is the lack of a stop watch function.
On: 2008-02-21
I received this as a birthday present and its a jem! I was using a regular old sports watch from Target that basically only timed me. This watch does SO much! It even gives you a fitness program, though I dont think Ill use it as I have my own. It tests your fitness level which is nice too. It keeps your heartrate and gives you a zone to work in, as well as keep count of your calories. The heart rate monitor itself fits nicely around me and is comfortable...so comfortable I forget its there and go to class with it on still! It doesnt hurt and doesnt ever budge, even during sprints. I wouldnt bother with buying the bra that goes with it, as it fits nicely under any other sports bra, at least for me. The only thing is, its doesnt have a stopwatch per say...it has a timer. The navigation through the programs, diary, etc. was tricky at first but you get used to it. I never go to the gym without it!
On: 2008-02-18
I recently purchased the F11 to replace my F6 after the batteries gave out. I loved the F6 and it stuck with me for two years before dying. After some research, I decided to upgrade to the F11 and couldnt be happier! Some positives:
- The upgraded WearLink chest strap is incredibly comfortable and I love that the batteries can be changed by the user rather than having to be replaced as the other straps do
- The additional software including the Keeps U Fit program and the ability to test your fitness level are great for frequent exercisers
- I like to be organized, and the F11 keeps track of it all for me: calories, when Ive exercised, etc. and even displays a trophy for reaching my goals
- It pushes you: it beeps to remind you to increase your HR and you tell it your goals/fitness level and it formulates a plan: how often to exercise and for how long--couldnt be easier!
- Color. My F6 in "pink coral" faded and yellowed over time, which hasnt happened to the "blue glow"
A few negatives include:
- Bulk. The F11 wrist unit is a bit bulkier than the F6, but I suppose those additional programs have to fit somewhere!
Whether youre an advanced exerciser or stepping up light exercise, the F11 is a great motivational and tracking tool--its certainly something I cant live without!
On: 2008-01-05
I bought this heart rate monitor a week ago and so far I am blown away by how many features it has. It took me a couple of hours just to read through the manual! The monitor is a little difficult at first to navigate through because of all of the different features that are available. Once you get the hang of it, its a breeze. I bought it in hopes that I would stay motivated to work out, and so far its done its job. I am not extremely well versed in sports, and I did not want to spend a fortune on a personal trainer, so this had to suffice. After you input all your basic information, you take a test to see how fit you are. Based on that test, you can then have the monitor design a workout program for you based on your goals (to maintain, improve or maximize fitness) and time available to work out. Since this monitor tells you what kind of workout to do (meaning, what heart rate ranges you should target) and monitors your progress when you actually do it, its flexible in what kind of workout you are doing. For example, you could be running, cycling, elliptical, jump roping, etc. because all that matters is that your heart rate is in the range. I am pretty out of shape so at first I thought I couldnt survive a 40 minute workout, for instance (the workouts have varying durations). However, because it takes into account your fitness level, I found that I was able to finish the longer workouts with a good sweat but not dying (because previously I tended to work out too hard and wear myself out 5 minutes into it). This is a great monitor for people who are starting out. The transmitter sends the info also to the machine (if it has that capability) so you can read your heart rate on the machine itself if youre working indoors. Once youre done you get a summary that includes also how many calories you burned and what percentage of those were fat. You can also customize workouts if you dont like or want to modify the ones designed for you. The OwnZone function also finds your personal best target heart rate zone rather than having generic zones. You can also pause the workout, and revisit previous workouts to track your progress. Right now as I bought it they also give you 60 days free at podfitness.com, but i havent tried that yet. Overall, great product.
Pros: nice display, can use as watch daily when not working out, keeps track of progress, measures fitness, designs your own workouts
Cons: the alarm that beeps when youve gone outside range is not very loud at the loudest setting, so if youre using a headset with music, you have to check periodically youre still in your target zone by looking at your wrist unit.
On: 2007-12-28
We bought this for our daughter for Christmas. She has a regular exercise routine and and found it to be perfect for monitoring her heart rate. She requested this because her research found it to be the best and she now agrees.
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