Not Too Basic and Not Too High Tech, January 30, 2010

Before settling on the Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor, I did a lot of research on the various types of HRM out there. I was looking for a HRM that wouldn’t just give me my heart rate, but I also wanted a bit more features, but I didn’t need a lot of features that the higher numbered FT models offered.

When I saw the FT7 model, I was surprised to see so little reviews or mentions of this model. I’m not sure why, maybe this is a newer model or Polar just prefers directing people to the more expensive models because I kept seeing numerous reviews for the F6 or F7, FT40, and FT60 models.

After comparing various Polar HRMs, I settled for the FT7 because it had all the features that I was looking for in a HRM.

Watch/HRM

– Monitors heart rates. I found the monitoring to be accurate except underwater. (I’ll go into detail about that a bit later.)
– Counts Calories. The Calorie counter seems to be quite accurate. I have used it for walking, spinning classes, swimming, and strength training sessions and the calorie counts are reasonable.
– Target heart rate graph. The graph is useful for seeing where you are and if you’re within your minimum and maximum HR “fitness” ranges during a session.
– Very user friendly. Even though there aren’t any instructions on setting up the watch, I didn’t think they were needed. I didn’t even bother looking at the manual until I was done configuring the watch, but I’ve never been one to read manuals. However, others may find the lack of a detailed manual a bit frustrating.
– Stores Training Files. Which include records of session durations, calories burned, average HR, Maximum HR, and the amount of time your workout HR was spent in the target range.
– Weekly Summaries. This basically sums up the total amount of time spent training, the total calories during each session, and how many sessions during the week.
– Settings are very easy to change especially if you have any weight changes and want to keep an accurate count of calories being burned.
– There is also a backlight, which is quite handy if you’re somewhere with minimal lighting.
– I also found out that if you hold the “down arrow” button, you can change the time to a second time zone that you can set by going through the “quick menu” which is accessed by holding down the “backlight button (*)” which also leads to the “button lock” feature. If you hold down the “up arrow” button, you can change the “Watch face” to just display the time and date or the time and date and logo, which is smaller on the face, but it includes seconds and FT7 logo along the bottom.
– The women’s watch is black with a gold stripe down the center of the band. I found the design to be all right. It is less flashy and colorful as the other models, which is one reason I like this watch. I can wear it with my work clothes and it does not stand out much.
– User changeable batteries. This was something I really wanted out of my HRM. I never liked sending something to the manufacturer for replacements even under warranty. I just don’t like dealing with shipping, waiting, and extra fees.
– Water Resistant. I have used this HRM in the pool and the monitoring is relatively accurate when it actually reads the transmitter. I believe the Polar website notes that in some highly chlorinated pools or seawater the transmitter will not be picked up underwater. The pool in my gym is very chlorinated and there were times when the HRM will not pick up my heart rate. But if I just sit still in the water for a minute or so the watch will pick up the signal again. Though this can get annoying if you are trying to swim laps for endurance. The watch still gives me a fair calculation of calories I have burned during my swim sessions. Though the calorie count is most likely lower since I’m not sure how long the watch is not reading my heart rate during times when I am swimming several laps nonstop. I also tried using this in a saltwater treated pool and the moment I went underwater the transmitter does not work at all. So I’m guessing that this HRM will not work if you are swimming in the ocean.

Chest Strap

– The Chest strap is very comfortable, and I usually don’t feel it, but then again it might be because I’m used to having something strapped around my chest all day. And I have had no problems of it slipping. It is also recommended to wet the straps a little. I usually just wet my hands a bit and rub against the cloth area, and I’m good to go.
– User changeable batteries. The transmitter pops off easily from the strap, and like the watch, I can change my own batteries, but unfortunately the watch and transmitter use different types of batteries.
– Another perk is that most of the machines in my gym also pick up the transmitter readings, allowing me not have to keep glancing at my watch while I’m on the elliptical or cycling.

Overall, I…

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Good monitor, with one main flaw, April 12, 2010

I’ve had the ft7 for maybe two weeks now, using it many times, since it is my first heart rate monitor. Overall, i think it is a good deal. It feels and looks like a high-quality instrument – solid, if not “flashy”. It fits my wrists just fine and seems to have plenty of adjustment for larger wrists (I have fairly small wrists for a guy, at a “healthy” weight of 157 at 5’8″, at age 40). I believe the watch band is anti-microbial (and anyway, has a cool yet subtle almost snakeskin kind of look to it). The band’s connection to the watch seems quite integrated and sturdy, with the vertical thickness of the band being the same as the watch where the two meet. The watch’s main body, while plenty large, does not dwarf my wrist or anything.

I understand that it is a fairly recent development for Polar that the chest strap and the watch will both take regular batteries, rather than having to order replacements from Polar. Certainly that is more convenient. Also as I reviewed potentially replacing my ft7 (see reason below), I found that it is also a treat to have a fabric strap for the heart signal transmitter, as a lot of manufacturers use plastic or rubber (?). I find the fabric strap to be no discomfort at all.

The “heart touch” (i think that’s the name) feature, is at least a cool novelty – bring your watch close to your heart strap and the watch will beep then flash to show the time, then go back to the previous display after a few seconds.

You can manually rotate through several displays as you are training. I would prefer a display that shows the heart rate and the training time at once, but that combination doesn’t exist. The heart rate is a part of one of the combo displays, but oddly, it is paired with the time of day rather than the training time.

Also, the timing functions are rudimentary. As far as i can tell (and i’ve read the manual too), there isn’t a timer or stopwatch function separate from the heart rate training – to use any kind of timer you must “start training” which then looks for a heart signal. If you continue without the strap, it will warn you there’s no heart signal, but once you acknowledge that, that warning disappears and you’ll see the timer again. There is no interval or lap timing or countdown function, which seems odd to me as a newbie, for a 0 watch, even if lesser timer/stopwatch functions might be usual for this heart rate monitor watch industry. The watch just keeps track of your training duration, but you can pause and continue your work as many times as you want.

The recording of your training sessions is exceptional – the manual said up to 99 training files will be saved. I know i’ve already got over 20 that are definitely in the watch.

It also automatically keeps track of how much time you spend in “fat burning” or “fitness” zones during your workout. The calculation for that is automatic based on the input you gave when you set up the watch. (age, height, weight, maximum heart rate).

I’ll emphasize that this watch will allow you to change your maximum heart rate setting, which presumably will change the watch’s calculations for your different training zones (I’m not sure how big the effect is, having just learned enough about my probable true maximum heart rate to change it today). I’ve read that for similarly trained people of the same age in the same athletic endeavors, max HR can differ by as much as 60 bpm (!), so this feature seems very important. I seem to have a much higher max HR than what the usual formulas calculate. (That, or the watch doesn’t detect HR well, which I don’t think is the case, as I’ve noticed this tendency for a long time on gym equipment with pulse detectors).

Besides being able to set your own maximum heart rate, the ft7 has a zone alarm, that will beep when your heart rate has exceeded the limit (which you can set). UNFORTUNATELY (and this is why despite liking the watch overall, i will be taking it back), the sound the watch makes is very very low in volume. If I’m biking against the wind – I’ll hardly hear it if at all. If I’m running on a quiet trail, I’ll probably hear it if i’m listening for it. If i’m running on the sidewalk along a main road, I’ll probably not hear it above the vehicle noise. As is, kind of defeats the purpose of having an audible alarm if despite having it I’m always having to steady my hand while running, or let go of the handlebars while riding to see what my heart rate is. I can find no volume adjustment, looking through the watch settings or reading the manual.

I’d like to say I know more about whether this might simply be a problem with my particular watch, or a design defect. I started a forum question at Polar’s site, but got little response. One other person said they had the same problem there, last i checked. The watch’s alarm-clock function also has a very low volume when it…

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Perfect Device For Basic Heart Rate Based Training, June 7, 2010

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Philip R. Heath “Gadgets, Music, & Books” (DFW) – See all my reviews

  

  

  

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