Polar FT1 Heart Rate Monitor and Sports Watch

Those fitness wrist bands, activity trackers and fitbits cost a lot of money and measure everything. I sleep like a baby thanks to exercise I don't need a band to really measure it for me. I'm sure I take enough steps a day. You have to charge them very often and you have to download everything after you've downloaded the app in the first place! Sometimes I want the information I want right there in big numbers on a wrist watch in front of me.This heart rate monitor is ideal for me. I want to exercise at a percentage of my maximum heart rate for long run, fast runs and easy runs. I'm also starting to use different cardio equipment and I want to check I'm going at the right intensity. After all without knowing your heart rate it's very difficult to to tell how hard you're going.This one was good value and easy to use. It does everything I need it to, is reliable and right there in front of me as I want my information presented. :) I'd recommend this for anyone who wants a good, accurate, heart rate monitor

I have now had two of these Heart Rate Monitors as the battery on my first one ran out after about five years of very regular use!!! You cannot change it easily as it has to go back..... so, for a new wrist monitor, strap and transmitter it was worth buying a new one.The display is easy to read and I like the mode change just by passing the watch section close to the Transmitter.... as you pedal along.I do not need the whole works of some of the expensive devices and for heart Rate Monitoring, Time etc, this one is just the job at a very fair price.

Excellent basic HRM for the money. Single button recording of your last session with average heart rate, max h r, and date info. Input your lower and upper numbers for h r zone and the display indicates under, in, and over the zone whilst exercising. This latter info does not record, however, as it is a basic unit. Chest strap supplied with the watch will last est 2500 hours of use. The watch battery for approx 2 years at 1 hour per days use in both cases. There is an alarm for under and over zone but it is barely audible.

Works well and does what it says on the tin... So all good. When using gym equipment the chest strap sends data to the exercise machine so is it coded to prevent interference if it can be detected by the machine?One point to note... Battery in chest strap cannot be changed so when that runs out you will need to buy a new one... Which costs more that the FT1...If it had a replaceable battery it would have been 5 stars

This is the second Polar heart rate monitor that I've bought in the past 8 months the FT7 and this FT1 from Amazon. Both seem to work well and accurately but I became aware that the FT7 was 'sticking' on or about 130 beats per minute and the FT1 is doing the same . This will stay the same even if I stop for a couple of minutes. I checked the Polar.com website which basically fobs you off with some blatantly obvious advice but does not give a remedy to this issue.In essence these monitors are used to ensure that you are accurately working in a specific zone and you can't be sure that you are! It's a lot of money for a cheap looking watch which is really all it is if you can't trust the readings.

I've just received the heart rate monitor this morning, after ordering it in bed last night, so 5 stars there. The product itself is basic but works. I had no trouble setting it up, I had everything set on it and was wearing it to use within 10 mins, definitely not too complected as some reviews have suggested. Yes it is just one button, which does makes it that little more time consuming as have to go through functions, but it is really simple to use.It was comfortable to wear and seemed to monitor my heart rate accurately, I'm doing intense training at the moment, therefore it really helped to make sure I didn't go over board.I noticed another reviewer mentioned breast getting in the way, I didn't personally find this a problem, just push it up right underneath your breast. I found the belt to be comfortable, I could hardly feel it was there.All in all after first use I'm happy. If I encounter any problems I'll update my review.

I buy a lot of stuff from amazon but don't usually write a review. When I do, it's usually because a product either really sucks, or it's so good, that it's makers deserve to have this acknowledged. I'm happy to say, this product is the latter. I have had numerous heart rate monitors in my time and this is hands-down the best that I have used. To compare it to two, I have had the more expensive FT2 model and found the beeping noise it made to be so quiet it rendered the product useless. I have also used Garmin's forerunner 220 which is far more expensive but needed a recharge at least weekly and packed up after just over a year's, fairly light usage. This bad boy though is a different kettle of fish altogether. It doesn't do anything fancy, it just measures your heart rate, and the beeping noise tells you whether you are under the heart rate zone, in it (when the beeping noise goes silent) or above it (when it beeps quickly). Yes, it has only one button to operate it which makes setting the heart rate zones a longer process than it would be with two buttons; however, this isn't too long-winded and for most people will not have to be done that often. I also prefer the harder strap to the more fashionable soft straps as I prefer the solid feel they have on the chest (I use my heart-rate monitor while exercising with kettle bells which is why I can't use one of the newer strapless heart-rate monitors as I need the display face to be under my wrist to avoid being whacked by a kettle bell!) In all, this does what it says on the tin very well. It has a basic function which is executes effectively. I'll take a lot of persuading before I veer away from it again.