| Packed with a number of innovative training features to help you meet your exercise goals, the Polar FT7 men's heart rate monitor watch is stylish and functional. The FT7's most important function is to check your body's daily condition and guide you to a suitably intense workout, as people benefit from different workouts on different days. The watch accomplishes this by measuring your heart rate in beats per minute, and then indicating whether you exceed or fall below your target zone. The watch also includes a number of other valuable features, however. The EnergyPointer, for instance, tells you whether the main effect of your training is to improve your fitness or burn fat. The FT7 also includes Polar's Own Cal function, which tracks your energy expenditure during a single exercise session as well as your accumulated kilocalories throughout the week. As you progress, you can set daily and weekly exercise goals in terms of calorie expenditure, helping you achieve both short- and long-term goals. The company also included two other Polar-exclusive features: The first, OwnCode, is a technology that blocks unwanted crosstalk signals from other heart rate monitors nearby, ensuring that your heart rate data is transmitted clearly. This is particularly helpful when exercising with other people, such as in aerobic or spinning classes. The HeartTouch function, meanwhile, lets you access different information without pressing buttons. Just bring your training computer close to your transmitter and you can cycle through the data. Other details include visual and audible alarms; a Polar FlowLink port that's compatible with polarpersonaltrainer.com; 99 training files (with summaries); a weekly history option that gathers your weekly training data; a graphical target zone indicator; a stopwatch; a date and weekday indicator; and a user-replaceable battery. Water-resistant to 50 meters, the FT7 carries a two-year warranty. About Polar
Polar invented the first EKG accurate wireless heart rate monitor back in 1977 as a training tool for the Finnish National Cross Country Ski Team. The concept of "intensity training" by heart rate swept the athletic world in the '80s. By the 1990s, individuals were looking to heart rate monitors not only for performance training needs, but also for achieving everyday fitness goals. Today, heart rate training is employed by world-class athletes as well as everyday people trying to lose weight, and Polar is the leading heart rate monitor brand among consumers, coaches, and personal trainers worldwide. The company is committed to not only producing the best products, but also being the leading educator on the benefits of heart rate based exercise. |
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 Not Too Basic and Not Too High Tech |
| Review Date: January 31, 2010 |
| Reviewer: AthenaKTT, Los Angeles, CA USA |
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 really like this watch. For the price I paid, it was worth it and it gives me all the basic things I need to monitor my workout sessions.
If you want a simple watch that gives you fairly accurate heart rates, calorie burns, training records, and user changeable batteries the FT7 is a cheaper option to the FT40 and FT60 models.
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Happy Customer
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| Review Date: January 11, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Michel Boivin, Montreal, Canada |
Great Product ! Have used it for a couple of weeks now and don't regret the purchase.. works just like it should.
Picks up your heart beat immediately once your 'strapped' in. Set up was easy with the manual in hand. Once you get the idea of how the menu works its a breeze ! Easy enough to be used by the 'technically challenged'.
Wearlink strap is comfortable and one forgets its really there once you begin your physcial activity.
Watch stores statistical data ( calories burned, avg./max heart rate per workout, length of workout, workout time in fat or fitness zone ) which is a great way to monitor progress. Stores data for weeks if one so wishes.
I use the watch to gather data and then trsf it to a spreadsheet for graphical representation. Great way to stay motivated !
Thus far I'm sold on the FT7 ! |
Can't exercise without it!
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| Review Date: March 18, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Maria, |
This is my first heart rate monitor. I have been using it for about a month and I am extremely happy with my purchase. It is user friendly and much more comfortable than I anticipated - I don't even realize I'm wearing the chest strap most of the time. I looked up my target heart rate online (there are a bunch of calculators to google)and aim to stay toward the high end of my target heart rate during my workouts. My heart rate shows up on the watch and on the cardio machine if I'm at the gym. It provides me with the calories I'm burning in a more accurate form than the estimated calories on the cardio machines. I can also monitor my heart rate/calories burned during strength training exercises. I find it easier to determine how much rest I truly need between sets by looking at my heart rate. The monitor helps me a lot during my spinning as well. It is much easier to tell if I could push myself more or if I needed to slow down and/or decrease my resistance a little. I feel like my workouts are more effective since I started monitoring my heart rate.
There is an optional tool to track training through the Polar website, but it requires an additional purchase to transmit data. I am tracking my exercise in a spreadsheet instead so that I can see trends of what works for my body and what doesn't, without spending the extra money. The watch provides me with the length of exercise, average heart rate, maximum heart rate,calories burned, time in the fitness zone and time in the fat burn zone. I'm tracking these, along with the time of day I exercised, type of exercise I did and what I ate before my workout. I'm also calculating average calories burned per minute.
I highly recommend this product! |
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