Polar FT60

I gave this to my husband for his birthday, ever since he has improved his work outs and increased his cardiovascular capacity, plus he is less prone to get injured and he has lost over 10 pounds in 2… months! The Polar FT60 will coach you to fulfill different programs, as increasing your fitness and others, and will make a training program specific for you. The red display can be hard to read in dim lights, but it is not in bright lights (day) or darkness, so it is not really too bad, especially considering that this color goes for much cheaper. The one problem we had was that the data erased itself once, when it should have not. But that problem has not been repeated.

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My first heart rate monitor and well worth the money. It is comfortable, not unsightly, packed with features and appears to take a decent amount of abuse. The strap is easy to wash and fits well around all… sizes. The weight loss program is simple but great at making you realize just how hard you actually need to work out. (I would guess that without a heart rate monitor most people don't realize how they are not working in their zones at all) with diet and this little tool I have so far lost about 20lbs. Display was easy to read, and while intimidating, it is not complex despite all it can do. The weight graph is fantastic!

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I have Polar FT60 for a few weeks. My experience with HRMs is limited to this and OMRON HR-100c. I was impressed by the personaltrainer site, the reviews I read about the product and the fact that the… batteries are user-replaceable. Well, things unfortunately are not as they seem. The watch is supposed to have the STAR training feature which (based on the data entered by the user, plus measurements) plays the role of a personal trainer with three possible goals (weight loss, fitness improve/maximize). Problems: 1. The weekly plan produced is vague: It states only how many minutes one should spend in each of the 3 training zones. Should I do it in 2 sessions? 3, 4, 5? It doesn't tell you. As a contrast check the (much more impressive) programs created by the respective site: They give you specific days (depending on a reasonable choice you have made in terms of the number of desired training sessions) and specific time duration for successive sub-sessions. E.g., try 20' in zone 1, then 10' in zone 2 and 10' in zone 1. 2. If I want to follow a session as suggested above, I cannot do it: No timer(s) available to inform me that the first sub-session has ended, so that I should go to the following one! 3. Suppose I must train x minutes in Zone 1 and y minutes in Zone 2 and no minutes in the highest Zone. There is NO way to lock the first 2 zones so that I do not overtrain! 4. The training alarm does not work unless I specifically lock a PARTICULAR zone. What if I forgot myself in the 'warming-up' and my heart-rate is below Zone 1? NO SOUND unless I have locked Zone 1! What if I do not lock any particular zone and my BMP is either below Zone 1 (or above Zone 3)? NO SOUND! And I have tested that with the training sound level at various levels before writing this. The OMRON HR-100C is much better at this. Its sound is stronger (one level but a decent one) and once you set the low and high BMP values, it will beep if you under- or over-train. The display is also clearer and the figures larger and crisper. 6. The Polar strap is supposed to be upto XXL, but it is short a few cm. I had to go to a tailor and put a little extension (4-5cm) to make it fit. The OMRON was OK from the beginning. 7. The OMRON came with a zippered storage case and a mounting bracket. The much more expensive Polar FT60 with none of these... 8. The batteries are user-replaceable, BUT the Polar manual specifically states that once you change the battery, you must also replace the sealing ring on the watch, or else... 9. The calories burned, etc. feature is nice, but its accuracy disputed in the relevant forum. Final remark: Unfortunately the rule "you get what you pay for" is not the case here. For the features offered FT60 is not what I would expect, but it is too late now.

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The watch arrived even earlier than scheduled and it's great. I'm giving 3 stars because the package (outside and inside) didn't seem to be brand new (maybe used? Maybe old and used for display?). There was… no protective plastic on the glass and there was data already plugged in. The battery was very low and needed to be replaced after only one time of use! The warranty says that you need to bring it to a Polar store to get the battery replaced otherwise you loose the warranty. There was supposed to be a protection on the battery cover but there was none. We did replace the battery and now we love it. For almost 200$ we expected to buy something new (as the store advertise!).

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I spent a fair amount of time researching which HRM to buy. Getting sold on a Polar was pretty easy, but then you have to figure out which Polar. I didn't care about running which put me into the FT… category. I do like "toys" and I do like data, so I settled on the FT60 and I'm glad I did. Setup was easy, just answer the questions. Using it is also easy. It'll start/pause/stop and you can review your workout on the screen. I also like how it calculates a program for me based on my goal and I can see where I am relative to that goal. When I meet or exceed the goal for the week it even displays a trophy on the screen (cute). I upload my data to Polar's website which has been a breeze and it's free. Unlike some of the other Polar models, you can replace the battery in the HRM and the transmitter yourself on this model. A big plus in my opinion.

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