Review by eric:

So, I purchased the F6 in October of 2006. I use it for cycling and on aerobic machines and it really works great. No complaints about performanace at all and it does a nice job of tracking exercise. I paid .95 for the product, which seemed sorta high, but I wanted a reliable product from a good name. Well…in August 2007, the transmitter stopped working. Despite the “2 year” warranty stated above, that does not cover batteries, which apparently was the transmitter problem. So, I sent it back to Polar to fix it…but they can’t fix it, they can only replace it. All said, it cost me plus my shipping costs to fix. The “replacement” was clearly not new. I’m not sure if it was mine, but it definitely was not new. So, in less than a year, I’ve had to shell out about 0 and, if the battery dies again six months from now, I guess I’ll have to go through this again. I would not but another Polar product.

Review by WordGirl:

Easy to set up, accurate, user friendly. Just took it for a test drive this morning. Shipping was fast and friendly. Nice user manual. Very explanatory.

Put in your vitals, adjust the strap around your chest and put the pedal to the metal.

I burned 511 calories — 45% from fat. For 49:51 minutes of work, I spent 14:46 minutes in the 144-160 beats per minute range; with my heart rate topping out at 178 (93% of my maximum for the “moderate training zone”). My average heart rate was 151 for the duration (79% of my maximum). The alarm cued me when to step it up and also when to back it down so I could keep on a better training track.

Apparently, I’ve been working too hard in the past. Because just as the HRM was yelling at me to back down, I was thinking, “Geez, touchy thingie! I can go way harder and higher than this!” But if it improves my stamina, all the better.

I would recommend reviewing the product manual and setting up your customizations the night before if you are an early morning exerciser. Setup and familiarization with the product/material takes about an hour.

Review by David Smith:

i’m so sick of products that don’t work. this time, all i needed was a heart rate watch because the heart rate sensors on those life fitness ellipticals are garbage. they work for a while and then they completely screw up and throw your workout off track. SO frustrating.

so, i didn’t need any of the other functions. i just needed a watch to show me my heart rate at all times, without pressing a bunch of buttons. and this did it. i glanced at the (thankfully short) instructions.. there’s only ONE button on this watch. attach buttons to chest strap. put on chest strap under your chest. press button. THAT’S IT! there was no drop-out of my heart rate. at the gym, the elliptical screwed up as usual, but i had my watch! then it started working again and the watch readouts were the same as the (also polar brand) elliptical sensors. i was a little worried that i should have bought the next best model because it has some technology where other electronics can’t interfere with it, but there was no one around me and i had no problem. the instruction said to moisten the chest strap sensors, but i didn’t and it still worked. besides, during my workout i was sweating which gave it moisture naturally! the watch fits just like a normal watch, and it doesn’t look all big and dorky. ALSO the number readout is big, which means i don’t have to strain to see my heart rate, i just glance at it. ALSO the chest strap is perfect. i was amazed when i put it on and it fit without any adjustment on my part. it’s elastic and flexible. brilliant!

there is one problem with this watch.. the battery. it says it will last for 2 years with 1 hour of use per day, but there’s no way of turning the time display off. i assume they meant using the heart rate function. i’m emailing them to find out. also when the battery fails, they want you to mail it to them and they charge you and shipping to replace it instead of getting a tiny screwdriver and doing it yourself. actually that might be a good deal considering the price of some batteries.

edit – this is what polar told me: “The FS1 can not be turned off. The average life of the receiver on a single battery is 2 years with 1 hour of use per day. The 1 hour of use is 1 hour of reading heart rate in exercise mode. In time mode the unit is in

a battery saving state.” so that’s good.

Review by Fenixfire077:

i never thought i would find one of these under 0, maybe i was looking in all the wrong places, but when i found this one by chance at a wal-mart, i picked it up right away i think it was .99. It’s fantastic, and it’s dramatically improving my running, i never thought a heart rate monitor would have been so crucial, anyhow, if my opinion changes, ill be sure to revise this review

Review by Aggieash:

Update: After owning two of these sports bras for over four months, I have found myself wearing the chest strap instead of the bras for about half of my workouts. I reduced my original rating of five stars to four stars since the sports bras tend to rise up a bit during rigorous exercise (e.g. boot camp, body combat), and the sensors don’t stay against my chest when doing floor exercises (e.g. situps). The sports bras are ideal for cycling and working out on the elliptical machine, since my upper body is stationary for the most part.

Original Review: I love not having to wear a chest strap! I needed a 34D, so I purchased a large. The large was too big around my rib cage and didn’t keep a consistent heart rate connection. The large is definitely true to size, as it is advertised as 36″. I had the closure taken in 2″ at the tailor. I ordered a medium, and it fits well. My WearLink transmitter, which came with my Polar F11 heart rate monitor, snaps in perfectly, and I have not had any problems keeping a reliable heart rate reading. The equipment at the gym also picks up the transmitter signal, which is nice. I have recommended this product to friends.

Review by Gin:

I ordered this product because the Polar Chest strap was really irritating to my skin, so much so that I couldn’t wear it. I was initially skeptical of this product, but after receiving it and trying it, I’m in love! The heart rate monitor snaps perfectly into place, and I had no trouble picking up and keeping my heart rate on my watch. I will definitely order one (despite the steep price) in white. I ordered a size medium, and it fits just right. I usually wear size medium in my sports bras, and found this to fit snug, but not too tight. Highly, highly recommend this polar product! The only con is the steep price!

Review by eric:

So, I purchased the F6 in October of 2006. I use it for cycling and on aerobic machines and it really works great. No complaints about performanace at all and it does a nice job of tracking exercise. I paid .95 for the product, which seemed sorta high, but I wanted a reliable product from a good name. Well…in August 2007, the transmitter stopped working. Despite the “2 year” warranty stated above, that does not cover batteries, which apparently was the transmitter problem. So, I sent it back to Polar to fix it…but they can’t fix it, they can only replace it. All said, it cost me plus my shipping costs to fix. The “replacement” was clearly not new. I’m not sure if it was mine, but it definitely was not new. So, in less than a year, I’ve had to shell out about 0 and, if the battery dies again six months from now, I guess I’ll have to go through this again. I would not but another Polar product.

Review by WordGirl:

Easy to set up, accurate, user friendly. Just took it for a test drive this morning. Shipping was fast and friendly. Nice user manual. Very explanatory.

Put in your vitals, adjust the strap around your chest and put the pedal to the metal.

I burned 511 calories — 45% from fat. For 49:51 minutes of work, I spent 14:46 minutes in the 144-160 beats per minute range; with my heart rate topping out at 178 (93% of my maximum for the “moderate training zone”). My average heart rate was 151 for the duration (79% of my maximum). The alarm cued me when to step it up and also when to back it down so I could keep on a better training track.

Apparently, I’ve been working too hard in the past. Because just as the HRM was yelling at me to back down, I was thinking, “Geez, touchy thingie! I can go way harder and higher than this!” But if it improves my stamina, all the better.

I would recommend reviewing the product manual and setting up your customizations the night before if you are an early morning exerciser. Setup and familiarization with the product/material takes about an hour.

Review by Jose A. Martinez:

So far I’m impressed with the variety of functions this device has. My only dislike is battery strength is not holding up as expected. Overall, satisfied with product.

Review by Bill Graham:

First, let me say that if you are interested in this heart rate monitor watch, it is probably because you will be using it mainly for the heart rate monitor. However, I would have liked to see a LITTLE more flexibility to use it as both a heart rate monitor AND a watch at the same time. Perhaps I haven’t quite figured out how to easily switch between the clock and the actual timers, but it isn’t a big deal if you don’t mind that. It’s certainly not a deal breaker by any means.

I haven’t dug into the features too much at this point, but I have used it for over 30 sessions of weight lifting and running, and everything works really well. Some people have said there is interference at times, but I have yet to run into anything like that. I rinse it off after every workout, and even washed it in the washer once already. So far, the strap itself has worked pretty well, though I wish it would stay up a little more in the back. I have a wide back so I can’t really blame the strap, and having something resembling suspenders would be a little absurd. Additionally, when using it for weight lifting, because of the necessary location of the strap, it can get in the way on barbell benchpress, barbell bent rows, or other exercises that might come in contact with your lower chest.

The watch is light, and I like the color because it is never hard to find. Sure, it would look a little goofy to wear out and about as a general purpose watch, but this thing wasn’t made for that. The buttons are all very easy to press, though sometimes the main lap button at the bottom (red button) has not read my perceived button press. Perhaps this is user error on my part, as I can’t be positive because generally it is right after I finish a sprint that I press it. Your results may vary, but 98 out of 100 times, it works perfectly for me. I love the breakdowns and flexibility this thing gives, and it was nice to see it tell me that my fitness level was “elite.”

Would definitely recommend for someone who wants the flexibility and precision of a great heart rate monitor watch.

Review by Mark G. Huber:

I have been very disappointed with the heart rate monitor. During exercise i will notice no heart rate on my watch screen. Any advice or anyone else experiencing the same issue? I have cleaned strap and changed battery. Advice anyone?

Review by James F. Strasma:

I’ve used a Polar A1 basic heart monitor for several months, found it useful for losing weight and gaining fitness, but found myself wishing for something a bit better. Now that I also have the much fancier Polar M61, I’m seeing anew the virtues of simplicity (not to mention low cost.)

Compared to the A1, the M61 usefully adds a stopwatch and regular watch (with either visible along with the current heart rate), and a backlight. It also beeps at you if your heart rate goes above or below a specified target zone. I find all those added features very useful.

Sadly, it is also a far more complex watch to set up and operate than the A1, with many features that no longer seem as important as I once thought. Even so, it still lacks features I’d expected it to include, such as recording the highest and lowest heart rate reached during a session, and a way to record the drop in heart rate during the first minute after ending an exercise session.

I now know I’d have been about as happy with the Polar FS2 model, for half the price, but would still prefer the M61 over all other Polar heart monitors.

P.S. A great guide to effective use of a heart monitor is “Younger Next Year: A Guide to Living Like 50 Until You’re 80 and Beyond” by Chris Cowley & Henry S. Lodge, M.D.

Review by S. Casper:

There is so much to like about this heart rate monitor I almost feel disappointed in myself for not liking it. The wearlink transmitter is comfortable (if a little odd in the fact that you have to wet the sensors down to use it), the own zones, the custom zone, and the accuracy are exactly what I expected and thought I needed in a heart rate monitor. As with another reviewer, I have lost weight (26 pounds in 14 weeks) while using this monitor to help regulate and target my workouts.

That said, there are quite a few quirks to this monitor, and things that it simply will not do, due to design issues and logic flaws.

There is no key lock. This means that while doing some work outs, the monitor will stop and reset itself. This is particularly annoying to discover after you’ve just done 30 minutes of basketball, martial arts, or even weight lifting, only to see the watch showing a minute and a half and asking you if you are sure you want to quit.

This monitor also only tracks one exercise session. Which means if you do a split work out (twenty minutes of high intensity cardio followed by twenty minutes of resistance training) you have to manually note your data at the end of each session, and adjust your target heart rates. If you fail to do so, the data (time, time in zone, average heart rate, calories burned, etc, other than total calories burned) is lost. Given its lack of keylock, its entirely possible for you to lose a session just by bumping your wrist against something and having the monitor start again.

The user manual (and this seems to be a common complaint with Polar products) is overly complex and not very user friendly to the point that I nearly found it incomprehensible.

Review by Manuel Cepeda:

To gain confidence in the data from the Polar Activity Watch, I compared total active steps, time in different activity levels, and kcal expended with similar data for 4 different cadences on a Precor EFX524i elliptical exercise machine.

Data was recorded from the Precor at average cadences of 120, 130, 140, and 150 strides per minute, exercising for 30 minutes at each level (different days for each level) while wearing the Polar watch. All elliptical exercise was at the same resistance and incline setting. The Polar watch divides the activity zone data into 5 levels (slow walk, walk, brisk walk, run, and fast run). At an average of 120 strides per minute, the watch credited 6 minutes in the slow walk and 24 minutes in the walk range. For 130 strides per minutes, the activity levels from the watch were up to 11 minutes at the walk level and 18 minutes at the brisk walk level. At 140 strides per minute, all 30 minutes were recorded as a fast walk. At 150 strides per minute, 24 minutes total were recorded as a run. The progression suggests that the activity levels recorded by the watch do accurately reflect the increasing level of activity on the elliptical.

I next compared the total steps recorded by the Polar Activity Watch (which is an estimated number based on the accelerometer measurements) to the total strides on the elliptical (which should be an actual count). The tabulation combined data from the four 30 minute periods of exercise at the 4 difference cadences. The total strides for the Precor was 16,145 and the Polar total was 16,382. That is only a 1% difference!

The difference was greater for the kcal count: 950 and 1054 for the Polar and the elliptical respectively, resulting in a 10% difference. Neither the Polar Activity Watch nor the Precor elliptical data is a true measurement of kcal expended. They give an approximation to be compared with future activity. Still, the numbers for the two instruments are close.

Differences were greater for some measures and less for others when the same comparisons were applied to each of the 30 minute intervals separately rather than combining data from the 4 intervals (same principal as with batting averages, the season average tells more about the player than does knowing only the number of hits in a single game). A single 30 minute (or shorter) interval could be misleading as could looking at data for only a single cadence.

It would be incorrect to assume that other Polar Activity Watch users will have the same results (although most results will probably be similar). Parts of the data are based on height, weight, age and gender which are entered into the Polar Activity Watch. Because of manufacturing tolerances, each watch manufactured will give slightly different readings. Each user of the watch can do calculations similar to what was done here in order to appreciate how their watch compares with their favorite elliptical or treadmill. Just remember this data is with a natural arm swing (not holding on to safety railing and not using the upper body exercise poles that come with some elliptical machines). Perhaps someone else can report on using an elliptical with the upper body exercise poles or the results with a treadmill.

The Polar Activity Watch lends objectivity to daily activity and exercise measurements. It did accurately reflect the time spent on an elliptical exerciser. Recording of daily or weekly data totals should help with setting activity goals and weight management planning.

Review by Bear Mountaineer:

Great product in theory, but I was less than impressed for the price. Although it is hard to find all these features in one watch, having them all in one piece is worth searching for. The problem I had with this one was mainly in its lack of ease of use. Its relatively heavy and the interface is nothing to write home about. My use was mainly to keep track of elevation changes and distance while I backpack and hike. The barometer is a nice feature but I wish all its features were more obviously accessible. The directions were not very easy to follow as I found that the watch didn’t always react the way the directions said it would. I had to start over a few times. Once I initially calibrated the altimeter I couldn’t recalibrate. At this point I returned it. If you are a gadget wiz you may like it but as an average tech user I found it more involved than I was looking for.

Review by jojo runs:

I received this watch as a Christmas present in 2005. I have been using it for the past 6 months (average 2x per week). I spotted this exact watch but with yellowish straps at an expo from Polar after I got my watch for only 2 weeks and was diligent about keeping it clean, but to no avail, it turned yellowish after about 2 months and now it just looks dirty and old, the face is still the original “ice blue”. If you are thinking about this watch, buy the black one.

After I started using it, I wished I went with another model since this one doesn’t store any previous data. I track all my runs and sometimes I forget to record before my next run and I lose all my previous data once I press “start”. In addition, it doesn’t have a stopwatch. Once you press stop, it thinks you’re done with your workout instead of just a pause or break so you can’t track your actual total workout time. I just let it run even when I am at stoplights or water break. If lap feature is important, go with another model. Another complaint about this watch is that there’s no backlight. I have to wait till I run under a street light to see my data. The data sheet said it has a backlight but I can’t manage to find it.

Today both the buttons cracked and fell off my watch. Now it’s useless.

I still have the most basic model from Polar (bought in 2000 and it’s discontinued) that only monitors my HR and that thing still works because there’s no buttons to push. Polar makes good HR monitor and I would still buy another one from them. Just not this one.

Review by S. Christiansen:

This watch is simple to use. The instructions are very easy to follow. It’s fun being able to see my heart rate while I’m exercising. It works with the heart rate monitors on the equipment at my gym. I don’t have to hold on to their handles. The signal is transmitted from this heart rate monitor to the treadmill, elyptical, or whatever, and shows up on the screne.

I wish the watch had a stopwatch and a light. No such luck.