FT40 Heartrate Monitor by Polar

by Polar

Product Description

114798 Features: Monitor calories used with the Polar OwnCal feature and fat burn with the EnergyPointer calculator while the built-in fitness test assesses your aerobic fitness at rest to a graphical target zone indicator helps you keep up the pace View your heart rate as the percent of your maximum heart rate or as beats per minute (BPM) with the wireless ECG accurate heart rate Establish your manual target zone which is calculated from your BPM's upper limit to you get an audible and visual alarm when you reach a target zone Keep track of your progress with up to 50 exercise files to monitor records exercise date, HR-based target zones (you know when you reach them thanks to audible and visual alarms), average heart rate, calorie expenditure, exercise time, and maximum heart rate Monitor your heart with the WearLink 31 coded transmitter Along with exercise-ready functions, you get an alarm clock with a snooze feature, date, and weekday indicator, dual time zone monitor, and a low battery indicator Make this watch work for you anywhere with a backlit face, water-resistance to 30 meters, and volume setting Specifications: Waterproof: water-resistant to 30 meters

Product Details

• ASIN: B002RVZRIK
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,436 in Sports & Outdoors (See Top 100 in Sports & Outdoors)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth it!, January 26, 2009

By 

D. Taylor - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: FT40 Heartrate Monitor by Polar (Sports)

This heart rate monitor is definitely worth the extra over the cheaper versions. My husband has the Polar F6 and we both agree that this is worth the extra $50. It's has enhanced my running and strength training more that I thought it would. The alarms are very useful, and I love the fitness test and that it tracks my training. The chest strap is high quality and comfortable, and the wrist unit is also comfortable and attractive. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that the green band looks a little cheaper in person than it does in the picture. The design isn't as evident as I expected. Otherwise it is perfect for my training. I love it!

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good quality, expensive, easy to use!, December 22, 2009

By 

olympics2010 (Canada) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: FT40 Heartrate Monitor by Polar (Sports)

Overall, I think this is a good, QUALITY product!

It does what it says it will do--WELL! No surprises! I was looking for a waterproof watch that was customizable to view how many calories I was burning (for fat loss purposes) and an attractive watch that I could wear everyday to work (I work in a casual environment--this wouldn't be suitable for a banking job as the watch is a sport watch--bigger than a jewellery watch). I reviewed several other brands and the Polar website of all other products--I decided on Polar because of other people's positive experiences and the brand quality. Another major feature that I considered was the watch being able to calculate calories for non-cardio activities (strength training), but I decided against that (mostly because those watches were designed for men and they were not in my price range, but also because I read that it isn't really necessary?). The watch isn't so "bright lime green" in real life (it looks SLIGHTLY less impressive in real life than it does on the website) , also the watch strap seems to get a little dirty with normal use. I did receive several compliments about the watch when it was new.

I paid about $175 CDN and shipping was expensive, but it was shipped fairly fast (about 7 days from the US to Canada). Unfortunately, amazon.ca doesn't carry Polar! Pricing seemed comparable everywhere I looked (minus shipping). The movie listed on this review page was the final convincing factor for me buying this watch. I found the Polar website a little too technical when deciding (I would be fine now). I wish it had a questionnaire that would help guide you as to which product is best rather than having to compare them all yourself!!! I was also considering buying several other Polar watches--the final debate was between this watch and the FT60 (I had to put a price range in it, and considering that I was only a mild-moderate active person, I didn't want to go all out--probably next time). I ended up buying this watch because I couldn't (at that time justify spending another $60 US. :( I kind of think that may have been a better watch for me as it allows for cross training which is good for me as I am trying to lose fat, and am trying to vary my activity (the FT60 says it sets up the program for you--although I wasn't sure if that was what I wanted/wasn't sure if that was customizable.)

I am fairly happy with this watch as it does what is most important: it's reliable, sturdy, it counts calories, it allows for the user to take a 5 minute test (lay on the ground--it will monitor your heart rate), it will allow the user to always customize their user info so that the stats should be accurate (including height, weight, gender, dob, activity level). While wearing the chest strap, this watch will tell you your heart rate, monitor your maximum heart rate zone for you during activity (which you can manually enter your maximums yourself or let it choose it for you), put in your VO2 index (which, from reading, I realized is a quality feature!), keep data records of how many minutes of activity you did, what your heart rate was at, and how many calories you burned (most importantly!)

I have compared my watch to the cardio machines at the gym and this watch definitely seems a lot more accurate (others over-estimate!) I also used this watch while downhill skiing--it does overestimate the calories burned on downhill skiing (I believe), because you are not always relying on your body to get you down the mountain, which can skew the results. If you are scared, your heart might go up a bit, and skew the results a little (in my opinion, and not that I would know this from experience! LOL!)

Other things that are good about this watch are the alarm--it has a custom alarm (daily, weekdays, once, off) with snooze. It features military time (including seconds) which I use at work. It features a 5-second teal back light (button that you press) that is very helpful for reading the data in the dark! The watch data is also apparently downloadable to the Polar website via wifi, but I have not tried doing this. The green watch band has turned slightly dirty shade of green from normal use (doesn't seem to wash off well from shower). My dog unfortunately scratched the screen REALLY BAD when I was holding her (moderately easy to scratch plastic). :( However, the watch quality I would say is very good with normal use - no breakages or tears, etc.!

I did lose 20 lbs. this last year while using this watch; however, I don't use the calorie features as much anymore--the main reason is because I tire of/forget to wear the chest strap (and you have to put water on it first to activate it, which is a little bit cold to press against your skin! Be careful not to lose the transmitter on the chest strap--it snaps off.

The FT40 really motivated me--especially for the first 3 months, it got me out and active a lot more. I recommend this watch as it provides a whole lot of helpful features, it is EASY to use and it has motivated me; however, if you are considering a higher level Polar watch I would say, go for it! I think I would have been a little happier with the Polar FT60 even though it would have been $70 USD more. This watch is an investment and if you think you will use the other features (and it keeps you motivated), then it is definitely worth it even if it kills your bank account. This watch's expectancy (I would say) should be 5+ years (maybe up to 10). The only con to this product (besides the somewhat easily scratched screen) is the price, but you get what you pay for here!

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A bodybuilder's perspective, April 17, 2009

By 

Disciple of Hugeness "Keep it HUGE" - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: FT40 Heartrate Monitor by Polar (Sports)

This is a good adjunct if you are prone to overtraining. If you are doing cardio to lose fat, the energy bar provides a visual cue to keep you from pushing too hard and breaking down muscle for that particular cardio workout based on how well rested you are. Of course we are relying in Polar's secret formula regarding heart rate variability to do this; but this seems to correlate well with other markers of overtraining to include HR recovery and change in morning resting heart rate. Using it with the flowlink is a great way to keep track of calories burned as well as to troubleshoot any lack of progress.

Regarding looks, it's no uglier than a generic timex, but looks better and calls less attention than the 1st generation polars. Not too crazy about the unisex green detailing. The lack of looks costs it one star. I covered the face with a screen protector, as deep scratches from training had been a problem with my previous heart rate monitors, and this seems to work well.

Regarding the chronograph function, I didn't like how the face setting with "time only" does not have seconds. This made it unusable in my line or work where I need to measure things in beats per minute. In order to display seconds, you have to also display the "polar FT40" graphic, which cuts the font size of the watch from an 18, down to about a 10 to fit everything on the screen. Not a deal breaker, just annoying.

I would recommend this for strength and power athletes who have a tendency to lose muscle while trying to lose fat due to overtraining. If overtraining is not a problem, you don't need to shell out the extra cash for the polar energy bar.

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