Customer Reviews

Polar F11M Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Grey Pepper, New Design)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I purchased this item about 1.5 years ago and I've had nothing but sub-par, unreliable operation. First, the unit wouldn't even pick up my heart rate unless I soaked the transmitter under water for at least 20 seconds. When it did end up working it would sporadically work, dropping in and out as well as give me false readings - sorry, at full sprint my heart rate is not going to be 43% of max. Next, the battery died on me so I decided to try and change the battery out myself which in turn voided the warranty. To close, if you don't enjoy sporadic operation from a $150 plus monitor, you don't want to send your unit out for battery replacement (at a service fee)every year and be out a monitor for three weeks then DO NOT BUY THIS UNIT! I've recently switched to a Garmin unit and the difference is worlds apart.

I've used my Polar F11 for 3 1/2 years, and after watching the heart monitor read "00" for most of my long run today, I've decided it's time to try Garmin 305.

There's a lot of computing power in this little machine - but not enough engineering and quality control behind it. You can generate a training program based on your goals, determining the number of workouts and times in each of 3 heart rate zones - that's good - but if you adjust the settings the watch inexplicably renames the exercises. It's confusing and a sign that they skipped some quality testing steps.

Over the years I've suffered with the unpredictable failures in the heart monitor - sometimes it's fine for weeks and months at a time, and then it just goes erratic. To have have the unit serviced, you get so shell out $59-79 and have to wait 2-3 weeks for the authorized dealer to return it to you.

If you like to synch your workouts with a computer, Polar has a very nice web-based fitness toolset - IF you are a PC user.

My wife has an F5 unit and finds similar issues as well - so while Polar was the leader in creating this market, they've failed to keep the quality and features up to date. If you're in doubt, go look at the ratings on a competing Garmin 305 (same price point on Amazaon) and you'll see 500 5 star ratings and 300 4 star ratings.

Polar is the most accurate brand when it comes to tracking calories and heart rate, but their watches have to be sent to the factory for a battery replacement at a cost of $25.00 + shipping for a CR2032 battery that costs $1.95 at the local store. The 2-week turnaround time leaves you without anything to use. Battery will last about 1 year if used daily.

I bought the Polar F11 about a month ago, and it is a pretty good HRM. I have no real complaints about mechanical fit or function. This is my second and last Polar HRM.

My major complaint is about the data handling! Particularly because it's my data, and the only way I can download it is to Polar's website. They make no other (none!) provisions to let your download your own data to own computer. I really question their motives in hijacking my training data. And their website truly sucks. I called them to try to buy something (anything) to let me download my own data to my own computer, but no dice and no plans to do so in the future. My old Polar HRM would let me do this, and any future HRM I buy will let me do this, and it won't be a Polar! I've been looking at Suunto's!

Polar F11 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Grey Pepper)

I've been using this for a few weeks. The accuracy of the heart rate and calorie measurements is fabulous. Also, I've never had a problem getting a reading at all. This product just plain works.

The data feature it comes with isn't terribly useful, though. For instance, the only data that it is capable of saving from a workout is time of workout, max heart rate, calories burned, and average heart rate. It does not save your heart rate at every moment during the workout then graph it out.

The OwnIndex feature, which tests your cardio fitness level while you lie down, is kind of neat, but I think most people getting one of these already have a pretty good idea of their cardio fitness level. It's fun nonetheless.

So glad to be back with Polar. I used up one of their basic models and then gave Suunto a try. Suunto monitors have big and bold designs and their belts used to be more comfortable than Polar's but for some inexplicable reason mine got moisture inside it and began a slow dying process. It may be a pain to have to send your Polar monitor away to an authorized service center for simple things such as battery changes but they may have some valid reasoning behind it. The F11M is simply my best HRM so far. Easy to use, very accurate and (thanks to a completely new belt design) very reliable and comfortable. The belt really makes this product. It is soft and most importantly the contact points are of a spongy material that retains moisture and guarantees an uninterrupted transmission to the monitor itself. I am a cyclist and with all my previous monitors I've had problems with static and dryness interfering with the belt to monitor communication. No such worries here. It looks great and works great. I'll never try any other brand ever again.

I lost 60 lbs and have kept it off for 2 years using this F11 Heart rate monitor. The built in trainer is very motivating to me. It lets you know when you need to pick up the pace, and also lets you know when you can back it off a bit and "stride it out." I love the fact that when you get tired and want to quit you look down at the watch and it looks back at you and says come on man, 6 more min. or 85 more calories. You can do it.
Best tool I have ever bought for myself![[
ASIN:B0009HN5Y2 Polar F11 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Grey Pepper)]]

This review addresses specifically the computer support for the Polar F11. The watch itself is quite good and would rate 4 1/2 stars.

The Polar software however is miserable. You are restricted to uploading your workout data to the Polarpersonaltrainer.com website. The application to handle the uploading is Windows only (it does work on Vista) and interfaces with the watch using sound (so you'll need a working microphone attached to your Windows system).

The website itself is one of the more buggy sites I've encountered and seems to be fairly stagnant in terms of development. Fundamental things such as graphing your average heart rate or OwnZone over time are broken (and acknowledged to be broken by Polar) and have been for 6 months now. This makes the site useless for doing much beyond viewing historical workout data, which you can already do on the watch.

If you're considering the F11, do so only on the merits of it as a standalone HRM and consider the software side a non-factor.

This is the second Polar heart rate monitor I've had over 10 years... the first one lasted that long! The only reason I decided to replace it is that I lost my first one.

I read all the reviews on the internet and decided on this model.

PROS
- The layout and logic of the menus
- Decades of experience show in the execution of what you see on-screen

CONS
- Workmanship, reliability
- The chest strap is flimsier than my old model. doesn't seem like it will hold up (but time will tell)
- One of the buttons fell off in my hand the second time I used it. Polar is mailing me a new button, but it will take two weeks to get here.

A side note: Polar has online chat customer service you can access through their website. Bravo! It worked really well, and I got my problem resolved while I was able to do several other things... better than having a phone stuck to the side of my face for a half-hour! I think they should be a little more aggressive about getting a fix to a new owner. Taking 2 weeks to repair a brand new $160 unit is excessive in my book.

I love this heart monitor. It works great. It is easy to program and use. I bought this model which is a bit big (esthetically) for women but I wanted it to be easy to read and review while running and using at the gym. No regets here. Also, I realize many have had trouble with the computer sync but tech support at this manufacturer was awesome (USA and english speaking) and the online FAQ's solved all needs. Buy with confidence.