Customer Reviews

Polar FS2 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Black)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was originally hesitant to purchase any heart rate monitor because I wasn't sure if the basic feature of monitoring would work well.

I couldn't decide on a brand until I read the other HR watch reviews and discovered that Polar is one of the leading brands.

This watch is very simple. It's got 1 button! I bought this FS1 watch because I just wanted something to help focus my gym workouts. I wanted a few other features but didn't want to pay the 2x or greater pricing for it.

Pros:
- The single button on the watch is easy to get used to. Easy to start when you exercise
- Heart rate works well and reliably when the chest strap is well moistened. Good when you're already sweating.
- In the gym, there's a "Polar Heartrate Ready" logos on LifeFitness machines and some other machines (I'm a member at 24hr fitness). That indicates that it automatically reads the chest strap. So you don't even need to wear the watch!

Cons:
- When enabling the heartrate monitor (called "EXE or exercise mode on the watch), the HR feedback is autodetected, so the user can't do anything to test if it works. You just watch and wait. This could possibly be true about the other high end Polar watches, but this is a small usability thing that I don't like.
- The chest strap isn't uniquely coded so it can crosstalk. I haven't had the problem at the gym since I haven't been working out right beside anyone who's wearing a HR monitor. However, the HR meter on the adjacent gym machine will be funky when someone's using it =-P.
- No backlight. I refused to spend more money on a HR watch. But then, why does the backlight feature cost an extra $20. Shame on you Polar.
- There's no MIN and MAX feature. Why not, this watch is a computer and we've had calculator watches for 20 year? Why does polar sell 10 different watches for different sports? Polar needs to simplify their product line and offer better price for product.
- 2 year battery life. Another reason not to spend any more for a HR watch.

Hope that helps all the new buyers out there.

This is a good basic monitor. It works with the bicycles at the gym, automatically displaying your heart rate on the bike. Often, though, the bike number displayed is one beat off of the number displayed on your watch (i.e. 120 bpm instead of 121). There are no fancy features with this monitor -- it just shows your bpm while exercising and that is all.

I don't like this HRM because it only allows one piece of data to be displayed at a time. It is very awkward to do intervals using both the heart rate and the time (timer is also limited to a count up timer), having to switch back and forth. I had been using a rather inexpensive Timex HRM and it is much better than this product at a comparable price.

This heart monitor es really great for newbies like me. Is not top of the line but you have the basic functions and it works really well. The interface is a bit strange at first since you have just one button, that makes it slow to navigate the different menus and functions. I have mine for 2 years now and I`m yet to change the battery.

Before I purchased it, I was concerned about the comfort and the dependability of the contacts on the chest belt. The belt transmitter is so light and well engineered that I forget that I'm wearing it. It always works. The instructions are clear and easy to follow -- it's very easy to set up. I especially like the feature of switching the wrist unit to give the time by merely touching it to your chest so you don't have to break your pace. The effort required to buckle the wrist strap that others have mentioned is minor and easily mastered.This is as nearly a perfect product as I have ever purchased.

Bought this for my wife, she prefers simple to use over those thing that have feature bloat and are difficult to operate or remember how to operate. This thing just flat out works, and does it well, for a good price. I had little trouble with the setup as the way the menu works could have been a tad less annoying (it times out pretty quickly and then you start over), so I only gave it 4 stars, but setup is only once. Should really be five stars. If you are looking at this basic unit, buy it, as this does what you want and does it well. Display is easy to read, beeps can be turned off, etc.

The new chest strap is lighter and more comfortable than my old hrm. Only complaint is the wrist strap buckle -- it could have been designed better.

I had the old model of this model and it lasted me over 5 years. Based on that, and the other reviews I read about this model, I decided to try the FS2. It is great!! It is a very good basic heart rate monitor. No bells and whistles, but I was looking for simple. I highly recommend reading through the manual, which is very short. It will give you some great tips so you can utilize the few features it does have, such as min/max heart rate limits, etc. All and all, a great buy. I've only had it a couple of months, so I don't know about the battery life. Hopefully it will perform as well as the old one did!

When working out, it is helpful to know when I'm approaching my fat burn heart rate or my maximum heart rate. The cardio machines in the gym pick up the signal without the need of the watch. When playing a game like soccer, it is helpful to know if I really put out a good effort. This monitor is the least expensive one which records a maximum heart rate and an average rate through a workout. All the others did less than this, or a lot more which I had no reason to record. I thought this fit the bill for me perfectly, and it works well. On the down side, it has taken me a little bit of time to recognize how to move through the menus with just one button (wait for 3 seconds, hit the button again). Not exactly intuitive.

This heart rate monitor works very well. The only thing that is missing is for the heart rate range to be put in for you. The FS3 does this. I bought an FS3 in a store for the same price as the FS2 here on amazon.