Customer Reviews

Polar FS1 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Dark Blue)

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

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 $10 and $3 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.

i never thought i would find one of these under $100, 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 $39.99. 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

This is my third monitor and I've never been disappointed by the Polar products. The sub $40 street price makes it a 'must buy' even for the weekend workout warrior. One minor complaint - the band is too short and too difficult to fasten.

I bought this for walking/jogging, and I couldn't be happier with my choice. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I have not had trouble with the chest strap. It took about 30 seconds to figure out how the fasteners work, but since then, it has been really easy to take the chest strap on and off. It's comfortable, too, and I sometimes forget to take it off when I'm done exercising. The watch doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles, but I just wanted something that would tell me my heart rate, and it does a great job at that. I highly recommend it.

Some of the reviewers here seem to be expecting this thing to jump out of the package, fasten itself to the chest and set itself up! If the chest band on this thing is too complicated for you, then you are not ready for a HRM. They all use a chest band, and wetting it makes it read better. I wet my finger with my tongue and wipe it across the contact before fastening the strap. You DON'T "need" to be near a sink.

It's a very basic unit. It gives time, times the workout and monitors heart rate. That's all. The only thing I wish it had were a backlight and an indicator for calories burned. But it's my first one, and I may upgrade later. But maybe not. Based on my heartrate and duration of exercise, I pretty much know how many calories I've burned. Compared to the cost of others, this unit is just fine.

I have been biking for awhile now and I recently got an indoor trainer and some DVD's to use to keep in shape over the winter months. So after doing them a few times I realized that I would be much better off if I knew my heart rate so I could train correctly for hard/easy days.

The first few times I used it I had problems because I was not wearing it quite tight enough because after I tightened it up it has worked perfectly. I have had it all the way from 70 to 194 bpm and it seems to react as I would expect for various levels of excursion.

My biggest complaint is that it doesn't keep track of the max heart rate for a training session, the more expensive ones do, so I guess you get what you pay for sometimes...but as long as you pay attention when you think you are getting close you can still find your max rate.

One other thing I saw on some reviews was that it was too small for men, but I'm 5'11 and nearly 200 lbs and it fits me, in fact I had it on too loose at first, yeah it is tight feeling but it has to be to work.

For someone just starting out this is a great tool and only has 1 button, so there isn't much complicated about it. I would recommend this to anyone looking to start heart rate training, it has been proven to really help build aerobic capacity and strength when done properly.

I have two Polar Heart Monitors. One is a very "up scale" monitor and the other is the FS1. I use the FS1 much more than the up scale. The FS1 is easier to read when you are working out, it keeps you on track with your HR and it is very friendly. I was able to use all the functions and do the set up without reading the manual. The manual is also very easy to follow for those that feel they need to read the instructions.

I had to buy a heart rate monitor for a gym class, and I went and bought the cheapest one I could find (this one) at the local sports store. This one is really easy to use, but the strap that you have to wear makes it useless to me. The band comes in two pieces and is somewhat difficult to put on. Mine will start to slide off my chest after a few minutes of running and when this happens it no longer reads my heart rate making it useless. I no longer use it and I am looking to buy a better heart rate monitor. Also with this one, it does keep track of how long you work out, but you can't see the stopwatch during exercise, all you can see is the heart rate. I run a lot at night or in the evening, and this watch face does not glow or anything at night making it hard to read. This monitor does not seem very accurate either, I notice during exercise that for a couple of minutes it will be reading my heart rate as something really low, say 50, and then after a few minutes will go back up to where it should be (150 or so), skewing the final average heart rate.

My advice: if you are doing heavy exercise (running etc...) spend the money on a good monitor.

This is my first heart rate monitor and I really took a chance when buying it because I wanted to use it to swim and couldn't find any reviewers who used it that way. Thankfully, I wasn't disappointed.

I've been using it regularly for about a month now, primarily for swimming laps, but also for some biking. The chest strap fit well (my chest is 33" where I place the strap) and the elastic band was adjusted to about the middle so it could adjust many inches in either direction. I wear a two piece racing swimsuit and it fits securely under the bottom of top piece of my suit (or I'll tuck it under my sports bra if I'm biking). Once it's in place I hardly notice it's there at all.

The instructions say that you are most likely to have signal problems when you are in the water but I have never had any problems with it not receiving a heart rate signal and it seems very accurate.

The single button on the watch took some getting used to, but after reading the instructions once I was able to use it without any problem. As others have stated, it only has the basic features. It monitors heart rate and allows you to program in your target heart rate zone. It has a beep function that will warn you if you go outside of your target heart rate zone, and that feature can be turned on and off. It has a timer that goes to 60 minutes before starting over, and of course the basic watch function. The screen is large and the contrast is good even in direct sunlight. I can even read it under several inches of water.

Once you have it set up, when you want to start exercising all you do is push the button. It takes about 15 seconds for it to start registering your heart rate and then provides a constant reading after that. It also starts the timer. It defaults to to the beats per minute while you are exercising, but you can hold it close to the chest strap and switch between that, the timer and the time. When you are done exercising you push the button again and it stops reading your heart rate and returns back to the regular watch function. That's all this device does, so if you want more features I would suggest a higher model.

My only complaint is that there is no way to pause the timer. Sometimes, my workout gets interrupted when I get coaching on how to improve a stroke. I would like to be able to pause the timer feature so I can better keep track of how long I was actually within my target heart rate zone, but the device does not have that feature. Once you stop it, it clears the timer as well. It's not a make or break deal for me since I just do a little adding and can figure it out myself.

Overall, a great basic heart rate monitor, I don't know how I lived without it.

watch is fine and everything works good till the batteries start to go. i was able to replace the battery in the watch myself with patience and tiny screwdrivers. but the chest strap battery is sealed. they say it is waterproof, but not to be used for swimming. i say its just a scam to make you buy a $[...] chest strap every 2 years. spend a little more up front and forget about their planned throw away chest strap.