Keep your training simple with the basic heart rate-based features of Polar's FT4 heartrate monitor and watch. Keep track of your heart rate in terms of percent of maximum rate and BPM, and with this information, the watch calculates your target heart rate zones and calorie use - all while giving you visual and audio cues to keep you working out to your full potential.
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Product Description
Product Details
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful
I had to replace my old Polar HRM, as the battery died and I didn't want to return it to have it replaced. Also, I wanted to upgrade to a user replaceable battery model because of ease of use/no down time. I ordered the Polar FT4M, silver w/black strip even though I'm female. Turns out, I can program the user info, within the watch, to "female".
Straight out of the box, the set up was super easy. Just a few quick steps and I was ready for my first workout. The chest strap is adjustable from m-xxl so I was able to make it work for me-I'm average build. My previous Polar was geared towards women and came with a medium chest strap, just to give you a comparison. If you're petite, the included m-xxl chest strap *may be* to big for you. Regardless, the chest strap is all fabric/stretch band and totally unnoticable when you're wearing it.
During my workout, I was easily able to scroll through the different screens to see my "in zone" heart rate/range, calories burned, and duration of the workout. When I was finished working out, I was easily able to navigate to my workout totals for review.
I definitely recommend this watch for males or females, the price is right!
Pros:
Ability to back-light the watch
Adjustable chest strap
Color (I prefer the mens color silver/black over the avaiable womens colors)
Watch Size (not too big, not to small)
Ease of scrolling through the screens during workout.
Cons:
None
Straight out of the box, the set up was super easy. Just a few quick steps and I was ready for my first workout. The chest strap is adjustable from m-xxl so I was able to make it work for me-I'm average build. My previous Polar was geared towards women and came with a medium chest strap, just to give you a comparison. If you're petite, the included m-xxl chest strap *may be* to big for you. Regardless, the chest strap is all fabric/stretch band and totally unnoticable when you're wearing it.
During my workout, I was easily able to scroll through the different screens to see my "in zone" heart rate/range, calories burned, and duration of the workout. When I was finished working out, I was easily able to navigate to my workout totals for review.
I definitely recommend this watch for males or females, the price is right!
Pros:
Ability to back-light the watch
Adjustable chest strap
Color (I prefer the mens color silver/black over the avaiable womens colors)
Watch Size (not too big, not to small)
Ease of scrolling through the screens during workout.
Cons:
None
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
This watch has the a great set of features that I use and very few that I don't. I especially appreciate the 10 file storage and the replaceable battery. I use this for rowing, so I didn't need any of the other "motivational" features of the higher end watches. The only draw back I find is the size of the heart rate number. It the most important thing and yet it occupies maybe 10% of the overall display. What's aggravating is that there are plenty of pixels available to use. A HR display similar to the FT1 would work much better. Even with this limitation, it's the best HRM for my use.
Edit: I accidentally found that pressing the up/down buttons when in HRM mode will display a large heart rate. This isn't in the printed manual that came with the watch. It is in the online version.
Edit: I accidentally found that pressing the up/down buttons when in HRM mode will display a large heart rate. This isn't in the printed manual that came with the watch. It is in the online version.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
I have been using my new Polar FT4 heart rate monitor literally non-stop for the past four days. I had several goals in mind with this purchase: 1) track my actual daily calorie expenditure (with and without working out); 2) track the intensity of my workouts and measure total calories burned for the workout; 3) use it to plan my meal/calorie distribution throughout the day. Recognizing that my demands on this simple device are ambitious, I can say that overall I am very pleased with it's performance in each area.
Design of the watch:
The watch itself is a "pinkish/neutral/bronze" color that is hard to describe exactly. The good news is that somehow it manages to match basically any color attire you might wear. The band is made out of a disappointingly cheap plastic material that feels like "kid's watch" and pinches your skin easily. Also a nuisance is the fact that the face of the watch has a sort of "fixed hinge" with the sides of the band. In other words, the watch will not lie flat, it's always shaped in a rounded formation. This may be seriously problematic for individuals with very small or very large width wrists. The face of the watch is also a rubbery plastic which seems moderately scratch resistant, though I anticipate that it may get beat up in the weight room at the gym. The display on the face is large and easy to read at a glance, which is nice.
Overall, I would rate the design of the watchband only 2 out of 5 stars. The material is very cheap and causes my skin to itch and sweat where it is strapped on.
Design of the chest strap:
I'm a rather petite female who is relatively lean (< 10% body fat) so the chest strap is conspicuous when I wear it with my sports bra and fitted tank top at the gym. You can see the imprint of the transmitter in the center of my chest, although it doesn't look overly out of place given the fact that I am at the gym. However, I have also been wearing the chest strap with my normal attire outside of the gym and it becomes rather uncomfortable with prolonged use (5+ hours). The strap material is elastic and polyester and easily collects sweat and moisture, so it will need to be cleaned frequently. The front part of the strap (housing the conductive electrodes) is made of a "pleather" type material that is mostly inelastic. If you work out very frequently and for prolonged periods of time, you might consider purchasing the Polar sports bra with built-in chest strap. This particular chest strap appears as though it were designed for a man and is a little cumbersome in my personal opinion. Overall, I would rate the design of the chest strap 2 out of 5 stars.
Features of watch:
The features of the watch/monitor are what make this such an awesome training tool. The watch has three basic features: view your heart rate, view your calories burned, and view your heart rate relative to your "target range." The heart rate reading is constant, real-time and easily read in large print digits. You can also see a reading of your calories burned as you progress through your workout. I chose to track an entire day, wake to sleep--so I tracked 15+ hours at a time in order to view my calories for the day. You cannot collect multiple workouts at one time. For example: you cannot track the day and then simultaneously track your workout on a separate file. You must press "Stop" and start over with a whole new file if you want your actual workout to be separate from your entire day. Also, there is no way to run a stopwatch, which was somewhat disappointing. However, you can view a timer for your workout on one screen that also displays the time of day. Overall, I would rate the features of the watch 4 out of 5 stars. It has great functionality, but could use a few tweaks to make it much more optimal.
Ease of use:
The watch is generally easy to set up and use. It may take a little bit of time to familiarize yourself with the buttons. I also found the backlight button to be mildly irritating. Unlike other watches, if you press the "backlight" button you permanently activate the backlight to come on any time you press any button on the watch. To de-activate it, you need to press and hold the backlight button and wait for a beep. These instructions are not in the manual. I also found that the chest sensor strap was susceptible to giving out when it became especially wet. At one point I had to rinse it with tap water and let it thoroughly dry for a few hours before attempting to use it again. Overall, I would rate the total product with 4 out of 5 stars for ease of use.
Overall Product: I have definitely been showing off my new heart rate monitor to my gym friends and co-workers, and I highly recommend it. Though it has a few shortcomings (mostly in the design of the physical watch) its an outstanding tool and invaluable for individuals who are getting serious about their diet and/or training regimen. I hardly feel justified giving it 3 stars, given that I have been happily using it non-stop for days. But, its shortcomings cannot be overlooked entirely: Overall 4/5 stars. A solid product!
6 Months Post-Purchase Update: I have now been using the Polar FT4 daily for about 6 months. Overall, I continue to be pleased with its features and functionality but I have already considered replacing or "upgrading" into something that addresses a few design flaws which have begun to bug me more and more each workout. First, the watch band is just flat out uncomfortable. There's no other way to describe it. It pinches your skin, refuses to lay flat and generally bruises my wrist when I wear it doing certain weight exercises (like squats and lat pull downs). I actually take it off completely and put it on the bench or in my pocket during some exercises. Second, the fact that you have to scroll through 3-4 screens mid-workout to see your workout timer, heart rate, and calories burned is a bit annoying. It would be nice to be able to see your heart rate on EVERY screen (perhaps in small print along the top of the screen) at a bare minimum. Instead, I fumble between the three screens every few minutes while doing cardio especially. This has gotten a bit aggravating. In terms of the performance of the heart rate sensor, I have begun to notice that if I don't moisten the chest strap prior to putting it on, the watch will completely fail to register a signal until I either start sweating really heavy or wet the strap with tap water. Lately, I have also noticed that the watch "loses its connection" with the chest strap when my arms are fully extended above my head (such as during pull ups) and then when my heart rate reading comes back its either half or double it's actual value. Hmmmm.... I'm not sure what to make of these quirks. Perhaps I need to replace the strap, the batteries or both. Keep in mind I do use these devices at LEAST once per day, and usually twice per day. I would imagine that the amount of wear and tear I put on my heart rate monitor is a bit more than the average user, but not withstanding, I am starting to consider looking in to a different set up.
Design of the watch:
The watch itself is a "pinkish/neutral/bronze" color that is hard to describe exactly. The good news is that somehow it manages to match basically any color attire you might wear. The band is made out of a disappointingly cheap plastic material that feels like "kid's watch" and pinches your skin easily. Also a nuisance is the fact that the face of the watch has a sort of "fixed hinge" with the sides of the band. In other words, the watch will not lie flat, it's always shaped in a rounded formation. This may be seriously problematic for individuals with very small or very large width wrists. The face of the watch is also a rubbery plastic which seems moderately scratch resistant, though I anticipate that it may get beat up in the weight room at the gym. The display on the face is large and easy to read at a glance, which is nice.
Overall, I would rate the design of the watchband only 2 out of 5 stars. The material is very cheap and causes my skin to itch and sweat where it is strapped on.
Design of the chest strap:
I'm a rather petite female who is relatively lean (< 10% body fat) so the chest strap is conspicuous when I wear it with my sports bra and fitted tank top at the gym. You can see the imprint of the transmitter in the center of my chest, although it doesn't look overly out of place given the fact that I am at the gym. However, I have also been wearing the chest strap with my normal attire outside of the gym and it becomes rather uncomfortable with prolonged use (5+ hours). The strap material is elastic and polyester and easily collects sweat and moisture, so it will need to be cleaned frequently. The front part of the strap (housing the conductive electrodes) is made of a "pleather" type material that is mostly inelastic. If you work out very frequently and for prolonged periods of time, you might consider purchasing the Polar sports bra with built-in chest strap. This particular chest strap appears as though it were designed for a man and is a little cumbersome in my personal opinion. Overall, I would rate the design of the chest strap 2 out of 5 stars.
Features of watch:
The features of the watch/monitor are what make this such an awesome training tool. The watch has three basic features: view your heart rate, view your calories burned, and view your heart rate relative to your "target range." The heart rate reading is constant, real-time and easily read in large print digits. You can also see a reading of your calories burned as you progress through your workout. I chose to track an entire day, wake to sleep--so I tracked 15+ hours at a time in order to view my calories for the day. You cannot collect multiple workouts at one time. For example: you cannot track the day and then simultaneously track your workout on a separate file. You must press "Stop" and start over with a whole new file if you want your actual workout to be separate from your entire day. Also, there is no way to run a stopwatch, which was somewhat disappointing. However, you can view a timer for your workout on one screen that also displays the time of day. Overall, I would rate the features of the watch 4 out of 5 stars. It has great functionality, but could use a few tweaks to make it much more optimal.
Ease of use:
The watch is generally easy to set up and use. It may take a little bit of time to familiarize yourself with the buttons. I also found the backlight button to be mildly irritating. Unlike other watches, if you press the "backlight" button you permanently activate the backlight to come on any time you press any button on the watch. To de-activate it, you need to press and hold the backlight button and wait for a beep. These instructions are not in the manual. I also found that the chest sensor strap was susceptible to giving out when it became especially wet. At one point I had to rinse it with tap water and let it thoroughly dry for a few hours before attempting to use it again. Overall, I would rate the total product with 4 out of 5 stars for ease of use.
Overall Product: I have definitely been showing off my new heart rate monitor to my gym friends and co-workers, and I highly recommend it. Though it has a few shortcomings (mostly in the design of the physical watch) its an outstanding tool and invaluable for individuals who are getting serious about their diet and/or training regimen. I hardly feel justified giving it 3 stars, given that I have been happily using it non-stop for days. But, its shortcomings cannot be overlooked entirely: Overall 4/5 stars. A solid product!
6 Months Post-Purchase Update: I have now been using the Polar FT4 daily for about 6 months. Overall, I continue to be pleased with its features and functionality but I have already considered replacing or "upgrading" into something that addresses a few design flaws which have begun to bug me more and more each workout. First, the watch band is just flat out uncomfortable. There's no other way to describe it. It pinches your skin, refuses to lay flat and generally bruises my wrist when I wear it doing certain weight exercises (like squats and lat pull downs). I actually take it off completely and put it on the bench or in my pocket during some exercises. Second, the fact that you have to scroll through 3-4 screens mid-workout to see your workout timer, heart rate, and calories burned is a bit annoying. It would be nice to be able to see your heart rate on EVERY screen (perhaps in small print along the top of the screen) at a bare minimum. Instead, I fumble between the three screens every few minutes while doing cardio especially. This has gotten a bit aggravating. In terms of the performance of the heart rate sensor, I have begun to notice that if I don't moisten the chest strap prior to putting it on, the watch will completely fail to register a signal until I either start sweating really heavy or wet the strap with tap water. Lately, I have also noticed that the watch "loses its connection" with the chest strap when my arms are fully extended above my head (such as during pull ups) and then when my heart rate reading comes back its either half or double it's actual value. Hmmmm.... I'm not sure what to make of these quirks. Perhaps I need to replace the strap, the batteries or both. Keep in mind I do use these devices at LEAST once per day, and usually twice per day. I would imagine that the amount of wear and tear I put on my heart rate monitor is a bit more than the average user, but not withstanding, I am starting to consider looking in to a different set up.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pleasantly Surprised!
I couldn't wait to try this product because of what all my friends were saying about it. Once it arrived, I immediately began playing with it. Read more
Published 10 months ago by laura
1.0 out of 5 stars
BPM too high
I know I'm a workout goddess, but my heart rate RARELY gets over 160 for longer than a few minutes at a time. This heart monitor over-reported my heartrate both times I used it. Read more
Published 10 months ago by JaneTheG
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Product for the Price
I've had this heart rate monitor for about three weeks and I love it. It's really a great product. The only issue I've had with it is when I'm doing abdominal and core exercises... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Sina Broadbent
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best watch ever!
Really has helped me to stay motivated during my workout and to feel proud of myself afterwards due to the fact I can actually see what I accomplished.
Published 10 months ago by Bianca
4.0 out of 5 stars
Some discoloration after a few months of wear
I generally love this watch/monitor. I think it's simple to use, it works great and does exactly what I want - tracks my heart rate throughout the workout and I haven't had any... Read more
Published 11 months ago by curly sue
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely love this thing!!!
I purchased the Polar FT4 Heart Rate Monitor in Purple/Pink about two weeks ago and I LOVE IT! I'm not usually one to come on and write reviews, but this thing has changed my... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Sarabear Dallas
5.0 out of 5 stars
LOVE IT!!!
I LOVE this watch!!! I previously owned a New Balance heart rate monitor....it was okay. When it bit the dust, I ordered the FT4 because the ladies in my fitness group all have... Read more
Published 11 months ago by ames
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great!
I've heard great reviews about this particular watch. And after using it a few times, I love it!
My main purpose for it, is to count calories during my workouts. Read more
My main purpose for it, is to count calories during my workouts. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Brittany Gates
4.0 out of 5 stars
Polar FT4
I bought two of the polar heart rate monitors, one for myself and one for my husband. We both love working out with them when we do not work out together. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Consumer
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great watch, stupid battery
My wife really enjoys the watch. The chest strap is comfortable on her 5'2" petite frame. She likes the target zone heart rate monitor, something I wish I had on my Garmin... Read more
Published 11 months ago by E. Townsend
