Customer Reviews

Polar F4 Women's Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Black Amber)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a great heart rate monitor watch for the money. I've been using Polar watches for quite some time and think this is the best I've owned. I recently tested/compared this watch (F4) to Polar's M61. The F4 provided more accurate numbers regarding my calories burned (which is the most important thing for me--heart rate and calories burned). I wear an Apex Body Bug that also monitors my calories. When compared to the Body Bug (which is extremely accurate) the F4 was on the money. The M61 only showed that I burned about 1/2 of what the F4 and the BodyBug showed. I also wear my F4 while swimming (which I cannot do with the BodyBug). So far, this was held up great to all conditions. I'm considering purchasing another as a back up or in case Polar for some unknown reason discontinues the watch. Great product!!!

The functionality of the monitor is excellent. It is cumbersome so make adjustments using the two buttons on the watch because the numbers only advance so you have to go all the way around to lower your weight by two pounds as an example. The quick way around several of the personal settings is by using software available on the Polar web site but not mentioned in the manual. Using the software on your computer you can directly set some of the items using your computer.

It would be nice to have a cloth, velcro closure for the wrist band rather than the plastic wrist strap.

This is my first heart rate monitor and I love it! It has greatly improved my workouts. It's very user-friendly and doesn't take long to learn how it works. You can set it to show your heart rate or the %. It also keeps track of how many calories you have burned. The chest band is not uncomfortable to wear...I forget I even have it on. I highly recommend this monitor for anyone. The only negative thing I can say about it is that the watch is a little flimsy. It doesn't feel very durable but I haven't had any problems with it so far.

I agree with the other reviews on here. Setting the thing up is a pain, but it's great for tracking exercise and calories burned. The reason I thought I'd add my 2cents is because of the following observation:

My only gripe? When I wear it with a sports bra that has an underwire, my heart rate readings are grossly thrown off. I am assuming that the metal interferes in some way. My HR would sit at zero for about 10 minutes, then register (but well above or below where it would usually be). It's kind of scary when you cool down, walk out of the gym, and the gadget on your wrist is registering your HR at 200+!

I was actually looking at replacing it until I figured out what the problem was. Has anyone else experienced this?

Just got it today. Was frustrated in my initial attempt to change the settings, but the heart rate part worked and that's what I needed.

While biking it was easy to continually monitor my heart rate. I had to really push to get it up over 120, but without it I wouldn't have known I needed to push harder.

Afterwards I worked again on changing the settings. My roommate tried as well. Never would have figured it out from the instructions. Accidentally finally hit the right sequence of button pushes to get into the "settings" mode. That lack of clear instruction is the only reason I don't give this five stars.

It's actually simple to get into settings mode (starting from the time-of-day display):
- Press the "set" button (the one opposite "start") three times - it will get to "settings" after going through "summary" and "totals."

Another note:
When setting the "user" settings, you're asked for weight in kilograms and height in centimeters. The next setting (after "user") is units. So skip weight & height the first time around if you don't want metric.

I love my Polar F4. Just love it!

I don't work out without it and am happy to say that since I've started working out (January 1) and using this gizmo, I've lost 12 pounds. Okay, so that had more to do with counting calories than it did with wearing a heart rate monitor, but this gadget tallies the calories I've burned so that I have a good sense of how much I can eat.

If anyone thinks the calorie calculation is off (because your treadmill says you burned considerably less), I'll beg to differ. I use a spreadsheet and record calories in, basal metabolic rate, and calories out and every 3500 calories, I lose .8 to one full pound. (I attribute the .2 difference to water weight.)

The monitor comes with a size Medium strap and if you're small framed, it may seem too loose. I use the band of my sports bra to hold the strap in place (in other words, I "tuck" the strap inside my bra).

Changing the weight on the watch is tedious because you can't go "down"... you have to go all the way up to 300 and then start over again at 1. As a result, I only change the weight on the thing when there's a three pound difference or more. Changing the weight is important as it more accurately will calculate the calories burned.

Other critiques stated that the watch had a stop watch mechanism. It does not. It doesn't have a light either but I haven't used it at night or in the dark. I don't use this for time at all; I use it ONLY to report back my workout results.

I do own the black watch because I thought the blue one looked cheesy and had read that it yellowed with time. After ten weeks and almost fifty uses, the black watch is holding up just fine.

My ONLY beef is that the LCD sometimes shows the numbers (calories in Summary section) in such a way that you can't read the first digit. A 6 may look like a 3 because the LCD isn't in full function on the first digit. In other words, 690 calories burned may read as 390 calories. However, just before the summary, when you're done working out, you get an immediate readout and I read the calories there.

Strangely enough, though, over the last two or three weeks, I haven't had an LCD problem. It may have been a problem with cold weather, but just know that this might happen with your watch.

Would I buy it again? Yep! Was it worth the $70 or $75 I paid? You bet!

When I started working out last year, my husband got me a strapless heart rate monitor. It was big and bulky and I needed to press two buttons to get a reading. It also didn't track calories. It was very good for making sure my heart rate wasn't going too high. (When you're in your forties, those things become important.)

A few months ago, I learned that some heart rate monitors actually track the calories burned during a workout. I started researching and brought my choices down to the Polar F4 and a Reebook model that was strapless. I was hesitant to get a model with a chest strap because I thought it might be uncomfortable. I decided to take a chance on the Polar and am so glad I did.

The monitor is really easy to use. You can use your computer to change the settings on it. It continuously tracks your heart rate and calories burned during a workout session. It keeps track of and totals a week's worth of workouts. This is probably my best fitness purchase ever.

I have enjoyed the Polar F4.. it took some time to understnad it at first, but it really is easy to use, very simple, I was making it more complicated than it really is.

I would buy it again for a gift or myself.

I'm enjoying my heart rate monitor quite a bit. I agree with previous reviews that it could definitely use a night-glow feature, and it takes a little while to change the time since you have only a two-button interface, (so don't use this as your main watch if you change time zones often) but the controls are easy to figure out, and i'd rather have just two buttons than more buttons making things all difficult.

I love the nub at the end of the watch strap that makes it much easier to hold down slack from the watch so it doesn't get caught on everything. This is the only non-velcro watch I've ever had that hasn't had slack that gets caught on anything. Also, the band has a lot of holes so you can wear it if you have really tiny or fairly large wrists, or use it as an emergency hair-tie.

The monitor functionality also does everything I want it to.

I bought the F4 Heart Rate Monitor almost a year ago and love it! It is the perfect size for a woman's wrist and has everything you need to track your progess during a workout. You can toggle between settings so you can see everthing from your current heart rate to your target heart rate to calories burned. I use mine in spin class, but have also used it when I go jogging or walking. It has a stopwatch, which I love, and many other useful tools. I especially love the calorie counter so I know exactly how many calories I burn during and after my workout. All you do is enter your height, weight, etc. and it is ready to go. I definitely recommend this monitor. It does have a chest strap which I found uncomfortable the first couple of times I wore it but I'm used to it now and it doesn't bother me.