Customer Reviews

Polar F11 Women's Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Pink Fizz)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I just received my F11 yesterday and used it for the first time last night. I was originally intending to get an F6 that I saw at the gym because I was impressed by the timer/BPM/calories burned features, but instead I decided to do some research to find out if it was the best HRM for me. After reading about the features of several different monitors, I decided on the F11 because it had everything I originally wanted and more! I love that you enter all of your personal statistics to get the best readout possible. I love that there is a fitness test on this monitor that helps to make it even more personalized. I love the keeps u fit feature wherein the monitor provides you with a weeks worth of personalized workouts that you can then follow and repeat, or recreate for the next week based on a new fitness assessment. I also love that you can edit your workouts for time and/or heart rate range, or opt to do a basic workout without any preset heart rate goals.

As for last night... it was one of my 30+ min brisk walking nights (I alternate those with gym nights) Wearing my new monitor, I discovered that my usual workout was not doing it for me! I could not get into my proper moderate-hard heart rate zone, no matter how fast I tried to walk! I'm a little too heavy still to jog comfortably, so I skipped : D and it worked! I reached my target heart rate zone and even got to the high end before I would switch back to brisk walking and let my heart rate fall back to the lower end of moderate, then switch back to skipping again to let it rise... etc. I was doing about 2 mins of brisk walking to 1 min of skipping and back. I guess you could call that a form of HIIT (high intensity interval training). At the end of my workout, I had succeeded in all of my heart rate goals... 5 mins in low, 15 mins in moderate, and 10 mins in hard. I am so excited to finally have a tool that can help me reach my fitness goals! Although it takes a bit of perusing the manual to figure it out, I would definitely recommend this HRM.

Oh yeah, and I gave it four stars instead of five because it's a little on the large side for a female wrist, and It could have been made with better materials. As a matter of fact, I'd like to see if I can find a new wristband for it. The rubbery plastic one it comes with makes me clammy/sweaty underneath... but what it lacks in design, it makes up for in function.

I had bought this upon a suggestion from a friend of mine. IT really has improved my work out by helping me saty in my zone. I was over working my body before and once I learned to stay in my zone the pounds started to drop off.

I feel at lost when I go to the gym and I do not have it. I love knowing how many calories I have burned and the % of fat as well.

The band that goes around your chest does not bother me when I work out at all. Its adjustable. I bought this model because the transmitter can come off so you can wash the band. The transmitter is also a little softer than on the other models.

I would recommend this to anyone.

I just got this watch in the mail today and have been poring over the manual to make sure that it is programmed correctly. The watch is very attractive, has a large enough display for me to see pretty clearly, and the strap is very comfortable.

A couple of things were frustrating though; if you are not a "tech" person, who is used to cell-phones, texting, and other "smart" equipment that needs to be programmed, the manual is not of much help initially. It gives a general idea of how to do what you need to do in the very beginning. But it took me several minutes to figure out how to get to the main menu, and this is not described anywhere in the manual. I figured it out mostly from luck, and pressing every button several times.

Also, if you are attracted to this product because of the uplink to the web-based training software, be forewarned; you need a microphone on your computer in order for this to be an option. Your wrist unit communicates through the computer's mic by a series of electrical "chirps" and somehow the program decodes this and uploads your files. This is ostensibly how it should work, anyway. I was disappointed because that is not mentioned before purchase and my computer does not have a microphone. Also, the software is not compatible with a Mac, so that is another strike against it. So neither my computer nor my husband's worked; you'd think that with two between us, we would have success somewhere, but no.

I already have a training journal that I keep in writing, so the online one would have been just for kicks anyways. I just wanted to warn people about those few things, because if I had made this purchase and wasn't a tech person and was really going to rely on the software, I would have been pretty ticked off.

Other than those things, I am pretty impressed with how much you can customize all of your programs on here and tailor it to your specific desires. It reads your resting heart rate and calculates ideal levels to work out, and can give you a training schedule from 2 to 5 days a week, with more or less hours a day depending on what you want. I was pleased that since I work out 6 days a week, I was even able to go in and add a workout to the schedule they gave me, and shorten the hours put in on another day to compensate. To top it off, you can name each session, like, "Run", "Weights" or "Run/Walk". You are limited to 8 letters and it takes a while to do it, but I love that kind of stuff.

I think if you are fairly tech savvy and don't care about the training software, this watch is great...but I haven't had much time to see how durable it is so I will check back in a few months!

It wasn't until I started using this heart rate monitor that I really started to lose weight. I had been walking for weight loss, but this monitor told me that my regular work out did not raise my heart rate high enough, so I had been under performing. This monitor made me realize that I actually had to start running, or jogging, or biking, or some more vigorous activity. Now, the weight is really falling off! The monitor is acurate and motivating. The OWN ZONE feature measures your progress and adjusts your ideal heart rate zone -- At least I think that's what happens. I have searched online for a tutorial of how to use the functions of this watch/monitor as the manual is a bit limited or not too easy to navigate. I am learning as I go along. Bottom line, though, is that I am really losing FAT by following the program in this watch. Some issues with the chest strap not working properly at times. I would attribute this to soap residue, sweat residue. I try to wash it very often and the problem seems resolved.

I bought this polar heart rate monitor for my wife and she loves it! I have bought other polar monitors in the past and they have all been great. This model is geared towards women and I would recommend it for any woman with fitness goals they are trying to achieve. It has been easy for my wife to use and the soft transmitter band is a big plus. She loves the pink color and the fact that the actual watch is smaller then the mens styles. Anyone who is thinking about getting a polar watch will be happy with the new F11 pink.

I ordered the Polar 11 when I lost my Polar 4. I really loved the 4 so I knew I wanted another Polar watch. I thought it was time to upgrade so I choose the 11 based on other reviews. This watch has not been difficult to use. But since I've had one before I might have an advantage. I like the added features such as the resting heart rate and the exercise programs. The color was not what I expected. The pink is actually more of a rose color. I would send it back but I don't want to be without it now that I have it; so I'll live with the color.
The chest strap is bulkier than my old one. The monitor snaps onto the strap. Being a big girl I was concerned about the size of the strap but it fits me just right.
I would recommend this watch to someone like me that is looking to upgrade. Although I still haven't used the uplink tool; I'm looking forward to using that to upload a new logo onto my watch. They have some on their web site that are better than the one that comes on the watch.

I chose this heart rate monitor for 3 reasons:

1. It has a chest strap transmitter - far superior to the type where you need to pause from a work out and put your fingers on a watch unit to get your HR. With this unit your HR is shown constantly. Depending on the mode you choose you can also see HR and calories burned at the same time.

2. The battery can be replaced in this unit - that alone ensures a long life for this product !

3. It blocks interference from other heart rate monitor signals. I take a spinning class with 30 people where heart rate monitors are required. I wanted to make sure not to have a problem with interference from someone else's unit.

This unit works perfectly. Constantly transmitts accurately. I have never had a problem with it. It's comfortable to wear, and the readout is large and clear. It's got lots of other functions, and was fairly simple to set up.

The ONLY reason I did not give this HR monitor 5 stars was due to it's price. I think $160 is too steep a price for any HR monitor.

I purchased this watch especially for spinning. The watch is very nicely designed and works very well, but there is a disadvantage in it for spinners, as its digits are not big and not bold and it is impossible to see them in a dark room without turning the light on. I had another polar with big dark digits and it was much better in the spinning room. I think this is a thing to consider before buying...

My brother (a Polar watch fan) helped me pick this watch. (He did not actually liked the pink color, but thankfully the watch was not for him!)
Besides it being pretty (and being a designer, I like very select things), this watch is light, easy to use and has a very cute design to it.
Other than the features in it (I need to read the manual so I understand some of the things)... the watch is very used friendly.
The only thing I would change is the panel design (but that's just me)... other than that I LOVE IT! LOVE IT LOVE IT!
Everybody should use one of these when working out! I ADORE spinning, but for my heart rate and goal, I don't need to do much effort... so the watch shows you little by little when you can do more higher paced exercises.... BUY IT!

PROS: Stylish, works well with no interference from other monitors, strap is super comfortable (wearlink), comfortable fit on watch straps/face size, weekly, daily, and total exercise tracking, works with most gym equipment (HR reading right on the screen during workout), creates an exercise program for you based on personal goals, stainless steel metal components, did I say stylish?

CONS: Does not connect with Mac computers (website says they are shooting for being able to do this in 2010?), the only exercise program where you can set your own HR limits is manual so you have to set your HR limits for each workout depending on which zone you are training in that day, unclear underwater use recommendations on website and from users (see below)

I bought this monitor to train for my 3rd olympic distance triathlon. I have loved it. I also use it as my everyday watch. I am allergic to most metals so the stainless steel metal components are perfect for me. Many people have asked about my "fancy new watch" and are all surprised to find out it is a heart rate monitor. I have not used the HR strap swimming so far, Polar recommends you buy the waterproof plastic T31coded for swimming but on the discussion forum on their website many users list using the wearlink in the water. Both straps have mixed reviews as far as water use so I have decided to forgo dealing with that for now but it is certainly possible it seems. I don't think knowing my heart rate for *every* activity is crucial at this point in my training.