This heart rate monitor works great.I have no problems getting a reading from the watch or from the gym equipment that support Polar "broadcasts".Having said that, the rest of the review will be about "Buyer Beware" points.Buyer Beware Point1.) From what I can tell, the F7 offers the same features as the F6.In fact the F7 came with the F6 owners manual.I say this because at the time of this review, you can purchase the F6 on amazon for around $96 vs the $119 for the F7.The F7 does though come with a material elastic chest band for the monitor where as the F6 comes with a plastic chest band.The elastic is supposed to be more comfortable and this is why I justified paying the extra $25 for the F7.Buyer Beware Point 2.) You have to wet the connectors of the chest band to get it to read your heart beats.Now many of you may already know this.Being a first time buyer, I didn't.So I can imagine how gunky this thing is going to get over time.They recommend rinsing and wipe it down after every use and after 3 to 5 weeks of use to wash it in the washer machine in a washer bag and limited detergent (NO BLEACH!).The probes on the strap are a material mesh and look like if I were to repeatedly wipe it down as suggested, will fray.Buyer Beware Point 3.) The battery in the watch is stated as lasting approximately a year.It will be shorter if you use that backlight.In order to have the battery replaced, Polar advises that you have to send it to an authorized Polar service center or it will no longer be under warrantee (which I believe is 1 year so if the battery lasts that long, you are in good shape) and it will no longer be water resistant.I live in the NY City area and there are no Polar service centers near me.In fact, the Polar web site only lists 4 of them in the USA.So when the battery dies, I will be left without my heart rate monitor for days if not weeks while it travels to and from the Polar service center.Given, all of this, I still recommend the product as it works great.I just have to adjust my expectations that this may not last for years and years which is what I was hoping for.Click Here to see more reviews about: Polar F7 Men's Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Grey)
Product Description:
Stay within your ideal training and intensity range while jogging or working out with the Polar F7 men's heart rate monitor watch. The F7 works by first checking your daily condition, and then guiding you to a suitable intensity for your age and fitness level. Knowing your heart rate not only helps you reach your personal fitness goal, but also improves your physical condition in general, as it's vitally important to train at the appropriate intensity level. If you exercise too hard, you may quit before you reach the real benefit, but if you work out too leisurely, you'll struggle to lose weight at all. The F7 helps overcome these problems by encouraging you to map out a complete fitness routine.
The F7 is packed with innovative training features to help you toward your exercise goals. First off, the watch displays heart rate info in several ways, including as a percentage of your maximum heart rate, as beats per minute, and within a graphical target zone indicator. The watch also offers a visual and audible alarm for when you exceed or underperform your target zone--a great way to stay motivated while on the track. And users will love the ZonePointer and Polar OwnCal modes. The ZonePointer is an audible and visual feature on the display of your F7 that shows you where your current heart rate sits within your target heart rate zone. The Polar OwnCal mode, meanwhile, shows your energy expenditure during one exercise session, as well as your accumulated kilocalories during several exercise sessions. You can also set daily and weekly exercise goals in terms of calorie expenditure, helping you achieve both short-term and long-term goals. And once you settle into a routine, you can synch your watch with www.polarpersonaltrainer.com, an online exercise journal and community that provides guidance, tracks progress and goals, and lets users challenge their friends.
Other features include a Fitness Bullet feature that shows a bullet on the monitor's display for every 10 minutes spent exercising/training in your target heart zone; an OwnZone mode that provides a customized target zone for individual exercise sessions; an OwnCode mode that prevents crosstalk from other heart rate monitors nearby; a recording mode that tracks your average and maximum heart rate, calorie expenditure, distance, and total exercise time, and then puts it in an exercise file or fitness diary; water resistance to 50 meters; a 24-hour clock with a day/week indicator; a built-in backlight, a KeyLock; a low battery indicator; and both SonicLink and UpLink connections for transferring data between the F7 and a computer. Sporting an attractive grey housing, the watch carries a two-year warranty.
Note:
Polar heart rate monitors are precision instruments; consumers are not advised to change their own battery. Polar recommends that all service be done by an authorized Polar Service Center which will include a warranty for 90 days on repairs and 6 months for batteries.
About Polar
The first EKG accurate wireless heart rate monitor was invented by Polar back in 1977 as a training tool for the Finnish National Cross Country Ski Team. The concept of "intensity training" by heart rate swept the athletic world in the eighties. By the 1990s, individuals were looking to heart rate monitors not only for performance training needs, but also for achieving everyday fitness goals. Today, the same concept of heart rate training is being used by world-class athletes as well as everyday people trying to lose weight. Polar is the leading brand among consumers, coaches, and personal trainers worldwide and the company is committed to not only producing the best products, but also being the leading educator on the benefits of heart rate based exercise.
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