Polar FT40 Men's Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Grey)

Description  Review  Compare Polar FT Series  Heart Rate Monitor Buyer Guide  Compare Price

Description  Review  Compare Polar FT Series  Heart Rate Monitor Buyer Guide  Compare Price

Pros :

• Extremely easy to use
• Good manual
• Coded transmitter prevents interference

Cons :

• No multi-sport capability
• Computer uploading not worth the extra cost
• A little bit expensive

The Bottom Line : I am being totally honest in saying that Polar FT40 is a really good heart rate monitor. It is wonderfully designed and simple to use. If Polar had only allowed it to be foot pod compatible it could have been even better. It’s really the perfect watch for gym users, joggers and fitness enthusiasts who want an easy to use heart rate monitor with a decent amount of features. Although a bit expensive for this level, you are buying a quality heart rate monitor unit. For those looking for alternatives with more features and multi-sport capability, look at the Garmin Forerunner 50.

The Polar FT40 is a heart rate monitor designed for fitness enthusiasts wanting a good variety of features with simple operation. It is the perfect tool for those wanting to improve their fitness, lose weight or want to make their training more effective.

Product Features

• Energy Pointer (helps to judge your intensity for weight loss or fitness improvement)
• Adjustable heart rate target zones
• Calorie expenditure
• Graphical target zones
• 50 exercise file memory

Performance
The first thing that strikes you about the Polar FT40 is its looks. The heart rate monitor has undergone a major redesign from previous Polar heart rate monitors and is available in green, beige or grey colour schemes. The only thing I do not like is the floral and circuit board patterns printed on the watch faces. Although these provide a good set of choices for both male and female users, we feel Polar has overdone it slightly. The heart rate monitor is also predominantly made from plastic, but still feels reasonably robust. The wrist strap is also comfortable and most users should be able to get a secure fit.

The Polar FT40 is wonderfully simple to use. I admire Polar for designing it this way as heart rate monitor designs can easily be made too complex. Easy navigation and a well laid out screen make this watch a joy to use, with the user never struggling to find the desired feature. The instruction manual is also very well written and easy to understand.

The Energy Pointer feature is an example of this simplicity. While you exercise, a heart icon and a line appear on the screen. The heart represents your actual heart rate and the line a specific intensity. You should try keep your heart rate to the one side if you want to lose fat, while keeping it to the other side to improve your fitness. This eliminates the need to worry about specific heart rate percentages and other factors that can make heart rate training programs so complicated.

There are some nice other features. A 5 minute fitness test to judges your fitness improvement, while all you have to do is lie still. Adjustable heart rate zones also help those who want to follow a specific program to do so.

Another nice feature is the Polar T31 coded heart rate strap. It eliminates interference, meaning that even in a crowded gym your readings will never experience problems. The heart rate belt itself is extremely comfortable and reliable, with us never experiencing any problems throughout our review period.

Unfortunately the FT40 does not have any multi-sport capabilities like the Polar FT60. This is unfortunate because we felt that the use of a foot pod in combination with the Polar FT40 would have made it the ultimate casual walker/jogger heart rate monitor.

Your Polar FT40 heart rate data can also be uploaded to your computer, but only to Polar’s polarpersonaltrainer.com training website. It’s a nice idea, offering basic training plans (such as for marathons) and the ability to share your data with other users. Unfortunately, you need to purchase the additional Polar Flow Link cradle to transfer the data, which is really not worth the extra price.

Description  Review  Compare Polar FT Series  Heart Rate Monitor Buyer Guide  Compare Price

Description  Review  Compare Polar FT Series  Heart Rate Monitor Buyer Guide  Compare Price

If you're trying to lose weight and get in shape, a heart rate monitor (HRM) is a great way to monitor your intensity and make sure you're working in your target heart rate zone. Many monitors not only provide a continuous heart rate reading but also tell you if you're working in your zone and how many calories you're burning.

With the variety of HRMs out there, it's hard to know how to choose the right one for you. Before you spend your money, check out the factors you want to consider when buying a heart rate monitor.

The type of HRM you buy will often depend on your fitness level, needs and goals:

• For Basic Model: Look for a basic model and functionality that offers your heart rate monitoring like the Omron Heart Rate Monitor HR-100C, Timex T5G941 Heart Rate Monitor, Polar FS1

  - Omron Heart Rate Monitor HR-100C is basic heart rate monitor that is inexpensive, easy to use and doesn't require hours of time spent reading a manual to figure it out. You get a continuous reading of your heart rate, an alarm that tells you when you're in your heart rate zone, time of day display and a daily reminder alarm. At around $30-$50, this is a great price for what you get and users will be pleased with how easy this is to use.

  - Timex T5G941 Heart Rate Monitor is basic model that's easy to use, offers basic heart rate and workout information and is a favorite among exercisers. The display is large, so you can easily see the numbers and it includes an activity timer to rack exercise time as well as information about minimum, average and maximum heart rate for each workout. Most exercisers like the fact that you can change the battery yourself (something you can't do with all HRMs) and that you can figure out how to set it up without spending hours reading the manual. At around $30-$60, this HRM is perfect for people who want the basics for a great price.

  - Polar FS1 is the perfect choice for the exerciser who doesn't want to fool with a lot of buttons during their workouts. The extra large display and the one-button functionality make this monitor easy to use and easy to see. The basic features include your heart rate, a visual and audible alarm that lets you know if you're in your target heart rate zone, a stop watch and, of course, a clock. At around $50-$60, this monitor will give you what you need without all the bells and whistles. There are the higher models of Polar FS1 which are Polar FS2 and Polar FS3.

  Features of basic model	Omron HR-100C	Timex T5G941	Polar FS1	Polar FS2	Polar FS3
  Continuous Heart Rate Monitoring (see what your current heart rate is on your wrist watch and how it fluctuates while you are exercising )	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
  Heart Rate Training Zone with Alarms (manually set your heart rate alarm zone, lower and upper heart rate limits in which you will be doing your exercise)	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
  Duration of Exercise Session (tells you how long you have been exercising)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
  Average Heart Rate of Exercise Session	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
  Maximum Heart Rate of Exercise Session	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
  Basic Time Keeping (for example, won't let you set the date and a wake up alarm)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
  Backlight	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
  The aged-based automatic setting of heart rate training zone (Max Heart Rate = 220 - Your Age)	No	No	No	No	Yes

• For Weight Loss: Try a HRM that tracks time spent in your heart rate zone and calories burned such as the Polar F6. Polar F6 does more than just display your heart rate, but isn't so high-end that you'd have to get an engineering degree to figure it out, the Polar F6 is an excellent choice. The F6 has a variety of functions, from tracking heart rate and workout intensity to calculating calories burned and time spent in each zone. It also provides a weekly summary of your workouts that can help you stay motivated and set new goals. There is the lower model which is Polar F4. The higher models are Polar F7, Polar F11 and Polar F55.

• For General Fitness: Try one that helps you improve fitness with information about intensity and training zones, like the Polar FT60. If you're into fitness and want to improve your workouts and/or lose weight, the FT 60 offers personalized workouts that adapt according to your workout habits and goals. The FT 60 gives you weekly targets (such as to workout a certain number of minutes) based on your goals and tracks how you did. Aside from your heart rate, the FT 60 also offers a fitness test, calories burned and it keeps track of all your workouts. The FT 60 is also compatible with the Polar GPS Unit (which is Polar FT60G1) and FlowLink which allows you to transfer data to your computers. At around $197, this is a pricey heart rate monitor but offers great motivation for people who have specific goals. The lower model is Polar FT40 and the higher model are Polar FT 80 and Polar FT 80 w/ G1 GPS.

• For Athletes: Consider a HRM, like the Garmin Forerunner 405 HRM, that offers multi-sport support, workout feedback and advanced features such as GPS and downloadable data. If you're a multi-sport athlete, you may want a more serious heart rate monitor like the Garmin Forerunner 405 HRM. You get a heart rate monitor, GPS tracking and the ability to create your own workouts as well as analyze everything from your pace and distance to calories burned. One stand-out feature is the courses, which lets you compete against your previous workout by comparing heart rate and pace - a great way to see if you're improving from workout to workout. This is also a good one for triathletes because you can transition between sports without resetting it. The lower model is Garmin Forerunner 305 HRM and The higher model is Garmin Forerunner 405CX HRM.

Description  Review  Compare Polar FT Series  Heart Rate Monitor Buyer Guide  Compare Price