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Polar Heart Rate Monitor Review





The most famous heart rate monitor brand on the market is Polar.

A Polar heart rate monitor is like a Nike running shoe.


Very popular and you have a virtual guarantee you are getting yourself a great, well designed running heart rate monitor.


Other great heart rate monitor brands to consider are :
  • Timex heart rate monitors

  • Garmin heart rate monitors

  • Nike heart rate monitors



  • Polar heart rate monitors come in various price ranges. The price of a Polar heart rate monitor is very indicative of the functionality you will get.On this page I will talk you through a range of different models.

    Polar Easy 1 : A basic Polar Heart Rate Monitor


    The Polar Easy 1 Fitness Computer is a basic Polar heart rate monitor. You can pick it up fairly cheaply. Despite of this the Polar Easy 1 covers a few basics :

  • heart rate

  • target zone

  • stopwatch

  • large digits
  • Polar Easy 1 Fitness Computer
    Click the picture
    for more information


    After a very basic heart rate monitor? Then the Polar Easy 1 could well be the one for you.


    Polar F4 : Women's Heart Rate Monitor

    Polar F4 Heart Rate Monitor
    Click the picture
    for more information

    The Polar F4 is great for the female athletes.
    It has got a slightly smaller wrist, so great for the ladies.

    It provides heart rate, target zones, average heart rate and a calorie counter.All in all, this means quite a good value-for-money Polar heart rate monitor !


    Polar RS100 : Great Entry Level Heart Rate Monitor

    Polar RS100 Heart Rate Monitor
    Click the picture
    for more information
    This is where we get serious.
    A five gold star-rating for the Polar RS100.
    This Polar heart rate monitor is very complete with a target zone with visual as well as audible alarm, a current, maximum and average heart rate as well as acaloriecounter.
    Useful is the "Polar OwnCode" which prevents cross-talk from other heart rate monitors (which would then lead to someone else's information being displayed on your screen).
    For its price definitely a good buy.


    Polar RS200 : More Expensive, No Added Value... ?

    Polar RS200 Heart Rate Monitor
    Click the picture
    for more information
    The Polar RS200 is a bit more expensive than the Polar RS100 and delivers a little extra functionality.
    The extra thing you can do with this heart rate monitor is pre-program your training session with variable heart rate limits for certain amounts of time.
    Hmm, considering we spend most training sessions in one heart rate zone, this is not a very necessary addition.

    A reason to still be interested in the Polar RS200 heart rate monitor is if you wish to upgrade to the RS200 SD later on. This model seems to show reliability issues though...

    You do decide to get the RS200 ?
    Then watch out : the RS200 normally comes to you configured for the footpod included in the RS200 SD model. Turn this functionality off or your RS200 will continuously play up.
    So, on itself, I find it questionable to justify the extra expense for what you get, but hey, I am not you. You might be doing multiple speed training sessions all the time and really need this extra feature !


    Polar RS200SD : Luxury Heart Rate Monitor ?

    Polar RS200SD Heart Rate Monitor
    Click the picture
    for more information
    For over US$200 you may expect quite a bit.
    And true, the functionality of this Polar heart rate monitor is mind-blowing.
    The extra footpod gives you the ability to not only measure heart rate, but also distance.
    So this device will be able to track the distance you have run, the average and current speed etcetera.
    Great stuff, however, reliability seems to be lacking a bit with many users not happy because of inaccuracies orproduct failures.
    Hopefully Polar will come with some improvements to this model to make it work, because if they can deliverreliability, then the price for all this functionality is pretty darn good !


    Polar RS400SD : The Best You Can Get

    Polar RS400SD Heart Rate Monitor
    Click the picture
    for more information

    Just name something and this Polar heart rate monitor will do it.
    Well, apart from making you a nice latte to enjoy after your workout.
    It has got all the features you want of a heart+distance running monitor. Plus it gives you Polar ProTrainer 5 functionality which isadvanced training software to plan and analyse your workouts.

    If you are after a top-end heart rate monitor, then this the one for you. Five stars, no less !

    Summary


    I can imagine you are a bit dazzled after going through all this. A quick summary :

    Polar Easy 1 -- Basic, good, but too basic for many

    Polar F4 -- Good basic heart rate monitor

    Polar RS100 -- Great entry level heart rate monitor

    Polar RS200 -- Not enough added functionality to justify the extra cost

    Polar RS200SD -- Great concept, but proven unreliable

    Polar RS400SD -- Top end heart rate monitor. Best on the market.


    Good luck in your search to the perfect heart rate monitor for you. Hope this page helped you a bit.

    Wish to know when I'll put more heart rate monitor reviews online ?
    Then subscribe to the Best Running Tips Newsletter or to my site blog.


    Go from Polar Heart Rate Monitors to Heart Rate Monitor Features Page



    Go from Polar Heart Rate Monitors to Best Running Tips Homepage




    Heart Rate Monitor
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