Amazon.com Reviews
Average Rating: 4.0 out of 5 Stars
The following review received 166 helpful votes out of 168 total votes:Review Date: 2005-05-06"Polar F11 - Monitors your heartbeat and so much more"When the transmitter on my old Polar "Smart Beat" started to fail, I had a choice of replacing the transmitter or buying a new monitor. I had never cared for the Smart Beat. The buttons were hard to push, features hard to figure out and the transmitter bulky, so I opted to purchase a new monitor.
The "Smart Beat" was so frustrating to use, that I considered buying just a simple beat and calorie heartrate monitor. But as one who loves the bells and whistles, I thought I would try a more advanced model. If it was as frustraing as my old monitor I would send it back and get a simple one.
Deciding on a heartrate monitor is difficult. I knew I wanted another Polar because of their reputation for quality but which one. Polar makes a ton of monitors. After examining different ones I decided the F-11 would offer me some nice features and meet my needs without being too complicated.
The F-11 has won Polar a number of awards for innovation. The reason is the "Keep U Fit" program. With this progam you input your stats, take a fitness test (which is basically a timed measure of your resting heart rate) and the F-ll will tell you how fit you are. Next you tell the F-11 if you want to improve, maintain or maximize your fitness level. The F-11 then creates a weekly fitness plan for you. It tells you how many hours you should exercise, and how long you should be at each of your heart rate intensity levels. If you succeed you are awarded a digital gold cup - cute huh! If you don't want to follow the program you can just do a regular exercise session.
The F-11 has a lot of great features. It will tell you calories burned, time in exercise and more. You can even pause your exercise session should you need to take a quick break to answer the phone, drink some water or do something else. You can also turn the audible sound off or on to let you know when you are "in" or "out" of your heartrate zone.
The nicest thing about this Polar is it is easy to use. Digital images tell you when you are using the features. For example "Exercise" mode has a little image of a man. "Settings" mode has a view of gears. It will take a while to get used to the features but once you do the visual cues (which were not on my old Polar) will help you to remember whats what.
The F-11 looks like a large oversized watch. It comes in two colors Grey Pepper and Red Chili. I thought the red color was cute but it's so oversized it was a bit gaudy on my wrist so I went with the grey.
The transmitter on the F-11 is much smaller than that on older models. This transmitter is about 1/2 the size of a deck of cards and the electrodes are in a soft strap which is washable.
The strap is sized to fit M-XXL but as a medium woman I thought it was on the smaller size. It does have stretch, but I do not think it would fit an XL and certainly not an XXL. Also the strap is clearly labled M-XXL..this may seem petty, a man may not care but what woman wants to run around with an XXL label sticking out?
Overall, this is a great Polar and sure to bump your fitness up a notch! 5 stars The following review received 82 helpful votes out of 84 total votes:Review Date: 2005-10-09"Excellent investment in my health and fitness!" In my humble opinion, Polar HRM watches, a Finnish company, appear to be in a class all by themselves without worthy competitors. New to HRM watches, I decided on Polar after perusing countless websites (i.e. bike racing, marathon runners, health sites you name it!). I decided on Polar because so often someone would write in about another brand "good watch, but I miss my Polar" "my watch died, should have bought a Polar." I almost gave in at one point tantalized by the beauty and cool design of a different brand, Polar watches are pretty basic looking, but then I would find reviews stating the watch did not function properly or did not have the myriad of features I was looking for.
So why the F-11?
DON'T be afraid to buy the Polar F-11:
1) If you've never owned a HRM watch before-the list of features may appear daunting!
2)If you are not a jock-it may strike you as a watch just for fitness fanatics!
Both 1 and 2 are not true! Yes, the first two weeks I wore my F-11 I was frustrated. Nevertheless, I kept referring to my manual when a question arose and now after using it for a month I have mastered all the features (the learning curve is easier than learning a basic computer program I'd say). If I had purchased a cheaper less complicated model, I probably would have outgrown the features and wanted the watch to do more.
I am glad I chose the top watch (most expensive model) in the Polar fitness category because the "Keep u fit" program has helped me tremendously. I found out that I am not in good shape. No more state of denial for me! But, such knowledge has proven to be highly inspirational. Plus, surely multiple fitness lab tests at the doctors would cost more than the extra $50 or so for this feature, which I will use again and again.
In addition, the "Keep U Fit" program also designed a program tailored to me to either maintain my fitness level, moderately increase, or significantly increase my fitness level. I now push myself when exercising more than ever before! A low beeping noise lets you know if you are above or below your target fitness goal heart rate. No longer are all my workouts leisure nature strolls - not when I see how many more calories I can burn in a shorter period while really working up a sweat. One more thing about the high price, the features of the F-11 have eliminated my need (and the cost) for a personal trainer.
If the F-11 features don't sound like what you are looking for check out Polars outstanding website. In no time at all you can sort through all their watches and find the one that is best for you but beware its written in Finnish, I'm kidding.
I love that now: I can do any exercise anywhere and have important knowledge at my fingertips. The other day I jogged in place while reading the Wall Street Journal on-line and burned 350 calories. I have also done aerobics while watching my favorite sitcoms!
Lastly, I don't agree 100% with another reviewers comments. I agree with 99% of her review, but I disagree that the chest strap probably only fits a size Medium. I am a L to XL sized woman and it fits me fine in fact with room to grow. (although, thank goodness I am shrinking not growing). I find the strap for the most part comfortable and often forget I am wearing it. What would I change? Book binding...the binding on the manual became unglued the first week. Looks...Hey Polar hire some new product designers and create a cutting edge beauty! Besides that, I wouldn't change a thing.
5 stars The following review received 82 helpful votes out of 82 total votes:Review Date: 2005-11-21"The best heart rate monitor I've owned"I've owned three other monitors, one of them a Polar (which I liked), and this one is the tops.
This is why I gave it five stars:
- It has an easy-to-read display.
- The instructions were extremely clear.
- It can automatically calculate, if you want it to, your target range based on your birthdate.
- It has a weekly status that gives you the total number of calories burned, and the total exercise time for that week.
- There is also a fitness progress report, which shows your improvement, via a chart, over time. Unfortunately, I ignored the first few opportunities to take the quick fitness test, so my report is just recently starting.
- The strap is much more comfortable than the previous Polar monitor's.
I think this is an excellent "mid-range" monitor.
5 stars The following review received 76 helpful votes out of 81 total votes:Review Date: 2006-03-17"Computer download feature basically useless" Pros:
- Unlike the lower-end Polar models, the F-11 allows you to change the chest strap battery yourself without sending it back to the manufacturer.
- The cloth chest strap is comfortable and easy to wear.
- User interface is straightforward, heart rates read properly and quickly.
- Saves workout data and can tell you how and when to exercise (perhaps not a "pro" if you don't want a watch telling you what to do.)
Cons:
- Although you can download your workout data to the computer, Polar's proprietary software gives you basically no flexibility in viewing it. The downloading step is easy, but you must be connected to the internet to perform it. Once data are downloaded the only way you can access them is through Polar's webpage. The "plots" are a percentage of time you spent in each heart rate zone. No heart rate vs. time. Not even exact heart rate values -- just ranges. If you do any sort of interval training this is more or less useless because the averaging washes out the interesting features of your workout data. 3 stars The following review received 33 helpful votes out of 34 total votes:Review Date: 2006-11-02"Does what I wanted"When I decided to get a HRM, the decision to get a Polar was easy. The Polar syncs up with the equipment at the gym. So now I don't have to grab onto the handles and wait for the treadmill to pick up my heartrate. As soon as you start the machine it begins reading.
I suppose I could have just gotten the chest strap, but I like toys, so I got the F11 to help inspire me and track my progress. Here's what I think of it.
The strap is cheap plastic, and will probably break after putting on and removing the watch several times. Although a standard band might fit, the cheapy platic one is really mated to the watch.
Setting up the watch was reasonably straightforward. It does a VO2max test, and sets up a fitness program based on parameters you specify.
Exercises center around being in one of three heart rate zones, and records how long you spend in each of those zones.
Data can be uploaded to Polar's website, but not to any standard format. The website is also rather rudimentary and is slow and cumbersome to navigate its limited features. (you can check it out at polarpersonaltrainer dot com).
One up on the scale is the F55, whiuch seems to be more centered around weightlifting, and costs about $40 more. The F6 is one model down. I'm not sure what it lacks from the F11.
Something to consider is the battery. Some models require you to return your watch and strap to Polar for battery replacement. The battery in the F11 strap is user replaceable. The watch battery should be sent in for replacement according to Polar, but I suspect that it can be changed by the user, or at a local jeweler.
I really enjoy using a treadmill or cycle, and have it pick up my heartrate instantly. Whether or not spending $160 on getting the additional features is questionable. If you're like me though, it does help give you the inspiration to stick to an exercise program.
I am satisfied with this purchase. 4 stars |
