The Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor is an excellent tool for keeping an eye on your heart rate and other vital statistics as you exercise. It straps to your wrist like a normal watch but has a long list of advanced features that set it apart from a regular timepiece. It also comes with a WearLink heart rate transmitter that straps around your chest and transmits your information to Polar compatible cardio machines in the gym. The features of the Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor include:
- 12 hour and 24 hour time of day display.
- Alarm with snooze.
- Backlight.
- Connects to your online training diary on the Polar Personal Trainer website.
- Date and weekday display.
- Dual time zone display.
- EnergyPointer to tell you if your training is burning fat or improving your fitness.
- Graphical target heart rate zone indicator.
- Low battery display.
- Multiple heart rate displays (BPM and as a percentage of your maximum heart rate).
- Multiple languages which include English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.
- Polar HeartTouch which allows you to view information during training without pressing any buttons – instead you simply touch the monitor against your heart.
- Polar KeyLock to prevent accidental button presses during exercise.
- Polar OwnCal which tracks and displays your calories burned per session and your total calories burned.
- Polar OwnCode which prevents interference from other heart rate monitors.
- Tracks and displays the date, time and duration of your workouts as well as your total workout time.
- User changeable batteries.
- Water resistant up to 50 meters.
- Wireless ECG heart rate monitor which tracks and displays your average and maximum heart rate per session and overall.
Good Points:
1) Accurate Heart Rate Monitor:- Despite the long list of features, Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor is primarily a heart rate monitor and it does that job extremely well. The heart rate you see on the watch will be identical to the heart rate you get when taking your pulse manually.
2) User Friendly: Another great thing about the Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor is that it’s very user friendly. The intuitive menus and settings mean that you won’t have to worry about reading the manual. Simply take it out of the box, have a little play and you’ll pick up how to use it in minutes.
3) Compatible With Cardio Machines: Most cardio machines that you come across in gyms are equipped with Polar technology. If the cardio machines in your gym have this technology then you will be able to transmit the data straight onto their display from the Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor. This provides you with more accurate calories burned and heart rate information when you are on the cardio machines and also helps you concentrate on your workout as you don’t have to constantly glance down at your watch.
4) You Can Change The Batteries: Another impressive feature of the Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor is that you can change the batteries. Many heart rate monitors require you to send the unit back to the manufacturer when the battery goes flat as they are the only ones with the ability to change it. The Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor puts you in control and allows you to avoid this inconvenience by changing the batteries yourself.
Bad Points:
1) Limited Display: One disappointing aspect of the Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor is that you cannot see your exercise duration and your heart rate on one screen, Whilst this information is available on separate screens, you may get frustrated having to constantly cycle between the screens to check these stats as you workout.
2) Quiet Zone Alarm: Another area where the Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor is lacking is the volume. If you are working out in a relatively noisy environment such as the gym, you will struggle to hear the zone alarm that goes off when you exceed your maximum heart rate.
Summary:
Overall, the Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor is an effective, mid-range heart rate monitor. There are better heart rate monitors out there but if you want them you will have to pay the price. Whilst the Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor is not perfect, it does the basics very well and provides you with an accurate measure of your heart rate, calories burned and workout duration. If you are an average gym user then this is all the information you need and the Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor will serve you well.
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