Product Review: Polar FT4 HRM

If you have followed this blog for some time, then you know I am hard on heart rate monitors.  I burned through 2 in a single year and realized they just weren’t the quality I needed.  I was scouring some other fitness blogs and Instagrams and kept seeing the Polar FT4 pop up so you I just had to check it out.  Polar already had a good name in my book but I take nothing for granted.  I did my research and decided to purchase one of my very own last March 2013.

Where To Buy:

Polar site directly

Amazon.com

Best Buy

Features (directly from Polar site):

Body Measurements:

• Manual target zone – bpm / %
• HRmax (user set)
• Polar OwnCode® (5kHz) – coded transmission
• Polar OwnCal ® – Smart calories
• HR-based target zones with visual and audible alarm
• Average and maximum heart rate of training
• Automatic age-based target zone – bpm / %
• Heart rate – bpm / %

Training Features:

• HeartTouch – button-free operation of wrist unit
• Graphical target zone indicator
• ZonePointer

Watch Features:

• Backlight
• Date and weekday indicator
• Display text in English, German, Finnish, Swedish, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian
• Dual time zone
• Button lock
• Low battery indicator
• Time of day (12/24h) with alarm and snooze
• User replaceable battery
• Water resistant – 30m

Price point:

I purchased my Polar FT4 HRM at Best Buy for about $89.99 before taxes.  They only carried pink so that is the one I picked up.  Now, $89.99 is a bit expensive for some, but in my experience with heart rate monitors, you get what you pay for.  So far I have only had 1 bad incident with my HRM.

How I use it

When I first opened my package I followed the easy to use guide and set it up.  Set up is very easy.  You put in your demographics so it can give a more accurate reading such as your gender, age, etc.  One and done – no need to go back there again.

It comes with a chest strap which is easy to adjust to your chest size.  I typically place it just underneath the bottom of my sports bra so it is secure.  I typically wet the leads with a damp finger briefly run under the faucet to ensure my watch will get a clear reading.  The chest strap is one of the easiest to put on.  You simply hook it on to the opposing end like a bra strap.  I know that sounds simple but I have had others where it was some complicated matrix of intermingling the two opposing ends which did not always work so easily for me.  I know – I just can’t handle complexity.

I then put on the actual watch and click START.  This tells the watch to try and pick up your heart rate.  Otherwise it will just act like a regular watch and tell time.  Click START again once your activity begins and it will begin reporting your heart rate and counting your calories.  There is a forward and backward button at the top right and bottom left respectively and it lets you cycle through the menu so you can view your heart rate, calories burned, time passed plus total calories burned.  It is all very easy to follow.

Effectiveness:

Point blank this heart rate monitor gets the job done.  It is accurate and gets the job done.  If you follow my Instagram feed @Femmefitalefitclub you will see a bunch of posts with my wrist and this trusty/dusty HRM.  It doesn’t stop working in the middle  of the workout, it accurately calculates my heart rate, it has never given me false reading and if it is having trouble reading my heart rate it gives me aWARNING.  The other heart rate monitors do not do that.  They continue to provide bad readins.

Recap of Pros/Cons:

Pros:

• Easy to use
• Accurate
• Provides different aspects of your workout – calories burned, heart rate, etc.

Cons:

• Limited color selection
• Doesn’t provide other features such as timer, intervals, etc.  Wasn’t meant to –this is a bare bones, get’er done heart rate monitor

Rating:

Overall I give this heart rate monitor a 10 out of 10 stars.  I did not give it a lower rating due to the limited color options because in the end, it does what it says it will do.  It is dependable, hearty and durable.  I throw it around in my gym bag all of the time and it keeps on ticking (and it has almost been one year).

Purchase Your Own (affiliate link):

If you would you like to purchase your own, click the image below and shop around.

 Leave me a comment and let me what you thought of this product review.

Disclaimer:  This post contains affiliate links.  I have not been compensated in any way for this review.  The views and opinions expressed in this review are my very own.