Heart Rate Monitor Reviews and Fitness Articles

The Polar F7 heart rate monitor is another model in the Polar entry level range. It has improved functionality over the Polar F4, yet is still very well priced. It is perfect for fitness enthusiasts looking for a good vale heart rate monitor and novices who are new to heart rate monitor training.

Product Features

• Polar OwnZone (Automatically sets target heart rate zones)
• Heart Rate Training Zones
• Fitness Bullets (Graphical indication of time in target heart rate zone)
• Polar OwnCal (Calorie Expenditure)
• 12 log memory
• Stopwatch
• Upload data to polarpersonaltrainer.comwatch

Performance

The Polar F7 heart rate monitor is built mainly from a plastic material, with its characteristic circular shape. We are pleased to see that Polar have introduced both a Male (Polar F7) and Female (Polar F7F) version of the heart rate monitor.

The key differences between the two are the colours and printed designs on the heart rate monitors. The female version has floral patterns around the screen, while the male has a circuit board pattern. In opinion these designs are really not necessary and dent the ’sporty’ image of the watch. The female version also has a smaller build and wrist strap size, which creates a far better fit for thinner wrists.

In terms of features, the Polar f7 heart monitor is built around Polar OwnZone. This feature sets personal training target zones depending on your goals. For example, you can use it to target a lower heart rate zone for weight loss, while target a higher heart rate zone for improving your fitness. It’s obviously not an accurate alternative for a proper heart rate training program, but offers a nice method for those who enjoy simplicity in their training.

That being said, the Polar F7 heart rate monitor is clearly designed for simple operation. The watch is relatively easy to navigate, but more advanced feature like Polar OwnZone tend to be a little difficult to set up. Therefore we really advise you read the included manual carefully to get full benefit from your heart rate monitor.

One thing that we didn’t enjoy was the screen. During the training mode the screen shows lots of information, but with each line of data being a different size and having a variety of small icons, its sometime’s difficult to read. However, it is nice that you can see your heart rate as a percentage, beats per minute and a graph.

One of the icon based features is known as “fitness bullets”, where a bullet is displayed on the Polar F7 heart rate rate monitor every 10 minutes you spend in a particular target zone. It’s another basic system which helps add simplicity to the training with the Polar F7.

The Polar F7 comes with the Polar T31c coded heart rate belt, which prevent interference from other heart ratemonitor users and gym machines. It is made using Polar WearLink material, instead of the uncomfortable plastic found on certain other heart rate monitors. The results is an extremely comfortable and interference-free belt, which we really enjoyed using.

One complaint we have heard is that the battery, which last about a year, is difficult to replace. The battery has to be changed by a Polar service centre, so the difficulty of this process really depends on how close you live to a registered service centre. Hopefully, Polar will consider using a user replaceable battery in the future

The Polar F7 also allows you to upload your heart rate data to polarpersonaltrainer.com via Polar SonicLink. Using your watch and your computer speakers, you can upload your data to your online profile to view. You can also download logos to personalize your Polar F7 heart rate monitor.

Pros

• Good variety of features
• Different designs for males and females
• Polar WearLink heart rate belt is superb

Cons

• Certain features are slightly difficult to use
• No user-replaceable battery (at least on our version)

The Verdict

The strength of the Polar F7 heart rate monitor lies in its balance of interesting features at a good price. However, you should definitely also consider the both the Suunto T1c and Garmin Forerunner 50 and choose the heart rate monitor which best suits your needs. If you have some cash to spare, the Polar FT40 is also a superb buy, offering more features with simple operation. However, if you need a watch to help make your training more interesting, while remaining relatively inexpensive, the Polar F7 is the heart rate monitor for you.

Reviewed by Oggy

Tags: heart rate monitor reviews, polar f7, polar heart rate monitor, watch
Filed under: Polar | Jan 3rd, 2009.