Polar FT7 Fitness Watch (Final)

Polar FT7 Fitness Watch Review 

Pros

A versatile heart rate monitor with an accurate calorie burn makes the Polar FT7 watch one for athletes of all kinds. Whether you are a casual stroller or a competitive cyclist, this watch and heart rate monitor keeps you in your fitness zone and calculates how many calories you have burned, while compiling weekly summaries.

Cons

This watch doesn’t contain a stopwatch or a lap count feature. There is no GPS/tracking feature like some other fitness watches have. There is also no alarm feature on the FT7.

Special Features

Once a workout is started, it only takes one click of a button to get pertinent details of your workout provided by the FT7. You can discover your calories burned, what time of day it is, and the duration of your workout all in one easy screen.

This device comes with free access to a training application online called PolarPersonalTrainer.  You can get a free download for your computer to optimize the features of the FT7. Connecting directly to your computer, the FT7 can sync with the software to track fitness progress and results, as well as lead you to online forums. This additional features allows you to track your actual training load – which shows you the impact of your training on your body – create a fitness diary, find additional training programs, as well as run an analysis on your training sessions and progress.

One of the unique features of the FT7 is the HeartTouch button free operation. If you move your wrist-watch in close proximity of the chest transmitter, the watch will display the time of day. This feature is especially nice when the user is actively exercising and doesn’t want to mess with clicking buttons on a watch and flipping through screens.

Specifications

The FT7 uses the EnergyPointer feature, allowing the user to see if their heart rate puts them in the fitness zone or fat burning zone. It displays the calories burned, workout duration, and compiles weekly data summaries of your workouts, including the durations and calories burned. These weekly totals are extremely helpful for someone who is trying to closely count their calorie burn.  This watch can hold 99 training files with workout summaries to assist with long term fitness goals.

The watch displays the date and year along with the time. The clock can be switched between a 12 hour clock and a 24 hour clock. This device is waterproof and suitable for swimming up to 30 meters. The watch can display text in English, German, Finnish, Swedish, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian.

The FT7 watch uses a CR1632 lithium battery and the chest transmitter uses a CR 2025 lithium battery. Both come with a two-year warranty.

Design and Comfort

The Polar FT7 comes with a comfortable fabric chest strap with a removable transmitter that picks up your heart rate and speaks directly to your watch. This assures the most accurate heart rate reading possible. The fabric chest strap is durable and easy to wash (hand-wash only) and should be done after every workout.

Price

The price of the Polar FT7 watch with chest transmitter is listed at $199.95 on Polar's website. You can find them on sale on other retail sites such as Amazon as low as $69.96. This watch is a bit more expensive than other fitness watches that do not come with a chest strap transmitter, and in turn do not give the user as accurate as a heart rate and calorie burn.

Summary

You are looking for a fitness watch with the right mix of affordability and technical advantage, the Polar FT7 is for you. This watch comes with technology that calculates an accurate calorie burn while determining what fitness zone you are in. Even though this watch doesn't contain a GPS feature, it still contains all of the necessary features to maximize your workouts to reach your fitness goals.