I've always been a fan of Polar heart monitors, so I didn't really consider any other manufacturers. While researching what would work best for me, I learned that over the years, Polar has sold many, many different models of heart monitors.
The high-end model they are currently selling is the Polar Vantage V. The MSRP for this watch is $499.00. That's a bit more than I want to spend, and a lot more monitor than I need. It has a sweet color OLED display and doesn't require a chest band, but that's way outside my level of activity.
No, I was more interested in a monitor that would simply display my heart rate with really large digits. One that was simple, easy to operate and understand.
I found the FT1. It has just one button, and a large LED display with one number on it - your heart rate. Pressing the ONE BUTTON makes the watch display heart rate data from the chest band, and also starts a timer. When you are done, the ONE BUTTON turns off the monitor and then shows the elapsed time, and your average heart rate during that time. Does it get any more simple than that???
See that? Why do you need anything more than this???
You can also program it to beep when you get out of your target heart rate zone. I have no interest in that, and I'm not going to bother figuring out how to program it with the ONE BUTTON.
They don't make this very sensible model any more, of course. The owner's manual was printed in 2004, so I guess that was pretty much the end of them.
Nowadays, they are all quite complex. More buttons, more numbers. More crap to learn in-depth for a consumer product that probably won't last very long anyway. They cost a lot. The least expensive monitor is the A370, which is still $149, and way more than I want to spend to monitor my heart rate for 30-60 minutes every day.
So I got an F1 at auction. For eight bucks. And then I picked up another one at auction - for $5.99. This new one is for use at work when I'm stair climbing or doing other bodyweight exercises.
I got it at a slight discount.
Unlike the first monitor I bought, this one had a dead display. I pulled this little 3 volt battery out, put it on the volt meter, and it read 0.015 volts. So it's slightly more dead than King Tut. I bought what I thought was a replacement battery, but it turned out to be too large in diameter. I find it amusing that the replacement battery cost about the same as I paid for the heart monitor...
Hopefully I can soon get the correct battery, and get it working before I have to head back at work!
I'll post an update when I get the correct battery installed in the wrist band. Hopefully the battery is all the system needs and it works OK.
If the chest band needs a battery, I'm pretty sure I can take care of that, even though it's sealed up water tight. Polar says you have to return them to the factory, but I think I can get in and out without damaging the sending unit.
UPDATE:
Yep I was able to get the correct battery installed in the wristband, and the display works again. I tested it out, and the chest band battery seems to be fine!
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