Lowest Price Polar FT40 Men's Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Grey)

Overall, I think this is a good, QUALITY product!

It does what it says it will do--WELL! No surprises! I was looking for a waterproof watch that was customizable to view how many calories I was burning (for fat loss purposes) and an attractive watch that I could wear everyday to work (I work in a casual environment--this wouldn't be suitable for a banking job as the watch is a sport watch--bigger than a jewellery watch). I reviewed several other brands and the Polar website of all other products--I decided on Polar because of other people's positive experiences and the brand quality. Another major feature that I considered was the watch being able to calculate calories for non-cardio activities (strength training), but I decided against that (mostly because those watches were designed for men and they were not in my price range, but also because I read that it isn't really necessary?). The watch isn't so "bright lime green" in real life (it looks SLIGHTLY less impressive in real life than it does on the website) , also the watch strap seems to get a little dirty with normal use. I did receive several compliments about the watch when it was new.

I paid about $175 CDN and shipping was expensive, but it was shipped fairly fast (about 7 days from the US to Canada). Unfortunately, amazon.ca doesn't carry Polar! Pricing seemed comparable everywhere I looked (minus shipping). The movie listed on this review page was the final convincing factor for me buying this watch. I found the Polar website a little too technical when deciding (I would be fine now). I wish it had a questionnaire that would help guide you as to which product is best rather than having to compare them all yourself!!! I was also considering buying several other Polar watches--the final debate was between this watch and the FT60 (I had to put a price range in it, and considering that I was only a mild-moderate active person, I didn't want to go all out--probably next time). I ended up buying this watch because I couldn't (at that time justify spending another $60 US. :( I kind of think that may have been a better watch for me as it allows for cross training which is good for me as I am trying to lose fat, and am trying to vary my activity (the FT60 says it sets up the program for you--although I wasn't sure if that was what I wanted/wasn't sure if that was customizable.)

I am fairly happy with this watch as it does what is most important: it's reliable, sturdy, it counts calories, it allows for the user to take a 5 minute test (lay on the ground--it will monitor your heart rate), it will allow the user to always customize their user info so that the stats should be accurate (including height, weight, gender, dob, activity level). While wearing the chest strap, this watch will tell you your heart rate, monitor your maximum heart rate zone for you during activity (which you can manually enter your maximums yourself or let it choose it for you), put in your VO2 index (which, from reading, I realized is a quality feature!), keep data records of how many minutes of activity you did, what your heart rate was at, and how many calories you burned (most importantly!)

I have compared my watch to the cardio machines at the gym and this watch definitely seems a lot more accurate (others over-estimate!) I also used this watch while downhill skiing--it does overestimate the calories burned on downhill skiing (I believe), because you are not always relying on your body to get you down the mountain, which can skew the results. If you are scared, your heart might go up a bit, and skew the results a little (in my opinion, and not that I would know this from experience! LOL!)

Other things that are good about this watch are the alarm--it has a custom alarm (daily, weekdays, once, off) with snooze. It features military time (including seconds) which I use at work. It features a 5-second teal back light (button that you press) that is very helpful for reading the data in the dark! The watch data is also apparently downloadable to the Polar website via wifi, but I have not tried doing this. The green watch band has turned slightly dirty shade of green from normal use (doesn't seem to wash off well from shower). My dog unfortunately scratched the screen REALLY BAD when I was holding her (moderately easy to scratch plastic). :( However, the watch quality I would say is very good with normal use - no breakages or tears, etc.!

I did lose 20 lbs. this last year while using this watch; however, I don't use the calorie features as much anymore--the main reason is because I tire of/forget to wear the chest strap (and you have to put water on it first to activate it, which is a little bit cold to press against your skin! Be careful not to lose the transmitter on the chest strap--it snaps off.

The FT40 really motivated me--especially for the first 3 months, it got me out and active a lot more. I recommend this watch as it provides a whole lot of helpful features, it is EASY to use and it has motivated me; however, if you are considering a higher level Polar watch I would say, go for it! I think I would have been a little happier with the Polar FT60 even though it would have been $70 USD more. This watch is an investment and if you think you will use the other features (and it keeps you motivated), then it is definitely worth it even if it kills your bank account. This watch's expectancy (I would say) should be 5+ years (maybe up to 10). The only con to this product (besides the somewhat easily scratched screen) is the price, but you get what you pay for here!Get more detail about Polar FT40 Men's Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Grey).