Forget about trying to force yourself to get into an unsuitable fitness program! The Polar RS400sd Heart Rate Monitor Watch take cares of that by finding that perfect training level for your body.

The RS400sd features its Polar OwnOptimizer capability. The Polar OwnOptimizer allows this heart rate monitor watch to m determine whether you are under training or over training based on your heart rate, pace, and calories burned and. It measures and analyzes your training results and provides you with visual and aural clues for you to know how effective the runner’s training program is.

The Polar RS400sd Heart Rate Monitor Watch also comes with a free IRDA USB 2.0 interface and Polar Protrainer 5 training planning and analyzing software. This makes it easier for any runner to upload his data to the computer, and analyze the results of his workout.

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Very Repeatable Results
The RS400 foot pod gives very repeatable results. Initially, with no calibration, the foot pod was 7% accurate for me. It didn’t matter if the distance was 3 miles or 9 miles it maintained a 7% error. I did a manual correction using data from a 7 mile run and the unit is now about 1-2% accurate. I think I can improve it better if I calibrate it using data taken from a 1600m track run. I personally like doing the manual correction because it allows me go back to a previous factor if a new one does not perform better.

My wife happens to have the Garmin Forerunner 405 while I went with the Polar RS400sd so we have been able to compare both systems. They both can measure and record your workouts and come with s/w for your computer. Both s/w packages have a workout diary and allow you to define custom workouts and upload them to your watch. This feature is great for interval training. No more having to remember how many laps you’ve completed or how much your pace should change. I think the Garmin s/w might have a slight edge compared to Polar’s. Overall both systems work very well, each with their +/-. Here are some notable features for each.

Polar RS400 Pros:

-No need to look for GPS satellite signals

-Very Repeatable results

-Calories burned calculation based on hear rate.

-Good battery life

-Display Screens very customizable

-Capable of manual calibration

-comfortable wrist unit

Polar RS400 Cons:

-Do need to calibrate foot pod for best accuracy

-Downloading workout data is temperamental with IR connection

-Auto laping feature based on start of workout not on the start of the last lap. It would be cool to be able to record a lap manually and then continue auto laping based on that point.

-foot pod is a little bulky (but surprisingly unnoticeable while running)

-Have to manually erase workout data after download. Would be nice if this was done automatically.

Garmin 405 Pros:

-GPS receiver in wrist unit

-No need to calibrate

-Actual route can be viewed on a map

-Buttonless screen navigation

-Data download connection to computer is very robust.

Garmin 405 Cons:

-Have to set you watch out for a few minutes to look for GPS satellites

-Watch unit needs to be recharged regularly (GPS is power hungry)

-Watch is a little bulky

-Buttonless screen feature can be temperamental during a workout

3 Stars RS 400 SD
I find this product to be an excellent tool for keeping track of my workouts. The one complaint I have is that there seems to be a glitch with transfering information to my desktop; I find that I often have to close the Polar program and reopen it in order to get the transfer to work. Other than that it’s easy to use and very sturdy. The footpod has been accurate and, although it can be difficult to attach to my shoe, it has held up very well to trail runs, stream crossings and muddy days.

3 Stars Works alright
I’ve tried several Polar heart monitors before, but this is the first one I’ve tried with a soft strap. The strap is more comfortable and seems to be easier to get good contact than the hard straps. Having said that, I still have problems with getting good contact and often need to dump more water on the strap during the first ten minutes of my run. Be sure to really soak the strap before starting… a little dab of water is not enough.

The IrDA device is pretty touchy… borderline obnoxious. It seems more like a beta product than a reliable production product. The watch has to be pressed against the transceiver, help really steady, and typically I have to make two or three attempts before it works. I would not have been very happy to purchase the IrDA device separately, especially considering the gouging price that Polar sells it for, and experience these problems. FWIW: the IrDA port on my Thinkpad interfaces with the watch so it may be possible to get a less expensive IrDA device if you need another. Just seems like some sort of solid protected USB like plug would be far superior.

I don’t use the running pod.

I really like the zone alarms which give you an audible indication if you are dogging it or pushing too hard.

If you don’t really need logging capabilities, you may want to consider a less expensive monitor.

4 Stars RS 400 SD
I was using the Nike Ipod pedometer for a few weeks to track my distance and time. The Nike Ipod after a few weeks was just not accurate enough for my needs. I ended up buying the 400 SD with all its feautres. My first run was for 1 mile and the pedometer was accurate at 1.05 miles. The heart rate showed a steady increase the first minute of my run and then it leveled off as I would expect. After my run I was able to download the information into my laptop with no problems. My laptop has a built in Ir port so it was no problem with the transfer. The software is fairly easy to use and has several reports to show you different graphical curves of your heart rate.

Overall, I really like the product and for my first run it was fairly simple. My only issue with this item is the price. Sure is a lot of money but then it does have a lot of features. You really need to read the directions for this item. There are so many sub pages and functions that it is not intuitive as to how to navigate thru all the different pages on the watch.

Buy/More Info

Related posts:

1. Polar RS300X SD Heart Rate Monitor Watch with S1 Foot Pod Black
2. Polar RS200 Running Heart Rate Monitor
3. Heart Rate Polar RS400 Monitor