Polar RS800 Heart Rate Monitor Watch

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Retail Price: $389.95

Amazon Price: $335.00

The Polar RS800 Heart Rate Monitor Watch is an elite level watch that can match the intensity of people who undergo elite level training. It is a complete training solution that encompasses planning, monitoring and even analyzing the training that you are doing.

The Polar RS800 Heart Rate Monitor watch is capable of tracking maximum heart rate (fitness test-based and age-based), maximum/average of total exercise and of each lap (up to 99 laps), three target zones, and even gives auditory signals when you reach your targets.

All these data can then be tracked and analyzed in your computer. The Polar RS800 Heart Rate Monitor watch comes with the Polar’s ProTrainer 5 software, which is an advanced training analyzer for your computers. Simply transfer the data from your watch to your computer through the Polar WearLink W.I.N.D. transmitter and you are ready to go.

Aside from these features, the Polar RS800 Heart Rate Watch is also highly adaptable. It can be used in conjunction with a variety of training accessories and even shoes, to ensure that it can be utilized no matter the type of training that you are doing.

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User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars This watch delivers as promised
This watch is perfect!! You can create your own program either with the software or in the watch directly. I did extensive research and this is the best value I found. The watch is well made and I have had no glitch or funny readings as with some of the cheaper watches I have tried like the Mio or Polar’s lower brands without coded belt. Speaking of which, the coded belt is comfortable and I have gotten zero interference from all the equipment in the gym or anyone else’s hrm. My friends have had this problem with other brands. I spent about 1 1/2 hours reading the manual and playing around and I pretty much can navigate around in the menu with my eyes closed. Best deal I found was from a company which had free shipping and free IRD device..which you need if you want to view your session in the software. I paid $369.

5 Stars RS800
My husband enjoyed his RS800 so much, he purchased two more for friends this Christmas.

3 Stars great features but limited life
I had to work through three of these before I got one that functioned for any period of time. First one quit second time in pool, second one band fell off. Then, after a year, moisture got inside the cover on the third just as I started to like it. I sold it after that. Three was enough.

2 Stars Polar dropped the ball with the IR interface
I have used Polar Heart rate monitors for years and, having become interested in tracking heart rate variability choose to purchase the RS800 so that I could do the analysis.

I’d note that I had the same problem as the other reviewer with Watchsavings, who did not include the IR interface (they claim that Amazon mis-listed the product).

While the watch has excellent features and an easy interface, there’s a major problem: the infrared transmission system (used to transfer the data into the computer software) crapped out after 3 weeks and completely stopped working.

Looking over the web, this is not an isolated incident. People are reporting that they get data off the watch for a day or two, a week or two, one friend I have who bought one never go a single piece of data off his watch. I contacted a local running store and their employee told me that she had an identical problem, the watch stopped transferring data after 2 weeks. Polar kept telling her that the problem was on her end until she returned it for a refund.

Polar refuses to address this, they ignore it in their forums and will not answer emails.

This is unacceptable, the features of the watch (namely the heart rate variability) are contingent on getting the data transferred to the computer. That Polar refuses to admit or deal with the problem only makes it worse.

Given that other products can readily make a physical USB interface work, there’s no reason for Polar to have gone this route and used a technology that is clearly faulty. This is one top of the fact that Polar decided to use a non-standard USB driver for Windows.

I have since replaced the Polar with the SuuntoT6 which went with a physical (clip) USB interface. While their software is not as good as Polar’s at least I can get the data off of the watch.

I will NEVER purchase another Polar product.

Lyle

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