I'm not big on instruction manuals and this comes with a hefty one. For what I wanted to do -- just monitor my heart rate, thank you very much -- it turned out that the instructions were relatively simple. I was "up and running" (so to speak) just a few minutes after opening the box. Figuring out the strap, transmitter, and "watch" (the device that actually shows heart rate) is not rocket science, once you've assimilated the basic instructions. I am your basic equipment dweeb, so if I could figure it out...

Our gym has several types of heart-rate equipped Polar machines: recumbent bikes and treadmills. For these, the "watch" is superfluous because the machine picks up and reports the heart rate from the transmitter. Continuously. The instant feedback is useful for making immediate adjustments, which an overly-ambitious middle-aged lady would want to do when the heart rate gets pushed beyond reasonable bounds. Amusingly, it also provided me with the information that when one of the gym monitors sings along with the tapes, my heart rate goes down.

It's possible that I may one day want to graduate to a more sophisticated monitor. But for someone starting out, this has proven to be a reliable, useful, and easily adopted part of my workout kit.

32 of 32 found the following review helpful:

Service is a Problem  Mar 14, 2005
By J. Baker "Time to Run"
Loved the monitor and used it at every workout. However, when the battery waned and I went to the retailer for replacement, I discovered it needed to be mailed in to Polar for servicing. More than a bit of an inconvenience. Would be an ENORMOUS improvement if basic maintenance could be handled without the hassle and delay of shipping.

20 of 21 found the following review helpful:

Heart monitor is working well for my use on the treadmill  Feb 27, 2006
By workout wonder "Chris E,"
The Polar B1 is easy to put on and the chest strap is comfortable. It sometimes takes a couple of "wettings" of the chest part with water to get the watch part pulse to read out.The area where a few drops of water goes could be better labled.
But the digital readout is large size and easy to read and it does what it says it will.
I am very satisfied-I like staying in my training rate and not getting my pulse too high.
Chris E.

14 of 14 found the following review helpful:

Great work out tool  Feb 09, 2005
By King John "Lackland"
This is a great workout tool. In fact I don't know how I ever ran without it. Though many may think that knowing your heart rate is a trivial waste of time and money it is not. It is a very tangible way to moniter progression in a workout. I am a sub 4-30 miler (no joke). And this great workout tool still applies to people of my caliber, and people without coaches. A must for a runner of any level. The instruction manual is a great page-turning read that is very informative. Although a menacing task to first undertake. With the help of the friendly instruction manual, anyone will be able to learn to work the moniter like a heart rate moniter operator master. BUY THE MONITER ITS REALLY GREAT!!!

9 of 9 found the following review helpful:

Best Health Investment I Ever Made!  Feb 10, 2007
By William Metcalf
I have never done an Amazon review but I could not stop myself from writing this. This monitor is the best health investment I have ever made. Beyond the fact that it works flawlessly as advertised. It also works with many of the aerobic machines at my gym so I don't even need to where the watch. But more important than how well it works is what it has done for my workouts. I used to constantly beat myself up because I was not sure I was pushing myself hard enough. Other times, I thought I might be over doing it. Now I know precisely if I am hitting my target heart rate. I also realized that I was not pushing myself enough early in the workout. After I warm up for 2-3 minutes, I push myself hard for a couple of minutes and my heart rate jumps right up there. Then I can keep it up there for the entire workout. It normally stays in my target range even during the cool down -- for a while at least.

Bottom line:

It works perfectly. I am having more effective workouts. I have peace of mind that I am neither killing myself nor being too soft on myself. I am doing "perfect" workouts.

Bill Metcalf

See all 22 customer reviews on Amazon.com