[BigV]

bbro!! run away run away!!

***

I purchased the Polar FT4 model. I don't like it, I intend to return it. I got it because I (thought I) was getting several things accomplished that I find important. I was told it had an alarm that beeps when my heart rate is outside of a given range. I got to shop locally, at a non-chain store. I got it right away and used it right away. The other features of the device were nice, but not very important in my buying decision.

I'm returning it for a few reasons. Primarily, the alarm is inaudible. It *says* it's "on" but I can't hear it even sitting in the house, never mind when I'm huffing and puffing or when I have a headwind on my bicycle. Total fail in this regard. Next reason, the display is quite small, the size of a postage stamp and the contrast is average. The result is that it is difficult to read, another kiss of death.

There are some aspects of the device that are adequate but would really improve my experience with it, were they different. The buttons are small and stiff. I have big hands, big fingers. Pressing the buttons requires a very definite and precise effort. It's not particularly easy. Bigger buttons would make using this device easier and nicer to work with. I mentioned the display earlier. Having a bigger display would be nice too, and one with a more powerful backlight. Timex has a feature called Indiglo, you may have seen the Tron-like blue glow of these watches. Very bright, lots of contrast. That level of night time readability would be nice. From a purely cosmetic standpoint, the one I got was the last one in this model--it's bright orange. It looks like Denver Broncos swag. It's... O. K. but I would prefer a black watch, or some other less conspicuous color combination.

For other features I've read about that this rig doesn't have at all that I now think I'd like to consider, presuming the price was right, there are a few. Notably, a gps would be cool in order to collect data on distance traveled. If you have this, then you can get some other interesting facts, like speed, pace, even route. This sounds cool. The other more expensive model I researched included a little bug that clips to your shoelaces that gets calibrated to your specific stride length. This gives the same data as a gps, speed, distance, pace, etc (not route, obviously). One advantage this shoe sensor has is that it reports and computes its information very quickly, unlike the gps which needs a lot of communication over a very long distace (wrist to satellite, come in satellite). This means changes to pace don't have the lag that gps based calculations do. Another interesting feature would be to be able to upload the data from the device to the computer to track my progress over time. The data's saved in the device, the trick is how to get it into the computer, preferably not by manually keying the data in.

There are features included that work as advertised: instantaneous heart rate, calories burned, elapsed time, time in training zone, these are all desirable features and did work well. I would want these features in any device I settle on.