If you go to Polar’s website at the moment, you will see a lot of wristwatch models that might mistakenly lead you to believe that they are wrist-based heart rate monitors. Actually, to track your heart rate, these wrist models still need to be used together with a chest strap heart rate monitor – Polar H1 heart rate monitor or Polar H7 heart rate monitor.
In December 2015 Polar released its first optical heart rate monitor – Polar A360.
- Polar A360 – Best Polar heart rate monitor using optical sensor
- Type: Wristwatch. Continuous reading data. Optical sensor
- Design and comfort: Colorful touchscreen
- Tracking beyond heart rate monitoring: Workouts, steps, distance, calories burned, sleep quality, and activity 24/7
- Water Resistance / Waterproof: Water resistant to 30m. Safe for swimming, showering, not diving
- Compatibility: Bluetooth. iPhone & Android devices
- Battery life: 2 weeks
In this review I will try to give you the answer for “What is the best Polar heart rate monitor?” and “Which Polar heart rate monitor that works best for you?”
Which Polar Heart Rate Monitor: Strap or Strapless?
If you are wondering whether you should choose a Polar wrist-based heart rate monitor (Polar A360) or a Polar chest strap heart rate monitor (the rest models), check out my Heart Rate Monitor Review.
In short, if you are serious about heart rate data and look for the most accurate heart rate monitor, the best Polar heart rate monitor for you would be a Chest Strap. It’s a little uncomfortable to wear a strap under your chest, but you will be very satisfied with the accuracy.
But if you’re interested in a wrist-based heart rate (optical sensor), choose Polar A360 Heart Rate Monitor. Or you will have to check other brands because A360 is the only model of Polar using this technology to date.
Many people compare the best Polar heart rate monitor chest strap with a Garmin. The difference between them is that Polar uses Bluetooth while Garmin uses ANT+, so if you consider buying a chest strap to work with your Apple watch, you should definitely buy a Polar A360.
Best Polar Heart Rate Monitor Using Chest Strap
Among top rated Polar heart rate monitor using chest strap, which one is most suitable for you? I divide Polar heart rate monitor using chest straps into 4 types and I will explain how to use Polar heart rate monitor with each type:
1. Best Polar Heart Rate Monitor Chest Strap
The most popular one is the Polar H7 heart rate monitor. To view heart rate data, you will need to connect your chest strap with your mobile phone or buy a Polar wristwatch so you can see your heart rate continuously during workouts.
- Polar H7 – Most popular Polar heart rate monitor chest strap.
- Type: Chest strap. Continuous reading data. ECG sensor.
- Design and comfort: Elastic strap. Stays tightly. Not really comfortable.
- Tracking beyond heart rate monitoring: Calories counter
- Water Resistance / Waterproof: Yes, but Bluetooth will not work then
- Compatibility: Bluetooth devices. Polar watch. Gym equipment using Gym Link
- Battery life: Up to a year
2. Best Polar Heart Rate Monitor Chest Strap with Wristwatch receiver
Top rated Polar heart rate monitors of this type are Polar FT4 heart rate monitor and Polar FT7 heart rate monitor. These models include Polar H1 chest strap so you don’t need to buy anything else. If your wish is just tracking heart rate, then these devices are sufficient.
Polar FT4 – Top rated Polar heart rate monitor
- Type: Chest strap included wristwatch receiver. Continuous reading data. Using ECG sensor.
- Design and comfort: Soft fabric. More comfortable than elastic.
- Tracking beyond heart rate monitoring: Calories burned
- Water Resistance / Waterproof: Water resistant to 30m
- Compatibility: Bluetooth devices. Gym equipment using Gym Link
- Battery life: Up to a year
Polar FT7 – Favorite Polar heart rate monitor
- Type: Chest strap included wristwatch receiver. Continuous reading data. Using ECG sensor
- Design and comfort: Soft fabric. More comfortable
- Tracking beyond heart rate monitoring: Calories burned. Energy Pointer
- Water Resistance / Waterproof: Water resistant to 30m
- Compatibility: Bluetooth devices. Gym equipment using Gym Link
- Battery life: Up to a year
Polar RS300X – Polar heart rate monitor for swimming
- Type: Wristwatch. Included H1 heart rate sensor chest strap
- Design and comfort: Wristwatch
- Tracking beyond heart rate monitoring: Calories burned
- Water Resistance / Waterproof: Water resistant to 50m. Safe for swimming
- Compatibility: Compatible with S1 foot pod and G1 GPS Sensor for speed and distance
- Battery life: Several months
3. Top Rated Polar Heart Rate Monitor Wristband
The best Polar heart rate monitors of this type are: Polar Loop heart rate monitor, Polar Loop 2 and Polar Loop Crystal. To track your heart rate with these devices, you need to buy a Polar H7 heart rate monitor to use together. These devices have many more functions than just heart rate monitors. You can track calories burned, steps and distance, monitor your sleep, etc…
Polar Loop – Polar heart rate monitor fitness tracker
- Type: Wristband. Need to use with Polar H7 sensor
- Design and comfort: Wristband
- Tracking beyond heart rate monitoring: Track calories burned, steps, distance, sleep, inactivity alert, activity goal
- Water Resistance / Waterproof: Water resistant to 20m. Waterproof. Safe for swimming
- Compatibility: Bluetooth devices. Polar Flow app. Custom USB connected with PC or Mac
- Battery life: 6 days
Polar Loop 2 / Crystal – Polar heart rate monitor fitness tracker
- Type: Wristband. Need to use with Polar H7 sensor
- Design and comfort: Soft silicone Wristband
- Tracking beyond heart rate monitoring: Track calories burned, steps, distance, sleep, inactivity alert, activity goal. Smart notification
- Water Resistance / Waterproof: Water resistant to 20m. Waterproof. Safe for swimming
- Compatibility: Bluetooth devices. Polar Flow app. Custom USB connected with PC or Mac
- Battery life: 8 days
4. Best Polar Heart Rate Monitor Wristwatch
Top rated Polar heart rate monitors of this type are the Polar A300 heart rate monitor and the Polar M400 heart rate monitor. These wristwatches are similar to Polar Loop but are different in design and also provide more features. You can have fitness test, running program and GPS with some models.
Polar A300 – Polar heart rate monitor for running
- Type: Wristwatch. Need to use with Polar H7 sensor
- Design and comfort: Wristwatch
- Tracking beyond heart rate monitoring: Track calories burned, steps, distance, sleep, inactivity alert, activity goal. Fitness test, running program
- Water Resistance / Waterproof: Water resistant to 30m. Waterproof. Safe for swimming
- Compatibility: Bluetooth & Gymlink. USB A-connector
- Battery life: 4 weeks
Polar M400 – Top rated Polar heart rate monitor for running with GPS
- Type: Wristwatch. Need to use with Polar H7 sensor
- Design and comfort: Wristwatch
- Tracking beyond heart rate monitoring: Track calories burned, steps, distance, sleep, inactivity alert, activity goal. Fitness test, running program. Running cadence from the wrist. GPS
- Water Resistance / Waterproof: Water resistant to 30m. Waterproof. Safe for swimming
- Compatibility: Bluetooth & Gymlink. Micro USB connector
- Battery life: 8 hours of training time with GPS
Which is the best Polar Heart Rate Monitor for you?
The models listed above are the top rated Polar heart rate monitors. each one has its pros and cons, however, Polar is a well known brand with years of proven experience with heart monitoring. They have received many good reviews on Amazon, are offered at reasonable prices and provide level high accuracy. If you want something simple, reliable and consistently accurate, consider one of these when you selecting a heart rate monitor and choose a Polar device. If you are interested in a chest strap with more features and inter-connectivity with other devices and apps, here is another device you can check out.
Hope now you have been able to decide which is the best Polar heart rate monitor for you. If you have already found out which Polar heart rate monitor works best for you, please drop a comment 🙂
Looking for info on replacing battery in my Polar T34 transmitter that came with my treadmill and is paired with the machine
I have an old Polar Pacer Electro with chest band. Have not used it for a long time and of course its battery is used up. The wrist display is large and square and has two buttons:Start/Set and Signal On/Off. Is there any way to replace the battery in either part? Hate to think of having to throw it away.