Polar FT60 G1 Heart Rate Monitor Fitness Watch Review

My tastes in watches revolves around the practical and usable. I have no desire to plunk down a chunk of change for some high-priced TAG Heuer that sets me back a grandy and all it does is tell the time. Geez... give me data, give me functionality, give me power! Enter stage left... the new Polar FT60 G1 heart rate fitness watch with all the right kinds of bells and whistles to keep you fit and on track with your own personal fitness goals. Not everyone can afford to pay "Hans the Trainer" to tag along on all their workouts, but with the FT60, you get all that on your wrist. Previous heart rate watches were OK, so long as you knew what heart rate zones were optimal for your fitness goals, tracked those and then went back and analyzed everything to measure your performance. What? You didn't do that? That's the dirty little secret... I'd guess 99% of everyone with a heart rate monitor uses it, but never knows the affect of their workout. Not so with the new Polar FT60. This little beauty can track each workout and then tell you exactly what you achieved. Did you improve your fat burn? Were you going too slowly to do anything? Were you overtraining? Or, were you maximizing your performance? At the end of your workout (if you wear the heart rate monitor), the FT60 spits out a one-line message telling you the effectiveness of your workout. Wow... that alone is awesome! The watch does this by first knowing all about you. Your height, weight, age, VO2 Max, fitness level, etc. and then it compares your performance against those benchmarks and tells you how you performed. You can actually go one step further and set up STAR fitness programs that will coach you as you go to ensure your workout is meeting your goals. The Polar FT60 G1 comes with the following: Wearlink Heart Rate Transmitter - learn more G1 GPS armband - learn more You can deck it out even further with more accessories like a footpod in place of the GPS, handlebar mounts, etc. Polar FT60 Quick Review For starters, this watch is sexy looking. I've been very impressed with the subdued styling that's at home on the trail or at the office. Many people have commented on how this watch looks and I quite like it too. Initial setup is a breeze. The first time through, it walks you through a setup wizard where you input all your data and configure the watch for you. This is essential as it becomes the benchmark used to measure your performance (hint to the ladies... don't lie about your age or your weight). This watch will become your best friend as it tracks your calories burned and spits out a message based on your actual workout performance. I've really enjoyed using this watch on my Fall trail running blitz as well as a few mountain bike and road bike rides. In all occasions, the watch has worked well, except for the occasional GPS satellite loss. Everything is comfortable and the display is super-easy to read and navigate. That simplicity is so welcome on a watch with the power of the FT60. Anyone can use this watch without reading the directions. Well... anyone like me. Check out Polar's Facebook page to see how others are using this product. The Good Great-looking watch Setup wizard gets you rolling off-the-bat Comfortable Wearlink HR transmitter Display is huge and easy to read I love the workout performance messages STAR workout programs can guide you without hauling "Hans the Trainer" along Workouts are grouped by week and can be viewed in aggregate or alone The Bad Buttons are hard to press while on the trail Doesn't have a "scan all" view to scroll through heart rate, speed, performance, time, etc. automatically G1 GPS isn't that bad, but it lost satellite with clear skies more than I would like Optional software is not Mac-compatible, so you can't really use www.polarpersonaltrainer.com Buy Now: Search for the Polar Watches