Polar HR monitor is awesome but how accurate?

I love this thing!! But is it really that accurate for calorie burn? If so then I'm sooooo happy! I went power walking and according to Polar I burned 700 cal in an hour! Even if it is not accurate for cals it really makes me aware of my HR and makes me push a little harder!

Does anyone else have a Polar watch? What do you think about it?

I have an F4 and I love it! If it's not accurate, I'm not sure what would be...it takes your heart rate, and it should have all your info programed in with height/weight/age/sex to give a reading on calories.

And it is definitely a motivation at the gym!

Andrea: I really need to buy one of these. Can F4 work as a pedometer also? like tracking how many miles you run or walk?

I have a Polar F11.  I can't live without it. 

I have little faith in the cardio machines at the gym because they don't allow you to enter very much information about yourself.  Today I went to Spin class, and afterwards I spent 25 minutes on the treadmill.  I didn't enter anything about myself when I got on the treadmill (gender, height, weight, age, max heart rate, V02 - all things my F11 uses).  The treadmills do pick up the signal from my chest strap, so I watched the heart rate monitor on the treadmill to see if it was in line with my heart rate monitor, and it was.  But*  the total calories the treadmill said I burned in those 25 minutes was way off! 

It's the best investment I've made.
Safina, I don't use mine as a pedometer.  I map out my routes ahead of time in order to know the distances I run or walk.  I use mapmyrun.com, or google earth to do that.  There are particular models of heart rate monitors that calculate the distance and even the speed you've traveled for you, but the added expense for the GPS capabilities don't seem worth it to me.  If you really want one and are willing to pay nearly $300+,  check out the Garmin Forerunners. 

I've been the cardio queen all summer, and I think heart rate monitors are essential for this type of workout regime.  I'm getting ready to transition to a more balanced workout with weight training.  I'll be curious to see the range of my heart rate during weight training and how many calories my heart rate monitor calculates for a strength training session. 

Pixyz: thanks for this info. why did you get F11? why not F4? I am just trying which one I need to get. I don't trust the machine at the gym and really need to calculate the calories that I burn.

the york p12 is better i think i have had it for several months. i did a circuit class last week i was absolutely knackered! but when i saw my calorie counter i saw why. i had burn 1397 calories in approximately 65 mins. 

The F4 (and the F6 which I have) don't have the fitness test which estimates the VO2Max .  I don't know if the F4 has the option to enter a number for that, the F6 does, but I haven't had a chance to calculate it for myself.  Without VO2Max, the formula used to calculate calories off of heart rate can be rather inaccurate.  Today I did a leisurely run for 35 minutes and my hrm said I burned 550 calories.  I personally think that's high for the speed I was running at.

Polar makes several different heart rate monitors.  I went to their website and went with the recommended heart rate monitor for weight management. 
http://www.polarusa.com/consumer/weightmgt/pr oducts.asp

I use pretty much all of the features it has including the polar personal trainer website where I upload my recorded workouts directly from my watch to their website via infrared or sonic link. 

I wanted to get the most features I could afford at the time, and I've been really happy with it.  As starffy says, the V02max is important.  I thought it was the OwnZone feature on my F11 that calculates a target heart rate zone for me during the first 5 minutes of my workout, but it's actually the fit test I do every other week or so.  I'll do it tomorrow morning to see if I've improved since last time.  It takes about 5 minutes with the F11, and you just try to lie still.

Even if your heart rate monitor doesn't have this feature - I still think they are incredibly worthwhile additions to anyone's fitness program.  Knowing what heart rate zone you are in without having to grab hold of the sensors on the treadmill at the gym is really helpful.  This also allows you to workout outside and easily keep tabs on your heart rate.  A stadium stairs routine is a lot more fun with a heart rate monitor.

Oh boy.  Did I just say stadium stairs were fun? 
I'm sorry.

Edit:  clarification about VO2max

pixyz and I should be paid as endorsers of the F11 LOL!!!

I too swear by my F11.  The F4 and 6 are good choices as well for the basics.  It really all depends on your overall goals and budget I guess.  

My first HRM was just that it gave me the pulse rate and that is all.  After using it I upgraded to the F11 since I knew I was using it regularly.  I mean if you are just getting started maybe start with a simple model then if you find you are sticking with the weight loss and exercise then invest in a better HRM. 

Guys, I have a Polar CS-300. I use it while I jog and also I use it while I bicycle. The reason I bought the Polar was I have an elliptical machine at home and while I was working out I always used to rely on the HR monitor on the machine and it always showed that I was burning within my fat burning zone or higher. When I bought my Polar to test whether both are accurate, my elliptical machine was still showing I was burning in my fat zone but my polar showed I was still way below my fat zone!!!   From then on I have stopped working out on my elliptical machine and have started to jog outside and I rely a lot on my Polar.

dbackerfan , pixyz and starffy: thanks. I will go ahead and buy the F11 but I am not sure I understand the VO2Max test. I checked the features online. Which one is the VO2Max? also, what do you think is it better to buy it from Amazon? does it make it any difference in terms of price?

sorry I went to  the webpage again and found the answer to my first question. :) by the way, is polarF11 the latest HRM??? 

i really appreciate the responses by people who already have a monitor.  you say that taking the fitness test for vo2max is how to most accurately measure calories burned.  so my question is:  after you take the five minute fitness test, the monitor automatically uses that when calculating the number of calories you burn in the subsequent exercises you do? 

Caloriecountingme: the polar website has great info about this. You can find a user manual that has everything. i am not an expert but I think it is a great investment.

If it's like mine then the HR monitor will give you the option of saving the value from the fitness test. If you say yes then it uses the figure from the test. If you say no then it sticks to the last saved figure.

 

The F11 isn't the latest HRM. Not if you mean the last released. Each Polar line is different. I think in the Fs the new F55 is the latests.

 

They've announced one with GPS for outdoor use. So serious runners,bikers or hikers might consider the extra cost of this one.

 

But for the most part the added features on the higher priced models aren't useful to most people. If you need the feature you need it but if you don't it's just a waste of money. Mine tells the temperture. Which doesn't even work well because being so close to my body it's more a reading of how warm my wrist is. But it's on the feature list. 

I have a Polar F6. I am a big fan. I think the calories burned are pretty accurate...as I find I burn more when I run harder than I do on my easy runs (outside running for the same amount of time.)

You can find some great deal on ebay!!!

does the f6 literally give you a number of cals burned or do you have to use a formula to figure it out???

the F6 gives you the number of calories burned. 'literally'