Polar watches?

Does anyone use those Polar watches (or other brand) to monitor their heart rate for exersizing?  I'm thinking about getting one, but want to know if they work and is it just a watch that you wear (no wires or anything). 

i dont know much about them but all of the people i have talked to really love them and they definately work.

I've never heard of them, but they sound awesome :)... might be worth looking into :)

take care

Hi, they are the wee watch and then a little chest strap you need to wear too.although its "wireless" in the way that you dont have any wires from your wrist to chest. But you nee the chest strap so its close to your heart and can accuratly measure your heart beat.

I've got one awating my "10 kgs lost" reward goal (2.4 kgs to go!!) , so I can't tell you how effective they are, only that i did a LOT of research and ended up choosing the Polar F6.

If you end up getting one you'll have to post a review!  I've been thinking about getting one of these, and would love to hear someone's feedback!

I have one a love it!  I just started running a few weeks ago, and I clearly was overdoing it.  I was exhausted and frustrated after only a 1.5 mile run/walk combination.  However, when I slowed down, kept in my heart range, I found myself running 2 miles with ease, and  I am looking forward increasing the mileage ( I think I can get to 3 miles in two or three more weeks).

I have the kind that tells me clearly how many calories I burned, will time my workout and keeps a weekly diary which I can download to my computer (although I haven't figured out how to do that yet).  I got it as new on ebay for way less than retail.

The thing is great, it keeps me honest and helps me know when to slow it down.  If I did not have it, I probably would have given up on the running, and written it off as something that I could not do. 

Hi... I have a polar f55 and use it a lot. It calculates heart-rate (hr) continuously. The chest strap is comfortable and will transmit my hr to the equipment I use and the watch. It also stores my minimum and maximum hr and percent of my max hr. The main downside is it can't upload to a mac computer, but it stores all the info and I enter it by hand to a spreadsheet.
It also will calculate my preferred hr range for the day, an estimate of my percent fat burn and VO2. It can beep at you to increase or decrease your hr. I like it a lot but would probably get the f11 next time. The f55 can help keep track of weight lifting exercises, but I haven't found it useful.

Forgot to tell you, it is more than just a watch, you have to wear a strap across your chest, which is light weight.  This strap actually measures your heart rate.

wow they awesome... def. going to look into that :) thanks.

take care.

great! Now I know what to get for my b-day next week (The big 40). ;)

Hopefully you guys are still watching this thread...  I need more info! :-)  I started looking at these again in the last couple days, and I'm amazed at how many different models they have.  I know Matt said he has a f55.  What other ones do you guys recommend?  I was looking at the f4 and f6, but wonder if I should get one with more bells and whistles.  What features are the most important (beyond tracking your heart rate of course.....)  ---i'm so confused-----XP

I think that if you are not a techno-geek or just want to write down your burned calories during your workout on a regular calendar, that the F4 is the best way to go. My mom got the F11, and she ended up exchanging it for the F4 it because it was WAY too complicated to figure out how to work (at least this is what she tells me, I happen to be a gadget freak) and it had a bunch of functions that she really didn't need and made working the functions that she wanted much harder to do. Especially when you just want to write down your calories for the day and be done with it after a long workout. If you want to keep it simple, get the F4. If you are a gadget freak and want to map everything out and have a watch tell you your fitness level and give you a PC Interface and track your progesss on your computer you should get the F55, F6 or F11.

The F55 is very easy to use and the manuel easy to follow. If you have not you should check out their site
http://www.polarusa.com/ .
It compares features and has many good tutorials on many of the watches. The F11 is very similar to the F55. The F55 allows you to track your weight lifting reps and wt.
As potteryhoney stated it depends on what you want to do with it.