Review of Polar S150 Heart Rate Monitor Watch

Polar S150 Heart Rate Monitor Watch
By: Polar Average Rating: 3.5 Total Reviews: 12
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Polar S150 review

On: 2007-12-27

Very nice and useful tool. Has taken me a few weeks to get used to the menu structure for the things I use, and many many I still dont know how to get to very well. But the unit works well for what need it for (to work within a heart-rate range while cycling or running/jogging. It does a lot for the price!

Bike monitor doesn't work

On: 2007-11-27

I have had this monitor for about two years, and I have never gotten the bike computer part to work. It works fine as an HRM, but its pretty pricey for just an HRM. The menus are hard to navigate through. I also find that it is hard to get button pushes to register. I would definitely not get this monitor again. After having Polar monitors for several iterations, and being repeatedly disappointed, I am now looking to other manufacturers.

OK HRM, Bad Bike Computer

On: 2007-05-28

I had this unit for about four months. During that time I used it exclusively as a HRM monitor. It worked well after a good reading of the manual. However, when I tried to set up the wired bike monitor the unit would not record distance or speed. After reading around it seems like this unit has a problem recording this information reliably. I returned the Polar and went with a Suunto T3 with Bike Pod. The Suunto works beautifully and is a very well designed product. I would highly recommend it over the Polar S150.

Works well, great price...

On: 2007-03-27

Yes, its a bit complicated to program full workouts with multiple lap intervals. However, the basic functionality works well, is simple and its half the price of similar products, so its tough to beat.

very complicated, still doesn;t do what i want

On: 2007-01-07

no backlight
no calories used
have to manually switch zones when timers expire
annoying send back to factory for battery changing feature

what i really want is this:
tell me how long i was in any of 3 zones
light, aerobic, anaerobic

this one will not really do it

it has all kinds of fancy OTHER stuff
[which only makes it hard to use]

i had a sports instruments fit 3 that did, and it;s cheap
and has a backlight, but i had 2 of them break
[wrist strap pin holders break, weak plastic]
and it didn;t have either a countdown alarm, a stopwatch
or a daily clock alarm

oh - you can use a sports instruments transmitter with it

wle.

Excellent product for biking

On: 2006-11-06

Excellent product for those mountain bikers who want a basic watch for training purposes. This watch is very simple and resistant and most important is its price as well as its quality.

Good value and performance

On: 2006-07-03

You do not need anything else. Im pleased with the product.
If you are a frequent biker or want to train correctly, this is the one.
The only thing: it is a litle complicated, you have to spend some time reading the owners manual. It has so many functions. Dont get me wrong. Easy to use once you know how to do it.

I love it !!!

On: 2006-05-23

You do not need anything else. If you are a frequent biker or want to train correctly, this is the one.
The only thing: it is a litle complicated, you have to spend some time reading the owners manual. It has so many functions. Dont get me wrong. Easy to use once you know how to do it.

heart rate monitor

On: 2006-03-21

This is a VERY difficult monitor to understand and use for all of its programs. The booklet is terrible therefore you have to call the 1-800 hoping to understand how to use it. I would NOT recommend this model

Great if you can figure out how to use it

On: 2005-07-16

I would say that this one is great for bikers, although, if you bike you probably already have one on the handlebar. It was way to big for my wrist, and it is somewhat heavy. Also, no light. I am not technologically challenged, but found the menus next to impossible to understand. Also, the manual might as well have been written in chinese (which I do not speak). Polar makes better monitors in my opinion.

Great monitor, good bike computer but a complex beast...

On: 2005-05-03

Ive had the S150 as a heart rate monitor and sometimes bike computer (on my mountain bike) for about 8 months now. Heres what it does REALLY well:

1) Instantaneous heart rate.
2) Lap timer that captures average and peak heart rate during each split and also displays lap time and instantaneous heart rate during the workout.
3) Instantaneous bike speed.
4) Total mileage covered.
5) Average speed per lap/distance covered in each lap.

Heres what it does satisfactorily:
1) Ease of navigation through all of the functions.

My only real gripe with this heart rate monitor is the labyrinth of menus and "paths" that you must travel down by clicking on numerous buttons to get to the true functionality of the device. This may scare off the technologically inept or the impatient types, but those familiar with Polar HR monitors or the kind of person that will sit down with the manual and learn the device will come to enjoy the accurate biofeedback this training tool offers.

Ive worn it in 3 triathlons, swim with it 3 times a week, mountainbike with it, run, everything! The only thing it DOESNT do it log your workout stints and make them available for download to a PC. Thatll be my next HR monitor purchase! But in the meantime, Ill be happy with the functionality of this killer Polar monitor.