Product Description

The M61 features the WearLink Coded transmitter made from a soft, fabric material. The electrodes, which pick up the heart signals, are integrated right into the strap for added flexibility and comfort. The Coded feature eliminates interference from other heart rate monitors. OwnIndex will determine your fitness level, track your improvements, and provide motivation. The OwnCal feature counts the calories and fat that you burn and the new OwnZone feature will automatically determine each days target zone. The M61 is a must for the individual seeking guidance and motivating feedback.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18512 in Sports & Outdoors
• Color: Grey
• Brand: Polar
• Model: 190021676
• Released on: 2005-01-06

Features

• Displays heart rate, exercise time, and average heart rate
• WearLink Coded transmitter, made from a soft fabric material, eliminates interference from other heart rate monitors
• OwnIndex feature will determine your fitness level, track your improvements
• Polar OwnZone helps determine an individual exercise zone; calorie counter and goal management
• Large easy-to-read, backlit display with split screen; water resistant to 30 meters

Amazon.com Product Description
Work out at the right intensity and hit your fitness goals with the Polar M61 Heart Rate Monitor, ideal for the serious exerciser looking to lose weight or reach the next level of fitness. You can use the M61 monitor to conveniently view your heart rate while walking, swimming, biking, cross-country skiing, or any other exercise without disturbing your exercise rhythm. The wristwatch-like monitor features a large display that includes 12/24-hour time of day, alarm, and stopwatch. The transmitter includes the Wearlink Coded function, which eliminates interference from other heart rate monitors. The transmitter's electrodes, which pick up the heart signals, are integrated right into the strap for added flexibility and comfort.

The OwnCal feature shows your energy expenditure during one exercise session as well as your accumulated kilocalories during several exercise sessions. It also allows you to set daily and weekly exercise goals in terms of calorie expenditure. The OwnZone feature helps determine an individual exercise zone, guiding you through an appropriate warm-up routine and automatically determining a safe and effective exercise heart rate zone. OwnZones presets include Basic, Advanced, Light, Moderate, Hard, and Weight. The OwnIndex feature will determine your fitness level, track your improvements, and provide motivation.

The M61's visual and audible alarms alert you when you reach your target heart rate zone. The Time in Target Zone feature calculates the amount of total exercise time spent in your personal target zone. You can use this feature together with the Total Exercise Time to determine the effectiveness of your exercise program. The Fitness Bullets feature shows a bullet on the monitor's display for every 15 minutes spent exercising/training in your target heart rate zone.

Key Details:

• Displays heart rate, exercise time, and average heart rate
• Manual and automatic heart rate limit settings
• Target heart rate zones with audible and visual alarm
• OwnCal calorie counter shows energy expenditure during workout and enables you to set goals
• WearLink Coded transmitter, made from a soft fabric material, eliminates interference from other heart rate monitors
• OwnZone helps determine an individual exercise zone
• Large easy-to-read display with backlighting and split screen
• 24-hour clock with day/week indicator and stopwatch
• Two-year average battery life
• Water resistant to 30 meters (100 feet)

What's in the Box?
M61 heart rate monitor watch unit, wireless transmitter, elastic strap, battery (built-in CR2032 lithium cell), printed instructions

Manufacturer's Warranty
2-year limited warranty

Note:
Polar heart rate monitors are precision instruments; consumers are not advised to change their own battery. Polar recommends that all service be done by an authorized Polar Service Center which will include a warranty for 90 days on repairs and 6 months for batteries.

About Polar
The first EKG accurate wireless heart rate monitor was invented by Polar back in 1977 as a training tool for the Finnish National Cross Country Ski Team. The concept of "intensity training" by heart rate swept the athletic world in the eighties. By the 1990s, individuals were looking to heart rate monitors not only for performance training needs, but also for achieving everyday fitness goals. Today, the same concept of heart rate training is being used by world-class athletes as well as everyday people trying to lose weight. Polar is the leading brand among consumers, coaches, and personal trainers worldwide and the company is committed to not only producing the best products, but also being the leading educator on the benefits of heart rate based exercise.

Customer Reviews

just what it claims to be
i bought this for about eighty-five dollars from amazon nearly a year ago. i am an amateur collegiate triathlete and wanted to use this in training. i rated this 5/5 stars not because it is perfect beyond my expectations, but because it is just what it claims to be, and does its job very effectively. overall, polar makes quality products - i recently used a similar hrm from their line in a VO2max test.

(+) the connection between the watch and strap is consistent and i have not run into any interference.
(+) the strap is comfortable - but don't be surprised that you may have to wet the contact points of the strap to give the contacts a good reading
(+) it's easy to look back through your most recent exercise session data to gather time in chosen hr zone, what the zone was, total exercise zone, # kcal burned and what % of that was fat, and avg hr
(-) it would be nice to show a max hr, but it's really not necessary unless you're doing a maximum exertion test. you'll either know you're already out of your ideal training zone (for whatever type of training you're chosen it to be), or will be slightly over (or under) in which case you'll be notified by an audible alarm
(-) a split workout feature would be the nicest addition possible to this watch, although it is not advertised to have one and does what it does well without it

don't be swayed by negative reviews that suggest this is poor because it's not waterproof (wrong: it's actually water "resistant" to 30m, which means that nothing will happen to the watch up to that point, but that pressing buttons underwater will break the seal, allowing the higher pressurized water to come in and damage your new toy), that the chest strap makes poor contact, or that it isn't a full-fledged hrm. many reviews don't seem to recognize what this hrm was designed to do in the first place, either shorting the rating because they can't read directions in a booklet/online, or are comparing it to more expensive models. this watch does what it was designed to do quite well, and quite comfortably.

Unreliable
I have found this product to be quite inconsistent in terms of picking up a correct heart rate. Other devices confuse it; heart rate monitors often found on exercise equipment can make the reading inaccurate, and even my little Discman causes it to read my heart rate as "00." Additionally, I have run outside far from other people, heart rate monitors, stereos, etc., and it will jump to a ridiculous number (say 225) for a few minutes at a time. Really soaking the chest strap before you put it on seems to help a little, but not always.

I would say it works well 70% of the time, but had I the money and knowledge when I bought it, I would have upgraded.

Polar heart monitor
A very good but complex instrument. My biggest gripe is the belt which is extremely difficult to remove. Otherwise it is very good.