Product Description

The RS800sd adds in running speed and distance, and our newest feature, running cadence, with the new S3 Stride Sensor W.I.N.D. The RS800sd can be fully integrated into the adidas adistar running tops and shoes, to create the Worlds First Integrated Training System.

Product Details

• Color: Black
• Brand: Polar
• Model: 90026386-disc
• Released on: 2006-10-01
• Dimensions: 3.00" h x 5.00" w x 7.00" l, .50 pounds

Features

• Wrist-style heart rate monitor and stopwatch geared for elite level athletes and coaches
• With included S3 Stride Sensor, receive highly consistent and accurate speed/pace, distance and cadence data
• Polar WearLink W.I.N.D. transmitter with 2.4 GHz disturbance-free transmission
• Includes Polar Protrainer 5 training, planning and analyzing software
• Dual time zone, alarm with snooze, and water resistance to 50 meters

Amazon.com Product Description
Designed for elite-level training, the Polar RS800sd wrist heart rate monitor a complete system for planning, monitoring and analyzing your training. It includes the comfortable textile Polar WearLink W.I.N.D. transmitter with 2.4 GHz disturbance-free transmission from all other electronic devices. It comes with Polar's ProTrainer 5 software--the most advanced and dynamic training, planning and analyzing software on the market. Easily prepare a detailed training program and transfer your daily training plan to the RS800 via a wireless infrared connection. It also features a built-in altimeter for recording altitude and ascent for route profile and total meters climbed.

And when used in conjunction with the included Polar S3 Stride Sensor, you'll receive highly consistent and accurate speed/pace, distance and cadence data via its nano technology. It incorporates Polar's W.I.N.D. technology, offers water resistance and a user replaceable battery, and is fully compatible with the Adidas AdiStar Fusion running shoe.

Heart rate monitoring includes maximum heart rate (fitness test-based and age-based), maximum/average of total exercise and of each lap (up to 99 laps), three target zones, and audible alarms. It also offers such timing features as time of day (12/24-hour display), dual time zone, day and date display, stopwatch, and alarm with snooze. It also includes the following exclusive Polar features:

• Polar Sport Zones: Polar sport zones provides an easy way to select and monitor the intensity of your training and to follow Polar's sport zones based training programs. The training is divided into five zones based on percentages of your maximum heart rate: very light (50-60%HRmax), light (60-70% HRmax), moderate (70-80%HRmax), hard (80-90% HRmax) and maximum (90-100% HRmax).
• Polar OwnCal: This feature shows your energy expenditure during one exercise session as well as your accumulated kilocalories during several exercise sessions. You can set daily and weekly exercise goals in terms of calorie expenditure with the OwnCal feature. Because the OwnCal tracks both the energy expenditure during one exercise session and the accumulated kilocalories during a longer time e.g. one week, it helps in achieving both short term and long term goals.
• Polar OwnZone: This feature guides you through an appropriate warm-up routine and automatically determines a safe and effective exercise heart rate zone--your OwnZone--while taking into account your current physical condition.
• R-R Intervals / Online HR Variability: Measures heart beat intervals and reflects autonomic nervous system in heartbeat regulation. The R-R interval measurement is most useful at rest and at low intensities. Relaxation rate indicates the state of your physical recovery.
• Running Cadence and Average Stride Length: With this feature you can sharpen your cadence and make your ground contact time shorter. This will help you to find a balance between leg power and leg speed.

Manufacturer's Warranty
The original purchaser of this heart rate monitor is backed by a limited warranty that states that this product that the product will be free from defects in material or workmanship for two years from the date of purchase.

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

Great find...addictive
I suspect there are 2 kinds of people who'd buy a running watch of the rs-800sd caliber: the first are highly competitive or enthusiastic runners, and the second are gadget freaks who tolerate running and want to measure results.

I'm the latter, and I've been having a great time running with this watch. Just seeing the graphs of my performance change over time is motivation enough. Some quick thoughts:

1. Before buying, visit the Polar website and use their "compare" feature to see if you need the 800, 600, or 200 series. With the 800 you're paying a premium for a handful of features you might never notice.

2. The "sd" in the name is misleading. The watch included is the same as with the rs800, but it also includes a stride detection unit that attaches to your shoe. With the shoe sensor, you can glance at the watch and see your pace, stride length, etc. It's totally impressive once you calibrate it. You *can* buy it later if you like.

3. Still, I'm finding that despite calibrating the stide sensor, I'm getting 3-4% inaccuracy in my measured runs on a treadmill. If I run exactly a mile, it tells me I ran 0.96 to 1.04 miles. Not bad, but on a perfectly flat surface at a constant pace I'd expect a little better.

4. I think the stride sensor is a worthy addition, but if you're a fan of Adidas shoes, they make an "Adistar" model with a built in sensor. It's designed for this watch.

5. The heartrate sensor is perfectly accurate in all my tests and the included strap is comfortable and doesn't slip.

6. I haven't figured out if it's possible to change the volume of the heart-rate warning on the watch, for zone-controlled runs. If I exceed my goal zone during a Central Park jog, it beeps so loudly and continuously that it's embarassing to me and annoying to others. Which....makes my heart pound. I've figured out how to turn the beep off, but that's no good. I'd like it softer. Anyway, for those of you who run with iPods, the beep will penetrate your music.

7. The watch communicates with your computer via IR. MOST desktops and SOME laptops do not have infra-red ports. You can use any USB IrDA (search Amazon for it) dongle and you don't have to buy Polar's own branded one. However, if you use Windows XP 64-bit edition, good luck finding drivers that work. If you don't know if you use xp-64, you don't, so don't worry about it.

8. The Polar Pro Trainer software that comes with it is intuitive.

The triumph of form over function
I've been a Polar HR monitor owner since the mid 90's starting with 710i, then 625x, followed by the 725x, and now the RS800SD. I consider myself a serious competitive runner and have been so for over 30 years. Polar introduced me to heart rate monitoring as key component to performance improvement with the book "Training, Lactate, Pulse rate" by Janssen, which is no longer offered by them and may not be published anymore. I have had my VO2, HR curve, and lactate threshold measured in a lab several times over the past few years. I have used this product now for almost a full year and my review will focus on what does all this functionality do to help me improve my running vs some of the other reviews here which seem enamored with purported functionality without connecting the dots for useful training feedback.

The bottom line: This is their flagship product, top of the line and top dollar but Polar seems to have chosen marketing (a shiny sexy small form factor watch with apparently lots of new functions) over solid engineering, useful software functionality, and product reliability. If you already own a 625x or 725x model there is little reason to upgrade as this is an "unfinished product"

The good:

1. Small form factor for watch and footpod
2. Improvement in ergonomics --- buttons and watch face are easier to use
3. More memory --- you can record longer than earlier models at the 1 second rate
4. Running stride length has been added.

The bad:

1. The footpod and HR strap via blue tooth does not seem any more accurate than previous non-blue tooth models and maybe less so regarding footpod functions. HR measurement seems as accurate as earlier models.
2. Software (Polar Pro Trainer 5) has new functions which are questionable at best and misleading at worst -- namely the running "index" function which on a scale of 30 to 76 purports to give you the sum of all calculations with a number which roughly correlates with expected future performance (running times) on various races such as a 5K through a marathon.
3. Customer Service. I was told at first that the inability to record temperature on the watch was a bug in the software. Later was told that the watch could not record temperature (correct). Also was given an excuse as to why temperature was no longer recorded by the watch (users body temperature --- hah! --- it worked well enough on earlier models). And regarding the index calculation, I was never given the algorithm which could at least help me understand what type of math it was doing (it is a mystery to me and the algorithm seems biased to reward you with a higher index score for a lower heart rate and slow time vs a slightly higher heart rate and faster time). Instead I was given a platitude;

"It is worth to remember that in addition to good Running Index, maximal running performance demands good preparation, optimal running conditions, speed endurance and guts. Training quantity and quality have an affect as well as natural talent. The RunningIndex gives a value measured in current circumstances."

I especially like the "guts" comment --- really happy about that as I don't know how I've gotten by over the past 30 years beating people without "guts"

The ugly:

1. Incomprehensible design decision to modify the altimeter sensor holes from recessed (previous polar models) to flush on the bottom of the watch resulting in erroneous readings as soon as you start to sweat (yes you read that right -- sweat) and thus rendering the altimeter function of the watch largely useless unless the watch is worn in such a way (flopping on wrist or strapped to clothing) to preclude the sensor holes from clogging with sweat from your wrist.
2. Software. Looks real nice until you try to modify data. Say you got erroneous distance reading on your last run and you want to easily fix it. You won't be able to. No simple function to correct the total distance of a run and have that correction evenly applied to entire run. This undermines the whole point of exercise comparison within the software. If you go out on two identical runs but the distance recorded by the watch varies by a few tenths of a mile there will be no easy way to correct the data.
3. Temperature. Previous models recorded temperature as a data point whenever you took a lap marker or finished the run. This model does neither requiring you to manually enter the temperature into the software.
4. The running index calculation does not take into consideration temperature (AMAZING! since the book noted at the beginning of this review showed clearly that there is a positive correlation between high temperatures and higher heart rates --- you work harder to cool youself). The lack of temperature calculation (an identical run can have HR vary by 10 BPM based upon temperature) seriously undermines the usefulness of the running index function.
5. No way to tell software about different running conditions for a given distance and have that taken into consideration on the index calculation. Five miles run on a track are treated the same as five miles run on sandy roads or trails. So when you go into the comparison graphs which purportedly allow you to see at a glance trends in your running, you cannot account for different conditions on runs. Neither different temperatures or different running surfaces are considered on calculations. This seriously undermines the usefulness of comparing weeks worth of training runs in order to come up with a performance trajectory and let you know are you ready for that next race.

Until this product I rarely even considered any other HR monitoring tool. Polar may not have made "pretty" watches, but they worked. They made tools for athletes interested in maximizing their performance. The marketing department has apparently taken over the company from the engineers. The company may have "jumped the shark" with this watch and software. I hope I'm wrong and Polar surprises with its next watch. It needs to actually delivers useful functions for serious athletes and not take away functions offered from previous models (temperature and an altimeter which works reliably). And if they are going to go to the trouble of providing a number which tells all --- the index number --- then they better explain how that number is calculated and provide the user with the ability to modify the formula (temperature and surface conditions to start with) in order to meet variable conditions if their engineers and exercise physiologist have not already thought of everything.

And keep the marketing department out of product design until functions are firmly set and don't represent a two steps forward, two steps back design as we see with this model.

RS800sd great watch that motivates me to run
This review was edited in December 2007 after the GPS sensor release:

I have an addition to the original review - I got the GPS sensor few weeks ago and I love it. The combination of GPS sensor for outdoors running and S3 sensor for treadmill and outdoor running is great. The S3 helps me with my cadence as I'm changing my running style to get a faster turnover and different foot strike. The GPS sensor is great when I do outdoors running or want to use the watch with my bike.

I have one complaint about the watch though - after about a year of use the watch band broke off and I needed to send the watch to the Polar repair shop. I recommend anyone buying the watch to keep the original receipt to get free repair from Polar. Polar insists on you providing the original sales receipt in order to receive free warranty service.

I still like the watch very much and look forward to using it in years to come. So not only is this watch great for runners, it is now great for multi-sport users as well (with the optional GPS sensor).

_____ This is the original review _______

I'm amazed at the number of problems other reviewers are claiming to have with this watch. I have it since last Christmas and got it as a present. This is probably the best watch for running training there currentky is on the market. Bear with me and read further to learn why I believe this.

When I got mine RS800sd I was ready to go out and run the same night (well I ran the next morning in sub-zero temperature and really enjoyed the run). Since then I have used this watch to plan, train adn successfully complete my first 10k race and today I'm just few hours away from running my first half marathon. I have been using this watch for over 3 and half months and I'm very happy with it. Before this watch I had Polar S625X with S1 foot pod (I still keep it for triathlon training) and Polar S120. I used one of the basic Nike HRMs, but I have returned it after a week as it was too basic for my needs.


Now back to the RS800sd and the things that I really like:

1. Ability to design your own training plan in the Polar software, upload it to the watch and trace my progress in both the watch and the software on my PC. The training run could be fairly complex and have various target HR zones and pace. I love this feature for combined interval runs or tempo/interval runs.

2. Great and very acurate HR reading. The HR strap is the most comfortable one I ever used - it is fabric not plastic and that is very nice especially for long runs.

3. Very acurate distance reading on both treadmill and outside. It took me a while to figure out how to set the calibration factor for individual exercises. Before I figured that out my readings were around 10% off - maybe explanation of some problems other reviewers claimed to have. And no this watch is not less acurate that Nike+ sensor. I use both most of the time and the watch is maximum of 0.2 mi off on a 10 mi run on a treadmill whereas the Nike+ sensor is easily 1.5 - 2 mi off (even after repeated calibration).

4. I like that I can lock the watch and still switch on the backlight when I need it. This prevents me from accidentally switching on the run mode which could happen quite easily with the big red button on the watch face. I practically do not take the watch off the whole day - it goes nicely with my office wardrobe, during running and even during the night I do not take it off. I have alarm in reach all the time and the lock prevents me from starting a run even when I sleep.

5. I love the ability to configure the information shown on individual displays for the run. I re-configured the default settings to see only the data I'm interested in. Great feature if you need different setup of the screen for your run.

6. Uploading to the PC is a breeze and the Polar software is fairly good (I still miss some features and better customization of graphs as you can see in the text later)

7. I use the watch together with trainingpeaks site and love the way it helps me keep track of my training.

I recommend everyone to look at the RS400 model as you may find it good enough for your need and save youself some money. RS200 could be an alternative as well.

I still own the S625X with S1 sensor and the watch is less acurate than RS800sd especially in interval training. But the acuracy is good enough for most long distance running. If you do not do much track or treadmill interval training you may be happy with the 625 model.

Few things Polar could improve on this watch:

1. Documentation - it is very short and not as good as documentation I got with other Polar products. I wonder why this great product with many functions comes with very basic manual. I can see that some people may have problems with the watch if the manual is short on discussing details.

2. Polar software - it could be improved in terms of what it helps you monitor. I would not mind additional features to monitor how many miles i logged on the pair of shoes I use, ability to see my planned heart rate in the recorded results of the exercise (it should be easy to produce - hey I have the training plan and the exercise result how difficult is it to overlay one over another). I think I can come up with few more improvements, but there is no major problem with the software. I just wish it would do some more things for me (something trainingpeaks site offers me).

Overall I'm very happy with this watch and recommend it to every serious runner (even non-professional like me).