Product Description

The RS400 allows the endurance sports enthusiast the ability to analyze training data with the new ProTrainer 5, the most advanced and dynamic training, planning and analyzing software on the market.

Product Details

• Size: One Color, One Size
• Color: Black
• Brand: Polar
• Model: 90026347
• Released on: 2006-10-01
• Dimensions: 6.00" h x 9.00" w x 9.00" l, 1.00 pounds

Features

• Training Planning w/ Polar Protrainer 5
• Interval Trainer, Accurate HR
• OwnIndex, OwnOptimizer, OwnCal
• 99 Memory Files/99 Laps w/Total Recall
• 2-year warranty

Customer Reviews

Could Have Been Better
My RS400 itself works pretty well. It reliably tracks and records pulse information during my cardio workouts, even interval training which is more challenging due to the frequent changes in heart rate. However, the design of the watch leads to the buttoms activating frequently unintentionally, especially when I wear the watch outside of my workouts.

My experience with the Polar IrDA link and the ProTrainer 5 software is more negative. The watch often does not link up with the software. The distance between the watch and the Polar USB/IrDA interface needs to be within an apparently range (not too close and not too far away... around a foot away seems to work best). The Polar USB/IrDA device is mostly good for randomly flashing red light. It does not link the the watch consistently. The ProTrainer states that it is "Connecting to Polar Product" indefinitely. If you "Cancel", then upon trying to transfer data again, it says "Communication port couldn't be opened.", meaning that the port was not properly closed when the Transfer was canceled. This is a frustrating experience.

Also, customization of the watch graphic is very frustrating since Polar uses a proprietary format for the graphic. The ProTrainer's editor for the graphic is very primitive and difficult to work with.

My friends who use Garmin monitors seem much happier, especially with the analysis software.

Perfect balance
I bought this Heart Rate monitor because a friend of mine has it! I was able to borrow it for a half marathon and I think it is great! It helped me to keep my pace and finish the run in a great time! To me it represents the perfect balance in the range of Polar Monitors because it offers everything a semi profesional runner needs but nothing more! More than the RS100/200 but less than the RS800. I also feel that the watch w/o the S1 foot pod is sufficient since the speed and the distance are not so relevant to me!
The only thin I could whish for is an altimeter!

Just the kind of HRM I was looking for
I have been using RS 400 for over a month and completely satisfied with its performance. While I was already excited about its features, when I was researching for a good running computer within my price range, I was a little concerned about some of the negative reviews regarding its infra-red connectivity. The first time I tried downloading data, I did have trouble, but I realized, I was holding it in my hand and my hand was not steady, so I then took the watch off, and placed it on the table close to the USB infrared reader and it has been able to always get the data quickly after that. Other than that, the recording features where you can record your data at 1s, 5s, 60s etc. are great as I'd like to do a lot of interval training and would want to see my heart rate change almost close to real time. The Polar Personal Trainer software that comes free with it is also a big bonus as I can personalize my target zones based on VO2 max values and find out the distribution of my workout in various VO2 max percentages. I also like the fact that it calculates my calorie expenditure by taking VO2 max into account, as well as heart rate, gender, age and weight, unlike the other monitors that just use gender, weight excluding VO2 max, thereby giving my more accurate representation of the calories I am burning. When I compare it to the calories burned shown by my treadmill, bike or elliptical trainer, they show a lot higher number of calories burned almost 20-30% difference. Therefore, I think it is a much more reliable tool even if you just want to lose weight. I would definitely recommend this product to any serious runner or even a casual person, who wants more accurate estimate of their calorie expenditure during a workout.