Comments on: polar s625x Research Blog

By: Ramsay

Ramsay — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 22:22:31 +0000

I am currently training for the Marine Corp Marathon and recording all my runs using this watch. I am tracking against a training program i created on the polar training website. The watch included the optional footpod. I find this to be an invaluable tool as I use it to track pace (min/mile) as well as total distance. Overall i am extremely happy with this purchase. As a long distance runner i am able to keep track of my heart rate and better manage my fitness through training zones. This is not perfect as i find i am typically running at 90% of my maximum heart rate unless i make a concerted effort to slow down.

By: Fickas

Fickas — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:36:07 +0000

Very confortable and very light. You can run forever and won't even feel it is attached to your foot.

The battery lasts for about 8 months using 3 hours a week so no problem at all !

By: Haun

Haun — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:12:23 +0000

My initial reaction when looking at the S1 Foot Pod was, "No Way". I mean, it looks like some type of fancy pedometer. And I use one, the Omron HJ-112 Digital Premium Pedometer, and I know it's not totally accurate when it comes to distance because it's based on your pre-set stride.

To my surprise, this S1 Foot Pod is very accurate, right out of the box, and without calibration! How do I know? I went for a walk today with the Foot Pod and my Magellan eXplorist 210 Handheld GPS, which has the accurate WAAS system. The discrepancy between the two devices was 0.025 miles. That's very small! And with no calibration? It's even more unbelivable! For me and distance logging, tenths of a mile are all I'm concerned about anyway.

As far as weight, I didn't even notice it. It's very light and I put it on my left foot, which is not my dominant foot. Size-wise, I initially felt a little embarassed because the S1 is just a little bit smaller than a Twinkie, but now it doesn't bother me. It's so light that I don't even notice that it's there.

Battery life is rated at 20 hours.

One word of caution: Just make sure to verify that the unit is off when you're done. Press the red button and hold it down until the green light goes off. And double check it with your Polar watch, just to be sure.

Highly recommended for walkers, joggers, and runners!

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Update: It's one year later and I've got this now calibrated to about 0.015 miles. Just make sure to do your initial calibration on a flat surface with no hills. And it's best to calibrate it every time you switch shoes as well. Overall I'm still very impressed!

By: Kiplinger

Kiplinger — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:34:04 +0000

Very satisfied with service and product. Delivery was on time and I go to Amazon first to look for new toys.
Dave

By: Livermore

Livermore — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:18:29 +0000

This product was much easier to set up than I expected. All you have to do is coordinate it with your watch, run a specified distance (I did this on the treadmill so I would know how far I’ve gone) and the next time you use it it’ll tell you how far and how fast you’re running.

Now, I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars because I’ve noticed a slight difference (roughly 5%) between the distance I’ve ran and the actual distance, but this could be from my treadmill being off (or from using the treadmill) when I calibrated the foot pod.

By: Nutting

Nutting — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:26:08 +0000

I read some reviews commenting on its accuracy. With respect, I must say the accuracy comes from the watch, not the foot pod. I have a 625, (and a 725) and I have no complaints with the footpod other than i hope polar finds a way to make it smaller in the future. Other than that, I can't imagine what else to comment on.

Don't forget to turn it on before going running..haha