Polar Loop Activity Tracker

I've had this for about 3 weeks now, so I feel like I can accurately write a decent review.First of all, this is the first tracker I've seen that's more than a glorified pedometer. As someone who lifts weights for fitness and doesn't do cardio, those other trackers that focus more on steps than anything else are useless. The fact that this comes with a HRM helps a ton! Squatting doesn't take "steps", but maxing out on squats gets your heart rate up pretty high. For that reason I invested in this guy.The design is decent - it's no larger or smaller than the average band. It's slightly bigger than the FitBit and doesn't have the option to change out the design. Be careful with sizing it - it's one of those things where you cut the band to make it fit. Once you cut there's no turning back!It's also ACTUALLY waterproof. I've swam with it, I've showered with it, etc. with absolutely NO issue to the design or integrity of the device. That's really helpful for swimmers or people who forget to take it off when they shower (me).A design con, however, is how responsive the touch screen is. The "button" you press isn't so much a button as it's a very sensitive touch screen. I've had trouble shifting around in moving theaters and setting off the bright screen and making people around me look. In the future having an ACTUAL button might be useful to prevent these issues.It pairs seamlessly with the HRM, which I love. Make sure when you put the monitor on you press the button through to make sure it's joined to the device. I've exercised once or twice and apparently the HRM didn't sync with it :( Oh well!Overall I'm very happy with this product, and it's an amazing step forward for these types of devices.I hope in the future they offer what others fitness devices offer - a chance to synch it to your MyFitnessPal/LoseIt/etc. so you can track ins and outs. That's not currently an option.

I was very disappointed with the Polar Loop. (Before the Loop I had the recalled Fitbit Force, so I will occasionally compare the two for the sake of clarity.)1. I like that the clasp is secure (my Fitbit would fall off my wrist and several times I was blessed to find it again), but don't like that you have to permanently cut the watch band to make it fit. I can't upgrade and then pass the Loop on to my husband because his wrist is bigger than mine.2. I bought it because it would pair with the Polar H7 heart rate monitor, but the monitor won't pair with one's phone and the Loop at the same time; this means that if you are running with an app that uses the heart monitor you cannot check your heart rate on your Loop - which is the whole reason I bought it. The software that comes with it has an app you can use that syncs the information to your Loop, but it only syncs AFTER the workout so that doesn't help. Also, neither the loop nor the software includes the option for a heart rate zone alert ("above target heart rate"/"below target heart rate"). I even paid to upgrade the software because it had "guided runs", but it was a waste of money (upgrade Digifit instead).3. The software is terrible. Between a not-very-useful interface and syncing problems (it usually won't sync until I plug it in to my computer), it is practically useless. I checked my Fitbit app on a regular basis, but I finally just gave up on the Loop app.4. It only calculates steps, not miles. I know some people are really motivated by steps - I'm motivated by miles. It simply isn't available, on the watch or on the app.5. The sleep mode is useless. The loop "senses" when one sleeps instead of having a button one pushes to start and stop sleep mode. That's useless for someone like me who usually gets up once in the nights because it cuts out of sleep mode the first time you get up. It constantly records that I got less than 5 hours of sleep. Again the software leaves a great deal to be desired - no "3 times restless, 2 times awake", getting a close up look your sleep pattern, just "4 hr 29 min" of sleep, and try to figure out quality for yourself.I am now looking for a new fitness tracker, which is very frustrating - and I can't even pass the loop to someone who would appreciate it because the Loop is permanently cut to fit my very small wrist.

Was undecided on the 'lower' priced wrist trackers..ratings weren't that good, & I wasn't prepared to pay £100+ for the market leader, as I'll be using it mainly for walking exercise-but needed to see steps/calories etc in a easy to read online graph.Arrived OK-well packaged, VERY easy set-up on line(POLARFLOW) download...sync with the watch...put in your stats & away you go.I was having problems over the 'cut the strap to size' reviews, but you do get a wrist measure guide & I did get the scissors out & had a cut on both ends of the strap. Which I then cut another link off, just to be comfortable. The supplied tool is not particularly brilliant, better just using your fingernails-worked OK & was done in 5 minutes..while the battery is charging.The watch itself is extremely light..very retro looking with the scrolling dot matrix display, is waterproof & offers updates on how many more steps/jogging time etc you need to do to reach your target for the day..& how many you have already done.Like an idiot I did order one from Amazon Warehouse...cheaper than new....BUT don't forget that these have been previously worn/used, so be aware that the strap will have been cut..the one I received probably wouldn't have fitted my 2 year old granddaughter.... :)

Modern technology gives us gadgets and applications packed with features that are no doubt a delight for marketing managers, but personally I find plain annoying as they just swamp me with things I don't want or need, and all too often get in the way and getting to what I actually want. And then they are expensive because of all those features.This gadget is the exception to this norm, and for that I really like it.It gives me an idea of how much sleep I'm getting, how much I moving in the day, and when coupled with a chest strap heart sensor, a very detailed and reliable record of my heart rate. And all without the annoying need for an iPhone or Google Playstore app, as it works with a good old fashioned PC and web browser.

Update: after 2.5 years of continues use.The plastic bracelet has been weared off. There is no way to replace it.The battery lasts only 1.5 days without using of Bluetooth.I opened it to see the construction inside. And now I have understand why it spends so much battery. In order to have this nice screen dark effect , it has an almost not transparent plastic cover on the screen. So if you remove this cover you see that the brightness of the display can give light in the night. But for this nice display it sucks the battery so easy. My overall suggestion is to select other brand.there are many good cheaper and reliable out there.But let's see about the device in other characteristics.Positives + it is very beautiful external. it looks like a band without any display open.+ it has a nice clock that displayed after you press the button end fades in 3 secs.... Amazing fade. Negatives - you can't initialize and update the software from within android alone. It needs to initialize first only with Windows or Mac Os . it works with android after initialization. (but only after I did first the initialization in Windows.) - short battery life (Five days in the begining), Also, when there is active link with H7 , the battery finishes very fast. So useless the heart rate feature.- bad link with the polar H7 heart rate .- polar support does not exists .never answer the messages in their official support page.

As a lot of people have already explained, the wrist strap needs to be cut to size. The enclosed size guide is useless and it's a case of cut one small segment off and try for size until you're happy with the fit. Time consuming but worth it as it should then fit well and be comfortable.I have not experimented on how accurate the step function is hut it surprised me how many steps I had taken in a given period.It is inconvenient to wear it on my non dominant hand as recommended as I like to wear my watch and wearing it on my dominant wrist feels weird.It took a few attempts to pair it on my smart phone via Bluetooth but got there eventually. It provides useful data on duration of exercise and inactivity. If you're looking for a more detailed breakdown of performance look at a different product.I paired mine with a polar P7 heart rate monitor via bluetooth. They work well together and allow you to track fitness on the polar flow app. It data is basic but good enough for my needs.The main reason I bought this over other competitors is that I can use it to track swimming. I have yet to do so as I've had a cold since receiving it so I can't comment on how successful it is recording that data.The loop comes with a weird magnetic charging cable. Sadly not a standard micro USB and it's necessary to make sure it's fitted correctly to the loop to charge it. The battery life on the loo isn't as long as stated by Polar. No real surprise as most manufacturers over state their claim in that department and use test data in far from real lab situations. 5 days has been the time I've got out of it from fully charged to fully depleted.

I have had my Loop for over a year now and I can absolutely recommend this to anyone looking to take their fitness training to the next level.The battery life is approx 5 days. The charge time is around 2 hrs.You can customise the wrist band to fit your wrists exactly as you wish.In short the Polar Loop on it's own is no different to any of the other movement trackers on the market. The Loop does however blow the competition away when you use it in conjunction with a hear rate monitor. Once sync'd it gathers accurate data using your heart rate to calculate the calories burned etc etc.The polar software works well and gives you a graphical visual of how effective your training session was. You can also plot your progress over a full calendar.In all honesty, I would recommend looking into an all in one tracker that also accurately measure your heart rate but if you want this information in a much cheaper package, the Loop bought with a heard rate monitor is a far cheaper option that will deliver the same information.