Gear Reviews

Gear Review: Polar S625X

If you’re training in various aerobic zones, then you need a solid, easy-to-use heart rate monitor. When I got back into triathlon in 2006, I picked up my old Polar HR monitor my wife bought me in 1993. This 13-year-old contraption still worked like a charm…although I thought it was giving me an abnormally high reading.

Late last year I upgraded to the Polar S625X Heart Rate Monitor Watch, the super-cool ninja version that all of the Uber triathletes were using. This baby does everything except pedal the bike for you:

• Displays your heart rate as beats per minute and percentage of maximum heart rate, average heart rate, and exercise duration
• S1 foot pod shoe-mounted sensor that continually relays computed velocity and distance information to monitor
• Runners’ data including total speed and distance, speed displayed in pace or kmph/mph
• Wirelessly sends exercise data to PC via infrared connection
• Allows you to set 5 exercise sets for interval training with HR target zones and recovery calculation
• Records a complete file and five summary files of the exercises
• Predicts your maximal oxygen uptake
• Reduces possible interference from other heart rate monitors
• Target heart rate zones with audible and visual alarm
• UpLink feature enables download of exercise set from Polar web site
• Large easy-to-read display with backlighting and split screen
• 24-hour clock with day/week indicator and stopwatch
• 1.5-year average battery life
• Water resistant to 30 meters

Although I try to fight my gadget geek tendencies, I finally succumbed to the S625X’s siren song. Once I got it set up and configured, I printed charts and all kinds of cool things. My favorite feature is the foot pod. It is amazingly accurate for measuring distance on runs, so no more wasting time trying to use Google Earth to measure out my runs. Unlike the Garmin units that rely on satellites to track your motion, the Polar model uses a hyped up pedometer that will still measure your distance even if your under a thick tree canopy or running in canyons.

In addition the S625X confirmed that my old Polar was still dead on. After all of the abuse the old model took, it was still accurate and ready to show my mind what my body had been trying to tell me for years: My heart rate is abnormally high and my aerobic capacity still truly sucked.

While the Polar S625X may be overkill for most of us, it can be a valuable training aid. I don’t leave home without it. Plus, if you want to wear a mobile research lab on your wrist, then this is the must-own heart rate monitor.

Find your edge and dance upon it.

hak

© 2007 The Outdoor Journey.