This is the summary of consumer reviews for Polar FT1 Heart Rate Monitor. The BoolPool rating for this product is Very Good, with 4.20 stars, and the price range is $39.99-$59.99.

The Polar FT1 Heart Rate Monitor (HRM) is a great starter tool for assessing your heart rate regularly while exercising, running, walking or even while stressing out about not being able to make it on time for dear daughter's dance class! With a large and easy-to-read display this HRM helps to easily lose weight and improve your fitness regime. The big numbers can easily be read in dim light too, so if a twilight jog you fancy, just strap the HRM on and get going!

This wireless tool comes with a flexible and comfortable chest strap that works 'hand in strap' with the digital wrist timer to measure your accurate heart rate. For the uninitiated here is the definition of Heart rate (beats per minute bpm) - Heart rate is the measurement of the work your heart does. Most reviewers are full of praise for the precise bpm reading but there is a twist in this tale. To make sure the chest strap really connects with your heart, one should wet the strap's sensor or smear it with conductive gel. (Yes, you could really sweat it out too!) If it is not lubricated well, the chest strap doesn't pick up signals very well, thus rendering it ineffective and reducing the heart rate monitor to just another digital clock! Also the strap has to be really tight and close to your chest to take a reading, so get ready for a bear hug!

While you figure out the best way to water down the sensor, make sure you handle the hooks like fragile china as many reviewers feel that the hooks are quite flimsy. The instructions are not very concise and to figure out all the bells and whistles, one needs to really 'monitor' the manual closely! Here's one tip - only the readings from the last session are saved, so you need to record the numbers manually if you want a log of previous readings. Though the heart rate measurement is accurate, the calorie counter stretches the truth a little...err sometimes a lot! So do give this tool a benefit of doubt when it comes to your calories.

Overall, the Polar FT1 Heart Rate Monitor (HRM) is functional, easy to program and use. If you're looking for a basic heart rate monitor to help you measure and track your heart rate effectively, this is THE inexpensive tool to strap on.