We follow the activity. Polar Loop Bracelet and Wahoo Heart Rate Monitor Overview

Fitness bracelets are gaining enormous popularity lately. Whether people thought better of it and decided to monitor their health and lose weight, or simply craving for new devices. However, now almost every self-respecting company has released trackers to track your activity. Not so long ago on Habré, my friend dashman shared his impressions of the Nike Fuelband SE , and today I want to talk about a bracelet that is very similar to a gadget of a sports brand. But the functionality of the Polar tracker is much more. Well, I will not torment you with my arguments for a long time, let's proceed directly to the review.

When I first saw this bracelet, I had an incessant feeling of deja vu. Polar Loop is very similar to the Nike Fuelband, which I have been using for a whole year. There are also light-emitting diodes with the help of which information is displayed, one button, however, let's do everything in order.

Appearance

Let's start from the beginning, with the box and configuration. Together with the bracelet inside there is a bundle of instructions, a USB wire for charging and synchronization, as well as a key to adjust the strap. But more about that later. In the photo next to the Loop bracelet you can see the Polar H7 heart rate monitor. But today I will test the tracker not with the original accessory, but with the Wahoo gadget. To leave no doubt that the bracelet can work with any heart rate monitor with Bluetooth, but with a brand and even more so.
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The bracelet itself looks quite stylish. Black plastic, shiny metal inserts, this accessory will look good on the hand of a businessman and on the wrist of an athlete. Alas, there is no straps of another color, and in principle it is impossible to change them. Therefore, if you do not like black color, you will not like the bracelet. However, this is a classic, so there is nothing strange in this choice.



By the way, about the strap. The thing is, the Polar has an original concept. If Jawbone sells bracelets of different sizes, Sony in the Smartband allows you to simply change the size, as on a regular belt, then everything is more interesting. Initially, the fitness tracker strap is big and you have to cut it yourself and make it the size of your hand. To do this, the key comes and goes to remove the clasp, then cut off the plastic and attach the clasp back. Of course, this is not very convenient, but there are also pluses. You can perfectly adjust the bracelet to your arm, unlike competitors, where you have to choose from standard sizes. The clasp itself, of course, is already morally obsolete, but what to do.



On the inside of the bracelet there is an unusual connector that performs two functions. One - the obvious - is to connect the charger bracelet to charge the battery and synchronize data. But the second is less obvious. At first I didn’t know about it at all and as a result I didn’t understand why the bracelet does not work periodically. The fact is that if the bracelet is not worn on the arm, then the information output button will not work. This is an interesting solution, but it is not immediately clear that you will not be able to use the screen without body contact with this connector. So, if you tune the strap, do not forget that the tracker should not be very loose on the hand.



The bracelet is charged for 30-60 minutes, but it can work for a week. However, about such indicators are now in all modern fitness trackers.



In general, I am not a supporter of proprietary connectors, especially in accessories. For example, I really do not like the 2.5 mm jack in the Jawbone UP24, because you need not lose the adapter. In this regard, very well done in the FuelBand, because there USB is built into the bracelet itself. In Polar, such a connector can be explained by one important quality - the waterproofness of the bracelet. Yes, Loop is sealed and you can dive with it.



By the way, today I personally know only one bracelet, which can be immersed under water and whose microUSB connector is a Sony SmartBand. Although I still have big doubts about its tightness, but still in this tracker the connector is rubberized and maybe you can really dive with it. Well, back to the Loop.



On the front panel, the bracelet has only a few rows of LEDs and a touch button. The output here, as I said, is very similar to the Nike Fuelband. These are 5 rows of LEDs, with the help of which symbols are displayed. There are 4 modes: time, calories, activity and steps. Activity shows a bar that fills up as you load yourself often during the day. And there is one very interesting feature. The bracelet will show you what you need to do to reach the daily minimum. For example, today, in order to reach a minimum, I need to either work 1 hour at an active pace, or walk 2 hours, or spend 7 hours in a not very active mode. This is a very handy thing, you know right away if you walk from the subway in the evening to the subway, go for a run or you can by bus.

On the same screen it is shown whether synchronization is in progress, whether airplane mode is turned on and a low battery charge notification is displayed on it. Well, on this kind of bracelet finished, look at the heart rate monitor.

Wahoo Heart Rate Monitor

The main module of the heart rate monitor is such a small “bar” of black color. A strap is connected to it, which you surround yourself with. Unlike all newfangled gadgets, which determine the pulse of how blood wanders in your finger or wrist (optical method), this meter is much more accurate. The strap contains two conductive elements, which read the data on your heartbeat.



The only negative is that these elements need to be lubricated with a special conductive gel before the session. If you have ever had an ECG in a hospital or clinic, then you understand what kind of gel it is. However, if you are professionally involved in sports, then you are already familiar with such heart rate monitors.



Powered gadget from the usual clock battery CR2032. By the way, from the same tracker Misfit Shine eats. So, you will not often have to charge the heart rate monitor, but rarely will you change the battery. In theory, it should be enough for a year. For two weeks that I tested the bracelet and kadiodatchik, the battery did not sit down, so everything is in order. Connecting the tracker to the heart rate monitor is very simple. We bring, press the button and everything is ready. Now on the bracelet you can see the data about your pulse. In addition, it will be written in what mode you are doing now - burn fat or just fitness.

The sensor is also waterproof, so if it is important to measure the pulse in water, you can safely dive.

Website and Software

To set up a bracelet, you have to connect it to a computer. And for starters, download a special program and register on the site. Then you can sync data with your smartphone. So, go to the site , create an account, connect the bracelet and everything is ready. The process takes about 3-5 minutes and no difficulties arise. After that you will be taken to a page where you can watch the classes of all people. Alas, I did not find any social component here. That is, adding friends from Facebook will fail. I do not know all those who are on the map.



On this tab, you can see how others do, where they run and so on. Quite entertaining, by the way. There is even a video that shows the last workout and how it happened on the map. On the other tabs you can find information about their activity. For example, a calendar that shows data about your daily workouts.



On the site you can see in detail the statistics, your training, how you slept, ran, walked, in general, in general, everything, everything, everything. What was your pulse and at what point in time, did you develop a daily norm, in general, everything you need to analyze your activity. As you can see, I was rather passive this week and didn’t study at all. But the data for the past week, alas, is lost forever. I wanted to check how you can reconnect the bracelet to another account, and at the same time he took and dropped all the statistics. By the way, it removes very quickly, I did not even have time to come to my senses.



In order for this data to appear on the site, the bracelet must sometimes be connected either to a computer and a special application will do everything that is needed, or to a smartphone via Bluetooth. The PC application is quite primitive. It can only update the software on the bracelet and synchronize the data, as well as a few more settings.



But I still love more mobile apps. Firstly, there is wireless synchronization, and secondly, all data is always with you. Fortunately, Polar Loop can work with the application on the iPhone and Android. You need to download the application Polar Flow, then log in and turn on Bluetooth. Everything is ready, you can synchronize data.



Here you can also see all the data, see how much you were doing, when, how you slept, what was the pulse, whether you achieved goals, in general, everything is the same as on the site.



The application looks modern, all the necessary functions are there. Of course, this is not Jawbone, in which you can add food that you ate and look after your friends. Here everything is simpler and perhaps less clearly. However, to analyze the statistics of your physical activity is clearly enough of these data.



Of the interesting pieces - weekly and monthly schedules, which can be seen when you are filonili, and when you are diligently involved in sports. As well as the opportunity to note whether you felt good or bad during your workout. Then, on the basis of these data, it will be possible to determine which loads it is better not to take, and under what conditions you are doing well and strengthening your health.

Advantages and disadvantages

Detailed statistics
Waterproof case
Adjustable strap
Work with heart rate monitors
Information output on light-emitting diodes

No mode "swimming"
Outdated strap design
There is no social component

Conclusion

As for the price, this bracelet costs no more than competitors. If we consider that now it is practically the only interesting fitness tracker to which you can connect a heart rate monitor, the overpayment certainly does not seem to be a big problem. You can buy Polar Loop for 6390 rubles. Pulsometer Polar H7 for 5000 rubles, Scosche Rhythm for 4000 rubles, well, and tested in the review Wahoo Fitness - for 4250 rubles. In general, you can use, as I said, any heart rate monitor that can transmit data via Bluetooth, they all work the same. And of course, the heart rate monitor is hardly needed by those who do fitness rarely. But for athletes to monitor the load, it is an indispensable thing.

I was pleased with the bracelet and heart rate monitor. In many ways, probably because I like the presence of the screen and at least some output of information in the bracelet. This is the reason why I don’t really like Jawbone UP24, Misfit Shine and other bracelets with which you must carry your phone with you. In the morning, I didn’t need him with me at all, but I wanted to know how much I ran. There is a Polar and cons, of course, where without them. I didn’t like the strap, it’s some kind of old for a modern gadget, and the fact that the gadget doesn’t have a swimming mode, even though the bracelet is waterproof, is also bad. But in general, it is an excellent device, and, perhaps, the most professional among such philistine technology. Therefore, if you are seriously involved in sports, it is better to look at this particular tracker.

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