Strengths: - Easy to use. - Programmable sports zones. - Customisable display. - Works indoors and no waiting for GPS signal. - Upload to Polar Running Coach for online logging. - Note that the footpod is much more than just a pedometer - it measures acceleration so is not fooled by varied stride lengths (for details do a web search for Speedmax white paper). - Please ignore RW review comments that "once the start button is pressed the watch searches for your heart rate, before showing you your pace, which leads one to wonder whether your first few yards have actually been measured. " You press the red button once to get footpod/HR signals and again to start the stopwatch - easy.
Weaknesses: - Only records avg/max HR per lap, unlike for example the S410 which records HR every few seconds allowing you to upload and display a graph of HR vs time. - Wrist strap part of watch moulding so probably not replaceable - Autolaps at 1.01 miles rather than 1.00 - If you want to set zones best on working heart rate you have to do the maths to convert to % of max HR.
Overall: An invaluable running tool. I use the five sports zones to make sure recovery runs really are. After calibrating using race distances I am confident that it is accurate enough for my needs.
denotes Subscriber-only content | 
