Polar S625x

Jim Taylor
Reviewed: 16 April 2009

LONG TERM THIS HAS BEEN A POOR BUY.

Very comprehensive set of features and at the time the profile of the wrist unit as opposed to the earlier Garmins was really good. "Out of the box" working was simple for the simple features but to get the best from the unit you need to spend time understanding the more complex features. Customer support from Polar.

The features are also its main weakness very complex and unless you are absoulutely certain you need all of them I would keep your cash and look elsewhere. In the short term 1-2 yrs the first thing that started to go was the transmission of data to the PC even with the POLAR recc unit. After 2 yrs the unit would not pick up HR(it has been returned twice and worked for a short time after each repair)In the end I lost patience with it so that was No date transfer no HR info and then the characters on the watch begun to go the LCD is failing though still readable. This unit is now used as a stopwatch/distance/speed unit with no HR.

This was my secong HRM. In the short term a good machine. I did not like the polar trg interface as I prefer my own log. Data transfer was inconsistent then failed altogether. HR failed. LCD has started to go. In the long term this has been a poor buy. How long should we expect these machines to last? @ £200+ longer than 5 yrs I would have thought.

Mark Gee 3
Reviewed: 12 October 2007

GOOD ... BUT

Comprehensive

Ease of use

It's a great product and with the V5 software you can do a lot back home at the desk.
I use mine a lot but have had issues with the beeps, the speed at which the watch reacts to changes in my speed and how the 'off' period of intervals works

jamesy666
Reviewed: 04 May 2007

BRILLIANT PIECE OF KIT!

Has all the features you could ever want, with session analysis possible after downloading the data to PC. Easy to read display.

Foot Pod (for me) - depending on my type of session I do alter my stride length and this throws out the distance reading from the footpod. Calibration doesn't always work first time.

I've had mine for nearly 3 years of marathon training, so works for me. Am considering swapping for the newer RS800SD as the footpod is supposed to be better.

Richard Green 14
Reviewed: 19 March 2007

GREAT PRODUCT

Multitude of features and very strong software that acts as diary and gives graphical repesentation of exercise.

The thermometer is utterly pointless as it just measures the temperature of your skin.
The software is not Mac compatible, and there is no Mac version, which annoyed me.

Excellent device that has given me control over my training. I would recommend it to anyone.

Daniel Marshall
Reviewed: 23 November 2006

AMATURE=FINE PROFESSIONAL=?

Many features, replaced by a new Polar model, with a smaller foot pod, and increased featurs. Purchased via an online auction site for £145.

Issues over altitude accuracy, as it always reads a lower figure at the end of a long circuit type run, which is a bit odd, but there is a correction function in the software, to adjust the end altitude to match the start, So not so bad.

The manual will take about 2/3 reads to understand fully, once this is done, the entire system is great.

The recording interval needs to be set to 5 seconds as adjusting it to 15 or 60 gives inaccurate distance measurements, when set on 5 seconds the pod seems very accurate, giving exactly the same readings each run i do, over cross contry or road. I have not calibrated it but kept the out of box settings and measured each of the three run routes i do via car and internet maps and there all consistant.

The software is very user freindy and records all the information clearly and accuratly, i cant personally see what more a runner could need from software.