POLAR Soft Strap Set (Medium/XX-Large)

Available Polar heart rate strap is for the newer blue tooth H10, and I am still using the old F11 monitor. I asked Polar customer service whether it is compatible with F11. They said OK. So I ordered and received one from Amazon, it is made by Polar. I am very please with the new design. Its adjustable size fits much better and more comfortable than the older WearLink strap. The sensing area is better design, sealed more securely, the 2 recepticles for the heart rate transmitter (my old F11 or new H10) fit tightly. The heart rate readings shown on the F11 wrist unit are very steady, stable and accurate, as I checked with a blood pressure monitor that also measures heart rate. I am happy the strap brings new life to my F11, and saved the cost of replacing with H10 ($90) or Polar Watch (>$250). Now I use a soft tooth brush and mild detergent gently clean it after each use. I kept the old WearLink strap as spare, and want to order another one for spare or eventually for a H10. Great value, highly recommended, for its quality and performance.

I bought this to use with my garmin HR monitor. My garmin straps would work perfectly for about 2-4 months then they would start giving bad readings (like saying my heart rate was 80 in the middle of a run). This was despite follow all care instructions from garmin. I had read that this polar strap was compatible with the garmin ANT device and it doesn't suffer from these problems. When I got the strap it did require some slight modifications to be compatible with the monitor device. The plastic around the snaps sticks up a little higher than the snap, and prevents it from snapping into the garmin monitor. I was able to trim this plastic away with a pair of scissors and since it's hidden by the monitor, it doesn't matter than it's now a little jagged and doesn't look perfect. This strap has worked great! I've had it for almost a year now and it's still working fine. It has far outlasted my garmin straps (both in time and number of uses). No complaints so far, this is way better than the garmin straps and costs less!

I originally ordered this to use with a non-Polar HRM module, knowing that I would have to trim the plastic on the strap in order for different manufacturers modules to work. The trimming worked out well, and held the new module perfectly. Later, we ordered a complete H10 HRM, so a comparison can be made. First, if you trim the plastic around the contacts, the straps will hold other manufacturers modules just fine - but will never again securely hold the Polar module. Trimming the rings allows the Polar module to pop off way too easily for secure use. In comparing the straps, the three biggest differences are the closure mechanism, the silicon dot anti-slip features, and the extended sensor areas. The Silicon dots were not a source of discomfort to me, but I haven't used the strap enough to see if they accomplish their stated purpose. The closure system on the Pro strap is not as comfortable or easy to use - for me - as the hook closure on the soft strap. Because of the extended sensor area, the pro strap closure doesn't close easily at the side, but extends part way around your back. This is more of a reach, and on my Handcycle the closure hits between my back and the seat, digging into the skin. The soft strap doesn't have this problem. As to the extended sensor area of the Pro strap vs the soft strap, I have not had any issues with the soft strap which would make me deliberately seek the more extend Pro strap, but that may change over time. For me, the soft strap is a better purchase than the Pro Strap.

This review is more about Polar customer service than the product. The V800, the H7, the H7 strap, and the Loop are great products - Customer Service is NOT. The strap is soft, supple and stays on. I purchased this replacement strap because I was having problems with the H7 and customer service said it was the strap. It was not the strap, it was the H7 transmitter. But, I had hundreds of work outs with the H7 and strap and they work great. However, I felt that I needed to post my feedback to Polar to let everyone on amazon.com know about my customer service experiences. So here are all my customer service issues below. To Polar: BTW - this exact feedback is going on heartratemonitorsusa.com, amazon.com, AND dcrainmaker.com and any where else I can find to put it. Poorly and improperly staffed - no information about doing inventory so I would wait on the phone for 20 minutes to have your voice service tell me that someone would call me back which they never did - waste of 20 minutes - this happened 4 separate times. End of year update broke automatic GPS start location which I have reported 2 times - the first time the CSR did not record the error message - found this out when I called back in about a separate issue and decided to do a follow-up. The error message is as follows - "A. lap location not saved. No GPS data available." I assume that A. means "automatic ". So when Automatic Lap is chosen in a sport profile and set to Location - this error message pops up. Never happened before the update. Server maintenance was not re-announced after an announcement saying it would be delayed, so I spent an hour and did a botched factory reset on the day the servers went down because the error message in Polar FlowSync said that it COULDN'T sync with the V800 - nothing about the servers being down - I thought I had an issue with the watch. You have our emails - send out a notification for gosh sakes. How hard is that to do? It is the little things that make the difference. You "lost" my warranty repair replacement watch band (sitting on a shelf per the CSR) - so I had to zip tie my watch onto my wrist for almost a month. I would not have know about this unless I would not have called in to follow-up because I was waiting for so long for it to arrive in the mail. I was told 3-5 business days and I waited an extra week because of the holidays. I you would have sent it out the first day I called (which you could have) it would have been here before the new year. You "repaired" my HR7 improperly - in fact you didn't repair it - you sent back a new strap instead of replacing transmitter - when I received the unit back, it still did not work (after almost 4 weeks) which is totally unacceptable. Poor technical support delayed my return of the unit for a week - the CSR REFUSED to listen to me about my understanding that it was the transmitter and NOT THE STRAP. Luckily I had decided to buy a new Polar HR7 from a store - I did this before I sent the unit in to be repaired. And guess what - the new unit worked instantly. In fact, I had access to another Polar HR7 and it worked perfectly also. I was so irritated when I tried out the unit you sent back. I couldn't believe you guys just didn't send out a new unit. And your repair notes STILL say it was the strap which is a lie. At this point, I don't think you even tested the unit. Your alert messages in the IVR are complete lies. You did not have high call volume, you were understaffed doing inventory. I know this because I was in call center work for almost 15 years. Quit lying to your customers - it reduces your integrity. You have wasted my time, stretched my patience, and lied too many times for me to trust you. Sad thing is that your products are awesome and have helped me lose 45 lbs after being sick for several years. The more I deal with you, the more I am reminded of all the sorry customer service that ICON FITNESS provides for all their treadmills and such - just horror stories that never end. That is why we have not purchased a home treadmill - TRUST. As you try to gain ground in the activity fitness tracker world you better learn this - trust, integrity, and customer service generates and RETAINS customers. You have too many competitors to screw up for even a short period.

My old strap for my Polar Heart monitor was wearing out and not reading correctly. The original had the mesh fabric with the copper wire inside, and it was starting to give improper readings because of wear and perhaps corrosion of the wire beneath the fabric. In the past, I've had issues with other straps that lose connection, and over time the fabric begins to smell despite gently washing and drying in the shower afterwards. This new soft strap works great because the contact portion on the inside of the strap is a soft vinyl. It doesn't seem to hold on to sweat and water after washing. When using, the only issue I encountered is you have to ensure there is ample water on your skin and some on the inside of the strap contact area to make a good connection. Since the contact area is like vinyl, the water will wick off, so ensure there are some drops on the contact side and really wet your skin. Even after washing and rinsing while in the shower, the strap seems to dry quickly, and has not faded like the old strap. It doesn't seem to stretch out either, and appears more durable. Remember, you can't throw this in the washer! Simply hand wash with a mild soap.

I love Polar for their HR accuracy -- the most accurate on the market. For that accuracy I'm willing to wear a chest strap. Polar's technology is somewhat more accurate than other brands using chest straps and Polar is much more accurate than models that don't use chest straps. I bought this strap to go with a Polar M61 (no longer made) that had the strap from three generations ago (the strap that joined in the front by snapping onto the two ends the oval shaped transmitter). As Polar repeatedly redesigned the strap for greater comfort they continued to use the same oval transmitter. All their chest strap models work with this chest strap and the same oval transmitter. Thank you Polar! Right out of the box the new strap worked. The strap is about as comfortable as a strap can get. Fairly thin but doesn't roll, soft lining material, and the material in front that picks up your heart's electrical signals is quite flexible and adds little bulk. The hook looks like it would be difficult to get into the loop, but it's always easy. This size (M-XXL) realy does have a huge range of adjustment. Strap never comes undone or slips down. I've worn it in a drenching sweat and I've worn it unsweaty walking a mile to the gym or hours afterwards running errands. The instructions say to douse it under the water faucet before putting it on but that's not necessary. I put on the strap, then apply spit (saliva) between the strap and my skin. I think spit and sweat both conduct better than water. Sometimes I leave the strap on for a long time after my work out, and the strap maintains connection with my heartbeat. It will loose connection if I curl up tightly so that the strap is no longer flush with my body. I occasionally wash the strap in a mesh bag in the washing machine and then hang it to dry, but not as often as they recommend.

---------- Update - 10/16/2017 Since the date of my original review I've purchased one replacement for the Polar Soft Strap after my first one died and I'm now in the market for another one. I'm marking the product down from 5 stars to 3 for a couple of reasons: 1) I was hoping the Polar Soft Strap would last longer than it did. While it certainly outperformed its Garmin equivalent it still died after less than a year of use. For reference, I work out between 4 to 6 times each week, each time for about an hour. These straps last me about 40 weeks so if I average 5 hours a week their lifespan is somewhere in the 200 hour range. It seems to me that the product should last longer than that. 2) The first strap I received fit my Garmin sensor perfectly. After it failed I ordered a second strap only to discover that Polar had modified the design so that the Garmin sensor wouldn't snap into place properly. The modification was an increased height in the rubber rings that encircle the snaps. They had been raised just enough so that the Garmin sensor would not engage the snaps. I resolved the issue by using a razor blade to slice the top of the rings off but I was irritated that I even had to mess with it. It's almost as if Polar caught wind of folks using their straps with Garmin sensors and decided to put an end to it. To me it's more like getting a stick in the eye. As I mentioned earlier I'm again in the market for a strap but I think I'm going to look elsewhere. Polar doesn't seem to want me using their products. ---------- I purchased this to use with my Garmin Heart Rate monitor and it has worked flawlessly for 3 months now. My original Garmin Soft Strap worked fairly well for about two years but would occasionally give me problems and drop out or spike from time to time. Towards the end it began to give me more and more difficulties. I tried a few of the suggestions on various websites: washing the strap, wearing a different fabric t-shirt, and even electrolyte gel. None of them solved my problems. My next solution was to purchase a new Garmin Soft Strap; the newly revised model. That worked well for about 2 months but began to show the same symptoms shortly thereafter. After more research I discovered that others were having success using the Polar Soft Strap with the Garmin Heart Rate Monitor. I decided to give it a try for a small investment and I’m happy that I did. I have had zero issues and the best part is I can wear whatever fabric I choose and I don’t have to use electrolyte gen any longer, only water to wet the strap. I would also add that the Polar Soft Strap is actually more comfortable than the Garmin Soft Strap and it fits as expected.

I chose this item based on the other reviews and I could not be more satisfied. The strap that came with my Garmin 310XT never did work right, even with trying various gels and creams, including buh-bump and spectra 360 gel. But the Polar strap has worked perfectly with no gels at all. It even worked perfectly for a 6 hour century bike ride. Others have reported that after a few hours the sweat can cause issues so they have resorted to a work-around of cutting the strap between the snaps. So far I have not found that necessary. In fact, so far I haven't even had to wet it at all. I've only had it 4 months, so we'll see if it needs any help in the winter when I sweat less. As others have noted, to use with a Garmin, you still use the original sending unit that came with Garmin. It fits perfectly. I don't know why Garmin can't get this figured out. They should license Polar's version of the strap. Even if it costs them a little more per unit to do it that way, it would be well worth it in customer satisfaction. Seriously, it is that much better! Do not hesitate to try this if you're having issues with your Garmin.