Polar AXN500 Altimeter, Barometer, Temperature, and Compass (Black)

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Product Details

Customer Reviews

Pretty good

I bought this a few months back for around $300. I initially was a little hesitant to spend that much on a HRM that wouldn't do distance or pace with a GPS or footpod addition, however, I hoped to get the best of both worlds with a good HRM and hiking watch. I had thought I would probably use the hiking features more than the HR, but that has proved to be the reverse.

I have found it to be an excellent HRM, particularly when paired with the solid polar software bundled with the watch (although you may have to cough up some extra cash for an IR receiver to use this. I bought a cheap $10 rather than the $70 polar receiver and it works fine).

Despite various comments about the size of the unit, I run with it every day and really don't notice the size or weight at all. I download my data every week and keep a log of how much exercise I'm doing on the laptop which I find an excellent motivating tool. It tracks everything I need except distance, which I manually enter (therefore meaning I can't get variations of pace within the exercise file).

I have also used this for a 5 day hike in Peru. The altimeter worked perfectly, and was useful when combined with the HRM over a days hiking.

I also considered the AXN700, which I almost got for the same price. I am glad I didn't spend an extra $100 for the AXN700, as I don't think the extra features are particularly useful. The AXN500 is more than adequate for my needs.

Overall, I've been really happy with this watch. Its my everyday watch, my HRM, and my outdoors hiking watch. Despite some initial trepidation about spending so much on a "jack of all trades" watch I now have absolutely no regrets about the purchase.

Had it been capable of working with a polar footpod or GPS for distance and pace I would have given this 5 stars. I see that as a bit of a weak ommission. As others have said, the alarm is too quiet to be useful at all.

Great watch

I have purchased this model specifically due to all functions it has and also due to the possibility of replacing the batteries of the HR band.

It delivers what have been promised, with reasonably easy navigation through its menus. However in my case mine presented some problems with the compass function which stopped working after almost one year. But, to be honest, I wanted this feature but, in the end, I almost don't use it.

Despite this, everything else is great. The built in IR works fine with my laptop and it is very nice to follow the evolution of the workout in the program provided together with the watch. HR monitoring is perfect, as it was in my previous polar watches.

sweet watch

Yes this watch is big but you know if you're looking for a watch with HR monitor, altimeter, etc etc...the watch you find will be big. The features are excellent. The alarm is a bit soft so don't depend on it to wake you unless it is right next to your ear. I also would have like more data features to be viewed when using the HR monitor..ie like viewing the %of HR max, calories burned, time, etc..But overall the watch will do what you need it to do. I am also a bit of a data geek and like to look how much vertical I got after snowboarding or hiking/climbing - especially seeing the data on the computer. Anyhow, great watch. I payed about 200 for it so it was worth every penny. I did have to shell out another 30 or so for the IR data device for my laptop.

Addendum 4 Aug 08: Watch is great except that I have been trying to get a replacement band - only available through Polar. I sent them a check with my request, they called me several days later to say that the watch band is on back order and have no idea when they will get more...that was 3 weeks ago....i searched the net for another and nothing...

Very nice watch

Granted, I paid much less at REI, but I think this watch is very nice. I too found the interface to be a bit clunky (mostly because it does so much stuff, but also because the buttons are stiff), but it works as advertised. The barometer/altimeter and compass are handy, the heart rate functions are top notch, and the software works well enough. Also, it tells time!

One thing that has really stood out is how tough the watch is: it's large and heavy and gets bonked every so often, but the only evidence of wear after more than a year is a tiny scratch on the face caused by drawing very hard it across a piece of rough steel.

Anyway, price and size would make this a four star item in my book, but I am giving it a tilt because I think the other ratings are pretty low and it really has worked very well for me.

Not for me

I have owned an AXN500 for just over a week, and unfortunately, it's going back. The quality of this watch seemed high to me, but there are interface issues that make it annoying to use, and at the price of this watch, I don't want to feel annoyed when using it. The biggest quibble I have is the fact that you can't view multiple types of data at once. I'd like to see my heart rate as bpm and as a percent of max, plus the temperature and either stopwatch or time, but instead I'm stuck with viewing just two of those simultaneously. There is so much screen real estate you'd think Polar would utilize it better and not make the user move through the menus to view this kind of data. And speaking of HR as a percent of max, I still can't find that feature. The user's manual is passable, but it is certainly not well written. It alludes to HR as percent of max a couple of times, but it refers you to other pages that also refer you to other pages. It might be in there somewhere, but I've lost the desire to page through every page, which is what seems necessary to find it. There's also smaller issues. For example, the temperature readout goes up by 4-5 degrees when I put the watch on. That is understandable, but why not let the user do some experimenting and then be able to decrease the readout by a few degrees to get rid of the need for mental subtraction? Also, when the watch is just in watch mode, I think the numbers should be about 20% bigger than they are--make it that much easier to read in a hurry. The watch is quite big, but hides its size better than the Suuntos I've seen, and you can't fault it for needing some size to accomodate everything it needs to. Unless you're a big guy, expect it to look a little chunky on your wrist. Overall, if you're really into altitude and other data and don't mind sifting through menus, this will be a good product. I am disappointed though.