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The RS400sd, new for October 2006, has the right feature combination to be a best-seller for Polar. The price is not out of line with other similarly featured monitors, and Polar has done a terrific job bringing the technology that first appeared in the S625X up to date, with greater flexibility in screen display, more memory, more features, and a sleeker, more comfortable watch.
The RS400sd comes with the wear-link chest strap and the S1 footpod in the package – the same ones that ship with the S625x and the RS200sd. They have been tested extensively and proven very accurate and trouble-free. The ‘sd’ ending means ‘speed and distance’ and a separate SKU named the RS400 (without the sd ending) is sold without the footpod. The footpod is available as a separate item and can be added later.
One of the best things about the RS400sd is the new set of features for interval training. Using the software, you can configure any type of interval training workout you can imagine and upload the definition to the monitor. Polar has responded well to Garmin’s challenge in this area, matching the interval training flexibility of the Forerunner 305 completely.
Taking another page from the Forerunner 305, the new Polar RS400sd has total flexibility in what is displayed on the monitor during exercise. There are even multiple display sets, each completely customizable, that you can flip between quickly during exercise with a single button push. It is good to see that Polar is looking closely at the competition and including the best ideas into their own product line.
This is a feature-rich product, and the features are of a type that will be important to serious runners engaged in complex training plans, and who are able to make use of a wealth of downloaded data. If that describes you, then definitely take a close look at this model. There is very little to complain about. Polar has refined these training tools over many years, and each generation gets better. At every step, from uploading workout definitions, to operations during exercise, to the full and precise data downloaded afterward, this system runs smoothly and never disappoints.
Here are some examples of things that the RS400sd does effortlessly that seem to give competitors problems. Multiple files are stored, in full 5-second detail, and downloaded for a complete graphical display of each workout. Running speed and distance is fully integrated and is accurate regardless of trees or terrain. The footpod has good battery life and easy battery replacement. All data (speed, heart rate, calories) are accurately calculated. The software that is included for free does what it was designed to do and is flexible enough to be useful. It seems that every other competitor in this product category gets poor marks for one or more of the above. Polar is unique in getting everything right.
If, on the other hand, you are a person who wants a sophisticated training tool, but also wants it to look terrific on your wrist the rest of the day, there are some other models I would have to say look better, and perhaps their shortcomings as a tool are not important to you. As convenient as it is to have the watch you normally wear also be your training tool, it may be the case that if you want the best training tool and the coolest watch, they may not be one and the same.
To get complete joy, you will need to add an infra-red communications link, and of course, PC Coach. You have two options here. You can buy Polar’s IR link, an industry standard IrDA to USB adapter, which sells for $60. Or you can buy the industry standard IrDA to USB adapter we carry, which is functionally identical and costs half as much. We have tested this unit and it works identically to the one with the Polar logo painted on the side.
Overall, the RS400sd is an impressive display of the degree of sophistication and the depth of knowledge that Polar still brings to the party, which other companies must envy. Another leap forward is that Polar has added a user-replaceable battery to these new models so you no longer have to send your HRM to Polar for a new battery. Polar has put together a formidable product at an affordable price, and you will be seeing a lot of them out on the roads. The only thing you will find that offers more to runners is the Polar RS800sd, also new for October 2006. Click here to read the RS800sd review.