01/14/09 Happy New Year from Sin City traderneil
Hi everyone.I am in the market for a heart rate monitor watch,(without the chest strap).
Amazon has a good selection of them and I can’t decide which to choose. While Polar seems to be the most popular I kinda like Sportsline,and Impulse watches.
I want one thats easy to use for everyday use… Anyone have experience with these ??? Tks traderneil
Couple of things about heart monitor watches. There are advantages and disadvantages to both straps and strapless.
First, straps offer continuous heart rate monitoring. This offers a much better overall picture of what’s going on while you’re working out. The strap is the inconvenience, of course.
Strapless heart monitors only monitor your heart as long as you press your fingers against the watch. I had one of the first models by Mio many years ago, it worked great (I’d recommend Mio, mine broke for other reasons) but when you press the front contacts it takes several seconds before you get a reading (true of all strapless monitors), depending on the exercise, this can slow you down (affecting your work out, not to mention give you a lower reading) on pretty much anything except a stationary bike. Almost all strapless monitors require a two finger touch, which doesn’t sound like a big deal, till you try it in useage. The Sportsline offers their solo series, which requires a single touch, but they only offer basic functions as far as monitoring goes. Also, looking at the Amazon ratings, Sportsline doesn’t seem to hold up well.
There is a hybid Impulse (on eBay) that uses both a strap and is strapless, that might be your best choice.
Let me know what you do!
I’m looking for a HRM as well, so far, the only significant thing about Polar HRMs is that you can’t manually change the batteries. You have to send it in to get it replaced.