Heart-rate-monitor Watch for Exercise

[roster]

Hey you guys are up-to-date on everything.

My old watch just went kaput.

I guess the technology on the market has changed.

The watch will be used when hiking and climbing some strenous trails.

Some features I want:
-Continuous readout of heart rate.
-High/low alarm (I will only use the high)
-Stop watch
-Time
-Some summary data at the end of the session

Can you recommend one on the market now?

[Uncle_Bob]

you want the watch only ones or the watch with the chest strap?

personally I've only ever used the polar brand with the watch and strap. mainly because they don't interfere with other equipment and other peoples monitors down the gym.

[robertmarilyn]

I've used the Polar brand before and really liked it but my latest heart rate monitor is also a GPS. It is the Garmin Forerunner 305 and I use it on myself for all my runs and hikes. It has the chest strap and watch and when I get home I can upload all my info with the provided program. That way I have a map of where I went and my heartrate every step of the way. The fact that I have been using this for so long made it easy to jump into using software for an XPAP machine.

I also converted a chest strap with electrodes and such, so that when I am riding my horse, it reads his heart rate, speed, etc. I use it on my horse on training rides and competitions and when I get home I have the distance we went and a map of where we went, with altitudes, speed at any point on the course, all kinds of data. You even get info about ascent and descent. There are alarms for speeds, high and low heart rate alarms, lots more settings than I ever will use. This may be much more than you want in a heart rate monitor but I think it is fun to use when I am exercising outdoors.

[El Pap]

you want the watch only ones or the watch with the chest strap?

personally I've only ever used the polar brand with the watch and strap. mainly because they don't interfere with other equipment and other peoples monitors down the gym.

I was under the impression that all of the continuous reading models use a chest strap. Unless the technology has changed since I last shopped for one, models w/o a chest strap require you to place two fingers on the contacts to get a reading.

[fuzzy96]

how "bout this one....http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... Id=2062710

[fuzzy96]

no seriously - got the wife a sportline brand watch from wallyworld was abot 60.00.
has continous heartrated stopwatch alarm , but does not give session info.

[DreamStalker]

As a couple of others have mentioned ... Polar is generally thought of as the leading choice for heart rate monitors. Most of the gym club cardio equipment are Polar compatible.

Since I don't do gym clubs (too many germs and smells for me to tolerate), I went with Omron for exercising at home.

http://www.amazon.com/Omron-HR-100C-Hea ... UTF8&s=hpc

Cheap but effective.

There are finger and wrist type monitors but the chest strap versions are much more reliable from the internet research I did about 6 months ago. All you need is some saline gel http://www.amazon.com/Buh-Bump-Heart-Mo ... d_sim_sg_1 ... tiny bit lasts a long time.

[Ganesha]

Another vote for the Polar. It will give you all the things you listed for under $60 at Sports Authority.
I also had a Timex but it was not a user freindly as the Polar. Just my $0.02.

[ozij]

The Polars (I have one) have one drawback: when the battery runs out, you have to send the watch to the company for battery replacement - and you pay for that.

On Nike's you can replace the battery by yourself - I don't know about others.

O.

[Bigburd]

I use the Polar but have no download capability. If you are like me the Garmin has all the "Bells & Whistles" we want. Have two Garmin GPS units, one I use on a bicycle. Love to down load my trips.

Garmin Forerunner 301 features:

Use AutoLearn™ feature to learn your heart rate zones and automatically adjust them as fitness levels improve.
Mark a new lap at a preset distance or time with AutoLap®.
Use AutoPause® to stop the timer automatically when you slow down or stop during your run.
Race against your Virtual Partner™ over a specified pace and distance.
Automatically scroll through data pages during your workout.
Set a heart rate, pace or distance alarm to sound an alert when you reach or exceed your target heart rate, pace or distance.
Customize one of the main data pages to show the exact data you want to see.
Mark specific locations, and then look up and navigate to these points using an electronic map.
Retrace your steps to a starting point (Back to Start feature) or reverse your normal route for routine variation.
Track and calculate calories burned over the course of a workout.
Automatically record up to 5000 laps; the Forerunner stores approximately two years of data by day, week or month.
Customize the fit of the wristband with the included expander strap.

[DreamStalker]

I use the Polar but have no download capability. If you are like me the Garmin has all the "Bells & Whistles" we want. Have two Garmin GPS units, one I use on a bicycle. Love to down load my trips.

Garmin Forerunner 301 features:

Use AutoLearn™ feature to learn your heart rate zones and automatically adjust them as fitness levels improve.
Mark a new lap at a preset distance or time with AutoLap®.
Use AutoPause® to stop the timer automatically when you slow down or stop during your run.
Race against your Virtual Partner™ over a specified pace and distance.
Automatically scroll through data pages during your workout.
Set a heart rate, pace or distance alarm to sound an alert when you reach or exceed your target heart rate, pace or distance.
Customize one of the main data pages to show the exact data you want to see.
Mark specific locations, and then look up and navigate to these points using an electronic map.
Retrace your steps to a starting point (Back to Start feature) or reverse your normal route for routine variation.
Track and calculate calories burned over the course of a workout.
Automatically record up to 5000 laps; the Forerunner stores approximately two years of data by day, week or month.
Customize the fit of the wristband with the included expander strap.

Yep, that seemed to be the second most popular manufacturers that I cam across when I was researching the market ... expensive too.

[cpapernewbie]

Get the Omron HR100C HRM and safe about $50!

It is compatible with all the equipments in your Gym. I started with Polar but then the service is ZILCH. They do not even reply to my e-mail and my phone calls.
The good thing is that the Polar watch works with Omron strap. I went to the gym for 2 hours daily and this really is a helpful product. My Polar chestrap is ineffective after less than 6 months. So now I still use the Polar watch FS-3 and as cheststrap I am using Omron's.

And another benefit is that you can replace the battery in the cheststrap easily on your own using a widely available and cheap battery - the same battery that is used in Omron pedometer.

Omron products are highly reliable (do not worry I do not work for Omron and Polar).

[roster]

Wow, you guys really delivered - a great overview for anyone wanting to buy an HRM watch!

Now what happened with me? I had a watch that was about five years old. Just recently a buddy and I have built ourselves up to taking 8 mile walks around our hilly little burg. We could complete them in two hours or 15-minute miles and felt pretty good about our fitness. We decided to take it to the next level by climbing two or three times per week a 1700-ft. peak in a nearby state park. There is a five-mile loop that takes you from the visitor center along the mountain ridge and a steep rocky ascent. Very exhilirating and quite a heart thumper.

A younger friend told me he uses his HRM watch on the hike and that I would enjoy checking my heart rate going up and down because there is quite a bit of up and down in both the ascent and descent. I also had some fear that on the steepest/longest parts of the ascent my heart might jump into my throat.

So my wife had given me a HRM watch on my birthday about five years back. I had not used it in a long time and of course the batteries were dead. I have a favorite watch repariman that I always use. I was in a hurry to get the batteries before my next hike and we were on the wrong side of town so I took the watch to a different branch. The guy checked the old battery and pronounced it dead. Then he put a new battery in and fiddled around with the watch for awhile and then announced that the watch was broken.

So I started shopping for a new watch and you guys chimed in very nicely with advice. But I had a nagging suspicion that the repairman did not know what he was doing. At the other shop there are two Russian repairmen that I really like not only because of their good work but also they are great to chat with. So I took the watch to them and did not tell them that I had been to the other branch. They installed the batteries and the watch worked! Then I told them the rest of the story and let them know I will never let anyone but the two of them touch a watch of mine again.

My watch is a Timex Triathlon HRM watch and is quite good. The two replacement batteries were $7.50 each so for $15 I feel like I have a new watch. This Timex has all the basic features I wanted and there is an optional GPS feature with software and wireless download to your PC. I am surprised no one mentioned this watch. I checked a local discount store and they have a similar Triathlon for $90 and is currently on sale for $45. I think Timex is coming with a new model and are clearing this one out.

BTW, I walked the trail yesterday and my heart rate maxed at 174 briefly on the three steepest stretches of the ascent. When the trail leveled out the rate would drop quickly and my younger buddy said this is a good indication that my ticker is working well and is not overstressed. (In case he is wrong, I have asked my wife to post a link to my obituary here. )

I give Marilyn the Rooster award for best post in this thread. Marilyn, I love what you are doing:

I've used the Polar brand before and really liked it but my latest heart rate monitor is also a GPS. It is the Garmin Forerunner 305 and I use it on myself for all my runs and hikes. It has the chest strap and watch and when I get home I can upload all my info with the provided program. That way I have a map of where I went and my heartrate every step of the way. The fact that I have been using this for so long made it easy to jump into using software for an XPAP machine.

I also converted a chest strap with electrodes and such, so that when I am riding my horse, it reads his heart rate, speed, etc. I use it on my horse on training rides and competitions and when I get home I have the distance we went and a map of where we went, with altitudes, speed at any point on the course, all kinds of data. You even get info about ascent and descent. There are alarms for speeds, high and low heart rate alarms, lots more settings than I ever will use. This may be much more than you want in a heart rate monitor but I think it is fun to use when I am exercising outdoors.

BTW Marilyn, Rooster thinks you are cute:





Thanks everyone,

[dsm]

Hey you guys are up-to-date on everything.

My old watch just went kaput.

I guess the technology on the market has changed.

The watch will be used when hiking and climbing some strenous trails.

Some features I want:
-Continuous readout of heart rate.
-High/low alarm (I will only use the high)
-Stop watch
-Time
-Some summary data at the end of the session

Can you recommend one on the market now?

Rooster,

I am using a POLAR S725 unit that tracks both my heart rate & bike speed.

Also did have an S625X which did walking distance + heart monitoring.

I lean to the Polar devices as they have excellent support & are top quality.

DSM

[dsm]

The Polars (I have one) have one drawback: when the battery runs out, you have to send the watch to the company for battery replacement - and you pay for that.

On Nike's you can replace the battery by yourself - I don't know about others.

O.

The Polar-31 coded HR txmttr allows the battery to be replaced. I believe the new W.I.N.D. models do too.

DSM