HRM Recommendation Needed
Can anyone recommend a good heart rate monitor? I've been noodling with the idea of whether or not to get a heart rate monitor for my training for awhile now, and I think I'm finally at a point where I'm ready to pull the trigger. Being a bit of a novice in this area, I don't really know which features are really important to have, and which ones you can live without. It seems like Polar makes about a thousand different models, and specifically recommends four to triathletes (s625x, s720i, s520, s150). It also seems like Garmin is getting more and more popular lately, but I don't know much about Garmin versus Polar in terms of quality. Are there any other brands worth considering besides the two I've already mentioned? Thanks for the help!
posted by Jeremy at 10:52 AM
2 Comments:
Please consider this a NON recommendation.
I have a Nike heart monitor. It has a neat design in that the watch is offset just a bit so one does not need to turn the arm nearly as far to read it. It also has a great, large, easily screen. However, I have had a number of problems with it where I needed to send it for repairs several times.
While the repairs were covered by the warranty, I had to mail the watch to another state, and each time lost 2, 3, or 4 weeks of use.
I suggest you consider another model other than Nike if, in fact, it was on your list.
Jeremy,
I am not a triathlete, only a runner. But I can enthusiastically recommend Polar products, and I esp. like the S625X, which I have been using daily since May of this year. (I used an S210 prior that) I can say without reservation that Polar HR monitors are definitly superior to any other brand I've tried. As long as you can live without GPS tracks on your runs and rides, I would highly recommend one of the Polar solutions. Yes, Garmin has GPS, but their HR monitors are nowhere near up to the quality of the Polar, and if you ask me, I feel my HR data is more important to me than maps of my runs. The S625X is very accurate right out of the box distance-wise (I believe it's 97% accurate uncalibrated and 99%+ calibrated). I don't get pretty maps of my runs, but I get pretty good distance and pace data, and rock-solid HR data out of it. I looked carefully at Nike, Timex and Garmin before choosing the Polar, and I'm really glad I choose the Polar. I haven't tried any of the Polar bicycle stuff, because I'm not really an avid cyclist, so I just use an old Specialized computer, and the polar watch together. But, I can't imagine that their bicycle stuff is of any less quality than their other stuff. I say go Polar and don't look back.
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