Advice Sought FOr Heart Rate "Watches"

[Mark Ray]

As I continue on my path to (hopefully) better fitness, less weight, etc., I would like to get a "watch" for lack of a better term that monitors your heart rate. I don't care about calories burned, etc., just an accurate and reliable heart rate monitor that I can trust. Not looking to spend a fortune either, really no more than $100. There are a ton of these things on ebay, and I really don't have a clue as far as brands, etc. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks, Mark

[mill1341]

You're right - there's a ton of 'em out there, and some of them cost an arm and a leg. For most people, the features they include are pretty useless. I use the basic model from Polar (I think its an FS1). It measures heart rate and has a watch/stopwatch/lap timer, and cost me about $50. I know Nike also makes a pretty good entry level model with similar features, but its more like $80. Here's a site that's got a ton of info on the different Polar models - http://heartratemonitors.com/. I wouldn't buy from there (you can get them much cheaper at sporting goods stores), but its a good research tool.

[chumbucket]

Stick with Polar and you can't go wrong. They are substantially cheaper on eBay.

[jefesq]

2nd on polar

[brlfq]

Please pardon the hijack but what do you need a device to tell you your heart rate for? Can't you just count it?

[FlyingDutchman]

2nd on polar


3rd on Polar..85 bucks or so will get your a great setup.

[Scott Peterson]

Please pardon the hijack but what do you need a device to tell you your heart rate for? Can't you just count it?

Not in the middle of a workout, no.

The Polar models are fine Mark. Good value for the money.

[Zelmo]

My $0.02: Skip all the fancy schmancy stuff like all the triplicate lap timers, recovery calculators, calorie monitors and all this type of crap, and get something with basic functions such as real-time heart rate, max HR, avg HR, and something that allows you to measure/record HR within target HR zones that you can define.

[Mark Ray]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'll check out the Polar stuff.

Mark

[FlyingDutchman]

Read up on them at Amazon.com. Alot of reviews there. You may even find the best price around on there as well.