Heart rate monitors, tell me about yours!!

kimbailey1982

So, I'm in the market for a heart rate monitor and just don't know what to get. I've been considering a FitBit Charge HR. What kind of HR monitor are you using and why do you love/hate it?

boredfatman

I've heard lots about the fitbit charge hr. I'm picking one up tomorrow.

Heart rate is meant to be pretty accurate when doing light exercise, jogging for example. Plus I want to see where it peaks during the day.

I know it won't be as accurate as a chest strap but they are just not for me.

I'll report back with my findings...if I remember!

TimothyFish

I have a Timex. All it does is counts my heart beats. After reading about a guy who figured out that he could get up to the heart rate his coach told him to get to by drinking three cups of coffee and sitting on the couch, I don't see a need for it to try to tell me anything else.

Sued0nim

I have a polar ft4 ..with a chest strap..I'm undecided about the new wrist based monitors and waiting till the hype settles ...I do use a fitbit too every day

HRM are only meant for steady state cardio ...I use mine for the gym which incorporates cardio plus bodyweight exercises plus compound lifts and weights so I always knock off a good percentage in my head ..I do like checking how my hr is though .

MeanderingMammal

I have a Garmin Forerunner 310XT, which means that I can correlate my HR changes over my runs and rides with the GPS trace, so that I can relate it to what was going on in the run or ride at the time.

What I'm less keen on is the fact that my sternum ends up badly scuffed after running for a couple of hours.

47Jacqueline

I have a Polar ft7 - it's waterproof if you don't push any buttons in the water and I just ordered a waterproof chest sensor.

MelodyandBarbells

Polar ft4. No automatic syncing no linking to nothing online. Just displays heart rate (or some other stuff) while working out and attempts to calculate calories. It was also the most recommended HRM on MFP when I got it, so I figured I could read lots of posts to help me figure things out if I had issues. I have bought a new chest strap (thought the original was missing, but I've since confirmed my first strap really is crap now), and periodically have to change the batteries

kimbailey1982

Thanks everyone!!

81krystal

I actually have a $40 heart rate monitor, calorie counter, pedometer, watch that I bought from Walmart and I love inexpensive...It's great if you don't want to sync with your phone. It's also a stopwatch and calculates mileage and laps as well

nm212

What is yours called 81krystal ?! I'm in the market too.... cause I always take spinning classes at the gym but never sure how many calories I am actually burning! MFP has an estimate but probably not accurate.

MeanderingMammal

nm212 wrote: »

MFP has an estimate but probably not accurate.

For spinning, at least any class I've been to that involved fast intervals, MFP is probably as accurate as an HRM would be. They're equally inaccurate...

awesomewastaken

I have a Polar RS300X. The chest strap goes crazy sometimes but that has so far always been fixed with a thorough cleaning. I used to have an older Suunto model, but the strap eventually broke and I find the soft strap much more comfortable.
The monitor measures heart rate, calorie burn, laps, has an interval timer etc, and an exercise memory (40 total entries I believe). Seems solid and trustworthy to me, which were my two main criteria when buying. Plus the watch itself isn't too fancy or bulky (or obvious), which I also like.

Hornsby

Just remember, an HRM is a training device to perform better at whatever activities you are performing. They are NOT calorie counting devices. Sure, they give you an estimation, but that's all it is. The estimations can range from accurate to wildly inaccurate.

Linnaea27

I'm planning to get a Fitbit Charge as well-- so will be following this to see if anyone else who has one has input!

DEJAnoVU

I have the Under Armour39. It's a chest strap hrm but it's very comfortable. I always forget I'm wearing it. The monitor measures heart rate, calories, and "willpower". One day, I compared it to my Moms FitBit Charge and the treadmill at the gym. It seems fairly accurate.

betuel75

I have the fitbit Charge HR. It is not accurate at reading your heart rate. I have a Polar H1(i think) which is a chest strap type HR and it is accurate and use it for when i want to know my calories burned during exercise. I love the Fitbit app for the Charge HR and do enjoy fiddling with the Charge HR but its not accurate for reading and calories burned durning exercise.

twiggy8459

I have a polar ft40 with chest strap. Logs everything for me, keeps track of calories for the day, week, all-time. Keeps track of total time for days and weeks and its easy to use.

Hornsby

twiggy8459 wrote: »

I have a polar ft40 with chest strap. Logs everything for me, keeps track of calories for the day, week, all-time. Keeps track of total time for days and weeks and its easy to use.

You wear it all day?

boredfatman

Hi, Ive got my Fitbit charge HR and I've now been using it for a week. I think it's a good device, heart rate seems to be pretty accurate and I like the sleep tracking...as a shift worker that's really interesting.
I'm not convinced the step-tracker is completely accurate as I'm not sure I take as many as it says but I could be wrong and I have nothing to base that on.

As far as reported skin irritation, no problems here at all. Overall I'm happy with my purchase!

kimbailey1982

Thanks so much for everyone's input!

WickedPineapple

Hornsby wrote: »

Just remember, an HRM is a training device to perform better at whatever activities you are performing. They are NOT calorie counting devices. Sure, they give you an estimation, but that's all it is. The estimations can range from accurate to wildly inaccurate.

I had the 'wildly inaccurate' experience with my polar FT4. The heart rate was accurate, the calories burned was quite inflated.