Opinions on HR Monitors please!

Spliner1969

NorthCascades wrote: »

rainbowbow wrote: »

If you don't want or need an activity tracker that's totally fine, but for some people they are more than just the "latest, greatest, doohickeys".

I use my watch when I swim. It tracks my heart rate, gives me a map of where I swam, and other useful stuff. I also use my watch to not get lost sometimes. I wouldn't do this with my phone because, well, my phone's not waterproof:

Agreed, everyone's needs are different. OP didn't mention swimming or I wouldn't have suggested a strap, they will not work for swimming to my knowledge. Swimming would be a good reason to spend a boatload of cash on a tracker, it just isn't an option for me for normal workouts (I wish it was) because of where I live. OP didn't really mention swimming, and I agree a phone + strap isn't really waterproof. Mine are water resistant enough that rain isn't going to bother them (hasn't yet), but swimming isn't an option with either, not that I could do that much where I live anyway.

Spliner1969

Not downling the Fenix 3 at all, but before anyone would spend $500 on a tracker, I'd consider all options (no, I don't own an apple watch nor a wearable fitness tracker, so whichever one is ultimately chosen by someone makes no difference to me):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7bFiYXuG0M

NorthCascades

I don't get to swim nearly as often as I'd like, either.

But swim mode = very waterproof. I live in Seattle so hiking and cycling in the rain is a fact of life here. I'm not going to pull my phone out to use it in a canoe, or a downpour, because that would ruin it.

Spliner1969

NorthCascades wrote: »

I live in Seattle so hiking and cycling in the rain is a fact of life here. I'm not going to pull my phone out to use it in a canoe, or a downpour, because that would ruin it.

Gotchya.. I've been to Seattle, it does rain there a lot.. as in holy crap it rains there a lot. Last time I was there I think it was spring and it rained every day for two weeks straight. My newest iPhone might be water resistant to 1M but I still wouldn't pull it out in a downpour, I'm just too skittish about it.

rsclause

My setup is a smartphone with a running app (Runtastic) synced to MFP. Armband so I won't drop it (see above). Bluetooth headphones for music and distance /pace info. Fit bit Blaze synced to MFP and Fit Bit to track heart rate, sleep & steps, the steps are just for challenges and motivation. I let the phone handle the GPS part and it works well because I am always on call too.

MeanderingMammal

SoxyKitten wrote: »

It's my birthday soon (40th) & my work mates want to club together & get me something decent. I've never had a HR monitor before. In fact I don't even know if I'm calling it the right thing. But, I want something to measure calories burnt, distance covered, time etc for when I'm out hillwalking, biking & running. I also strength train with weights in the gym but unsure if there's anything suitable for measuring calories burnt in that situation. Any help or recommendations would be much appreciated!

Key question becomes around the budget, in the absence of knowing that the whole discussion is a bit speculative.

Noting the conversation above, a phone is a perfectly reasonable cheap option. However generally I'd advise anyone thinking about a tracker of some sort to go beyond that. Difficulties with phones include battery life, low GPS precision and low data collection rates. They're also extremely fragile, as highlighted above.

Personally I'd generally recommend Garmin devices in each of the three price ranges, but they compete with different suppliers in each range.

Three aspects to think about; GPS precision, HR precision and ancillaries. Of those, GPS data is by far the most important as distance, elevation and your body mass are more significant to calorie expenditure than anything else. Ancillaries can help, particularly for cycling. HR data can help to refine forecasts, but on it's own is of limited value. With that in mind there is little difference between optical and electrical (chest strap) data collection. Optical has some sensitivity to skin tone, arm hair and positioning, but most recent comparative work I've seen suggests they current crop of collection devices is comparable to consumer grade chest straps.

The main practical issue with optical collection built into the device is that you're stuck in ba weather with haing it against your skin, so not being able to read the screen, or being able to read the screen but not being able to have the sensor against the skin. The Schoche collection device upthread is a good option, but expensive. That's worn on the upper arm.

Main suppliers at the moment are:

• Garmin - They've come into the market from the navigation end. Good GPS, and solid HR monitoring. Early optical tech was bought in but they've recently developed their own proprietary tech that's getting good reports.
• Suunto - Again having come in from the navigation and environmental instrumentation end of the market. They generally jostle with Garmin for top spot in the higher end devices.
• Tom-Tom - Came into the market again from the navigation end of the spectrum, albeit consumer grade GPS rather than commercial grade as the previous two. They pioneered the optical collection with early iterations being poor but now much better.
• Polar - Came into the market from the HR sensing end with an adequate GPS implementation, although that tech has stagnated somewhat.
• Fitbit - Came in from the consumer activity tracking side of the market. Good social software, adequate activity tracking and poor GPS an HR tracking implementations.

pondee629

I've been using a Garmin Forerunner 110 with heart rate strap for about two years with no problems. It tracks my heart rate, pace, half mile splits, running time and calories burned (for what that's worth). With Garmin connect, all my runs; training, fitness or races; are stored, mapped and available for evaluation. You can find them, still, refurbished, but the 220 looks to just as good and for the more budget conscious.