HRM??

greeneyes972
greeneyes972 Posts: 87
in Getting Started
What's a good quality HRM that's not too terribly expensive? Like, under $150? Any personal favorites?

Replies

  • Mr_Steve_V
    Mr_Steve_V Posts: 21
    I dont have one yet, but I will be buying the polar FT7, I read good reviews on them. You can find the for as low as $68 up to $119.
    I will be buying one for my wife and I.
  • Cyclingbonnie
    Cyclingbonnie Posts: 413 Member
    I have a polar, I don't have it in front of me, so I can't tell you the model #. I bought it on special for $50 (I think regular price was like $75 or $80). It has a chest trap and a watch receiver (shows the time, hr, and time exercised). I love it and it hasn't failed me :)
  • lucasmoten
    lucasmoten Posts: 143 Member
    I got mine at http://www.heartratemonitorsusa.com/, cheaper then Amazon.

    What I have is a little over your $150 budget though. Its a Garmin Forerunner 310XT GPS with HRM that I picked up for about $180. I was wanting to spend about the same as you but just decided I wanted the best for my needs and would splurge a little if it would make a noticeable difference. I picked this model for its runtime/battery life, waterproof, and multisport functions (these three were my biggest discriminators, particularly runtime as I needed to guarantee at least 8-10 hours of run time even as the battery capacity begins to dwindle). Another nice benefit is vibrate for alerts, which to me is superior to the more common beeping or other tones, which you may not hear if you're listening to music, or out with traffic noises. Its weakness is that it isn't a watch, and it can be kinda bulky if you have tiny arms. Very customizable for the panels that get displayed and auto uploads workout data over ANT+ dongle. Lots of expansion capabilities (power meter, foot pod, etc)

    For under $150 though, the Polar FT60 gets decent reviews. Water resistant so should be ok in the rain and sweat. Easy to setup STAR training program. Allows manually setting your target heart rate zones, or auto. The FT7 is even cheaper, but will give you less features.

    I also recommend checking out this site: http://www.dcrainmaker.com/product-comparison-calculator
    This guy has reviewed several products first hand and has very insightful information about the different models.
  • greeniris101
    greeniris101 Posts: 10
    I have a Polar FT4 and I LOVE IT! It is a watch/chest strap combo, but this is necessary for accurate heart rate measurement. Also if you are a gym goer, The polar syncs up with a lot of the machines at my gym so I don't have to keep looking at my watch. I got mine for $85. You input all your data and it also keeps training logs. It is great! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

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