Heart rate monitor/pedometer

miseducation1327

Does anyone have a recommendation for a heart rate monitor and pedometer in one? I do a lot of exercise and running and I'm looking for one piece of equipment that takes care of both of my needs.

tlp8rb

Use the search function with "heart rate monitor" or pedometer in the box and you'll get dozens and dozens of posts. This subject has been talked about for years.

dave4d

I saw one at costco today. I don't know how well it works though. It doesn't use a chest strap. I can't remember the name.

jmijaressf

There are three HRM brands that I'm aware of that use heart rate technology and a sensor similar to a pedometer: Garmin, Polar, and Suunto. I've not had any experience with Suunto, but have used Garmin and Polar. I've been using Polar for many years. I've programmed my stride sensor (that's what they call their pedometer) calibrated to within about 99.5% accuracy.

Do you just want to count your steps with the pedometer? Or are you interested in distance measuring as well? What's your budget for a HRM?

miseducation1327

I would like to measure distance in miles. I'm working on saving up for one, so I'm willing to spend whatever in order to get quality. I don't want to waste my money on one that is junk THanks for your help!

Tiggerrick

I use my POLAR watch for the HRM, and my phone's GPS for measuring distance (I have an ANDROID based phone.) I ALWAYS carry my phone anyway, so it's not like I am carrying anything extra, and you can do with a basic HRM.
Oh yea, my iPod has a built in pedometer if I really wanted to check steps, but I cycle too, so a pedometer is not imperative.
Big 5 always has HRMs on sale. Pick one with a strap, they are more accurate for calorie counting.

jmijaressf

I would like to measure distance in miles. I'm working on saving up for one, so I'm willing to spend whatever in order to get quality. I don't want to waste my money on one that is junk THanks for your help!

Ultimately what you should get depends on which measurements are important to you.

Garmin has a GPS built into the watch itself. That almost eliminates the need for a stride sensor. Though the disadvantage is that if you live in an urban environment like I do, sometimes you can't get a truly accurate signal. If you're blessed enough to live outside the big city, then Garmin is the better choice. The downside to Garmin is that their heart rate data is not entirely accurate, and I've had some discrepancies with the calorie counts in that they were a lot lower than even the calorie calculations on this site.

That's why I chose Polar, because I'm more into heart rate monitoring, heart rate feedback, etc. And Polar's calculations for calories are a lot more accurate. But Polar is more expensive...

You'd be spending about $200 for either brand, and possibly a little more if you want to add a stride sensor.