What is a "good" "affordable" HRM?

amymrls

I am looking into buying one and don't know what to buy. Can you help?

ahappyapple

bump

jmassardo

I'm a firm believer in you get what you pay for. I got my Polar FT-7 about a year and go and I really like it. It's easy to use and you get used to the chest strap pretty quick. If you look around, you can find coupons for 10 or 20% off a single item for several of the big sporting goods stores so you can get it for a reasonable price.

StarryEyedGirl

I have the Polar Ft 4 for 89.99 and it's great, my husband and brother both bought it as well. We are all happy with it.

aippolito1

All I can tell you is there are so many people on here who will go buy one that's $20, $30 and they find out it's a piece of crap. Go to amazon and get a Polar F5, 6, 7, whatever. You can find pretty decent deals, read all the reviews, see which one fits your needs and buy it. I paid $91 for my Polar F6 after tax, shipping & handling. I've had it for a year and it still works great. It came with a watch and a chest strap, I plug in my age, sex, height & weight and can even set my own maximum heart rate zones so it gives me the most accurate reading I can get. I subtract my BMR from the calories it tells me I burned and as long as I work hard, eat right, and drink my water, I lose weight. The thing seriously saved me. I was overestimating exercise calories and underestimating calories I was eating. Also get a food scale and measuring cups/spoons :happy:

ahappyapple

Are there any good ones without a chest strap? I do little amounts of exercise all day long and I don't want to keep taking the chest strap on and off.

jmassardo

The chest strap really doesn't bother you much at all. you could wear it for a good portion of the day without a problem.

msmindyf

I have a Mio hrm, which is a strapless, but I don't have time to be checking my heart rate in the middle of a cardio session. I am just got a polar ft7, and the strap is quite comfortable..and I feel the calorie burned is more accurate than a strapless one. jmo

musica814

bump

drygravytrain

I have the ft60 a little more expensive, but it is awesome. I dont even notice that I am wearing the chest strap. Mine has a few more bells and whistles that sets goals(weight loss, performance etc) for you each week and adjusts them accordingly based on the previous weeks results. It tells you how many calories to burn and time to work out. It also tracks your weight.

I read reviews on practically every HRM i could find. You dont need top of the line, but if you are going to spend the money, get a quality one. There are so many models with different features to track your type of workout.

amccrazgrl

I have bought 2 Polar FT 40's. I got a 2nd one for my gf bc it was well worth the price.
Go to Polar online and figure out which suits your needs.
I bought both on EBay for cheaper price then any store.

At least make sure you get one with a chest strap for the most accurate.