Purchasing an HRM

JenFerguson1

Tomorrow I'm purchasing an HRM. I want a quality/accurate one. I'm looking to spend $100-$150. Does anyone have any advice on them or which one to buy? The main reason I want it is to track my calories especially since my husband and i are hiking in the Catskills this coming week and I'm interested in the amount of calories I will be burning, Let me hear your thoughts!!:)

jendool

I have the basic Polar F4 and love it. It doesn't track miles for me but it tells me calories, time in zones for training purposes and you can even download it to the polar website and track your progress there as well.

JenFerguson1

that sounds great but I do want to be able to track distance as well..

lframent

I have the basic Polar F4 and love it. It doesn't track miles for me but it tells me calories, time in zones for training purposes and you can even download it to the polar website and track your progress there as well.

I have the Polar ft4 and I love it. It cost me 50$ used (still as good as new, too!). Mine doesn't track miles, either, though I wish it did! It does calculate zone times and calories burned.

jendool, I had no idea you could register them online! I'll have to do that! Thanks and good-luck to both of you! x

luppic8

Good for you! I have the Polar FT4...I love it!!!

yeabby

You'll probably need to spend a bit more if you want to track calories and distance. Garmin 405 does both. I have one and LOVE it but they are a bit expensive. If you decide not to spend the money for the distance as well look at the Polar FT7. It doesn't do distance and is slightly more accurate than the FT4 (also a very good hrm though).

JenFerguson1

thanks everyone!!

DrewD2011

The Polar FT60 and FT80 (as well as the new RCX5) all count distance. You do need to add either a foot pod, cycling sensor or GPS unit to track pace and miles (as well as Google Maps review). Check out the complete line on Polar's website!

Best prices I find on all are at heartratemonitorusa.com!

JenFerguson1

I ended up buying the Sportline woman's duo 1060. I have yet to try it but it looks awesome! The workers at ****s said its a really good one so hopefully I love it!

JNettie73

OP, thanks for post this. I am not ready to buy one yet but will in the near future.

Best prices I find on all are at heartratemonitorusa.com!

Thanks for the link, I have not checked it out yet but will do. I have seen so many users on here suggest getting a HRM. I have a few questions about them...

1. Approximately how should an accurate one cost me.
2. How exactly do they work? IE is it something you have to strap around your chest?
3. If yes to the previous question, then do they come in different sizes? Can they accommodate someone who is obese and has quite a large chest?

Any other input is greatly appreciated. Thanks a bunch!
(going to check out that site now!)

dad106

I ended up buying the Sportline woman's duo 1060. I have yet to try it but it looks awesome! The workers at ****s said its a really good one so hopefully I love it!

Honestly, the workers at ****s were wrong. Sportline is not a very good brand for accurately estimating calories, so I would be careful about eating them all back.

dad106

1. Approximately how should an accurate one cost me.
A good one should cost about 60-100 dollars depending on the features you want.
2. How exactly do they work? IE is it something you have to strap around your chest?
Yes there is a chest strap which you need for accurate calorie estimation. Don't buy one without. The strap will then feed the information to the watch.
3. If yes to the previous question, then do they come in different sizes? Can they accommodate someone who is obese and has quite a large chest?
The Polar ones come in different sizes I know, but they all are adjustable and the fabric strap is very stretchy so it shouldn't be a problem.

JNettie73

Thanks so much for answering. I appreciate it! :happy:

Edit: oops for some reason it quoted me not you. Sorry about that! I am new and still learning. :blushing:

JenFerguson1

I ended up buying the Sportline woman's duo 1060. I have yet to try it but it looks awesome! The workers at ****s said its a really good one so hopefully I love it!

Honestly, the workers at ****s were wrong. Sportline is not a very good brand for accurately estimating calories, so I would be careful about eating them all back.

sportline isnt a good brand? It has pretty good reviews. for $120 it BETTER be good. If not, it has a 5 year warranty and ill send it right back.

dad106

I ended up buying the Sportline woman's duo 1060. I have yet to try it but it looks awesome! The workers at ****s said its a really good one so hopefully I love it!

Honestly, the workers at ****s were wrong. Sportline is not a very good brand for accurately estimating calories, so I would be careful about eating them all back.

sportline isnt a good brand? It has pretty good reviews. for $120 it BETTER be good. If not, it has a 5 year warranty and ill send it right back.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/the-real-facts-about-hrms-and-calories-what-you-need-to-know-before-purchasing-an-hrm-or-using-one-21472

Read that link and it will explain why Sportline isn't necessarily the best.

I'm not saying its a bad brand.. but I've read time and time again that the calorie counts are crazy.

JenFerguson1

I ended up buying the Sportline woman's duo 1060. I have yet to try it but it looks awesome! The workers at ****s said its a really good one so hopefully I love it!

Honestly, the workers at ****s were wrong. Sportline is not a very good brand for accurately estimating calories, so I would be careful about eating them all back.

Thanks for the article. I think it will be good. Hopefully it gives me a somewhat accurate calorie burn estimation. It has to work better than those cheapo's. If not, like I said, I'll send it back and get a new one.


sportline isnt a good brand? It has pretty good reviews. for $120 it BETTER be good. If not, it has a 5 year warranty and ill send it right back.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/the-real-facts-about-hrms-and-calories-what-you-need-to-know-before-purchasing-an-hrm-or-using-one-21472

Read that link and it will explain why Sportline isn't necessarily the best.

I'm not saying its a bad brand.. but I've read time and time again that the calorie counts are crazy.

flutatious1

I purchased the Polar FT7...... and immediately took it back. After getting it all set up and downloading the manual, I found out that you need to purchase a $50 usb transmitter to upload all of your workouts to your computer and their online diary.

In addition, I use the app, "Cardio Trainer", on my Droid.... it will sync wirelessly via bluetooth to the bluetooth cheststrap HRM by polar. I can get that for about 70-80 bucks online. Going to order the bluetooth strap this week.