Should I buy this HRM?? No chest strap....

thedeegan4

I have one without a chest strap and I wish I wouldn't have gotten it. Spend the extra money for one with a strap.

eeebee

Whilst looking online for a Polar HRM - I found this.....not bad price at all (to my surprise) includes chest strap and has pretty good reviews (35 of them) anyone ever used or seen one before?

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3028539/c_1/1|category_root|Health+and+personal+care|14418350/c_2/2|14418350|Health+monitors+and+aids|14418375/c_3/3|cat_14418375|Heart+rate+monitors|14418382.htm

MoooveOverFluffy

I got a garmin HRM watch / chest strap, and the additional bike cadence/speed/distance monitor, very helpful for cycling.

^^^ Me too...i have the Garmin FR60 (watch w/chest strap). I also have a foot pod to measure distance and like he said above, you can get a bike attacment for it that measures speed/distance etc. I love this HRM. It cost me around $100 but i believe it's worth every penny.

ArroganceInStep

Such helpful feedback everyone, really appreicate your advice!

I've decided I'm definitely going for a Polar with chest strap, it'll really come in handy for years to come so I've no doubt that it will be used day in day out.

Knowing this, it'll most certainly be a very worthwhile investment.

Good choice, and they have a cycling attachment too that'll improve the calories burned estimate when you bike.

eeebee

I got a garmin HRM watch / chest strap, and the additional bike cadence/speed/distance monitor, very helpful for cycling.

^^^ Me too...i have the Garmin FR60 (watch w/chest strap). I also have a foot pod to measure distance and like he said above, you can get a bike attacment for it that measures speed/distance etc. I love this HRM. It cost me around $100 but i believe it's worth every penny.

$30/£30 extra for the cycling tracker attachment thing actually might really be useful, I cycle 5 x a week between 25 - 40 mins each time and then do spinning once/twice a week so would it be worth it you reckon?

eeebee

Such helpful feedback everyone, really appreicate your advice!

I've decided I'm definitely going for a Polar with chest strap, it'll really come in handy for years to come so I've no doubt that it will be used day in day out.

Knowing this, it'll most certainly be a very worthwhile investment.

Good choice, and they have a cycling attachment too that'll improve the calories burned estimate when you bike.

Is Polar better than Garmin, sorry for all these questions :blushing: all this advice is so sound.

fitzie63

My suggestion: a great big NO! Get the FitBit. It even tracks the calories you burn while you SLEEP, counts your steps, counts the stairs you climb, counts calorie burn and synchs with MFP.


www.fitbit.com

There is NO subscription fee to pay either.

I got mine recently and love using it.

ArroganceInStep

Is Polar better than Garmin, sorry for all these questions :blushing: all this advice is so sound.

I didn't do a lot of research for cycling as that's not my thing, sorry. The ones at the $100 range, from what I could tell, where pretty comparable but I saw slightly more positive reviews for Polar and went with that brand. I quite like mine so far. If you want to spring the extra dough for a GPS one I'd say go with Garmin, the 305 and 405 look pretty baller.

If you use an iPhone or Android or something and are considering getting an App to assist you, look into what model/brand goes best with your app of choice, that should help narrow it down too.

mobiledreams12

Its not nearly as accurate as a chest strap because you have to continuously stop and manually check it. i bought a 50.00 one with the watch and chest strap at walmart and have had it over a month and it works great! i absolutley love it! Good luck with whatever you decide

Correct... the ones without chest straps rely on you touching button occasionally to "sample" your heart rate from the pulse in your finger. They aren't very accurate!

mobiledreams12

Such helpful feedback everyone, really appreicate your advice!

I've decided I'm definitely going for a Polar with chest strap, it'll really come in handy for years to come so I've no doubt that it will be used day in day out.

Knowing this, it'll most certainly be a very worthwhile investment.

Good choice, and they have a cycling attachment too that'll improve the calories burned estimate when you bike.

Is Polar better than Garmin, sorry for all these questions :blushing: all this advice is so sound.

I prefer Polar... I got this one for my girlfriend for Xmas... she uses it for Zumba and loves it:
http://www.base.com/Other/FT7F-Heart-Rate-Monitor-Black-Gold/SAL-POL-90036747/product.htm

eeebee

Thank you

kerilong

What's the point in a HRM that has no chest strap? It's only as accurate as the amount of time you spend placing your fingers on it to pick your heart rate up. You can get a great Timex Ironman for $60 on amazon.

christa96

Thanks for starting this thread...I'm also trying to figure out which to buy! I have seen a few people mention the Polar FT7. Does that come with chest strap or do you buy the chest strap separately?

I have the FT7 and it does come with the chest strap. You will get the watch and chest strap. I found mine for around $75. Search it and will you find different prices. I love mine!