Why a Polar HRM over a cheap alternative?

caroline_g

I seem to have lost the chest strap to my HRM *sob* I can't possibly go without one too long so if I don't find it by the weekend, I'm going to get a new one as the watch is in my gym bag but the strap isn't, so wondering if it fell out at the gym or something. I was considering a Polar FT4, which is £50 but then I could go and buy the exact same one I had before for just £20. What are the benefits of paying that much more for a Polar one? Other than the fact that it's purple!

snakesandladders2

No benefits imo, I love my cheap one!

chubby_checkers

My cheap one estimated calories burned as over double what my FT4 does. Not so good if you're trying to lose weight.

snakesandladders2

I doubt mine overestimates, its estimates tend to be on the low side compared with MFP / other published burns for particular activities, so I trust it!

caroline_g

What one do you have snakes? Mine was pretty close to MFP too so I trusted it.

My1985Freckles

I've always been happy with my. It's a cheapo "Sportline" one from Walmart. I know that it is accurate because I see how many calories I am under "maintenance" at the end of the week and if you divide by 3500 that's how much weight I have lost for the week. I think it's algorithm is spot on.

Gilbrod

If yours asks for Age/Sex/Height/ DateOfBirth, then it's pretty good. If it doesn't, it might not be as accurate as you might think. Lots of variables when it comes to how many calories you really burned. But, I am not expert, nor do I work for Polar, but do some research and see what fits you the best.

snakesandladders2

Good point! Mine did ask for all that info, pretty good for £12! Only thing is that the chest strap is a bit loose, but my ribcage is freakishly small anyway, and it works in a sports bra.

snakesandladders2

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pulse-Sonic-K920D-Heart-Monitor/dp/B005560PU4/ref=sr_1_96?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1335301750&sr=1-96

kcoftx

I had a cheap sportline one first but mine didn't have a best strap. Even when I was hitting the button to take a reading approximately every 1-2 minutes throughout a workout, it still doubled the calorie output. The button thing was a pain but the fact that I couldn't even make it give a decent reading with many data points made me toss it.

Toddrific

Just buy a replacement strap?

boggsmeister

The polar has a coded transmission so your watch doesn't get mixed up with someone else's HRM is near you.