fitness watches

robindina

I'm looking for a heart rate/calorie counter watch. I mostly do cardio and some strength training. I'm also a cyclist. I might be wearing it some at work so something durable is needed. I work as a vet tech so the watch will have to be able to take a beating. I'm looking at polar watches. Any opinions, model and brand recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

ShannonMpls

I have a Polar FT7. The Ft4 is comparable and might be a little less expensive. I've used it almost every day for 15 months.

I only wear it when working out though, and it has a chest strap. It's not necessarily something you'd wear while working, though it definitely doubles as a regular old watch when you don't have the HRM aspect activated or the chest strap on.

Mokey41

You can't beat Polar but they aren't meant to be used unless you are doing something that significantly raises your heart rate. The algorithms these use give hugely exaggerated numbers at lower heart rates.

robindina

Thanks. I will look closer at the Ft4 watch.

phoenixgirl81

I have recently got the polar ft7 HRM. I love it. It does have a chest strap. If you're not working out, you don't have to wear the strap and the watch part functions like a normal watch. Having said that, I have worn my chest strap all day (as an experiment) and it's not at all uncomfortable.

I got my ft7 for AU$135.