help please! which HRM to buy?

fihealth

Hi all

What's the best heart rate monitor with calorie count to buy for both accuracy and value-for-money? A watch with chest strap sounds great, now I just need to figure out which brand! What do you recommend?

Many thanks for the advice!

p.s. to those of you who might say I don't need one, I have a funny condition called food-induced exercise anaphylaxis -- if my HR gets too high with food in my system, I'll go into anaphylactic shock which can be fatal, but it's such a rare condition that docs have no idea about how much food or what types of food in the system matter, or how long since last eating is safe, so they highly recommend I keep on top of my HR!

fihealth

^bump

brendaj39

look on body tronics website..thats where i got mine and i love it, easy to set up and use...

flpmomi

I just got the Polar FT4 for Christmas after a few friends on here said it was amazing. So my suggestion is that one.

byHISstrength

I love my Polar FT7. I've been using it for 2 years now.

brendaj39

Polar FT4 is the one I have, i forgot to mention the brand sorry.

Sweatinglikeapigtolooklikeafox

I have polar ft7...I highly recommend the Polar range

skylark94

For the money I don't think you can do better than the Polar FT4. It's extremely popular with folks here and I have been very happy with mine. You can find them on Amazon for around $60.

bltrexler

LOVE my Polar FT40

BSchoberg

I use Polar and think that's a pretty good one. There are lots of options of price/features - you can go really basic or high end, depending on what you want.

stephv38

bump

JPG1313

FT4 go on amazon got mine for $65 with free shipping 2 weeks ago love it.

mpcb88

I just bought the Polar FT7. I've only used it a couple times so far, but it's great! Measures calories and also tells you what "zone" you're currently in. I got it on amazon for $67. The colors are kind of ugly, but oh well. That doesn't matter too much to me. Not sure how it compares in price/quality to other brands, but it works great for me! Also found out that it syncs up with treadmills in the gym... pretty cool!

LittleMissNerdy

Polar FT4 here as well!

fihealth

Thanks guys!! I'm considering Polar FT4 or FT7 but saw some brutal reviews on amazon about it malfunctioning pretty quickly with heart rate spiking to 280 in first minute, spotty signal, and wearing out within a couple months.

http://www.amazon.com/Polar-Heart-Rate-Monitor-Watch/product-reviews/B003AJGN5Y/ref=cm_cr_dp_qt_hist_one?ie=UTF8&filterBy=addOneStar&showViewpoints=0

But you guys have had good success with these models?

tairaven

I have the woman's polar ft 7 and it's great! It's not complicated either! You wear the simple band around the chest (just below the bra strap) which is quite comfortable - you hardly even notice you are wearing it. And the watch part shows your heart rate constantly.

jlapey

I've got the Polar FT7 and I really like it. The chest strap is comfortable and it's easy to use. Tells me my heart rate and calories burned. Has a pause feature if I have to stop between exercises. When finished, it tells me how many minutes of my workout was "fat burning" vs "fitness".

fihealth

I would love the Garmin with GPS but can't afford high end (student) -- one day! Perhaps if I can get my *kitten* in good enough shape for competitive sports again it could be a nice reward!

ld6507

I absolutely love the Suunto T3 series. T-stands for training. It literally gives you realtime info on what your training effect is so you'll know whether you need to kick it up and how you're progressing with the workouts. It tracks several months, days at a time and syncs with most gym equipment so your heart rate automatically appears on the machine and you won't have to look at the watch. Just make sure you purchase the dual core belt because you won't have interference with Joe Blows heart rate who maybe working out next to you. I had this problem BEFORE I got the right belt. I was working my butt off and my heart rate was only 134--well it was because my belt didn't have the anti-transmittal feature so if someone working next to me had it then their heart rate would override mine on my machine.

Hope this helps!

DocMarr

I bought a Wahoo hrm - it has a chest strap and links to the endomondo app in my iPhone. I've been using it since about July last year and I've not had any bother with it. I bought it through the Endomondo website and got a discount on it (compared to Amazon) and it came with an arm strap to carry the iphone when I'm running. It syncs to my iphone from up to 10-15 feet away, so I can do zumba without having to carry the iphone with me. The only activity it doesn't register is swimming. I did a lot of research on HRMs before I bought this one, and this one appealed to me because it keeps all the info on my iphone app and it also links to MFP and to FitBit too. I've been very happy with it and would recommend it.

Coltsman4ever

Thanks guys!! I'm considering Polar FT4 or FT7 but saw some brutal reviews on amazon about it malfunctioning pretty quickly with heart rate spiking to 280 in first minute, spotty signal, and wearing out within a couple months.

http://www.amazon.com/Polar-Heart-Rate-Monitor-Watch/product-reviews/B003AJGN5Y/ref=cm_cr_dp_qt_hist_one?ie=UTF8&filterBy=addOneStar&showViewpoints=0

But you guys have had good success with these models?

I have a $400 Garmin 910XT watch that does that every now and then. My Polar FT40 did the same thing every now and then too. I'm guessing it's normal. Probably happens when the chest strap loses your heart rate or misreads it. Normally doesn't last but a few seconds.

fihealth

I absolutely love the Suunto T3 series. T-stands for training. It literally gives you realtime info on what your training effect is so you'll know whether you need to kick it up and how you're progressing with the workouts. It tracks several months, days at a time and syncs with most gym equipment so your heart rate automatically appears on the machine and you won't have to look at the watch. Just make sure you purchase the dual core belt because you won't have interference with Joe Blows heart rate who maybe working out next to you. I had this problem BEFORE I got the right belt. I was working my butt off and my heart rate was only 134--well it was because my belt didn't have the anti-transmittal feature so if someone working next to me had it then their heart rate would override mine on my machine.

Hope this helps!

I searched for the Suunto T3 but it's not available on UK amazon now - grr! Where'd you get yours?

RawTriGal

polar --- I have had several different models/brands... my current go to is my rs100, back to basics. I like it because I don't get data overload... I'm able to see what my HR is, how many calories burned and if I'm in my zone. I would purchase from a store where you can see several to compare... try them on... how does it feel... walk through the functions... does it seem easy to navigate and intuitive?

good luck!

fihealth

I bought a Wahoo hrm - it has a chest strap and links to the endomondo app in my iPhone. I've been using it since about July last year and I've not had any bother with it. I bought it through the Endomondo website and got a discount on it (compared to Amazon) and it came with an arm strap to carry the iphone when I'm running. It syncs to my iphone from up to 10-15 feet away, so I can do zumba without having to carry the iphone with me. The only activity it doesn't register is swimming. I did a lot of research on HRMs before I bought this one, and this one appealed to me because it keeps all the info on my iphone app and it also links to MFP and to FitBit too. I've been very happy with it and would recommend it.

Thank you! This would work for me if I get my iphone sorted -- my old north american one doesn't work here in UK, would need to jailbreak it. Using cheap pay-as-you-go at the moment and instead relying on ipad.

fihealth

polar --- I have had several different models/brands... my current go to is my rs100, back to basics. I like it because I don't get data overload... I'm able to see what my HR is, how many calories burned and if I'm in my zone. I would purchase from a store where you can see several to compare... try them on... how does it feel... walk through the functions... does it seem easy to navigate and intuitive?

good luck!

Very sage advice. I was hoping to score from amazon to save $$ and save on the in-store mark-ups but perhaps worth a research in-store first before buying. Thanks! I heard that Polar used to be brilliant but the latest models (FT4 and FT7) are poorly made and for quite a few people quickly became dysfunctional, even after replacing the strap and battery...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B002VO14GM/ref=cm_cr_pr_hist_3?ie=UTF8&filterBy=addThreeStar&showViewpoints=0

Isn't a shame when a great company starts making poorer quality products?! But a lot of people here seem to love their FTs so I might give one a go!

fihealth

look on body tronics website..thats where i got mine and i love it, easy to set up and use...

Thank you!

PrincessNikkiBoo

Love my FT7

fihealth

For the polar ft7 lovers, stupid question:

did you get the light screen or the black screen? i've heard complaints about visibility so which do you think is better?

i like the look of the black watch with red stripe best but the dark screen might be worse esp. since the backlight isn't very strong?

i really appreciate everyone's great tips!

Yogi_Carl

Buy my Polar FT4 - it's on eBay at the moment! :laugh:

karag413

FT4 go on amazon got mine for $65 with free shipping 2 weeks ago love it.

Me too! I got the Bronze one and adore it. I also have the New Balance one that you can get at Target. Save your money - that one is much harder to set up and understand. Get the Polar!

nolachick

i have a polar f60/f90 and i love it! had it for 3 years now and still going