Which Heart Rate Monitor Should I Get?

2»

Replies

  • Doberdawn
    Doberdawn Posts: 733 Member
    I am looking for the answer to this same question.

    I've read reviews about the Polar options and they all seem to say the same thing ... AVOID ... because you can not change your own battery...you have to send it in and than pay like $50 for it. Seems odd. (I read the reviews on Amazon.com)

    Can't wait to see the responses you receive.

    1. Polar has been INDEPENDENTLY tested and verified to provide accurate calorie burn figures. See, e.g.,
    http://www.livestrong.com/article/490909-the-accuracy-of-calories-burned-in-polar-heart-rate-monitors/

    2. You are reading OLD and OUTDATED reviews. Polar changed their design YEARS AGO and now you can change your battery all you want. I change mine at Batteries Plus for about $7. No biggie.

    3. I own the RS100. Not sure what the equivalent model is, if it's not still available. It has all kinds of alarms and warnings on it... but I hate to hear them, so I turn them off. LOL

    4. They are LONG lasting and durable. My last one went through the windshield of the car that hit us. BOOM!!! As I laid on the pavement impersonating road kill, it continued to let me know how my heartrate was doing waiting for the EMTs. It continued to work for 2 years after that. It may even still work, but when I had to replace the belt (the old kind with the battery goes- you replace the whole strap style)... I decided to upgrade models.

    5. The kind I have can also be worn swimming. Nice feature.
  • Doberdawn
    Doberdawn Posts: 733 Member
    Oh yeah... and mine tells you how long you spent in your zone, above your zone, below your zone... you can do laps (which I do to divide segments of my workout) and it tells you what your HR was avg and max for each "lap". LOVE mine.

    And, yes, it is still available....

    http://www.walmart.com/ip/Polar-RS100-Heart-Rate-Monitor-Black/7983244
  • Doberdawn
    Doberdawn Posts: 733 Member
    P.S. There are some new APPS out there that will connect with MFP, like Digifit and endomondo... and IF you get an HRM with bluetooth capability... it will log your workouts directly into MFP and store your data that way.

    I don't have that feature... but if I were buying one now... I'd see how much extra it cost to have it available to play with. Just sayin.
  • bellesouth18
    bellesouth18 Posts: 1,071 Member
    Bumping for information so I can buy a HRM soon.
  • buckslayer85
    buckslayer85 Posts: 26 Member
    i have the mio drive it is only like 50 works greeat
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    1. Polar has been INDEPENDENTLY tested and verified to provide accurate calorie burn figures. See, e.g.,
    http://www.livestrong.com/article/490909-the-accuracy-of-calories-burned-in-polar-heart-rate-monitors/

    Really? Did you read the article? 75% is accurate?

    As VO2max is one of the main stats that assists in getting an accurate picture.
    This study using the more expensive Polar's that even have a self-test for VO2max, forget the cheap ones even getting close.
    This is bad news for men.

    http://www.asep.org/asep/asep/JEPonlineOctober2011Esco.pdf

    And is 33% off for women tested accurate? Bad news for them too.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/459580-polar-hrm-calorie-burn-estimate-accuracy-study

    Let's be honest with our tools as to what they can and cannot do.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/773451-is-my-hrm-giving-me-incorrect-calorie-burn

    And in case you don't believe those studies, go test yourself with your own HRM.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/774337-how-to-test-hrm-for-how-accurate-calorie-burn-is

    Now, if you can get independently tested for VO2max and HRmax, and use the nicer Polar to enter your own stats in, and keep those updated as you lose weight or get more fit - then the Polar can indeed be decently accurate, probably within 5% as study shows.

Categories