Cheap chest strap heart monitor

wwk10

I know this has been posted 100 times before, but that is the nature of internet forums.
What is the most economical chest strap heart rate monitor?
Thanks

shadow2soul

Pyle Sports PHRM38

I got a pink one for $26 with free shipping a while back. It comes in various colors and price seems to be any where from $20 - $40. It does have a chest strap.

Features:
- Time/Date
- Present HR
- Max HR
- Avg HR
- Target Zone Setting
- 1/100 sec stopwatch
- Calories Burnt
- Daily Alarm
- User Setting (age, weight, vo2 max)
- Led backlight
- Energy Saving Function
- Display Off
- Water Resistant 33 feet/10 meters/1 ATM
- ability to change battery in chest strap and watch

wwk10

Thanks for the reply.
It seems to have every feature you could want at a low price.
Are there any cons?

wwk10

Also, how long have you had yours?
Amazon reviews seem to say it works great until it stops working altogether.

Dewdropps

Pyle Sports PHRM38

I got a pink one for $26 with free shipping a while back. It comes in various colors and price seems to be any where from $20 - $40. It does have a chest strap.

Features:
- Time/Date
- Present HR
- Max HR
- Avg HR
- Target Zone Setting
- 1/100 sec stopwatch
- Calories Burnt
- Daily Alarm
- User Setting (age, weight, vo2 max)
- Led backlight
- Energy Saving Function
- Display Off
- Water Resistant 33 feet/10 meters/1 ATM
- ability to change battery in chest strap and watch

Just went to look at these on Amazon and other places. Looks great. Seems any negative reviews from users was due to their own idiocy. They didn't wipe the sensor with water as it says in the manual when it started reading weird or stopped. I am going to buy one. Thanks

shadow2soul

I've had mine since the end of March. I have been using it 4-5 times a week and haven't needed to change the batteries yet. On the few occasions it hasn't picked up my HR, one of the following was the problem:
-not positioned correctly (pink oval wasn't centered on chest)
-bra had found its way underneath the chest strap
-the area that picks up HR wasn't wet enough

I haven't had any outrageously high HR readings. When sitting at my computer it gives a reading in the 80's to 90's, which is about right since I'm really out of shape.

The only con is the watch is a little bulky.

I noticed that most of the bad reviews didn't mention things like:

-if they tried changing the batteries (the watch and chest strap both have a battery)
-if they tried wetting the area that picks up your HR (directions tell you to do this before and after each use)
-if they tried using electrode gel on the area that picks up HR (YouTube reviews suggested this)

wwk10

Thanks