Who uses a heart rate monitor during workouts?

Not me, thankfully.

I've had both a polar and a garmin. For straight up heartrate tracking/calorie tracking/etc, def go for the polar as its cheaper and does well. But like previous posters have said, if you want tools to help you push it to the next level, through GPS, workout types, programs, routes, specific monitoring each step of the way, etc, garmin is definitely worth every penny. They even have one now that works for triathalons.

Quick tag-on question - is there one that works for swimming & doesn't have a strap?

I don't have a HRM, but may invest if MFP's calories are off by a lot, as people who do have one seem to think...

(First million Google pages on the subject are ads)

I use my ft7 for swimming. It works fine but I find that it starts to slip if I don't tighten the strap a lot more than when I'm on a cardio machine. Not that I swim that fast but the water does catch it. I love swimming and for me it is by far the best cardio workout. It is also very easy to get anaerobic while swimming laps. The heart rate monitor lets you know by looking at it. They make specific ones for swimming that have an ear piece that speaks your heart rate every so often but I wanted one that I could use elsware as well.

I love my Polar FT7. Just out of curiosity how many calories do u burn when swimming compared to cardio!
I love the idea of a accurate record of each workout

I use the Polar FT7 with chest strap and love it! It not only tracks my heart rate, it tracks calories burned as well as the fat burn zone and fitness zone. It also has data files with reports. I have not had any problems with it at all.

Erica

This ^^

MFP's calories burnt are quite inaccurate, so it's really interesting to see the real numbers! I borrowed a Polar F7 from a friend and it was great, today I bought one from Aldi for $20 so we'll see how it goes!!

ALDI sells Polar F7 HRM?

I love my Polar FT7. Just out of curiosity how many calories do u burn when swimming compared to cardio!
I love the idea of a accurate record of each workout

It depends on the workout but I swim 40 - 75 minutes and can burn 400 - 1500 calories depending on how hard I push. Keep in mind that I'm also 6'2" and currently 247 lbs so if your a 120 pounder you obviously won't burn as many calories. Several years ago (when I was in much better shape) I did 2200 calories in a very long swim (about 3 hours I think). I've always been more comfortable swimming than running and it's a lot easier on my knees and back. There is a lot of recent research showing that swimming is not as good at fat loss as running or cycling. This may be true and I started a running program just to see if I can drop more weight faster but it's still too early to tell.

I very recently started using swim paddles (only used them a few times so far). It is supposed to help develop a better stroke and keep you from getting swimmer's shoulder. I also increases the resistance a lot and turns a cardio workout into a quasi combination cardio strength workout for shoulders, back and arms.