Best HRM?

I have a Polar FT4 and love it. I got it for around 60 bucks on Amazon.

I have the Polar FT7--from amazon for $70. It has a chest strap that is not all plastic. it's some kind of, I dunno, material of some kind. Really comfy, actually.

Chest straps will be the most accurate. Mine doesn't have GPS because I run with my phone and don't need to track distance on the HRM. It logs workouts, gives weekly summaries, is water proof, and has a backlight. Those were all the functions I needed, so I went for it! Bought it in July, haven't had any issues.


ETA: This one, to be more precise: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001U0OFDM/ref=wms_ohs_product

I also have the Polar FT7 and my daughter has the FT4. We both have no complaints and love them, I bought mine on Amazon for about $65. My daughter paid like $50ish for hers on Ebay. When it comes to HRM's, I think Polar is going to be your best bet all the way around.

My original hrm was a polar f6 and I loved it...well, until the chest strap battery died. You want to make sure you can change both watch and chest strap yourself. Definitely want one with a chest strap. I had thought about getting another polar, but went with Garmin after some suggestions from mfp. Before my polar died all together it would stop picking up my heart rate. Read a ton of reviews before deciding what I needed for me. I just couldn't go back to Polar, the fear of money being wasted made me nervous after the first one. I couldn't decide between the Suunto M4, Garmin Forerunner 110, 210, 410 or the Garmin FR70. There are some really expensive ones out there, but I figured if I feel later on that I need something that has all those funtions, than I'll upgrade. Oh, I went with the Garmin FR70 and the foot pod. Only reason I liked it more was that it wasn't just designed for runners. Plus, another mfp user gave me rave reviews on it. Good luck!

Ditto on the Polar...I have a CS200 on my bicycle and an RX800 that I can wear like a watch. They're great, though those both have a lot of extra features you might not need. One really nice thing is if you go to a gym, say, 24 HR Fitness, you can just wear the chest strap and most machines will pick up the HR from the strap alone.

As for whether it feels funny, no, not at all. The chest strap is mostly some kind of fabric or elasticized fabric. There is a small plastic pod in the front center where the battery and circuit are enclosed. Once you put it on, you pretty much forget it's even there. The strap (without the pod, it snaps on/off) is washable, too.

I have the Polar RS300X and love it. But what ever you get, get one with a chest strap.

I also have the ft7 from polar they also have a free website that with the flowlink accessory you can quickly download your workouts and keep track of the important things like workout load,average heart rate etc. you will be able to see in a graph how your fitness is improving.

Yes. The machines, unless they are synced to your chest strap they do not know how hard you are really working.

I absolutely love my Polar HRM. IT's the way to go to determine the correct amount of burned calories for your workout.

A HRM system usually consists of a transmitter and a receiver (watch or other device). Transmitters can be used alone if you exercise only in a gym with machines that sync with your HRM. If you do any exercise outside of the gym though I recommend getting a receiver along with your transmitter.

I have an older model ... a coded T31 chest strap - this consists of a rubberized plastic transmitter that connects with 2 interlocking clips to an adjustable stretchy band. I have found this to be VERY comfortable. It sits right under your boobs. This will operate for about 2500 hours. The T31 does not allow the user to replace the batteries.. either send back to factory for battery replacement or purchase a new transmitter. T31's alone run $35 - 45. I have a watch that polar no longer carries that is similar to a timex for different functions.

The next generation one is a Wear Link - where the user can replace the battery. It appears to be thicker and it has a different strap. I'm not too familiar with that.

If you buy a transmitter/watch - you can buy a basic one FT1 with a very easy to use watch $95 or FT4 or FT7 - more $$$ though! Check out polarusa.com

Hope this helps.

I hope you have better luck with this topic than I did. I asked about HRM and after 72 hours with no replies, I stopped even looking.

I keep hearing that the Polar line is good. I was wondering about HRM wristband only, or strap also. But, as I said -- got no replies.

Some questions come up a lot so I think people get bored of reying. Do a search. You'll find lots if positive comments about the polar FT 4 and the FT7