Any Swimmers -water proof calorie counter?

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holylucy
holylucy Posts: 38
in Fitness and Exercise
Looking for ideas on the best water proof calorie counter. Any swimmers in the crowd that can advise on a good product??

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  • extraordinary_machine
    extraordinary_machine Posts: 3,028 Member
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    The Polar products are water resistant. I use an FT7 for everything, including swimming.
  • icimani
    icimani Posts: 1,454 Member
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    I have a Polar FT4. It's waterproof, providing you don't push any buttons under water, but I find that it's not very reliable and I fell like the calorie burn reads low. There was a thread a while ago about this and someone suggested that it was because the chest strap/transmitter loses contact with your chest because of all the water and due to your body movements. I'm interested also to see if if anyone has any suggestions.
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
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    I agree about the Polar FT4. In swimming, the monitor seems to lose close contact with your chest so the heartbeat reading is intermittent, resulting in a low calorie reading. If you keep an eye on the watch, the message reads "examine monitor" as the signal has been lost, then seems to be working ok.

    As I swim more than run for cardio, I have listed my FT4 on eBay as my calorie burn has always been around the one given by MFP anyway and my heartrate doesn't wander much from 120bpm.
  • jstandfield
    jstandfield Posts: 150 Member
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    Garmin make a triathlon watch specifically for that purpose. I believe it's the 900xt.
  • Sparlingo
    Sparlingo Posts: 938 Member
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    I have the polar ft7. I'll have to see how it works this week, but I find the strap is very snug on me, so I'm hopeful that it will not be an issue for me. I do most of my cardio outside of the pool, and can confidently recommend it for other cardio purposes, though. I love it!
  • TighteningStrings
    TighteningStrings Posts: 46
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    I have a Polar FT4 with one of the newer chest straps that are all fabric with the clip on transmitter, instead of the older one that has the plastic centre piece. I went swimming on Friday and found the calorie burn to be quite accurate, and the chest strap stayed in contact with my body the whole time, to my knowledge. I find if the chest strap loses contact, the heartbeat signal will drop out and it will stop counting all together, and then it beeps at me, which I notice eventually. I was hesitant to take it in the water, but I would recommend it with the newer strap.
  • sarah44254
    sarah44254 Posts: 3,078 Member
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    Polar FT7 worked great for me in water.
  • martinh78
    martinh78 Posts: 601
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    My Suunto T3 is waterproof but states that the transmitter won't be able to send the signal to the watch through water. You can buy a memory chest strap which stores the data in the belt until you get out of the water.

    I'd expect most HRM would suffer from the transmission problem in water.
  • MrsAgi
    MrsAgi Posts: 338 Member
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    Polar ft4 was the cheapest hrm I found that you can swim with. I've never had any problems with it in the pool, and cal burn seems pretty accurate
  • genghis54
    genghis54 Posts: 123 Member
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    if you have a heart rate monitor that should do, they are waterproof, I use mine when I swim and it works fine!
  • holylucy
    holylucy Posts: 38
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    Hey thanks guys...really appreciate everyones input. Know exactly what I need to buy now! Thanks again!!
  • KALMdown
    KALMdown Posts: 211 Member
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    I have a Polar which i am saving for when my Timex HRM dies. Only problem is the Timex is still going.
  • nakaiki
    nakaiki Posts: 180 Member
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    Check out the Swimsense watch if you are a serious swimmer. My husband uses it for his swim workouts. Collects lots of data. http://swimsense.finisinc.com/swimsenselog/index
  • Bendita1908
    Bendita1908 Posts: 1
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    I've been looking around for one of these swimmer's accessories/equipment as well! Thanks for all the suggestions! I have just ordered a "Grand Index" waterproof sports watch and analyzer , I will l let you know of its performance once I receive it and put it to the test at the pool!
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
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    Looking for ideas on the best water proof calorie counter. Any swimmers in the crowd that can advise on a good product??

    I use my garmin hrm. Works well even in my wetsuit.

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