New Balance HRM...need reviews please! : )

I am in the market for a HRM and was in Target today and there is a New Balance basic HRM on sale for $33. Does anyone know if this is a good HRM or should I continue to save for the Polar or something like that? Thanks so much for any help!

Replies

  • Jasmineb333
    Jasmineb333 Posts: 21
    Did you ever decide what hrm to get? I'm looking for one myself and cant decide between the New balance and Polar.
  • chasetwins
    chasetwins Posts: 702 Member
    From my understanding (and basic research) Polar HRM's are the most accurate out of the top ones. (I read a few unbiased reviews of people testing different ones out) I have the FT4 and LOVE it.
    A lot of people on here I think have the Polar F7 - and they seem to love theirs as well.

    Best of luck!
  • sjlocklear
    sjlocklear Posts: 88
    I have the Polar FT4 and I love mine. I ordered a Timex off of Amazon, I thought it kept up with your calories but it didnt so thats when I bit the bullett and ordered the polar.
  • SimplyDenyse
    SimplyDenyse Posts: 124 Member
    I got a mio for christmas and couldn't figure that thing out.. I guess you start the time and then have to put you fingers on it every so often to get your heart rate to calculate your calories for a workout. I ended up never using it.. Im assuming it was in the $30 range. I just got me a polar f7 from amazon for $69 and it comes with the chest strap for your heart rate. I read good reviews and im hoping I get more use out of it than i did the other. time will tell :)
  • k9t8a8
    k9t8a8 Posts: 30
    I have a New Balance HRM that I have no complaints about! User friendly, set it up and was using it within minutes. For the price, it gets the job done. I wanted a Polar as well but didn't really have the extra $$ to spend.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Did you ever decide what hrm to get? I'm looking for one myself and cant decide between the New balance and Polar.

    Depends on your purpose for wanting one.

    If it's for it's name function, monitoring your heart rate - it's great, lots of options, setting zones and alarms manually with audible option, time in the zones, stop watch, intervals, ect.

    All things that require buying a MUCH more expensive Polar model.

    And it's still EKG accurate for HR. They also have a digital model if gym interference is possible and in group classes (listen to people if they complainh), or analog model if no problem there but you want the gym equipment to read the HR and display it for you too. Some will even do a routine around that displayed HR, like a hill routine set to your limits.

    If your purpose is for calorie counting, which is not a measurement but a calculated estimate based on several values, no it's not as good as the more expensive Polars, just as good as the cheaper Polars, which have much less features.
    Because those cheap ones don't have the values to allow better calculated estimates of calorie burn.

    Polar RS300X is about cheapest one with the required stats and self-test to get them.