HRM: Sportline S7 - Is there a Polar without a chest strap?

adk1971
adk1971 Posts: 64 Member
edited September 21 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi all,

Yesterday I bought a Sportline S7 HRM for £20 from Asda.

Given the price I'm pretty happy with it but the readings seen reasonable rather than perfectly accurate. Everybody seems to rave about Polar HRM's but I don't want a chest strap.

So there is my question: Does anybody (such as Polar) make a HRM without a chest strap that is likely to be more accurate than the Sportline? Obviously a chest strap is always going to be more accurate but I want to record ad-hoc things such as dog walks where putting on a chest strap would be an inconvenience.

Maybe the ideal would be one with a chest strap for the gym that could also be used without the strap if desired.... does such a thing exist? Am on a budget I'm afraid.

Cheers,

Alan.

Replies

  • pragya728
    pragya728 Posts: 250 Member
    I would like to know this as well!
  • DrBorkBork
    DrBorkBork Posts: 4,099 Member
    Maybe look into a bodybugg? You wear it all day, so it wouldn't be inconvenient for dog walking.
  • Amarillo_NDN
    Amarillo_NDN Posts: 1,018 Member
    Anything that measure your calories burnt will never be as accurate with out monitoriing your heart rate.
  • adk1971
    adk1971 Posts: 64 Member
    Thanks, never heard of it (maybe a U.S item?) but will have a look on the net to see the specs and if there is a UK supplier.
  • adk1971
    adk1971 Posts: 64 Member
    Idealy I guess I'd like to know if any of the low end Polar models can be used without a strap. If so it would be worth returning the sportline and paying a bit extra for the added accuracy of a strap in the gym but still having the strapless operation for ad-hoc stuff. Anybody got a Polar???

    Cheers,

    Al.
  • DrBorkBork
    DrBorkBork Posts: 4,099 Member
    Why are you avoiding the strap? Are you worried it will be uncomfortable? I had the same concerns, but it's really quite comfortable. You don't even notice it unless you don't have it tight enough & it starts sliding.
  • adk1971
    adk1971 Posts: 64 Member
    No objections to a strap for the gym or cycling but I'd like to track more mundane things like taking the dog out and walking on my lunch break from work and stuff, can't see me going to the hassle of putting a strap on for that type of thing.

    Figured one of the better hrm's might have a strap and strapless option.

    Cheers.
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
    I've seen HRM's that don't have a strap, the way they measure your heart rate is they make you touch the side of the watch and it takes your heartbeat from your fingertip. I don't see how they can be very accurate, but they are out there.
  • SP0472
    SP0472 Posts: 193 Member
    I've seen HRM's that don't have a strap, the way they measure your heart rate is they make you touch the side of the watch and it takes your heartbeat from your fingertip. I don't see how they can be very accurate, but they are out there.

    I actually have a MIO watch - and it has those touch pads and it's VERY accurate. I had it measured against the monitoring machine at a hospital several times and it was dead on each time.

    I want to upgrade my watch - I have the 1st generation one and it's very simplistic. They've come out with newer models.
  • adk1971
    adk1971 Posts: 64 Member
    Thanks all.

    In the end I returned the Sportline one as I stumbled upon a Polar FS2C in the clearance zone of Tesco for £17.

    Not the most advanced monitor as it doesn't calculate calories but it has target zone alerts and a chest strap so for the price I figured it was a must. Will do until I can afford a higher end model with all the bells and whistles.

    Cheers.
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
    I've seen HRM's that don't have a strap, the way they measure your heart rate is they make you touch the side of the watch and it takes your heartbeat from your fingertip. I don't see how they can be very accurate, but they are out there.

    I actually have a MIO watch - and it has those touch pads and it's VERY accurate. I had it measured against the monitoring machine at a hospital several times and it was dead on each time.

    I want to upgrade my watch - I have the 1st generation one and it's very simplistic. They've come out with newer models.

    I guess the part I don't understand is this: ifyou have to touch it to get your heart rate, then wouldn't the data that it is analyzing be made up of a bunch of "snapshots" of where your heart rate was? What I mean is, the chest strap gives a HRM continuous info on your heart rate. I don't get how the watch style could be as accurate as the one that counts every heartbeat. Know what I mean?
  • adk1971
    adk1971 Posts: 64 Member
    Therein lies the difference, the strapless ones can only average out the snapshots (Idealy from every time you change intensity) so take accurate snapshots but not 100% accurate averages and calorie readings etc.
  • Poolbound247
    Poolbound247 Posts: 1
    Are any of these chest straps waterproof? I'd like it to still read my heart rate while I'm swimming.
  • kr1stadee
    kr1stadee Posts: 1,774 Member
    ^^ I just cleaned the mud off of mine. Still works fine!

    OP - The strap isn't a hassle at all. Wet sensors, lift shirt, attach, clip the little thingy in the middle, lower shirt. Done!
    You probably take more time putting a leash on the dog or tying your shoes.
  • Samstan101
    Samstan101 Posts: 699 Member
    I've just ordered a Mio Link which is a HRM you wear on your wrist to pair with my Garmin as I'm sick of the spikes and drop outs (and yes tried wetting it, gel, how I wear it, wearing with the main sensor around the back - same issues with multiple heart rate straps - guess I must have a weird shape or something!) I keep getting with the chest strap. You do need a device such as a Garmin (or certain phones) to actually record the data as it is just the wrist worn equivalent of the chest strap but does both ANT+ and Bluetooth. Most of teh reviews I've read have been pretty positive and as I got it from Amazon if it doesn't perform properly it can go back. I'm hoping its waiting for me when I get home tonight so I can test it.

    Edit: A lot of the straps are waterproof however the signal strength is often too weak to travel through water to the receiving device worn on your wrist so ts difficult to get an accurate measure of your heart rate whilst swimming.
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
    Hi all,

    Yesterday I bought a Sportline S7 HRM for £20 from Asda.

    Given the price I'm pretty happy with it but the readings seen reasonable rather than perfectly accurate. Everybody seems to rave about Polar HRM's but I don't want a chest strap.

    So there is my question: Does anybody (such as Polar) make a HRM without a chest strap that is likely to be more accurate than the Sportline? Obviously a chest strap is always going to be more accurate but I want to record ad-hoc things such as dog walks where putting on a chest strap would be an inconvenience.

    Maybe the ideal would be one with a chest strap for the gym that could also be used without the strap if desired.... does such a thing exist? Am on a budget I'm afraid.

    Cheers,

    Alan.

    HRMs without a chest strap are not for fitness purposes. They're for taking your heart rate/pulse on a spurt of the moment for medical purposes. They may offer a calorie function but its essentially useless. No chest strap = not for fitness/calorie burn purposes. Period.
  • Samstan101
    Samstan101 Posts: 699 Member
    Hi all,

    Yesterday I bought a Sportline S7 HRM for £20 from Asda.

    Given the price I'm pretty happy with it but the readings seen reasonable rather than perfectly accurate. Everybody seems to rave about Polar HRM's but I don't want a chest strap.

    So there is my question: Does anybody (such as Polar) make a HRM without a chest strap that is likely to be more accurate than the Sportline? Obviously a chest strap is always going to be more accurate but I want to record ad-hoc things such as dog walks where putting on a chest strap would be an inconvenience.

    Maybe the ideal would be one with a chest strap for the gym that could also be used without the strap if desired.... does such a thing exist? Am on a budget I'm afraid.

    Cheers,

    Alan.

    HRMs without a chest strap are not for fitness purposes. They're for taking your heart rate/pulse on a spurt of the moment for medical purposes. They may offer a calorie function but its essentially useless. No chest strap = not for fitness/calorie burn purposes. Period.

    That's what I thought before I started reading about the new TomTom watch and that led to the Mio Link. These read you heart rate continually like a strap and from the independent reviews I've read where the user has worn a strap at the same time the data has been just as (and in some cases more) accurate. Please do some reading before you make such definitive statements.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
    How do you propose to get anything close to the caloric burn of your dog walk without a constant HR monitor? You'd be better off just using something like this to calculate the burn from walking.

    http://www.runnersworld.com/weight-loss/how-many-calories-are-you-really-burning?page=single

    The simple truth about using a HRM for caloric estimation is that it needs constant monitoring and the exercises are limited to specific steady state activities. A snapshot pulse check just doesn't cut it.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
    Hi all,

    Yesterday I bought a Sportline S7 HRM for £20 from Asda.

    Given the price I'm pretty happy with it but the readings seen reasonable rather than perfectly accurate. Everybody seems to rave about Polar HRM's but I don't want a chest strap.

    So there is my question: Does anybody (such as Polar) make a HRM without a chest strap that is likely to be more accurate than the Sportline? Obviously a chest strap is always going to be more accurate but I want to record ad-hoc things such as dog walks where putting on a chest strap would be an inconvenience.

    Maybe the ideal would be one with a chest strap for the gym that could also be used without the strap if desired.... does such a thing exist? Am on a budget I'm afraid.

    Cheers,

    Alan.

    HRMs without a chest strap are not for fitness purposes. They're for taking your heart rate/pulse on a spurt of the moment for medical purposes. They may offer a calorie function but its essentially useless. No chest strap = not for fitness/calorie burn purposes. Period.

    That's what I thought before I started reading about the new TomTom watch and that led to the Mio Link. These read you heart rate continually like a strap and from the independent reviews I've read where the user has worn a strap at the same time the data has been just as (and in some cases more) accurate. Please do some reading before you make such definitive statements.

    There is a huge difference in the new TomTom or Mio and the Sportline type HRMs ... namely constant monitoring. Optical HRMs also have problems maintaining constant readings when bouncing around ... another limitation of the Mio and latest TomTom. The Mio does a decent job of mitigating that issue when worn properly. The jury is still out on the new TomTom and the Basis is pretty much useless as an exercise HRM.
  • Samstan101
    Samstan101 Posts: 699 Member
    The blanket statement I was refering to was that any HRM without a strap is useless. That isn't true. Some that only take snapshot pulse readings when you put your finger on them for example are not for fitness purposes. As for wearing them properly and moving around - same can be said of a chest strap and any tool needs to be used properly for it to work properly.

    ETA: Any HRM is only of use for steady state cardio and personally I'd be looking at a pedometer or something similar for things like dog walking.
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