Best, most reliable HRM

I love my Polar FT4!

They are a lot cheaper now since newer models have come out. I have had mine over a year and the battery is still going strong and it has never stopped transmitting during a workout!

I love my Polar FT7, not that expensive on amazon either!!

Just a note:

If one is purchasing an HRM to observe calories burned during "steady state" CARDIO,with some intervals thrown in, then the reading would be pretty accurate.
Outside of that, using an HRM to try to determine calories burned with weight lifting, yoga, etc., would give one an exaggerated burn.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Agreed.

Polar FT7 user and not that impressed with reliability!
Ease of use is good and the watch is "normal looking" so I wear it as my everyday watch.
Compatible with most exercise equipment.

Battery life is poor and transmitter frequently loses signal. I've recently been using it with the chest strap from an old Polar FT1 and it works much better.
It's also missing a VO2 max setting which would be useful for me as my VO2 max isn't average for my age.
Overall it's adequate but when it stops working I'm going to buy a more sophisticated one.

(Polar FT1 is complete rubbish by the way!)

I've had my Polar for several YEARS, just changed the battery and it's like new. I always found it reliable and consistent. I priced new ones on Amazon in case I couldn't get my old one up and running and like someone else said, the prices have dropped quite a bit since I bought mine. Depending on your needs you might not need one with a lot of bells and whistles on it. They are a great investment, IMHO.

Replying to come back later (I need a good HRM too)

Make sure the strap is tight (making contact) and that you wet it before you start. I dry strap can have issues reading your HR correctly or even at all. I use a conductive gel on my strap to make sure it works correctly.

I realized I have to actually soak mine in the sink while I am getting my workout clothes on and then it works like a charm. Sure, it's a little (well a lot) wet when I put it on, but since I've been doing that I have not had any issues with it not reading my heart rate.

Polar has worked well for me as well. I have used the FT-60 model which comes in both men's and women's size/styles. It comes with a pretty comfortable heart sensor band. I think the readout is a bit bigger than the FT-7 and a couple more features, about $100 so still reasonable.

I have had success buying through heartratemonitorsusa.com. Prices are usually a bit cheaper than Amazon. Earlier this week I purchased a new HRM for my wife and I was able to use a 10% off coupon code HR10 (> $100 purchases). They also had a 5% coupon code HR5 for > $50 purchases and I saw another general 5% coupon code CYBER5. For most products they also offer free shipping.

Happy shopping!

I did wet the contacts each time and it would start to read and continue for 10 or so minutes, but then just drop off. Can you really soak it in the sink without it getting ruined? I'd have to put the entire thing in the sink to get the contact to soak...that doesn't seem good. Anyhow, I think I'll try the Polar (one of the older models). I don't need a super fancy high tech version, so I'm fine with the 50-100 dollar one. Thanks again

I don't see why soaking it in the sink would be a problem. I wear mine while swimming all the time. The only time I've had problems with my FT4 has been when it has dried out. I usually just dampen, but if it is going to be a while from when I put it on to when I build up a sweat, then I soak it.