Heart rate monitors: what would you recommend

Its only been like 15 minutes. Chill.

One thing to be careful about a HRM is that although it may be better than a machine in counting cals burned, it is still an estimate using the program that company uses.


I use the garmin 305 gps watch and sometimes strap on the HRM to guage the intensity of my workouts and pay zero attention to the calories burned as it seemed high when I actually did care to look at it. HRM are truly just meant to give the heart rate and by that you can extrapolate the intensity of the workout.

two fingers on radial artery for 10 seconds * 6.

unfortunately there is no upload ability.

I use an Ironman T5K217, a lot of people use the Polar FT4, really any decent chest strap HRM with calories burn feature should work.

I am thinking of purchasing a heart rate monitor soon, but I am unsure which model to pick... I would like something not too expensive, and mostly need it to count expended calories - so no need for any fancy equipment. I would love you hear your recommendations!

ETA: I'm Canadian, so models that are only found in the US are not a possibility for me

Recommendations?
OK, mine would be save your money.

A "not too expensive" HRM is going to be "not too accurate" and (IMO) if all you're using it for is to "...mostly count expended calories..", you can probably guess with a similar degree of accuracy as the not too expensive HRM will. (If even guessing is worth the effort which I don't believe it is.

A $14 pedometer will count steps, convert to calories and maybe brush your teeth for you - it's cool for a couple weeks and satisfies the addiction to digital-ness. After a couple weeks you'll probably lose it and never get around to ordering a new one.

If you are following a weight reduction plan where cals are king, spend your time trying to get daily cal intake as accurate as possible. A "best guess" at weekly cal burn averages (exercise), is all that's needed for the vast majority of "couple times a week, when I can" exercisers.

OTOH, if you are of the ironman, marathon runner, or other similarly inclined "mega" exerciser genre - go for it, but spend enough to get a high quality instrument.

Third option is you are (as am I) geeky enough that everything in your life must be portrayed as a digital output carried to the 10th decimal place, WiFi and wirelessly connected to the entire world, and capable of ordering your grocery items based on how many times you open the fridge - it's a must!!!

I have a Polar FT7 which I am very happy with. I can also upload my training results to the Polar website for cool stats. If you are in to that

Seconding the Polar FT7 - I have used it for over a year and have since bought 3 others to gift to friends! It really changed the way I workout, and I love it, can't recommend it enough!

Any HRM that comes with a chest strap will be pricier but will give you better readings than one that is just a wrist unit.