Heart Rate Monitor: Buying at ****'s Sporting Goods

Nicci93 · March 2012

So I asked my mom to get me my birthday present early and I asked for a heart rate monitor. She is taking me to D's Sporting Goods today to get one, and I was looking for some advice??

Which one is best?

But not too expensive either D; and which ones to avoid like the plague lol

BrianSharpe · March 2012

Any one of the Polar FT series will serve you well, as will Timex. Just make sure you get a model with a chest strap.

wocm15 · March 2012

Sorry that this isn't really relevant to the post, but I love how this site thinks D!ck's Sporting Goods needs to be censored!
You really can't go wrong with Polar heart rate monitors. The more bells and whistles you want, the more you'll pay. Mine is super basic and still chugging after 2 years...

liftingheavy · March 2012

I have a Polar FT7 and it's awesome. The calorie burn estimates on MFP are in the ballpark, but this one really tells you what you've burned. The chest strap is comfy and easy to maintain.

Nicci93 · March 2012

Thank you for the advice!!!

jtsmith34 · March 2012

I have an FT7 also and I love it! I've had it since October and haven't had any problems!

Tourney3p0 · March 2012

I have an FT7 and love it, but I find that I don't use any of the features offered beyond the FT4. You can do a feature comparison on the Polar website to see if you can save a few bucks by going with the FT4.

htmlgirl · March 2012

Polar. Make sure you get one with a chest strap

tdonlin · March 2012

One other nice thing about the FT7 is you can change the battery in the watch and transmitter yourself. I know some of the other models have to be changed by a dealer or something. Love my FT7.

Hollybot · March 2012

I have a Polar FT4, and I am in LOVE with it. I got it for 50 something dollars online, not sure how much it is in stores

shayjgordon · March 2012

I just bought the Polar FT4 last week...LOVE IT! the strap is super comfy and its so easy to use. I got my for $119 at Sport Chek.

kwest_4_fitness · March 2012

Polar FT4 and FT7 are sold on Amazon for about $50 to $65. Cheaper than D's or Best B.

Rhami1 · March 2012

I have the FT7 too - a fairly new acquisition...I'm in this for the long run and was concerned that the calorie burn was off with MFP for me - and it was, big time! So much so that I wonder if I'm using the HRM correctly...but honestly, it's super easy to use...I'm working hard, sweating hard, but the burn isn't near what MFP said. LOL, but I'd rather be on the low side and losing the way I am than I the high side and not.

Anyway - I wasn't going to get into all that - but I was going to say that I did go to ****'s Sporting Goods to check them out - and they were way way more expensive than Amazon for the same thing... I got mine there shipped free for just over $70...whereas the sporting goods store wanted $110ish I think, and I saved tax...since I was on a budget it made a big difference for me...hth

aimeerocksx3 · March 2012

So I asked my mom to get me my birthday present early and I asked for a heart rate monitor. She is taking me to D's Sporting Goods today to get one, and I was looking for some advice??

Which one is best? But not too expensive either D; and which ones to avoid like the plague lol

I have a Polar FT4, and I really like it. Lately it's been wigging out on me. Losing signal to my chest strap, not sure why. It's done that twice within the past week or so. I had to stop, and restart my session. Kinda annoying... but I really enjoy having all the unnecessary details

I bought mine online, and I'm in Canada, so naturally it was a bit more expensive than what I'm seeing listed, but it's definitely worth it!

tdonlin · March 2012

[/quote]

I have a Polar FT4, and I really like it. Lately it's been wigging out on me. Losing signal to my chest strap, not sure why. It's done that twice within the past week or so. I had to stop, and restart my session. Kinda annoying... but I really enjoy having all the unnecessary details

[/quote]

Probably either the battery is going or the filament within the strap are failing. Aggressive washing can shorten the life of the strap. You can get a replacement strap on-line for $20.

Miss♥Ivi · March 2012

I have the FT7 and I bought it at Dick's! It was more expensive than if you buy it off Amazon/online but I, personally, felt more comfortable buying it at the store rather than off an online vendor. Plus I wanted to test them for fit (man wrists!). The guys were more than willing to open up a few of them and let me try them on (sans the chest strap for obvious reasons!) before I made up my mind. I love mine and it hasn't given me any issues. Very easy to use and since I got the red one, it looks pretty cool!

scottc561 · March 2012

I have a question about this topic also. Do any other hrm's polar or otherwise able to be left on all day to try and get how many calories you burned all day? like your tdee. I heard some only work during exercise. Does the fitbit do this either? It would be nice to be able to see your whole day calorie burn.