Heart Rate Monitor watches....

If you want distance included, I belive Garmin is the way to go. They have some really incredible GPS watches -- but of course that bumps up the price considerably.

I have a Polar FT7 and am thrilled with it (for heartrate and calorie burn). I use it with my iPhone in an armband when I want to know the distance I'm running or cycling.

I use a Polar FT4. It's basic, but calculates calories burned and whatnot. I got mine for around $60 on Amazon. I like that it is compatible with most machinery at the gym (I still do most cardio at the gym since my foot isn't quite up for running just yet.) Using the HRM has made my workouts so much better; it really helps with my circuit training.

^^This. Plus, it's cute and FITS on my wrist and is very sturdy. And I can't even feel the chest strap. It shows you calories burned, how long you've been going, and where you are in your heart rate %. I constantly look at it (it will also chime for you if you want) to make sure I'm in my optimal range. I found that I burn almost twice the amount of calories than what MFP estimates.

polar ft 40 in white! love mine. gives me breakdowns of all my workouts and stores them in files

I got the Polar FT4 last weekend and so far it is way cool to use at the gym. Shows me calories burned and it links to almost every machine in the gym. Guess I need to check the stepmill I have tried everything but eliptical and stepmill and only one it didnt link to was rowing machine.

I love my Garmin 405 for things such as outdoor running, biking etc, but be warned if you are going to do stationary exercises such as a treadmil or eliptical it will not calculate calories burned. This is because it requires distance traveled in its formula to calculate the calorie burn. So, you would need a second HRM for stationary type exercises. That being said I still love having it for the outdoor exercises!

I have the Polar FT7...love it!

buy a cheap basic one, give it a whirl an if you like it go for a garmin or polar. you won't go wrong with one of them

I use the Garmin FR60. It's awesome because it's soo versatile! I can use just the watch if I want to track time, or I can us the HRM strap and foot pod if I want more data (distance, pace, cadence, heart rate, cals burned, etc etc). You can set up to track something a little different for each workout or select one setting and it stays for all work outs until you change it again. You can set alerts (HR zones, cal goal, distance goal, time target, lap alerts, etc) or you can just turn it on and hit stop when your done to see the grand totals. I would recommend it. I've had mine for a few months now and the more I use it, the more I love it! One of it's best features...get it close to your computer (once you've downloaded the software and have the USB stick plugged in) and your exercise data automatically uploads to garminconnect.com where you can see charts and graphs of your progress, etc. You can check out the user manual online if you want to get a better idea about whether it's for you or not.

It's also pretty comfortable and not super bulky like some of the watches can be.
ALSO, I researched for a good month before making my decision to purchase this watch/ HRM system.

I like my Motoactv, it has a built in GPS,mp3 player, and can connect to optional HRM and foot pods. It is just as costly as the top of the line Garmin ones but I like the app that it uses. It even tells me how many calories I have burned during each song. Although I don't recommend using the foot pod while working outdoors...it didn't calculate the distance correctly while I was using the elliptical machine.
As a female my wrist it too small for the watch band so that is my one dislike.

I love my Garmin 405 for things such as outdoor running, biking etc, but be warned if you are going to do stationary exercises such as a treadmil or eliptical it will not calculate calories burned. This is because it requires distance traveled in its formula to calculate the calorie burn. So, you would need a second HRM for stationary type exercises. That being said I still love having it for the outdoor exercises!

I fogot to mention that the Polar Bluetooth will also work with the app to record your gym workouts. There is a function that will record the heart rate only, no movement.

Look for a model that use a chest strap. These are more accurate than the wrist only models. Polar (brand I have) has a chest strap (transmitter) and a watch. I love it.

Chest straps use your continuous heart rate, as opposed to wrist only models that measure your pulse ... from time to time.

Thank you! I was wondering what the difference was between the watches and chest straps...I think I also saw someone once with a band around their upper arm...?

Ohh I too have been trying to decide between them. Thanks for all the info everyone!

I've been using the Polar FT40 for about two years now, and it's the best tool to have for your workout! It's with the chest strap, so I get an accurate read on my HR throughout my workouts. I've used mine mainly for training at the gym, and I figure for running (once I feel ready to run in public) I'll get an app for my smartphone to get distance and such.

One of my friends have the FT60, and she loves that one as well. I think the main difference between those two is that hers give more a weekly summary/program, while mine does not.

When it comes to what to get, I have only experience with Polar, which I highly recommend. To find the right watch, google their site and look through the different ones. And see if they have one that suits what you are looking.