I’m ready to purchase a HRM. I love my Timex IM 30 lap watch and I am drawn to stick with a Timex. Are there any huge advantages with going with Polar. They are much more expensive and I don’t see a huge benefit. Any opinions?
Depends on what you want to do with it? Do you want it for primarily running or biking or both? How concerned are you about getting distance measurements while running? Are you a data troll? What kind of workout log do you use? Do you want to keep a workout log?
I have a Polar S710i and think it is great. It works nearly flawlessly and gives me all kinds of data to analyze. The S710i and S720i’s have altimeters and you can get wireless speed and cadence sensors. There is a power option that I have not tried, and there are mixed reviews on it. The biggest benefit of the Polar units are their ability to capture data for later review. The included software makes a decent training log if you wear the HRM consistently, and you can generate lots of different graphs. Being able to download your long ride, and look at your HR in relation to your speed, cadence, and course profile can be very beneficial.
Polar has a lot more features available especially if you are going to use it on your bike. Features like predicted VO2 max, altitude, temperature, programmable interval timers (by mileage, time or HR), cool custom screen saver. Polar also has a better download feature (less seperate components needed) than Timex, also you can program you Polar (certain models) directly from your computer. Polar has a 2 year warranty, and a new more flexible heart rate strap available. Timex is better looking, easier to use, has a bulkier strap, is GPS compatible on certain models and the new models work great.
I have used the timex and the polar 720 and feel that the 720 is definitley a better value. filling out my training log is so much easier now. I just point the watch at the infared receiver. It seems to get better reception too.