Do you love your heart rate monitor? I hate mine.
I’ve had 2 Suunto T3s crap out on me in the past year (even after replacing the transmitter battery). I’m ready to move on.
If you like your HRM please tell me what one you use - and, if you want, why you like it.
Thanks all.
Dan
Polar RS 400, not the SD version.
Works in the water, normal sized, and allows me to store up to 100 hours of data, which I can then download via infared.
Bob
I have the 625x - has lots of bells and whistles - I’ve moved away from all the analysis and gotten back to the straight HRM data only - if you like paralysis by analysis this is the watch for you.
I’ve been the happy owner of Polar HRMs since 198… I don’t even remember…
Pros :
-You will get excellent and swift support even years after you’ve bought it.
-I currently own a cs400 and a rs400, both have very intuitive commands, very easy to navigate through…
-always the first to develop innovative technologies, other brands follow… sometimes years after…
-very solid and reliable
-choice : you can get a Polar adapted for any activity you can think of
-design : S series were bulky but RS are very stylish
Cons :
-expensive, particularly in the top of the range
-IR interface PC-Polar quite… capricious… (and don’t even try the Polar IR adapter, any cheapo chinese IR transmitter will do the job better)
-Once you’ve programmed a workout on the HRM…well, you’ve got to stick to it or stop it (unless you wanna hear the “bip bip bip” of your programmed intervals all the way home…)
The other thing I like about Polar is their upgrade program. Over the past 15 years I have upgraded a couple of times and they give you some $$$ credit for turning in your old unit. It isn’t a highly published program, but I assume they still do it.
My 2 cents is to only get a HR that has features you will use frequently. For me, the KISS phase definitely applies to HR training. If the unit has too many features that you will never use, then you probaby overpaid for the unit.
Got the SD800 love it specially the foodpod no on/off switch! Measures and counts run cadence! And actually you can program and upload any exercise to it. Liked the software and transmission but it does not work under the water. it is waterproof but HR is not measuring in the water.
Thanks for the suggestions. Sounds like Polar is the way to go. Anyone else?
Another Polar fan here – I have the silver/green 725x model and it’s awesome, a really robust all-around system. The chest strap is the comfiest I’ve ever worn – no chafing even after a marathon. I have the bike speed and cadence sensors as well as the foot pod for running. Some folks have reported difficulties with cadence and speed signal transmission on their bikes, but I haven’t encountered any. After skimming through the manual just once, use of the basic functions quickly became intuitive for me, though I am a PhD student and others may take longer to absorb complex info/lots of details. The system is capable of performing a wide range of feats – “paralysis by analysis” is an apt characterization of what may happen to you if you want to use them all. I am getting into the sophisticated stuff one step at a time. Definitely has more features than I’ll ever need, but many of them are really neat & give a nice window on my body/performance when paired with my RPE (which remains my main yardstick).
I had the Sigma PC15 HRM watch before this, and I liked that one too. Way more basic (bare-bones, really), but frequently simplicity is golden. Also way cheaper – and still reliable & gives you all the basic things you need. I’ve had it for 4 years now; it’s really reliable, a real work-horse. I continue to use it as a lap counter/stopwatch when swimming in the pool (keeping the expensive Polar out of chlorinated water).
I own Polar, Garmin, Timex, and a few others, but I would suggest the Polar, as it’s pretty much bullet proof, the most widely accepted(much of the fitness equipment at health clubs have the polar interface built in), and have as many features as you want to pay for. Now most of the softwares accept their files, so there’s pretty much no real cons. Check prices as there are many dealers. For repair, I have used Creative Health Products in Michigan, and they are great as well! Sometimes they have some refurb if you need to save some cash…
Oh, and their new strap is so much more comfortable and keeps a better contact than any other’s I’ve used.
As you can see, I let this topic develop before jumping in. I have to agree with Macho, the RS400 is such an incredible upgrade from the RS400. Any current Polar unit with IR downloading to Polar’s Protrainer5 software wil be worth the extra cost. The ability to perform the various intervals you can program and post workout viewing of REPORTS will impress everyone, and it comes free with the unit, RS400, RS800, CS400,CS600. For any NY/NJ retailers or tri clubs, please feel free to contact me for an evening clinic/seminar on the units.
Do you have any reps in the chicago or west burbs of chicago to do a seminar? We may have a real need that could benefit in a fair amount of sales. Thanks.
I have a Polar S210, Garmin 305 Edge Forerunner 301 and soon 305 for the wife. They all work well. For the most part, I train with the Garmin (GPS) but race with the Polar(water proof).
Just wondering Bob, do you download to Garmin Training Center? Do you upload “workouts” to your 305 or use it for how far, how fast, HR, and mapping? The S210 is very complete. You can actually swop HR zones in the middle of race if you have bike and run HR’s
I do download the Garmin to training center. As for my HR with Polar or Garmin I just use my eye, no beeps. I really like my Polar. I just bought a Wearlink from the Polar rep at the Huntington Beach Marathon EXPO yesterday and used it today on my ride…nice. As for the Garmin I like having the GPS without the foot pod deal. Like I said both have a place with me.
One question, can I switch the HR and time so the HR is the larger on the watch face with my S210?
The S210 does not have a zoom feature like the RS200/RS400 or RS800.
Another vote for Polar.
I’ve owned 3 of them so far and each was great. If you have questions on any feel free to PM me. Although with a Polar rep posting I doubt you can have a better resource than that. Gotta love ST.
I definitely vote for Polars. The software is intuitive. It’s nice to use a watch like this where you don’t have to have a manual with you while running.
Also – and these two things I think are important: 1) they make both bike computers and watches. If you buy a HRM watch from Polar, you can get the el-cheapo bike computer and it’ll work with your same HRM strap. 2) it’s easy to buy extra replacement parts, like a footpod for the watch or a cadence sensor for the bike computer. I had a blackburn bike computer and just got a second bike, and I realized there’s no way to buy a second speed sensor without buying another computer!!! The ridiculous thing is that the original computer came with two mounts – but no way to get a second sensor!!!
I’m with Bob, I have a Polar s625x and a Garmin Forerunner 305. Had the 625 for 2 years and got the Garmin so I could have GPS data of my training runs and rides.
I still swim with the 625 and use it indoors on my trainer and treadmill. I’ll use it for races also. But for all my outdoor runs and rides I’m using the Garmin.