Timex? Polar?? I could care less about the speed/distance/bike computer stuff, I am just looking for something that will track my HR as a percentage of max, allow me to set my own zones, and it has to be reliable. The timex doesn’t do the custom zones or % of HR, so it is not top on the list at the moment, and the new polar strap looks pretty nice.
depends what you are looking for, I prefer Polars functionality and quality, but Timex has them beat on style and price point. Yes the new Polar strap is much much nicer than the old Polar or the Timex straps. Polar also has a superior warrantee and believe me not that they are crappy products but you want a warrantee with both the timex and polar. Luckily the one thing that breaks on the Timex’s (the transmitter) tends to break quickly if at all while still under warrantee. Polar is also great because you can find thier stuff everywhrere, you can buy replacement elastic straps for the monitors where when the Timex stretches you’re screwed as you can’t even buy an entire new chest strap without going through warrantee. Gotta go, but I’d go Polar
I’d say Polar. Reliable and accurate with a tremendous number of features. Various models to help you select needed features. I know my S710i can show HR, avg HR, % of MHR on the fly, and you can switch between modes on the fly. The bike features of the S7xxs are great. The download feature is a great if you like to review your workouts. The software is top notch, and makes a good training log. Having altitude on a graph along with your HR, speed, cadence, etc. really helps you analyze your workouts. You can see why a particular split was fast/slow because of subtle grades.
I’m with efernand and Tai and would go for Polar, without doubt.
I think they were one of the first (if not the first) to have HRM and experience counts. Compared with Timex, Polar as the advantage of focusing only on HRM. It’s the only thing they do and do it well.
I don’t really know what Timex has to offer to general public but Polar has such an extensive range of models that you’ll always find one that “fits” you best.
I have used both Timex (older version) and various Polar, just got the 725. The 725 is the most comprehensive and also has one feature which I really like: its shows the hrt as a percentage of max% in real time, versus showing average for the whole ride on recall. I am not sure if its only available on the S series. Also all the Polars I have had (3 in total) have been very reliable compared to the Timex, which was the first model they came out with, might be better now. Sometimes it will not pick up the signal no matter what I tried.
My wife also liked a model from Sports Instruments until it literally stopped working after 2 years. I had one Polar for over 12 years, and it worked great for about 11 years and 10months!
I have both currently (S720i and Timex Bodylink). For pure, reliable HRM, the Polar is definitely the best. Ugly as sin but …
I prefer (overall) the Timex though, but I would get a lower model Polar without the extra bells and whistles over a Timex for sure if all I was going for was a reliable HRM.
Almost forgot, I had a brief encounter with one of the Nike Triax (C7 I think) and it was awful (but looked nice).