Decent heart rate monitor

Ger the man

Can anyone suggest a decent heart rate monitor that will do the job and wont break the bank? Nothing too fancy or too cheap that wont last.

Thanks

hunnymonster

what job(s) is it you want to do? Also give us some idea of budget.

You can get cheap HRM for €20 in Aldi/Tesco and they work but have very limited functionality and I wouldn't be on their durability.

Polar are a well respected brand and their cheper modles start around the €50 I think.

I have a lot of HRMs, at the moment I'm almost always reaching for my garmin 305 though. It pretty much does everything I could want it to.

Bambaata

gotta get one of these myself that has the whole run distance details with HR as well as the bike connector with distance, speed etc

do you have to buy the foot pod, bike mount etc separate for that?

robinph

Some of them will come with foot pods or bike mounts, or you can get them seperately as well if the model supports it.

I've a Polar 625 which came with just the foot pod, but the same watch unit comes in a bike package as well or you can buy the extras you didn't get with it later on. The Garmins don't have a foot pod as they figure out the distance travelled using GPS which is built into the watch unit (305/405), or there is the Garmin Edge units which are more bike oriented and would have some mapping functions in the unit as well but will not fit on your wrist for running.

liamo

hunnymonster wrote: »

I'm almost always reaching for my garmin 305 though. It pretty much does everything I could want it to.

Agree 100%.

The amount of hints I dropped in the months leading up to Xmas '07 bordered on begging but on Xmas day I got my shiny new Garmin 305 which I probably use 4 or 5 times per week.

tracto

Just make sure you get one with lap timing. I spent c €120 on a polar monitor only to discover it didnt do the most basic of things. I couldnt believe it, you can buy a bloody digital watch for a fiver that'll even do it :mad:

estariol

garmin 305, got one off ebay for 200$ and am delighted with it, really opens up alot of scope for performance analysis! the pc software is straightforward and easy to operate.

Ger the man

I checked out the new sportband thingy but the foot pod battery lasts only for a year or so then you need to replace the foot pod.

480905

hunnymonster wrote: »

I have a lot of HRMs, at the moment I'm almost always reaching for my garmin 305 though. It pretty much does everything I could want it to.

Hi ,
just bought a 305 . Amazing piece of kit . Just need to figure out how to use it and set it up . Any tips would be HUGELY appreciated.

Highway_To_Hell

I know this dosn't help the OP from a budget point of view but this week I replaced my old Timex bodylink with a Garmin FR405. I have only used it a few times but I am impressed. The feature set is great and so far the GPS distance/speed accuracy is good. ( I found the Timex very temperamental) I like the virtual partner feature as it is pushing me a bit harder as all of my training is done solo.

Picked it up in Irishfit.eu while I was getting new runners, I had a 10% off card which was in my Dublin City Triathlon goody bag.:)

911sc

Just got a Forerunner405 with HRM last month, my new toy.
Very impressive piece of kit, all wireless, can be controlled with fancy bezel (a bit like a touch screen, press/tap/scroll finger around the bezel to navigate). The only bad thing about it: the user manual is the worse i have ever seen:mad: So there are many features that i do not know out to use as there is no explaination for them... just have to play with them and see how they work.

€260 on amazon, €370 on irishfit.ie & in 53degres north:eek:

Highway To Hell,
just noticed you got it from Sean...humm, even with 10% off his price is unfortunately not competitive. As much as i would like to support these guys, a difference of about €70 is a lot...it pays for Dublin Marathon entry for instance.

tunney

Polar S625x with the G1 GPS unit. The dogs bollix.

(yes hunny more stuff you didn't know you need. Got mine about two months ago is excellent.)

Bambaata

since i turned 25 last week the folks have said that they will get me, or pay part of, one of these fancy things. I want it to track the HR while i run and cycle, want it bike mountable (or possibly not essential as in triathlion i cant imagine it being high on the list priority wise to get it attached and detached!), i want it to tell me the distance ive covered (when both running and cycling - and swimming if possible, GPS maybe?) and also i want it to be able to keep me in training zones etc.

I keep getting confused when i look at these. Some come with footpiod, some it seems dont need a footpod, some come as watches, some only for the bike (not interested in these then), some come with good HR sensors, some you need to buy more parts to get a better reading and with all this i get all confused. Can anyone link me to what i need to get and list the optional components i will also need? Thats S625x looks the bizz tunney, where'd u get that and what extra features does this G1 GPS unit give you?

tunney

Bought S625x years ago. Very widely available. Got the bike speed and cadence sensors too.

have the foot pod and g1 gps unit too. Both tell you the same thing but I tend to change my runners alot and use elastic laces so the foot pod isn't the best there. Also I find my running style changes alot so foot pods are the most consistent.

Highway_To_Hell

@ 911sc, the Owner's manual is available to download from here https://buy.garmin.com/shop/store/manual.jsp?product=010-00658-10&cID=142&pID=11039 it gives a lot more info then the QRM that comes in the box.

Usually buy my gadgets is the States as I travel there on a regular basis, no trip planned so I bit the bullet and bought it here, of course 2 days after buying I find out I need to got over in the next few weeks:mad:

@Bambaata, there is an optional bike cadence sensor and bike mount available for the FR405.

Bambaata

looks like this is the job for me? - http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/Polar_S625X_Tri_Package_Heart_Rate_Monitor/5360036969/

what does that GPS attachment do for you that this doesnt tunney?

Krusty_Clown

Getting used to the 405 is almost like an evolutionary process.
At the start, I would just use the [Press Start and run] philosophy. It took me a couple of weeks to get the correct set of data fields that would be most useful. Then I migrated to doing the Simple Workouts, and then tried a few courses. Then I added in the Virtual Partner. Last night I tried an advanced workout for doing some repetitions (the first I have done) and it worked out great.

It really pays to read the manual. Then go back and refer to it a couple of times later, when you want to use the more advanced features.

The [PACE] data field can be a bit flakey, so instead I have mine set to auto-Lap every mile, and instead use the [Lap-Pace] to track my pace. Worked great in Longford.

I have also brought it hiking, as you can use the track-log to geotag your photos afterwards.

christeb

I've a buddy heading over to the States soon, I think I'll splurge on a 405 too...

911sc

Highway_To_Hell wrote: »

@ 911sc, the Owner's manual is available to download from here https://buy.garmin.com/shop/store/manual.jsp?product=010-00658-10&cID=142&pID=11039 it gives a lot more info then the QRM that comes in the box.

Thanks. I had downloaded this manual before ordering the 405. But now that i have a 405 in my hand to play with, I still maintain it is the worse manual i have ever read.

For instance, i am interested in the Alert tones which care very well documented:rolleyes: "Alert Tones: turn message tones on or off".

What are the alert tones?
How do a get the 405 to alert me when i go into cardio zone 5 (polars do that) for instance?
How do i get the 405 to alert me when my pace drops below zone 7 for instance?

The manual lacks of example, and only document the bits that may not require to be documented as the 405 embedded menu are pretty self-explanatory

The training centre graph shows that i can run at more than 50kmph!!! i must have the WR...

BUT... i love it.

Krusty_Clown

911sc wrote: »

How do a get the 405 to alert me when i go into cardio zone 5 (polars do that) for instance?
How do i get the 405 to alert me when my pace drops below zone 7 for instance?

It's a bit of a pain, but you can create an Advanced Workout in Garmin Training Centre, for your heart rate zone or pace and then upload them to the watch. I'm pretty sure that these would kick off the alert tones, but as I was listening to an iPod the other day, I'm not sure if they did. There was certainly lots of beeping as I moved one planned pace phase to another.

The MotionBased forum is the best place to find answers for your 405 questions.

bagus

I'm thinking of getting a decent HRM too, and found that Polar are about to release a new mutli sport trainer:

http://forum.polar.fi/showthread.php?t=983&page=2

http://www.tritalk.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=47001

Might be worth waiting for.