Heart Rate Monitor - What brand to buy....?

I have a Timex and love it. I went with price but also enough functions for what I needed. I steered clear of the Polar brand - I had been told by several people that their customer service left a little to be desired and you have to send it to them to change the battery. Now, I don't know if that is all true! Timex is a great brand. I searched different retailers to find the best price - can you believe I got it from WalMart? I had to get it sent, but got free shipping. It was $43 less the retail price.
:-)

I don't know what the Timex has so I can't compare it, but I like my Polar a lot. It has heart rate, a zone alarm, time, body mass index, a walk test, average HR for your whole workout, time in zone, maybe some other bells and whistles I'm forgetting. The band is very comfortable. I never notice it. It's also compatible with other equipment like the fitness bike at the gym. I'm thinking about a cycling computer that would be compatible. I don't know about the compatibility of the Timex, and I've never had to have the battery replaced on my Polar. The tricky thing is that you have to have the battery replaced by someone who can reseal the watch to keep water out. Not just any jewelery counter will do. But I don't know why it would have to go back to the factory.

I have the Polar S210 and it is great. The strap works with the treadmill at the gym and it has everything you need. It is on sale at Colorado Cyclist for $161. MSRP is $199. It is very easy to program your data into and easy to operate. Check out all the details at the Polar website.

Good Luck

Eric

Edited by epml 2004-04-29 10:37 PM

I have the Timex Ironman 100 lap--it works great. I looked at several other brands including polar, and made my choice based upon price, availability, features, and design.

It seemed like the Polar line was more of a pure workout piece, with lots of bells and whistles--which of course you pay for. The Timex is definitely more attractive, has all the functions that I need and then some, and was half the cost of the comparable Polar. After searching at several stores I found ordering directly from Timex.com to be the best price, and allowed me to get the exact watch that I was working for.

David