As part of the battle to get fit again I’m looking to get a heart rate monitor.

Now do I get a simple one or something that does more?

There’s just to much choice I need some recommendations to narrow the field.

Any advice?

Cheers

7

I recently bought a Garmin Forerunner 305. Not only is it a HRM but also a GPS.
Loads of fun to use and actually makes me want to go out training more!! I use it for running and cycling

Got mine for just over £100 off Ebay and got a bike mount for a tenner

+1 for the 305. I used to use a polar hrm but the 305 is much better for training allowing you to download the stats and route you’ve done and pogram workouts into the machine

I was going to say Polar cs200 cad from here http://www.fitness-superstore.co.uk/ but that Garmin was a bargain.

I use a garmin foretrex 401 (GPS unit) and a Garmin chest HRM.

What phone do you have? If Android or Iphone, you could buy a bluetooth HRM strap and get an app (plenty for free) that will do the HRM stuff…there are also plenty of apps out there that do HRM and GPS together – you pair the HRM strap to the phone and off you go. Likely to be cheaper than buying the likes of a Garmin BUT it does rely on your phone so battery life won’t be as long, but it does then mean you have less electronics to carry around with you…

Thanks all.

phone not really up to it so off to consider pros and cons of polar and garmin (both funnily enough already top of the list), polar i think winning on the cadence front as want to use it on road bike as well

like i said choices choices 😯

cheers

7

I’ve had a few hrms in my ongoing fitness battle. Best by a country mile of the ones I had is a 305. You can also get a cadence doofer for £30ish from amazon.

By best I mean it always “registers” the strap. A mobile phone within 10 miles doesnt stop it working. The strap stays on. The batteries last more than a month. They dont whiff after a week.

Worst was a cateye (double wireless??). Second worst was a Velomann. Never had a Polar. But that would be my second choice.

couldashouldawoulda thanks, if i can get the cadence bit then decision made.

cheers all 🙂

I’m looking for a HRM which will calculate calorie burning – am I right in thinking the Forerunner 305 doesn’t do this? The spec on the Garmin website says “Heart rate-based calorie computation: No”.