Heart Rate Monitors

icychic

icychic

New member
I did a quick search but it seems this topic has not really been discussed for a couple of years and I'm sure there are now more options/upgrades out there.

So I did a quick search on Amazon and came up with 2 possible choices based on the reviews (though if there is a good and cheaper option, or better options I am up for suggestions):

Polar FT7 Women's $94.99 CDN (on sale from 159.99) - This seems to have very good reviews, and apparently batteries I can change out easily. Looks like it could be worn all the time as it appears to have a time and date, though I don't care for the color of this particular one.

Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity + Sleep Wristband $99.95 CDN - I like this because it has a silent alarm which just seems cool, but also because it monitors your sleep and how often you wake up. Very interested in knowing that! BUT it seems there are a number of features not offered unless you pay $50/yr which I do not plan to do. Also like the LED lights thing to track your progress throughout the day. It seems that it needs to be charged every 5-6 days too, but that could always be done either when I'm at work not doing much, or in the evening at home when I'm on the computer or watching TV.

What are your thoughts/opinions?
Do any of you have a HRM that you find works well? Or even ones that you definitely do NOT recommend?

What I am looking for is something easy to use that will help me see how many calories I am burning during my workout. If it has a program that logs the information so I can go back later and see if I'm doing better (more active, more calories burned, in the target HR zone longer, etc) then that I think would be a bonus. Same with the sleep measuring, it would be very interesting to see how long I actually sleep for and how often I am woken up in a night, but again I don't think this is necessary for my weight loss progress. But seeing how many calories I am burning in a day, and even just during a workout I think would be great. It would also show me what workouts are more effective and help me track the shape I'm in based on how I feel when I reach the target HR I need to burn lots of calories.

If I can spend $20 on one that is accurate and does what I need I will be ecstatic. BUT if I need to spend more for something that will work well (preferably less than $100) I will find a way to do it.
 
Hi icychic. I see you're looking for a HRM. I have a Fitbit Flex and, unfortunately, it doesn't have that feature. It does track sleep, steps, distance, and calories burned and is waterproof up to 10m IIRC. It doesn't track floors, though, like the Fitbit One does. None of the Fitbit line has the HRM feature. The Fitbit mobile app is super easy to use, though. I've also used the Jawbone UP band and that mobile app was a friggin' pain to log anything like food and water. :( Hope this helps.

EDIT: I have the free Fitbit account and see no need to upgrade to premium. I can still track my weight, body measurements, sleep, food/calorie and water intake, steps, distance, calories burned, etc. Also, I got my Flex Friday and the battery was halfway down four days later. The more silent alarms you have, the faster the drain on the battery. If you decide to go the Fitbit route, check out the Aria scale. It's a nifty tool; all you have to do is step on it and it uploads your weight to your account so you're not having to track it yourself. It works for multiple users as well. There are two users on mine and I've only had to change the batteries once after six months of logging every day.
 
Last edited:
Thanks Belinda!

I don't really care so much about the tracking of food. That might change in the future I guess but not important right now. The free stuff you can do seems like a lot that would be useful. But, it seems like with the FitBit there isn't a screen of any sort, so you are basically going blind unless you check the program on a computer/phone, is that right? But if it doesn't have a HRM and no screen I'm thinking the only reason I would buy it is to track my sleep and not willing to pay $100 for that. As for the scale, it's definitely a good idea, but I have a scale and right now couldn't justify purchasing a new one just to save myself the time it takes to write down my weight. But definitely a cool idea!

The main reason for looking at HRMs is so that I can see what my HR is while I'm exercising and try to keep it in the right zone for weight loss. Tracking my activity and calories burned throughout the day is also a feature I want.
 
If you're looking for something with a screen, the Fitbit One does display information. The Flex has the five little lights that display the progress to whatever goal you set for it from the settings; this can be a calorie-burned, distance walked, or steps walked goal. If you're still interested in a Fitbit, the only thing the One has that the Flex doesn't is the fact it's not waterproof. You can still wear it as a pedometer and in a wristband at night to track your sleep.

I can understand wanting a HRM, the only way I can tell mine when working out is if I'm on some kind of equipment with the contact sensors for hands. It's difficult to hold onto a couple of sensors while jogging XP
 
less than $10 hrm wrist watch. no reviews but I'm sure it would work fine.

then I could also get the fitbit flex for $100. I like the slate but black goes better with everything but might change my mind and get the slate. what do you think?
 
I have the black band for the Flex, but they also sell packs of just the bands that are multi-colored. Getting them is going to be tough, though. I think they're so far on back order they won't ship for 8-10 weeks. Honestly the color is your preference, I just chose black because the pack of bands has a blue one similar to the slate colored one already in it.

You could do both the HRM and Flex; the Flex looks plain by itself, I try to wear one bracelet with it so it doesn't look so blah by itself.
 
Thanks for all your input Belinda! I really appreciate it :)

Since neither the Fitbit Flex or One have a HRM I'm thinking just a cheaper watch (like the link in my previous post) will do the trick for when I'm actually working out, wouldn't wear it otherwise. And for $10 I figure it may not be super accurate but enough to get me through for now.

Looking at the Flex and the One. I like that the Flex is a wrist band so I won't worry about losing or forgetting it. The website says the One shows floors climbed (which I don't really care) but does not have goal setting (which I do want), but it shows the time and has more displays which could help motivate throughout the day as you would see exactly where you are sitting rather than just counting on 5 lights lighting up throughout the day. But at the same time having it clip on...I'd be afraid to lose it which is a big deal.

I'm thinking mostly because I would probably lose the One, I will search for a Flex (Amazon has some, but if a local store has it for the same price I'll do that) and then I will find a cheap (under $10-20) HRM watch to wear just for workouts.

Unless anyone else has suggestions?
 
Well I found the Flexfit at Future Shop for the same as Amazon and no waiting/shipping so I bought it. Something said it needs 60% battery which would be 3 lights on, it was at 2 but now at 3 and still not allowing the setup to finish. Gonna leave it for a bit and then try again to finish the setup.

Will see how this works and look for a heart rate monitor later if needed. Right now the cheap ones on Amazon have no reviews and I'm finding the chest strap ones are more accurate so will wait and see what I decide to do.
 
Last edited:
That's the exact reason I got the Flex; I kept leaving my Fitbit Zip on my shorts and forgetting to take it off before tossing it into the laundry. The Zip I had survived at least five washings and was still ticking when I sold it off. I don't know how well the One stacks up; I can't remember if my hubby has washed his or not... But having a wristband is handy and it's not uncomfortable to sleep in either like the wider wristband for the One.

When I got my Flex and went to set it up, the Fitbit site was down for maintenance. Hopefully you don't have that problem. It took about 1 1/2 to 2 hours to fully charge it when I first got it. Not too bad. You might want to check for device updates when you set it up as well. The Flex is waaaaay more sensitive on steps than my Zip was (I almost feel like it's cheating), even when setting it to 'normal' sensitivity on my non-dominant hand.
 
From my research I don't think the One can survive a washing.

I got it working...silly me it didn't want the device hooked up, it wanted the wireless connector thing hooked up. Duh! But yeah it synced...and somehow I have burned 1037 calories even though I just got it, have done no steps, or anything else :S Weird! I think that's using my inputted info how many calories I should have burned today by doing nothing.

Excited to see what it say in the morning for my sleep!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top