Running Gear: Running watches and heart rate monitors

Hi,

 

I have just upgraded from the RS200sd to the RS800G3.  The RS200 is a great unit, however  I found the footpod not always very accurate, no matter how I calibrated it.  Hence I would check it against mapmyrun.com  Personally, I get sucked in by the technology when really, a simple watch will do the same job.  A fool and his (her) money are easily parted I guess.  but I do like to analyse how far I've come in both physical distance and in my overall running abilities.  I really like to see my heart rate and how it reacts to different types of workouts.

 Hope that helps.

Grace

I have used Polar HR monitors for several years.  The first one I got as a gift and was the bare minimum.  It had a watch, stop watch, and HR.  I think I left that one behind on the gym bench one day (or my daughter started playing with it) and I never saw it again.  That was almost 3 years ago.  I then purchased the Polar S150 so I could use it with my bike also.  This was an excellent purchase.  I used it for over 2 years.  I came home from a run this past fall and let my son (1 year old) play with it for a few minutes while I entered my run into this website.  I have not seen it since.  Now I have 2 chest straps and a bike mount with no computer to go with it. 

I would recommend this one ($139 retail) if you want to use it with a bike or the S120 ($119 retail) if you just want it for running.  I got mine on sale for $80.  I am going to purchase a replacement from ebay for about $80.

Question...does anyone have any experience with any HR monitors other than Polar?  specifically Garmin or Cateye?  They all seem to have a lot of neat gadgets but as maryclaire said above "A fool and his (her) money are easily parted". 

I have one a bit of research. I think polar RS200 is the best. It gets good reviews, and has the most for money.

 

I have the rs200sd and have not had any issues with it.  i have found that the foot pod is not as accurate as i would like.  i think it has to do with the fact that as i get in better shape my running stride changes.  over all it is a fine HR monitor.  i picked mine up on ebay for $180.  well worth it, i feel i train smarter with it.   

I bought this great sports bra by NuMetrex, which has the sensors knit into the fabric.  The best part is you don't need to wear the uncomfortable hard strap anymore.  It works with my Polar Wearlink, which snaps into the front of the bra and sends the signal to my watch.  They also make men's shirts.  Love it and will buy more...  numetrex.com

 

I've run with Polar's for the last 15+ years with excellent results.  I did try a Nike version at one point, but was very dissapointed with the telemetry and acuracy.  Currently I'm running with a RS100, knowing that if this one croaks, there's a RS200 (probably an SD version) in my future.  Only problem is that it's not dying!!!!  I'm looking at over 3 years on the same battery... I guess there could be worse problems. 

Hope that helps...

 

I have always used the Polars.  Currently I use the RS800G3 and absolutely love it.

hey everyone...this is my first post!  anyway...i just bought the garmin 405 a few days ago and i'm completely falling in love with it.  it has accuracy narrowed down to about 12ft and once the initial setup with your computer is done, it downloads automatically.  i don't have the foot pod, so not sure how that works, and since this is my first work after running for over a decade with a HR monitor, i'm not sure how accurate it is.  but it's comfortable and is easily read by the 405.  in any case, you just need to set your goals before you go run, otherwise you'll be overwhelmed with all the knowledge you get from it.

tip:  make sure you let the GPS function COMPLETELY locate and position itself with the satellites.  this can take up to 10 or 15 fifteen minutes the first time, but after that the longest has been about 30 seconds for me.  obviously, start it up when you are outside and it will find the satellites faster.

it is expensive, but with all the functionality, i forsee it being a steady partner for a while.  and I keep it away from my 3yr old.  that always helps ;)

I'm using Suunto T3C including footpod now for about a week (5 runs). Seems to match mapmyrun @ 95% correctness.

I've been using Polar (don't know which model) for a while, ... couldn't satisfy my need. The Suunto is just fine!

Im new to this website and am attempting to get back into running after a year off (combination of laziness and recent leg/vein surgery). Runners world said i should walk a certain mileage and run/walk a certain amt of minutes to get back into the game, with that being said, I'd like to start doing better with keeping up with my Distance, Calories Burned & Pace. I have no earthly idea what to buy. Can anyone send suggestions on a good watch to buy for FIRST TIMERS non-gadget friendly person? I was looking at getting the Nike+ Sport Band but it got a lot of bad review on the sites that i was looking through so im skeptical (it only appealed to be because it looked EASY to read/work). I found a gadget that will allow me to wear it with non-Nike shoes but again i dont want to invest 59.99 (no matter how easy it is to work) if its gonna give inaccurate readings. Any suggestions are appreciated~!

Take a look at the SUUNTO T3. I am about 400kms in to ownership of one, and I love it.

Took about 2 10k runs to calibrate it, so now it's as near as dammit for distances both on MapMyRun and official distances at events.

The foot pod isn't huge and over all it's very robust.

Has all the info you could possibly need - you do have to purchase the PC pod to do the auto upload, but with the excellent software here, I haven't bothered with it.

Most shops offer a "Marathon pack" that includes a foot pod.

You can also easily match it to cycling, or a GPS pod or whatever.

I also wear it day to day as a watch - it looks pretty nice.

Having said that I will probably go for a Garmin 405 if ever any of the components croak - simply so I can utilise more of the stuff on this site.

So far though I can't see that happening in the near future - I am notoriously meat fisted with training tools/technology and this thing doesn't seem to want to die!

Hope that helps.