Heart Rate Monitor Review

Introduction to Heart Rate Monitors

We found that a combination of professional and owner reviews gave us the most reliable picture of heart rate monitors. There has not been a large critical review of heart rate monitors since the 2003 Consumer Reports testing of nine manufacturers' models by five men and four women. Instead, single editors from publications such as Runner's World, Outside magazine, The Wall Street Journal and Business Week review heart rate monitors without specifying their criteria for product selection or review. Because of this, we cross-referenced the professional reviews with consumer reviews of heart rate monitors to provide supporting or detracting evidence. In the end, the heart rate monitors that received the most consistently positive reviews were chosen as the best in their respective categories.

As for owner feedback, Amazon.com played a significant role in our assessment of the best heart rate monitors. Amazon.com's editorial reviews give detailed product descriptions and technical specifications for each product, including pros and cons for many of them. It is also a good source of the most recent product reviews, and the source of more user reviews than any other site. For some of the heart rate monitors there are hundreds of reviews at Amazon.com, as opposed to two or three found on the same product at Epinions. Additionally, nonprofessionally prepared heart rate monitor reviews go into great detail about likes and dislikes because many of the users are amateur athletes who know and care a great deal about product features and performance.

Price doesn't always indicate owner satisfaction with a heart rate monitor. For example, the Polar RS800sd (*est. $460) is an expensive pro-level heart rate monitor, but it receives a mixed bag of user reviews, with about half of them praising it as the ultimate runner's tool and the other half lamenting that it is overpriced and inconsistent. Some report problems with durability. Meant specifically for runners, the Polar RS800sd works in conjunction with Adidas adiStar apparel and shoes. While it is interesting, most agree that the Polar RS800sd heart rate monitor is overkill for anyone but competitive runners with deep pockets.

Most heart rate monitors use a chest strap to monitor your pulse rate, along with a wristwatch display. There are other models, like the Mio Shape (*Est. $60), which use a fingertip sensor on the watch to measure heartbeat. This means there's no chest strap, but reviewers say it's difficult to place your fingers on the sensors while working out. Many users also claim that it often takes several tries to get a reading. Overall, reviews for these types of fingertip sensor heart rate monitors indicate that they are ultimately limited in their usefulness and not the best choice.