Heart Rate Monitor Review

Chest-strap versus strapless heart rate monitors

Heart rate monitors are an integral piece of exercise equipment for many athletes. Monitoring your heart rate while you train can let you know if you're working hard enough to get cardiovascular benefits or if you are working out too hard, which can be ineffective and lead to injuries. While the most basic units track heart rate only, more advanced monitors also calculate calorie expenditure and provide personalized workout recommendations and fitness tests. Most dedicated heart rate monitors don't include lap timers or GPS functionality; if you want these features, see our companion report on sports watches.

The best professional review of heart rate monitors comes from ConsumerReports.org, which tests several types of monitors in a recent report. However, we found a variety of solid reviews in fitness publications like Women's Adventure Magazine, Triathlon Plus and Men's Journal. These sources conduct group tests of heart rate monitors and then rate each, which makes it easy to compare models. Reviews published in The New York Times, Outside magazine and Runner's World are also helpful, but their testing is less detailed. As for owner feedback, Amazon.com is the premier source, with some monitors receiving hundreds of individual reviews. Many are quite detailed, and they give a good sense of long-term reliability that is not measured in professional tests.

Most heart rate monitors use a chest strap to detect your pulse rate and transmit the data to a wristwatch display. Strapless models like the Mio Classic Select (*Est. $50) use a fingertip sensor on the watch to measure heartbeat, but reviewers say this kind of monitor is less convenient for serious athletes because you have to stop exercising to get a reading. As you would expect, your heart rate begins to fall once you stop activity, and you may not get a true indication of your working heart rate. Many users also say it often takes several tries to get a reading, and accuracy can be subpar. Overall, reviews for strapless heart rate monitors indicate they are limited in their usefulness and not the best choice. This makes a heart rate monitor with a traditional chest strap a much better option.