Strapless heart rate monitors?

P

pixie9

Cathlete
Hi everyone! I'm a big lover of heart rate monitors. In fact I HATE working out without them. I have the polar F6 (in pink of course!) and I have a few others (all polar) but they all operate with the straps. I recently went to the polar website and noticed that they have a new one (called the Polar AW200 Activity Watch) which doesn't have/need a strap. It's quite expensive ($200!!) but I'm interested if anyone out there has tried it or anything like it. I've always read that HRMs with straps are better but perhaps that's no longer true?

Any thoughts??
Carolyn
 
I'm not positive, but it looks like the watch you mention is not actually an HRM. It seems like it measures steps or distance and converts that to calorie information somehow.

There is a strapless HRM though.

I have one that I got about 2 yrs ago as a present. The "Wear Link" transmitter is a small unit (about 1 inch by 1 1/2 inches) that snaps into a little pocket in a specially made sport top (Numetrex makes them). The sport top actually has tiny wires or fibers made right into it that pick up the signal like the big heavy plastic strap would have (I've used that kind too). You can't feel the fibers at all, the fabric is all soft. The system works pretty well if you wet the area of the top for a few inches to either side of the transmitter first, otherwise the signal may not pick up 'til you get sweaty. (I found this helped with the strap kind too, so it's not really a disadvantage of the strapless one). A $ point to consider...to stay strapless, you can ONLY use this with the special tops, so if you wear them for every workout, you will need a few (I think they're about $50 each on the Numetrex site, I don't know if they can be found for less elsewhere). (You can actually use the same unit snapped into a fabric strap tucked under a regular sport top, but that kind of defeats the point of "strapless"). It can add up, however, you can get a whole package (watch, transmitter, and one top) for $99 or $149 depending on which brand of watch you want. So you could still get one or two extra tops and not spend more than just that Activity Watch.

Here's a link:

http://www.numetrex.com/webapp/index.php/store/Shopping/section/packages

Hope that helps!
 
I purchased a Reebok strapless HR monitor a few years ago and HATE IT!! In order to get a reading you have to put your pointer finger and middle finger on the sensors on the watch, and it usually only works when you are standing still, so there is no way to get a reading while doing cardio! I actually stopped using it, and am looking to get a new one WITH a strap LOL!
 
Carolyn,

I checked it out and I too am pretty sure that it isn't a HRM. It's like a pedometer watch thingie. Oh well....Chest straps aren't so bad are they?
 
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