Customer Reviews
NOT FOR CYCLING OR DANCE OR FREE WEIGHTS 
2008-02-02
"DO NOT USE WHEN BICYCLING." This is printed on the back of the MF-180 package. This gadget is intended ONLY for JOGGING & WALKING. Inside the user manual it further states that this monitor WILL NOT give accurate measurements for any exercise that requires gripping or "excessive hand movements".
Additional limitations: if you have dry skin or cold hands the readings will not be accurate. The technology behind this gadget is limited to very specific conditions.
For me that meant that the bulk of my exercise routine of which includes bicycling, aerobic classes, free weights and Nautilus type machines. I should have picked up on that from the other reviewers and their comments about keeping the finger in a particular position. I will continue with the chest belt.
Comfortable, and less complicated than chest strap with watch combination 
2007-12-18
LOVE it. Comfortable, barely restricting, takes seconds to put on. I use it mostly for running, and it causes no problems. Also seems very accurate. Target zone alarm works well. Only real negative is that it's not particularly intuitive how to get between functions or how to change a setting. Explained well in manual, but not easy to remember on the fly. Overall thrilled with it.
Love It 
2007-12-12
I think this is a great item. It took some time to get used to all the features, but I really only use the monitor and calories burned. I use it for running and it works great. However, after I got better at running, it would have trouble picking up my signal when I would first put it on. I put in a new battery this may have helped. But I now use one of those hand squeezers to get the blood flowing to my finger before I put it on and it seems to work as great as it always did.
Inconsistently accurate, with occasional spurious readings and some wear discomfort., 2007-10-18
This unit was purchased with the hope that it would give continuous and reliable readings. It often does, but inaccuracies are not uncommon; e.g., when removed it sometimes continues to report a heart rate, and during use it occasionally reports erroneously higher readings, compared to baton and direct pulse measurements.
Others with different hand and blood vessel geometry may obtain different results, but with the anatomical dimensions of my hand I found the unit too inaccurate to consistently rely on.
Wearing the unit is not without comfort issues for me. The velcro fastening material is placed along the full width of the finger mount. This results in the unit sometimes becoming uncomfortable to wear. Also, the width of the finger mount means the index finger cannot be easily flexed when the unit is worn.
Although settings are not intuitive, the instruction manual is clearly written, and the unit provides a number of useful additional functions, i.e., clock, alarm, stopwatch, under and over heart rate alarms, and calories burned.
However, my primary aim was to get a consistently accurate heart rate monitor. For that purpose, this unit has proved less than fully satisfactory.
Works well but controls are a bit cumbersome 2007-06-27
After reading other reviews, I'm wondering if the manufacturer has improved their sensor because I almost always get a good reading and it is very close to or exactly the same as other heart monitors I compare it with around the gym (the kind on the machines where you have to grab 2 electrodes). I've had it now for about 3 months and I'm pretty happy with it. The only time I don't get a good reading is when I haven't positioned the sensor properly. The trick is that you have to have the sensor over one of the arteries in your index finger, which is off center, NOT in the middle. You also don't want it too tight -- certainly less tight than the manual says. Just make it snug and you should get a good reading. I use the "cross-country skiing" orbital trainer machine most often and it works perfectly with those kind of movements. The only time I've seen it get confused is if you intentionally wildly swing your hand around to try to confuse it. That kind of movement never happens during workouts, though, so the criticisms about it being inaccurate unless you're not moving are not the case at all in my experience. I would have to assume that the user didn't have the sensor positioned correctly. I've been quite active with it and it has always kept up just fine. I also haven't had to have a perfectly straight finger to get a good reading. Just don't try to get a reading while you're grabbing a chinup bar or curling or anything like that. You shouldn't be looking at your heart rate while lifting weights anyway, you should be paying attention to what you're doing.
I do think they could improve the glove, but it fits my hand pretty well. I'm a male with a medium-sized hand. Someone with a large hand would probably find the glove uncomfortable, and someone with a small hand would probably find it just fine. It just seems like cheap material next to the rather well-made readout and sensor. I felt that the controls were cumbersome because, as someone only interested in cardio workouts (which is the reason to have a heart monitor in the first place), the modes I need to use are several clicks away from each other. If you want to monitor recovery time, you have to click the top button 4 times to cycle through a bunch of other modes before you get from heart monitoring, to recovery time values. Definitely could have been better thought out, but all the necessary things are there, and even some fancy things I haven't taken the time to learn yet. The big advantage is, of course, that you don't have to wear a chest strap which I have found extremely appealing. I would have given 5 stars if they would have made a better glove and would have thought out the sequence of functions with the buttons more realistically. All things considered, though, knowing what I know now, I would still buy it over any other monitor.
Does what I want 2008-06-19
I found this product to be a little glitchy at first, but after a few weeks I'm satisfied with it. I only use the basic function - real-time heart rate. Once you learn the proper positioning and tension for the sensor, the monitor seems fairly accurate and stable. I still get a drop-out once in a while, but it resets within 10-15 seconds.
One thing that threw me at first: the unit I received is branded "Prevention" (like the magazine) instead of "Mark of Fitness", but otherwise it's the same model (MF-180).
I find that nothing increases the efficacy of my workouts like a target heart rate. And having a personal monitor is so much better than relying on one that's tied to a machine (when you can find one that works at all).
Very Satisfied!! 2008-04-07
I tried my heart moniter as soon as it arrived and it worked very well.I've had it nearly a month and use it several times a week and it works great.The monitor is overall pretty decent for it's price.I love the "out of range" alarm feature!I recommend this product to anyone who is a beginner in monitoring their heart rate during excersize.It is very easy to program and use.
Works like a champ!!!! 2008-04-05
Worked first time used and has just been fantastic. Still got to learn all the bells and whistles but main thing, heart rate, is what I was more interested in. I know when I get used to all the other options will be super. Highly recommended for those who do not want to wear that strap across your chest.
Excellent for what it does. 2008-04-05
My review is based on 6 weeks of ownership. I asked for this for my birthday, and my wife got it for me. I am very pleased with it!
It is very accurate for sports activities which do *not* require the use of the hand you've got it wrapped on. In the past six weeks I have used it for the following activities: walking, running, solo racquetball practice, treadmill, stationary recumbent exercise bike, solo basketball practice. I haven't used it with boxing or swimming. ;) Only during the basketball practice does it have a problem with keeping accurate measurements (because shooting with both hands disturbs the sensor on your index finger.)
It's got a green LED and sensor in the same module, similar to a hospital-style fingertip monitor. I have checked it by getting my pulse to a certain level, stopping my exercise, and counting my pulse manually and comparing. I have also used the momentary pulse grips on treadmills, and it's always withing 2 beats of that display (and I think the MF-180 is the more accurate measurement.)
Best features: While you've got the pulse meter turned on, you've got constant access to your pulse rate throughout the exercising. No nasty chest strap. No holding two fingers on the face of it, either. It even displays your pulse rate in "stopwatch" mode, though at a slower refresh rate than just pulse display alone. Plus it's got "zone" settings - you can target what pulse range you want to exercise at.
So, why 4 and not 5 stars? Only three reasons:
* My model did not have the little gray grommet on the strap buckle (as shown in the photo.)
* The straps that attach the reading unit to the "glove" are OK, but a little too short. (When strapping it on it has come loose a couple of times, then straps down just fine again.)
* The design would have been *much* helped by the addition of a separate "reset" key. It's easy enough to learn how to use, but there is a learning curve, mainly because of this.
Overall, I've been *very* satisfied with this product. I'd heartily recommend it to anyone who hates chest straps and so forth but wants a constant pulse readout. I hope to use it for years to come.
Tips on using:
* Keep in mind the "select" button is also the "reset" button if you hold it long enough / too long.
* The sensor has to be on the meat of the finger. I find keeping it just off-center towards the thumb is best.
No more nasty chest strap for me 2008-03-15
I love this monitor. I wore a Polar chest strap for several years. Although I liked the information I got from the Polar, I absolutely HATED the sweaty, sticky, nasty, uncomfortable chest strap - as a female, it never fit me just right. Bought this monitor in late January and it has worked great since day 1. Heart rate and calorie counts seems very consistent with readings I got with my Polar. Yes, you do have to keep the index finger relatively straight, but I've had no trouble on the elliptical, the treadmill, or even the weight machines. I've also had no trouble getting the finger sensor positioned correctly (I do have relatively small hands). Mostly however, it is COMFORTABLE which means I'm more likely to use it regularly. The only feature I miss from my Polar was the ability to have an average heart rate at the end of a workout. This unit doesn't do that, but it has enough other advantages for me that I give it 5 stars.
