Customer Reviews
Didn't work for me 
2008-07-21
Used it for a week, gave it every benefit of the doubt, but if someone tells you ur heart rate fluctuates from 62 to 84 all while ur just standing next to you bike doing nothing what will you say. For me, it's not even remotely accurate, advice to stay away
I'm an idiot, but it works great. 
2008-07-20
I like it and it works well since I figured out the correct way to use the strap to keep it on. It needs to be snug and stable or the results are erratic.
Nice product to monitor the heart rate 
2008-07-18
Pros: Gives you a instant heart rate once you wear the belt around your chest.
Cons: Have to apply little water to establish good contact with your skin to get the heart rate. I wasn't able to get the heart rate on one machine (Elliptical of lifefitness) not sure why.
Overall good prodcut
heart monitor 2008-07-16
I found this to be very easy to ware and to read. This has helped me with my heart condition. I can watch my heart rate and modify my activity to stay within the range that is good for my health.
Handy Item 2008-07-13
This heart rate monitor works great. I can exercise anywhere now and know I am going at a rate that will benefit my overall health. No more staying on one machine at the gym. I can move around and change exercises as frequently as desired, hopefully preventing repetititve injuries. This is much better for my joints. I like it very much!
useful, easy to use 2008-07-12
Knowing your heart rate is important because if you are working out too hard, your activity can become counter productive and strain muscles. To achieve an effective workout, no matter what the aerobic activity, you must maintain your heart rate at a proper level for a minimum of 20 minutes. The proper level is generally 65%-85% of your maximum heart rate. Mounting bracket to mount watch receiver to most treadmills and bicycles Time of day display and daily reminderalarm feature 1 year warranty
Works great! 2008-07-10
This product was just as described and exactly what I was looking for. It's descreet enough you could wear it all day and nooone would know.
Really like it 2008-07-09
I work out in a gym using the elliptical and treadmill. This product works exactly as advertised and is not hard to set up. The wrist watch/display is easy to set up and has a backlight. The guy where I work out has Nautilus equipment and they read the signal wirelessly from the chest band so I don't even need to wear the wrist watch part of the system. I get really sweaty and the wrist watch and chest band get wet from sweat and no problems so far.
A good buy, especially for the price 2008-06-26
$30 shipped to your door. It's hard to find a decent watch at Walmart for $30 - just think about that.
This thing works, it's simple, yes, but it does what it's supposed to do. It doesn't record any data, upload it to your pc, or do anything other than report your heart rate. For those of you who want detailed data, avg. hr, max hr. then this unit is not for you.
I run a lot of hills and believe that my avg. hr. would be misleading given that my hr. tends to drop into the low aerobic zone down hill and will climb into the 90%-100% range on the hardest incline. I suppose if you're running on a flat track then the avg. would be a good way of measuring the hr you spent most of your time at. The max hr function would be helpful only for those who are testing themselves to find their max. When I tested myself I pretty much knew when to check the watch.
I find the reading to be very stable while running - I have never seen a blip of 0 or 260 or anything unusual - the reading is always very stable and moves around by 5bpm or so on a flat grade. The monitor has a heart in the upper right corner of the display that seems to flash when it's receiving a reading, if it stops flashing that that seems to indicate that the watch is no longer receiving a signal. It's easy to set the high and low thresholds and when you are above or below your set zone an arrow appears above or below the heart to indicate that you're too high or too low. The watch can beep when you're out of your zone but I don't use this function given that I'm usually listening to music while running. The readings seem to fluctuate much more before I start my run; my wife is a nurse and has taken my pulse and we find the monitor to be accurate.
The strap is easily adjusted, comfy, and *very* easy to put on. There is no scratchy velcro. I am a thin build (6'1" 172lbs) and can't believe there'd be anyone thin enough that the strap would be too large. The unit works ok if you don't moisten the strips with spit or water but has consistently worked flawlessly if you moisten it before you go. I do have a fairly hairy chest, no apparent interference. I don't use it at the gym so I don't know how bad the crosstalk would be with other units.
I am very happy with it, it works as advertised. At $30 it's a no brainer! I would be tempted to get something like the forerunner 50 that used hr and a foot pod but at $130 that's just too pricey. For a basic hr monitor this can't be beat, you are sacrificing some of the fancy bells and whistles but you are not sacrificing quality or functionality - it works flawlessly every time. The watch does have a blue back light, a stopwatch, the date and time. You can easily switch back and forth between any display and the hr monitor with the push of the red button. I find that I only need the stop watch, the time and date seem pointless given that I will only be wearing this watch while running.
My only quibble is that the instructions suggest you base your training zones on a percentage of your max hr. I would advocate that you use the Karvonen Formula that uses the max hr in addition to your resting hr.
Good price, but doesn't work 2008-06-26
I was drawn in by the price, and figured I'd take a chance since the reviews were about 50/50.
The product does not work as many other reviewers stated. My heart rate would read wacky and varied at rest and zero during exercise. And I'm fairly certain that I do have a heartbeat.
I thought it was worth the risk given the low cost. Amazon rocks as usual with returns of unworthy products, however just know going in that you'll likely end up sending it back. In the end, it was just a big waste of my time and effort.
Despite the huge cost difference, I'll be moving to the Polar brand (which my boot camp instructor recommends).
Because no matter how cheap you can get something, it's worth nothing if it doesn't work.
