What's the best heart-rate monitor?

You Are Here:

Home >> Gear >> What's the best heart-rate monitor?

View the entire 300-plus collection of must-have gear items tailor-made for your adventurous lifestyle. PLUS: A special section on womens gear.

Today's Question
Is there a shoe that acts like a light-hiker shoe but looks at home in the office? answer

Can you help me lighten my backpacking load? answer

Skin Care

Gear Upgrade

Make a Ski Sling

Online Favorites

Special Issues

Photo Galleries

August 27, 2002

What's the best heart-rate monitor?

I'm dumbfounded by all the choices with regard to heart rate monitors. Should I stick with the well-respected Polar or try other brands?

— Tracy
Los Angeles, California

Got your own gear question?

Heart-rate monitors have, in my view, entered a realm already occupied by multi-tools, hydration packs, and Gore-Tex parkas: the Land of We Have Enough Already. OK, maybe it's good to be able to download 12 hours of workouts and chart your heart rate during six workouts. But unless you're training for the Tour de France—and training to win—is it really necessary?

I'm convinced that for 90 percent of the people out there—even those who are serious enough about training to watch their heart rate to ensure they don't over or under train—a monitor with the bare minimum of functions is fine. And no, it doesn't have to be Polar, although that brand makes excellent monitors. An exceedingly good bargain monitor, in fact, is the Polar A1—just $50. It has current heart rate, average rate, and time exercised. For the same price, Performance Axiom's HR-150 adds full watch functions, plus programmable target levels and memory recall of time spent in the targeted zone. Peformance's electronics are all pretty good, so I should think that would be a reliable buy.

If you want to go with a luxe monitor, Polar's S210 ($175) is a great one—it has a wide range of options for setting and recording maximum heart rate, shows calories burned, has full watch functions, and is water-resistant. A great monitor.

RECENT QUESTIONS

Is there a shoe that acts like a light-hiker shoe but looks at home in the office?

Can you help me lighten my backpacking load?

Which shell will keep me dry and warm, without overheating, for winter running?

Which GPS will allow family to track a cross-country bike trip?

What are the best binoculars for the trail?

GEAR GUY FEATURES

Check out the bio of Douglas Gantenbein, aka the Gear Guy.

Readers' Mailbag: The Gear Guy digs into some of your more bizarre, obscure (and let�s face it, downright weird) posts from years gone by to see if he can make sense of it all, or if it�s just time to run up the white flag. Previous column: Beat the Cost of Gear.

The Gear Guy reports from the 2005 Outdoor Retailer summer trade fair, with his rundown of ten products to watch in 2006, plus the inside scoop on what shook down at the bi-annual gearapalooza.

MORE GEAR

The Outside Gear Blog

2005 Buyer's Guide

State of the Art: 2005 Bikes

Many of the items reviewed by the Gear Guy can be found at REI.com. Click here to find the internet's biggest selection of outdoor gear and apparel.

TODAY'S NEWS UPDATE!
iPhone Fitness Apps
As the hand-held age meets the ever-increasing need to track, log, share, and pace workouts, it's logical that ...