HRM With Interval Timer?

April 27, 2008 10:42 AM

Shopping for a heart rate monitor which includes an interval timer - this is the cheapest Timex ($78), this is cheapest Suunto ($115) and this is the cheapest Polar ($140). Does anyone have experience of any of these, or have other recommendations to offer?

The Timex has only 4 reviews on Amazon and 2 of them are bad (how much can you trust an Amazon review?) - average = 3*s. The Suunto has mixed reviews and averages 3.5*s. And the Polar has better reviews - averages 4*s. Also in it's favor, the Polar has the soft Wearlink strap. But there again, it's nearly twice the price of the Timex.

Any advice/ suggestions/ recommendations? This is for cycle training at home (unfortunately hrm cycle computers with interval timers are crazy expensive).

posted by forallmankind to sports, hobbies, & recreation (4 comments total)

note: my last hrm was a Polar. It was fine and I liked the Wearlink strap, but the watch itself was crappy and the buttons fiddley and difficult to operate. A lot of the bad Suunto reviews focus on the build quality of the watch, but I think Polars are, for the most part, pretty poor in this price range, which is influencing my reluctance to drop a bunch of cash on one.
posted by forallmankind at 10:51 AM on April 27, 2008

I've had my Suunto for over a year and have had no quality problems. There's a slight learning curve to figure out which buttons to press, but I love it overall and use the watch with interval timer in the water four times a week without any damage.
posted by mynameisluka at 11:40 AM on April 27, 2008

I've used the Garmin Forerunner 305 for about a year now and have nothing but positive experiences. It has an interval timer feature. It's going for about $200, but it includes GPS tracking, which is awesome if you ever ride/run/swim/hike/geocache outdoors.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 1:36 PM on April 27, 2008

Suunto is awesome. I have the T3/HR monitor. I also have an accessory packafor my bike that measures distance and speed. Pretty awesome. They have them for biking (mtn/road), and running.

Quality product, easy to change the battery (in all watches/accessories), and easy to calibrate. Like the other user said, there is a SLIGHT learning curve with the buttons. But once you get the hang of it...its AWESOME.

Also, I also want to say that if you are going to be using yr watch outdoors in bright sun, you may want to get the reverse display (white numbers on black background). Its a LOT easier to read.

Good luck.
posted by hal_c_on at 3:26 PM on April 27, 2008