You should really look at the MIO watches which are in the sporting goods dept of Walmart stores.  A trainer at the Y tipped me off to go there and you don’t have to wear a strap and it has the calorie counter, stopwatch, timer, etc. and its so easy to take your heartrate.  I got a two strap model - a blue strap plus back strap for I believe about $35-40.  My husband went and got the same watch to.  It sells for about 3x as much on the Mio website.  You can go to the website and read up on their watches - they are accurate and get good reviews. 

Getting a watch really was a reality check to me about how much I was exerting myself.  It is a good investment.

Hi all,

My Polar heart rate monitor that I have had for about 7 or 8 years ago needs to go back for a new battery which will cost $75 so I think it might be time to look for a new one.

As this post has not been updated in a year I was wondering if anyone has any updated recommendations.  Specifically does the computer interface on any of these work?  Are there any good heart rate monitors out there without a chest strap?  Also I am a big fan of gadgety type things so something with a GPS in it might be interesting.

Thanks everyone for your feedback and I hope you all had a great Turkey Day!
Karen

Hi Karen,

I don’t have any updates, for you, but if you go to this link in the MTM directory you’ll see a whole bunch of threads with heart monitor recommendations. They’re relatively near the top.

Cheers,
Julie

Costco has a Garmin wrist watch complete with GPS and HR monitor chest strap for about 200 bucks.  They might even have a coupon or rebate on it.

Hi there!

I have a Timex with a chest strap.  It helps with counting laps, has various heart rate zones (so I can train in whichever one I’m working on that day), and has other nifty features.

Purchased the men’s unit, as the woman’s unit had a face that was smaller than I wanted.

Easy to program - but best of all - the batteries are easy for the regular person (aka - me) to change when it runs out.  Don’t have to send it to the manufacturer for service.  Purchased my unit from a DICK’S SPORTING GOODS I believe, and it was around $85.

Good Luck!