HRM

bgreer

Hello all

I'm new to both the sport, in that I've never done one, and new to the forum bar one post last week.
I wanted some advice on buying a HRM that I can use for running, cycling and ideally swimming, although it appears for my budget the latter is well out of the question! I'm not fussed on GPS as I usually have my phone on me and use the Edomondo App for that. My budget would be around £100 although I may stretch another £50 if it's really worth it.

Any suggestions would be greatly received

Cheers

coolasbeans

I bought a Garmin Forerunner 110 which came with HRM for £118 from Amazon

Overall I'm very pleased, doesn't work in the pool though, i expect the price has dropped now and you could get a different model or buy 2nd hand?

nigelworvell

Hi bgreer,

I bought a Polar RCX5 for £180, It comes with a separate GPS Pod which comes with a arm strap, although the Gps Pod isn't 100% waterproof I put it in a seal-able plastic bag in the arm strap, under my wetsuit whilst open water swimming! I know this isn't ideal but it is one of the few HR monitors out there that records HR whilst swimming ( GPS Pod is rain/splash proof).

You can also purchase a foot Pod to enable accurate mileage and cadence measurement on a treadmill for example.

You can then upload the data to a computer and view everything from the training/race there.

All in all It's a really nice HRM which is a lot smaller in size on your wrist than a Garmin! although It's not ideal having a separate Gps Pod it's very accurate and I've had no issues what so ever with Gps connection, another plus point is that the battery lasts for months on the watch in comparison to a Garmin where it lasts about 20 hrs and has to be charged regularly, and it records HR on the swim.

For the price, a good piece of kit!

Search for it on Google for best price! and there are also reviews on it aswell.

The better ones out there( all in one unit) are dearer £££!! and bulkier.........If money wasn't an object I'd get the Garmin 910 £300 odd squid!

Hope some of this helps with your decision.

Nigel

LegacyUser

Have a look at handtec dot co dot uk. They have plenty of choice at very good prices.

Zacnici

Garmin 305'S are v popular, I have one, and can be had with the HRM and cadence sensor for a smidgen over £150

AK

Or if you just want to continue using your smartphone (and it happens to be an iPhone, I don't think there's a version for Android), look up Wahoo Fitness. Their iPhone ANT+ dongle is about 60 quid, and you can use any ANT+ HRM you like with it (theirs is I think about 30 quid).

Won't work in the pool of course - but then not many of them do.

nigelworvell

I also use Endomondo on my Android phone....this also supports a bluetooth HRM but it aint the best! that's why I got the polar.

Still use endomondo though for backup and you can then export the data to strava!

bgreer

Thanks for the suggestions. Still not sure which one to go for but was thnking of subscribing to Triathlon 220 as you get a free HRM with it. From what I see it's basic but does exactly what it says on the tin!!

Cheers