(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best heart rate monitors

Wrist mounted heart rate monitors suck. 75% accurate at best.

You want an ANT heart rate belt like this. But you need something ANT compatible to use it and I dont know of any phones that have ANT recievers.

My family and I use Suunto Ambit 2 watches. Its a full blown fitness computer. Fuull GPS, run tracking, heart rate monitor.

This is what I got.

Fitness Tracker, Heart Rate Monitor Watch, Sokos Bluetooth Smart Fitness Tracker Armband | Wristband | Bracelet with OLED Display and free iOS Android APP https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EHVE5NA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_16rNxb79B8M7E

It has a pedometer, heart rate monitor, calorie counter, distance walked, it keeps track of your sleep patterns and let's you know your habits. The battery lasts a long time, it alerts you to texts, Facebook messenger, phone calls, Twitter, etc and let's you preview messages. The app has worked flawlessly for me so far and this thing seems ridiculously accurate.

Here's a couple of screenshots of the app.
I'm laying around with my kids watching Stranger Things today. Complete couch potato! http://imgur.com/xyD0czG

And I stayed up late last night. That's exactly what time I fell asleep: http://imgur.com/JuxrKiy

The Garmin FR 60 is about 100$. I have the "limited edition" which came with a soft chest belt HRM, but unfortunately, looks like it's double the price.

If you don't need GPS, it's a pretty cool watch. It reacts pretty much straight away to changes in pace and the footpod is both small and very precise. Without calibration, the distance it measured in my last marathon was 43Km. All batteries (HRM, footpod, watch) will last 6 months +. It also transmits data to the PC via a USB thumbstick. The software / website are OK to keep track of your progress.

The one thing I'm really unhappy about is the quality of the wristband. Mine started to split after about a year. No way to change it of course... YMMV, but do keep that in mind.

Uh... hello friend. I just bought this because my life. I crochet to keep my hands busy while I netflix! And I definitely also use cardio, you know, to give myself room for that pinot grigio (dry whites have lower calories than other wines).

Also if you eat back your calories with cardio I highly recommend a heart rate monitor. I got this one for Christmas and it's been my new favorite thing.

The chest straps work fine under water, but you have to get one like the Garmin HRM Swim (more targeted to pool swimmers) or the Garmin HRM Tri and pair it with something like the Garmin Fenix 5. None of these will give you a live reading, but the devices will sync when you're out of the water and end your workout to give you a plot of your workout intensity.

The wrist-based HRMs are fine when you're out of water, but they rely on light, so they don't perform well under water.

Edit: I apparently just gave bad advice: According to the Garmin Support page on using a heart rate monitor strap while diving, their straps are rated only for depths up to 5 ATM.

Suunto Ambit3 Run also does it. I believe you have to program the route with your phone though in their app and sync to your phone though. Here is the manual for it and the navigation section is on page 32. http://ns.suunto.com/Manuals/Ambit3_Run/Userguides/Suunto_Ambit3_Run_UserGuide_EN.pdf

It's $231 on amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Suunto-Ambit3-Run-Sports-Watch/dp/B00U6PQLDE

Also, I'm making a site where it will be easy to filter through tons of these sports/lifestyle watches by features. Should hopefully be launched in about a week with around 50 of the top products on the market. Should hopefully help people find the right watch much faster.

It will be at http://findfitgear.com .

Let me know if you have any other questions.

I have been using this one: Oregon Scientific SE138 Strap-Free Heart Rate Monitor

I don't recommend it as it is reliant on finger contacts. It works well under ideal circumstances, but the middle of pure cardio doesn't seem to be an ideal circumstance. I may try out the one that Hiaskios recommended.

There are cheap fitness watches with built-in wrist HR monitoring on Amazon. Quick search showed one by Bowflex for $20. Buyer beware at those sort of prices, of course. I don't know about arm mounted bands. If the Scosche is too pricey, the big name wrist HR watches (Garmin, eg) will be too pricey too. Good luck :)

I chafed every single time when I used that strap (right in middle where the monitor is). Medical tape worked pretty well for me, but I recently switched to a polar strap because I was getting funky data, and not only did am I getting much better data, no more chaffing! Great investment.

http://www.amazon.com/Polar-91043548-P-Soft-Strap-Set/dp/B0081O7XSE/

Not helpful as it's out of stock right now, but I got this Suunto for about $200. It's great & well worth the money.

Its $125 pedometer and heart rate monitor isn't it?

Is it the same as?

Why would it be unreasonable to expect a >$100 pedometer and heart meter to actually work?

I got the Peloton HRM as part of the bundle. As long as you take proper care of it (rinse always, wash as needed), and unclip it after each use, it should work pretty well. I think it has received a bad rap because the proper care of the band is not mentioned (AFAIK; or at least easily missed).

The $10-$15 replacement straps sold on Amazon should work fine to replace your missing strap... But you might consider putting that money toward a different HRM altogether. (Example: https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Replacement-Monitor-Adjustable-Elastic/dp/B07L1FLB1J)

I use this one, it is cheap and effective. Does a good job at motivating me. Some have more bells and whistles, I will eventually step up to those...but in the mean time this optimal and didn't hurt the wallet

http://www.amazon.com/Polar-Mens-Heart-Monitor-Watch/dp/B004ZYCNJI/ref=pd_sim_sbs_sg_5

Mine was gray though...couldn't do orange, lol.

I use a Sunny B1805 that I got on sale at Home Depot for $500 plus tax.

Other miscellaneous items I have bought that I think really enhance the experience:

• Wahoo cadence sensor that I attached to one of the crank arms
  
• Scosche Rhythm 24 heart rate monitor
  
• Dual-sided Shiamino SPD pedals
  
• Giro cycling shoes
  
  I screen cast the classes from my iPhone to an Apple TV which allows me to see cadence and my heart rate on my TV.
  
  If I were buying now, I'd be looking at either the Schwinn IC4 or the Bowflex C6 as they come stock with a lot of things that I ended up adding on (SPD pedals, cadence meter and HRM) as well as things that I don't have but would like to have (weights, resistance displayed, charging port).

I once did a project with a Spree - You can pair with a BLE host and query the heart rate and temperature.

I used C# + Xamarin + Monkey Robotics and it worked on both iOS and Android.

However, the spree itself was sometimes unreliable, so perhaps see if you can find a better BLE enabled monitor.

Maybe a SportLine S7 Heart Rate Monitor Fitness Running Watch?

Which heart rate belt do you have? I'm about to buy one right now on Amazon for when I race karts. Does this look good?

http://www.amazon.com/Suunto-Basic-Heart-Rate-Belt/dp/B006UCHTT2

It's a Fitbit holder. So you can clip it to your shirt or shoes.

eGenPlus Silicone Clip Holder for Fitbit Flex 2, Silicone Clip Holder Built-in Smart Strong Magnetic Clasp Strap for Fitbit Flex 2,No Tracker - 12 Months Warranty https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N8STB6E/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_DHG2Ab121NXGX

This watch is $13 :)
Lucky 13

It was on sale - I had a price watch alert set for it and it was only the red color that was $29

Scosche Rhythm 1.9 With Exclusive Clever Training Red Band https://www.amazon.com/dp/B018RICYV4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_hAoPPsesbYOK4

https://www.amazon.com/Silicone-Holder-eGenPlus-Magnetic-Tracker/dp/B01N8STB6E/

https://www.amazon.com/Garmin-HRM-Swim-Heart-Rate-Monitor/dp/B012H8IRLQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1502729307&sr=8-2&keywords=heart+rate+swim+garmin

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00B04UH7Q?cache=7353676ae7dbcce40f5d7d4713675901&pi=SY200_QL40&qid=1412477374&sr=8-1#ref=mp_s_a_1_1

Me likey.