Boom Boom. Boom Boom.

Hear that?  That’s the sound of your heart.  Many of us don’t pay any attention to our most vital organ while exercising.  That is until we’re bent over wheezing from a hard sprint, leaving ourselves gasping for air. This week’s “Tech edition” has to do with heart rate monitors.   My question was proposed to Mike Davis from the Radical Edge in Fredericton NB, a guru in the sports industry who has a great background with different watches.

LMS: Hey Mike, how’s your heart doing these days?

Mike: Good.  Where is this conversation going?

LMS: Relax, I just wanted to ask you about heart rate monitors.  What’s your favorite?

Mike: Easy. Try the Suunto t3c for lots of features and scalability.

LMS: That’s it?  No big long spew, why we should buy it or what it does?

Mike: Nope.  The watch speaks for itself.

LMS: Thanks Mike.  But next time, I want more information!!

In my experience I’ve used a good variety of heart rate monitors.  Companies like Timex, Polar, Garmin and Suunto.  Each of these respected brands have their own little quirks for good or bad.

Timex + Ipod hook up

Timex: Although I haven’t used their top end watch (Ironman Triathlon + Ipod hookup), I have used their middle of the road watch.

• Pros: Timex is the BEST swim watch because of its lap counter set up.  It’s easy to find so you don’t add precious tenths of seconds to your 100m times.  It’s waterproof to 25ms (or almost as my girlfriend has to return hers as water got underneath the screen!).    This watch is also great for getting lap times for a track workout.
• Cons: Very simplistic.  Most people who I’ve seen wear one (myself included) are either using it strictly for a lap counter or never wear a HRM. If you’re a beginner, I’d buy another brand.
  

  Polar F6 - Cliff's Pick

Polar is the next featured brand.  This company in my opinion has done it right.  They have many models, something to suit everyone’s life style.  Polar has taken over the gym scene as many bikes and treadmills have their HRMs built in.

• Pros: With a vast selection, it’s really hard to go wrong.  The F6 (shown above) is my pick for the best general HRM on the market.  It has all the right features, average heart rate, max heart rate, calories burned and you can save up to 9 files. Probably my favorite characteristic about this watch is that it picks up the HRM strap fast. There is nothing more frustrating than doing half or all your workout with your watch in la la land trying to pick up the pulse of your heart.  I know for myself, this was a huge benefit from using the Polar products.
• Cons: Polar seems to pick up a lot of outside disturbances.  For example, cycling near power lines or at the start of a race, you may get funny numbers (very high or low). Changing the watch battery is an issue as you are only supposed to send the device back to Polar.  I’ve taken into a normal watch dealer and they’ve done it. I haven’t tried the foot pod connection (GPS) but I’ve heard good and bad things.
  

  Garmin 305 Forerunner

Garmin has been around for awhile.  You’ve probably seen more of their GPS devices than their HRMs.  Garmin watches are for techy people who want to know how far they’ve gone, what speed, what heart rate and so on.

• Pros: I was the lucky beneficiary of my Garmin 305 Forerunner as my dad was overloaded with information.  Score!  Yes there is A LOT of info to process.  Garmin is for the people who want to take their game to the next level.  Because you can track everything as you go, you have a wealth of information when you download the watch to your computer (you you definitely need a computer to operate this bad boy!). My Forerunner (shown above) has all the best of a Timex (lap times) and Polar (the HRM strap picks up very well).  Plus the GPS is pretty accurate.
• Cons: If you just want to go on a run, this watch takes about 5mins to start as it needs to collect to satellites.  Also, since it basically is a computer, it’s bulky. Probably my biggest pet peeve is the battery as it only last for 8 hours MAX.  I’m really bad for remembering to charge it so when you do need it, the battery goes dead.  More my fault than the watch.
  

  Suunto T3C - Mike's Pick

Finally, our last company is Suunto.  I started my athletic career with a Suunto T6 and sadly, it will be the last product I buy from them.  Mike and the Radical Edge staff  have had a lot of success with this watch.  Whats good for some I guess isn’t for others.

• Pros: Like Polar, they have a lot of variety to pick from.  Their high end watches were the first to take in account post oxygen consumption which tells you how recovered you are from your workout.
• Cons: Where do I start?  Batteries died, my strap broke, the accuracy was never there, the HRM strap had to be drenched for it to work and it only had a measly 7 lap memory. I have a bias and maybe my T6 was just a bad egg.  However out of all of Suuntos price points, I’d buy a Polar over them any day of the week.

Interested in more information about Heart Rate Monitors?  Go here.

Thanks again to Mike Davis for taking the time for answering this week’s Tech Question.  Want to ask Mike a question? Go here.