With only 16 more weeks remaining for my marathon training, I’m planning to buy a heart rate monitor (HRM) to assist me. Read here to see why heart monitoring is beneficial along with an explanation of different features of a HRM. Here is a comparison of features for the options that I’m considering:
| Feature | Timex 5C411 Ironman Triathlon |
Polar S120 | Polar F6 | Polar F11 | Nike Triax C6 | Description |
| Heart Rate Display | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Zones | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | Preset desired heart rate exercise zone. |
| Out-of-zone Alarm | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Alarm notification when you are not in zone. |
| Time in Target Zone | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Amount of time spent within selected heart rate target zone. |
| Average Heart Rate | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Average heart rate over a period of time. |
| High Heart Rate | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Maximum heart rate achieved during a session. |
| Recovery Heart Rate Timer | Yes | Yes | No | No | ? | Measure your heart rate after a timed recovery. |
| Calories Burned | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Total calories burnt per session. |
| Lap Timer | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | |
| Laps | 30 | 60 | - | - | 100 | Number of laps that can be recorded. |
| Clock | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Stop watch | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | |
| Countdown Timer | Yes | Yes | No | No | ? | |
| Date | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Water Resistance | 50m | 50m | 30m | 30m | 50m | |
| Heart Rate Memory Recall | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Coded Signal | Yes? | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Minimizes interference with other HRM. |
| PC Compatible | Yes d> | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| User Replaceable Battery | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Opinions | 1 | 1, 2, 3 | 1, 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Price | amazon.com ($69.99, original $90.00) | amazon.com ($79.95, original $99.95) | amazon.com ($99.95, original $109.99) | amazon.com ($149.95, original $159.95) |
A detailed set of comments from the users of HRM is available here. Here is an extensive review of Polar AXN series. REI allows to generate a comparative chart of different HRM here. Overall, I’ve heard mostly positive comments about Polar. Timex and Nike seems to have a few problems as can be found from the opinions row in the table above. The opinions row in the table above helped me decide on Polar F11. I finally bought it yesterday from Sports Authority (fka Sports Mart). Got a $25 discount for any purchase over $100 and then there is an additional mail- in rebate of $10 so it will turn out to be $125.64, that’s pretty much the cheapest I could find anywhere on the web or in retail stores.
I used it for a 9 mile run this morning and found it useful. The out-of-zone alarms are just great and a continuous feedback about the heart rate really kept me within my target zone. I plan to use it more-and-more during my training sessions and report on it’s usage in subsequent entries, so far it’s a pleasant experience but I’ve hardly used it!
A random set of helpful reviews is given below:
- http://www.consumersearch.com/www/health_and_fitness/heart-rate-monitors/reviews.html
- http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,5033,s6-52-74-0-8400,00.html
- http://www.prevention.com/article/0,5778,s1-2-68-123-4185-1,00.html?
- http://outside.away.com/outside/gear/gearguy/200404/20040412.html
- http://www.epinions.com/well-Supplies-Home_Diagnostics-Heart_Rate-All
Technorati: Running Marathon Fitness Training Heart Rate Monitor Polar Timex Nike
