How to choose a sports heart rate monitor (reviews)

For many, the choice of a multifunctional deviceturns into a headache. After all, I want so much to get a decent device for a symbolic price with a lot of useful functions. And if it is a pulse meter? Judging by the feedback of the owners who purchased such a device, many of the functions of the heart rate monitor remained unclaimed. How to make the right choice? The focus of this article is the pulse meter. Feedback from buyers and sellers will help determine the choice of devices that currently exist on the market.

List of requirements for the device

Before choosing a model of a heart rate monitor, you needto get acquainted with the functional. It is clear, the more features a device has, the higher its price. Therefore, the list of requirements will be compiled on the utility of the functions from top to bottom. The division of the list into groups will allow to define three price categories - cheap, medium and expensive.

1. Method of measurement and type of signal. Wristwatches with an analog and wireless chest sensor have a low price. A sensor built into the clock and taking readings from the wrist is more expensive and inaccurate. And digital data transfer requires decoding on a computer, but it is not subject to interference from electrical devices.
2. Thresholds. By setting the upper and lower threshold of the heart rate, you can devote yourself to training. Overload or weakening of the load on the heart will alert the owner with a sound signal.
3. The pedometer is useful for calculating the distance traveled. However, a clock with a heart rate meter and a pedometer does not count the distance when driving on skates and bicycles.
4. Calculation of calories is interesting to slimming people, but it is not always accurate.
5. Speedometer, barometer, altimeter, odometer - for many in general new words in circulation.

A simple solution for a reasonable amount of money

According to statistics, the best-selling device onthe Russian market is considered to be the Sigma PC 3.11 heart rate monitor. Reviews about it are mostly positive. The presence of a large functional, it does not shine, but most of it lacks:

• analog wireless data transmission from the chest sensor;
• a huge and clear display;
• built-in stopwatch to tenths of a second;
• waterproof aluminum body.

Inexpensive device is suitable for all sportsmen,who just need to see the heart rate. By the ratio of price and quality, nothing better to find than the heart rate monitor PC 3.11. Reviews of a negative nature, such as the provision of false data in close proximity to the orbitrek, are not taken into account, as officially it is stated by the manufacturer in the certificate to the device.

Interesting offer

Since we are talking about the Sigma Sport heart rate monitor, reviewsabout which most of them paint advantages of the device, rather than drawbacks, it is worth paying attention to the models of the tenth series (10.11) and higher (14.11, 15.11). Yes, the price in comparison with the cheapest model has doubled, but the functionality has significantly increased:

• thresholds for the operation of the set heart rate range with audible alarm;
• count of circles, calories, training time outside the training zone;
• stopwatch, backlighting of a huge screen, and in some models and the presence of a vibrating signal.

Of all the above functional, attentiondeserves only the possibility of installing a training zone. Calculating your maximum age and pulse rate for effective fat burning, you will be able to exercise more productively.

The structure of the XXI century

About the Polar heart rate monitor reviews of owners andsellers contain more indications of merits, rather than shortcomings. The functional of the device corresponds to the full price, and if you compare it with Sigma Sport, it will be found that the devices are almost identical. The difference is only in appearance. Polar pulsometer looks like a device from the distant future - the futuristic look of each model is unique and, judging by the reviews of sellers, attracts the attention of buyers.

Pleasant functions, apart from the thresholdsset pulse, you can consider the presence of an alarm clock and the relationship with a personal computer. Working with a PC is not just about keeping a log of training and making reports. The proprietary software allows you to create whole training programs and record them on the heart rate monitor.

German quality

The review also touches the German Beurer pulse meters. Reviews about these devices are quite interesting both from the sellers themselves and from buyers. The advantages include ease of use. What is from the sensor, that there is no discomfort from the clock on the hand - I put it on and forgot about their existence. Some models of devices (the updated series) are equipped with a measuring sensor on the watch case, which allows you to read the data directly from the athlete's finger. The upper and lower limit of the pulse with the signaling in the middle class of heart rate meters is the norm, but the complexity in tuning and management causes negative users. To adjust the measuring device from the first time even if there is a Russified instruction is unlikely to work. Also, users note the poor quality of the chest sensors, which often refuse to work when swimming underwater. The same applies to the control buttons of the wrist unit, when you press them under the water, the dial of the device fogs, indicating that moisture is ingested inside. In such cases, the service center in the warranty refuses.

Serious approach

Separate attention deserves devices fromexpensive segment. Pulsometer, reviews of sellers about which only positive, has a built-in navigation system, and own development. It's about the famous American brand Garmin. Happy owners of the heart rate monitor from this manufacturer is easier to write what functions are not enough, rather than list all its advantages. In fact, on the athlete's hand is a full-featured laptop, which, thanks to built-in sensors, is able to produce all sorts of calculations and produce a result on the surface of the screen.

However, judging by the feedback of buyers, interest inthe functional of the heart rate monitor quickly disappears. The only active use is a warning about the pace of training and compiling reports on the distance traveled measured with GPS. If you read more about the instructions of the Garmin heart rate monitor, everything will become clear. In the Russian market, it is incorrectly positioned, because its main consumers are travelers, not athletes.

Fans of Apple will be satisfied

Smart watch Apple Watch is also able to readthe pulse of the owner. Only, in contrast to the heart rate monitor from the review, data on the device come directly from the wrist, on which the clock is fixed. Very smart Apple has a heart rate monitor. Reviews in the media regarding the use of this device in the training process are far from positive. First, the price of the device is high, and protection from moisture and shock is too low to use Apple Watch during intense training. In addition, all the functionality of the heart rate monitor depends directly on the software, which must be installed on the phone of the same name, tablet or laptop, because the clock is just a sensor. For use in sports the device looks very doubtful.

Finally

In fact, it is impossible to find the perfectheart rate monitor. Feedback from users is subjective and not always helpful. But it is worth noting that all reviews in the media and reviews of potential owners converge in one - a good heart rate monitor should have the function of thresholds for triggering the preset heart rate. All the rest is an extra waste of money, which is groundless. Also, regardless of the brand, attention should be paid to models that have a strong body and protection against moisture, because in the gym, in addition to the intense load causing profuse sweating, plunging the clock and sensor into a moist environment, it is possible accidental strokes of the heart rate monitor on foreign objects.