Polar RS300x Review

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Jan 292012
 

Polar RS300xThe Polar RS300X is one of the most popular heart rate monitor on the market and with good reasons. It provides a complete set of features, can be connected to PODs for extended functionality and has an easy to use interface.

The Polar RS300X starts you up by having you perform a fitness test on which it will base your maximum heart rate and then derive your various heart rate zones from it. This makes having the RS300X an easy to calibrate and means that your target heart zones will be accurately identified.

During training, the Polar RS300X will provide real time heart rate as well as calories burned. Alarms will warn you when you get in or out of your determined target heart rate zones making it easy to adjust the intensity of your workout on the fly.

The default log of the Polar RS300X can track your last 16 training session, but this can be extended by uploading your training sessions to a PC software using a Polar Flowlink tool (sold separatly).

The Polar RS300X can also be extended by connecting to the Polar G1 GPS POD. Polar even has a package containing the RS300X and G1 GPS unit.

Overall, the RS300X is a good, reliable product for fitness enthusiast that offers good versatility.

Pros:

  • Easy and intuitive to use
  • Integrated fitness test makes sure the unit is properly setup for you
  • Extended functionality with Flowlink and GPS unit
  • Affordable price

Cons:

  • Only 16 training session log book

 

Our Rating: 8/10

If you have experience using this product or have an opinion about this review, please do not hesitate to leave a comment!

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Omron HR-100C Review

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Jan 032012
 

The Omron HR-100C is one of the most affordable heart rate monitors on the market. Does that mean it is a bad product? No but you have to be aware of its limitations.

The Omron HR-100C comes with a basic set of feature. It will display your current heart rate and offers an alarm if your heart rate should ever go out of your target zone but will do little else. The benefit of that is that it is probably the easiest heart rate monitor to use on the market.

This simplicity makes it great for occasional athlete but fitness enthusiast might find the HR-100C a bit limited. Still, with such a low price tag, it makes the use of an heart rate monitor a no-brainer even for the most occasional of athletes.

Be aware though that though I have not been able to test this, some users report interference when training with other people using HR-100C close by. This is due to the lack of encoding for the transmission between the belt and the wristwatch. This could become an issue if your usual training partners also use Omron HR-100C monitors.

Pros:

  • Low price tag
  • Ease of use

Cons:

  • Limited feature set
  • Data transmission not encoded.

 

Our Rating: 7/10

If you have experience using this product or have an opinion about this review, please do not hesitate to leave a comment!

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Suunto M5 review

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Dec 132011
 

The motto for the Suunto M series is “taking the thinking out of training” and the M5 lives up to that.

Right at the start, the Suunto M5 will allow you to take a fitness test. During this test, the M5 will monitor your body metrics to identify your current fitness level. Once your basic fitness level has been identified, the Suunto M5 allows you to choose your fitness goal between improving fitness, weight loss or basic free training and will tailor a training program for you if you select one of the first two options.

From that point on, the Suunto M5 will tell you which days you should train and which days should be recovery days. Not only that, but it will give you feedback as you train telling you whether you are training too hard or going too easy. All these options are easy to use and the user interface is intuitive.

The Suunto M5 comes in a few different color option and it should be noted that the display on the one illustrated can sometimes be a bit hard to read when in dim light. I have not tried the models with a more standard “black on white” display but from what I hear they are much easier to read.

The Suunto M5 can easily be linked to Suunto’s foot POD, Bike Pod or GPS Pod to provide distance and speed data. A running pack is even sold which include the Suunto M5 and a foot POD.  If you purchase the Movestick Mini (also included in the running kit) you can easily upload your training sessions to Suunto’s online community and training diary, Movescount. You can even customize the M5 training program by downloading one from Movescount.

Pros:

  • Fitness test and personalised training program
  • Easy to use interface
  • Connectivity to various PODs

Cons:

  • Missing some advanced measures such as Training Effect
  • White on black display can be hard to read.
Our rating: 8/10
If you have experience using this product or have an opinion about this review, please do not hesitate to leave a comment!
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Polar RS100 review

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Dec 052011
 

While Polar has made many advanced HR monitors such as the FT80, the RS100 is targeted at people who just want basic functionality or are on a limited budget. That’s not to say that the RS100 is a bad product, what it does is limited, but it does it really well.

The Polar RS100 comes with all the basic functionality you would expect from a heart rate monitor. It displays real time heart rate, calories burn and in what heart rate zone you are. It also has a lap feature that allows you to divide your activity in various sections. This is ideal for interval training as well as activities such as running or cycling.

Where the Polar RS100 somewhat suffers when compared to more advanced heart rate monitors is when it comes to logging your training sessions. The RS100 does not really have a log book and only remembers your last training session.

Even though it has a limited feature set, the low price tag makes the Polar RS100 a nice “bang for your buck” if you are looking to get detailed information while you train to improve your training efficiency.

Pros:

  • Low price tag
  • Backlight allows training in dim light or at night
Cons:
  • Only logs one training session
  • No connectivity to foot pods or GPS
Our rating: 7/10
If you have experience using this product or have an opinion about this review, please do not hesitate to leave a comment!
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Garmin Forerunner 610 review

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Nov 292011
 

I will start by saying that when I read Garmin had produced a heart rate monitor watch with a touch screen my first feeling was that this was a gimmick and that the touch screen would not add much to the experience. Boy was I wrong.

First of all, the Garmin Forerunner 610 comes with other new features that would make it a really nice new product in and of itself. First of all, the Garmin Forerunner 610 comes with the training effect measure that has been an integral part of the Suunto T line of product for years.  Training effect is a real time measure of the intensity of a workout based on the effort and the fitness level of the athlete. It is a welcome addition that will no doubt be appreciated by everyone going through a training program.

Another new feature that has me slapping my forehead wondering why no other company has come up with it before is vibration notifications. Most heart rate monitor watches on the market offer some sort of training alarm, notifying you when you move into a specific heart rate zone, reach a certain milestone or any other number of trigger. Well while these notifications are useful, if you’re like me and like training with your iPod, you will often miss the beeping sound of these alarms. Having the watch vibrate to notify you makes these notifications much more useful in my opinion.

Now onto the most intriguing feature of the Garmin Forerunner 610, the touch screen. One of my biggest concerns was related to the screen responsiveness. Too responsive and you could involuntarily hit some of the “buttons”. Not responsive enough and navigating the display could be tough while training. I really feel like Garmin hit that one out of the park. The screen feels just right. The user interface has been overhauled to take advantage of the touch screen and setting up your monitor and navigating through the menus is intuitive and easy making for a pretty small learning curve.

Having a touch screen does not mean the Garmin Forerunner 610 has no physical buttons at all, it still sports three. One for the backlight, one to start and stop your training sessions and another one to cycle through laps.

The Forerunner 610 also easily connects to the great Garmin Connect site to allow you to keep a diary of your training sessions and share it with others.

With its extended feature set and intuitive interface, the Garmin Forerunner 610 is without a doubt one of the best training watch on the market today.

Pros:

  • Vibratory alarms
  • Touch screen is responsive and makes for an intuitive UI
  • Addition of training effect measure

Cons:

  • Shorter battery life than non-GPS enabled heart rate monitors

Rating 9/10

If you have experience using this product or have an opinion about this review, please do not hesitate to leave a comment!

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