Most flexible fitness monitor on the market today?

[2Big2Skate 328]

Fitness Gurus!

I'm in the market for a fitness monitor. Cost isn't really an option, but quality and utility is. I walk, ride a stationary, jog, play tennis, and of course ice hockey. Is there a product that will count all this exercise and also log heart rate? I'm not very concerned about sleep cycle and I dont want to have to place my finger on a sensor to get heartrate.

Last but not least, I'm an android guy, not apple. I'd like to have good linked reporting, either on smartphone or PC.

Thanks!

Jay

[wcn1970 239]

Polar has a nice one and it can incorporate heart rate.

[2Big2Skate 328]

I dont want to wear a strap though. I'm evaluating the Adidas watch and the Mio watch. And there's an armband somebody makes that's not a HR monitor but apparently works pretty well. I'm so confused! It's a lot of techy gobblygook.

[catfish87 3,471]

I LOVE my garmin! Its a 310xt. But I wear ( you NEED ) the HR strap...really, REALLY you won't even know you're wearing one after the first couple of times. It syncs to Garmin Connect when I get near my PC. And the garmin connect app on my android is great. (Galaxy4)

It's the best fitness money I have EVER spent.... I use it for running/cycling/swimming/hiking, etc.

As an example what it shows...

Running : http://connect.garmi...ivity/430431934

Cycling : http://connect.garmi...ivity/343756781

Edited January 22, 2014 by catfish87

[Truckerchic 171]

Not that this will help much but I use Body Media Link, I love it. It is the only one that measures calories burned thru your skin temp along with steps so it counts all your activity your doing whether its doing dishes or riding a bike...I say it wont help you because it does not have a HM yet they are coming out with a new improved smaller one called Core2 but still waiting on that.

Also there is one called Basic I think that is the only one you dont have to wear a strap to monitor your heart rate but last I read people said that did not do so well ....good luck

[DonRodolfo 1,416]

I dont want to wear a strap though. I'm evaluating the Adidas watch and the Mio watch. And there's an armband somebody makes that's not a HR monitor but apparently works pretty well. I'm so confused! It's a lot of techy gobblygook.

Wearing a strap is the price you pay for accuracy. I'm a Polar fan, DigiFit runs on my (Android) smartphone. A little over a month ago I started using a FitBit force and they work great together (I would trust calories burned as noted by my Polar over what FitBit says, however).

[betternowthanever 83]

I use the Garmin as well and wouldn't trade it for anything!

[2Big2Skate 328]

The Basis seems good for around-town monitoring, but appears to stink at sports monitoring.

Mio is coming out with a new watch called the Link. It's getting pretty good reviews. I like this guys site. He's a nerdy triathalete and he gets toys to test early. The alpha was pretty strong and the link appears to be a vast improvement over the alpha. The only drawback is short battery life while doing HR.

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2014/01/mio-link-first-look.html

The other one I was considering is the adidas smart runner watch. It's 4x as expensive and has waterproofing issues. I want to wear this thing on the ice a couple times to gauge my calorie burn and HR levels. That's another reason I can't do the chest strap. My pads would knock it around and it'd be immersed in a torrent of nasty sweat.

Jay

[wcn1970 239]

That Mio looks cool. I had the original a little less than a year ago. I was looking for more of an everyday watch though and that did not fit the bill at all. I actually found it to be not as useful and often didn't show any HR. I now use a Nike GPS watch with polar strap. Spot on and great for MTB rides. Also allows you to turn GPS off as not to kill battery life. There are a lot of activity sensors, GPS devices and HR monitors but really nothing that does it All yet.

[BellaHugz 331]

I love my fitbit force.