Best GPS/HRM watch: Polar, Garmin, or Timex

garmin 110 without an HR monitor goes for 160 w/ discount on runningwarehouse. seems like a solid deal

Garmin 305 @ WalMart for 148 bucks. Can't beat it

sdefx wrote:

Garmin 305 @ WalMart for 148 bucks. Can't beat it

??????

Google and you can find it all over the web for less than $130.

Depends what the pricing is in your part of the world and what features you value. Some people want to know speed and distance of every run, so GPS (or footpod) needed, but don't care too much about heart rate. I'm probably the other way around - most of the time I know the length of my running route and am more interested in heart rate, so I went for the polar rs300x and don't yet have the G1 GPS unit.

When I took a look at the Garmin models in the shop, they seemed quite good in some ways, but it seemed the default HRM strap was a plastic/rubber thing, while the polar rs100 and upwards had the cloth strap which should be better than the plastic/rubber type straps - more comfortable and should be more consistent readings if you wet the cloth strap.

The cost of the watch and HRM strap battery isn't the issue for me, as long as I can replace it myself or get the local jeweller to do it. I believe that the rs300x G1 unit uses AA batteries, so rechargeable AA batteries might be an good idea if you use the GPS a lot.

You can get a cloth strap as an option for the Garmin and if GPS had of been my main criteria, then I'd probably have given the Garmin a second look.

I'm looking for both HRM and GPS. I have a pedometer right now on my watch (which is not HRM compatible hence why I am buying a new watch), and I couldn't imagine running without distance calculations. I feel GPS would be better suited for me. I'm a serious runner so I'm okay with spending some money, most likely I'll buy new on eBay. Since you have the Polar RS300X, how do you like it? Like I said that's the model I'm leaning towards with the G1 (which I understand you don't have). Have you had to change any batteries yet on either the watch or the HRM? Thanks again-

I only just got the RS300X, so too soon to really give much feedback and I have never used a garmin.

Previous HRM was an old model polar F6 which was from the polar fitness range and it had one of those plastic/rubber type HRM straps. The cloth strap alone seems a major improvement from what I'm used to.

Regarding polar battery live, I got an F6 early 2008 and it was good all through 2008/2009. Sometime this year I started having more problems with false high HR readings at the beginning of the run which might be part due to a dry strap on cold days, but I'm wondering if the strap battery is getting low - in the cheap plastic/rubber polar straps, the battery is non replaceable - unlike the wearlink+ cloth strap version that comes with the RS300X. More recently the battery indicator in the F6 watch unit itself has been indicating that needs replacing too.

Had some time off with injury which might mean less use of the strap battery perhaps, but 2 years+ doesn't seem too bad. Polar claim 2500 hours for the strap battery which sounds too optimistic to me - perhaps in ideal conditions.

Some posts here suggesting that if you go the garmin way, the one option is garmin sender unit on a polar soft strap. The actual transmitter/sender units themselves are not compatible.

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2010/04/troubleshooting-your-heart-rate.html

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2010/08/solution-to-heart-rate-dropoutsspikes.html