Haven't purchased a heart rate monitor in many years and have started looking into what is currently out there.
Primarily looking for something with a good software/tracking component. Came across the Polar RS800sd,
http://www.amazon.com/Polar-RS800sd-Heart-Monitor-Watch/dp/B000IV2SK6
which seems to be around the price range I can handle. (Have around a $350 budget, give or take).
For starters, would I be getting a lot of monitor for what the Polar RS800sd costs? Are there others out there that will do the same things for less?
I am a little cautious about not being able to replace a Polar battery myself. They say you have to send it in or something? Or are there satellite service locations that will do this locally and in-house? And how often do the Polar batteries need to be replaced?
A little about the feastures in which I'm interested and the RS800sd offers...
Polar Protrainer 5 software. Hard to make out much from the screenshots I'm finding.
Ex:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_p_6YbSMtsa4/SvlpDl1yQlI/AAAAAAAANJE/oSaTPH2cIIY/polar_20091107_all.jpg
Any helpful info on the Poilar Protrainer 5 software? Once you get it (in this case, it comes with the monitor), you have a perpetual license for it, correct? No recurring, annual fees or anything?
The altimeter. Really? A watch has this? How accurate is it?
Stride sensor. How does this work? I attach an external device to my shoes and it will record the total number of strides as well as strides per minute? The Amazon description mentions it being compatible with the Adidas Adistar Fusion running shoes. I don't have to use these shoes in order to take advantage of the stride rate recording feature, do I?
Water resistant. If I get caught out in a downpour, this thing will be fine and I shall remain unelectrocuted by it?
GPS. This is one feature in which I'm interested, but the RS800sd apparently lacks. Sounds like a cool feature, but in reality I guess I can live without it. Can anyone point me to a model that has all of the above features, including GPS? And if a watch/monitor has GPS, does that mean it can show your route via the software?
I may think of other questions as I do more research. Just throwing these initial ones out there, as I try to get up-to-speed on current technology. Thanks.