How to Find the Best Heart Rate Monitor Watch

One of the best valuable companions you can bring with you as you workout or train to run a marathon is a wrist watch heart rate monitor. The best heart rate watches will give you the ability to setup personalized heart rate zones, which you can use to control the intensity of your workout for additional stamina. Knowing the comfort zone of your heart rate allows you to create better fitness or health related goals.

Even a cheap heart rate monitor will have features that allow you to capture needed workout statistics, which enables you to conduct exercise sessions with smarter results. Some of the best heart rate monitor watches will have longer battery lives, color and size options, along with large data transfer capabilities or large memory capacity.

If you want the best brands, you should look at the reviews at the end of this article. With so many devices to select from, it becomes difficult to separate the good ones from the pretenders. Included in our reviews, you’ll find the best heart rate monitor for women or men.

Features to Get in Best Heart Rate Watches

Included in our reviews are some of the best heart rate watches you can buy online, for an amazing workout. Here are the metrics you want to pay attention to, as you search for a top-rated brand of best heart rate monitor watch.

The Design

Basically, there two main types of heart rate monitors: a chest strap monitor or a strapless heart rate monitor. The designs without the chest straps have the needed technology embedded into the monitor watch and will keep track of your heart rate from your wrist.

Chest strap monitors have wraps you put around your chest, and the collected data is relayed to the wristwatch monitor. Some might say chest strap monitors provide better accuracy while the wrist models offer better convenience and portability.

You’ll have to decide if you want a larger monitor with a large screen or a smaller one. A wrist heart rate monitor watch with a large screen will be heavier to wear. Most of the brands we reviewed are waterproof to at least 30 meters, and that is a feature you want included in the one you buy.

Battery Life

You want to pay careful attention to the durability of the battery. The battery type used by the watches with heart rate monitor will determine how long you can wear the device. You should opt for a brand with a replaceable battery.

Monitoring Capabilities

A good heart rate watch monitor will not only track your heart rate, but also vital statistics. You’ll be able to keep track of duration, distance, lap time, calories burned and much more.

For best heart rate monitoring, the most accurate heart rate monitor watch will allow you to create personalized zones where you can input your age, weight, height, gender and other factors.

You might not find this feature in a cheap heart rate monitor, but superior brands will come with target zone alarms. You can set it to sound or display an indicator light when you reach your heart rate zone limit. You might also find best heart rate watches with extra accessories, like foot pod compatibility and GPS.

Recording

Good watches with heart rate monitor will at least allow you to record all your data for later viewing. The past data you can view will be determined by the memory capacity of the device. It’s better to get one with a minimum of 100-lap memory or more.

The best watches will not only monitor but will have features that make it possible to transfer all your workout data to available apps on your smartphone or digital device.

This can be made possible either through a wireless connection or USB port. In this digital age we’re living through, there are many free apps within your digital devices; you just have to check compatibility metrics with your wrist watch heart rate monitor.

What about Help & Support?

A product is just as good as the support behind it. Signs of good support to watch out for includes: active website with extra tools, good warranty period, and clear and concise instructions on how to initiate support services.

Before you make your purchase, take the time to read some of the reviews posted online by existing customers. In our best heart rate watches reviews, we only selected brands with at least 90% approval rating from existing customers.

Top Rated Heart Monitors

1 – Suunto Quest Running Pack

If you’re not familiar with this brand, pay careful attention because the company has been in existence for many decades with much durable health related products beloved by millions of consumers worldwide.

Pros:

We put the Suunto Quest on top because it has a good set of tracking options, and the data transfer capabilities are just as good as or better than other top selling highly rated heart monitor watches. The most compatible app with this device is Movescount app, which is available for free.

For those serious about workout results and data, Suunto Quest heart rate monitor watch has all the features to take the guesswork out of the equation when counting heartbeats.

This watch uses the chest strap design method to accurately record and track your heart rate as you exercise. You can view all your vital information at the end of your workout, including duration, distance, a number of calories burned and heart rate maximum.

The real stand-out feature of the Suunto Quest is the accompanying online exercise account. With Movescount, you can transfer workout summaries from your watch to your computer, and create custom workout plans to download to your watch. This watch monitor offers superior functionality and data transfer features.

Cons:

Despite the great accolades from most of the customers currently using the product, one of the few complaints revolves around the lack of a vibrating alarm, especially when you’re approaching your heart rate zone.

Bottom Line:

For those concerned and dedicated to how they conduct workout routines and the data to help improve each session, the Suunto Quest should be on your to-buy list. It tracks distance; calories burned and monitor your heart rate effortlessly.

The design for this wrist watch heart rate monitor is modern and cool, with memory that can record about 1,000 laps of data. You get a free online exercise account from Movescount with your purchase. Uploading and storing your workout details is just as easy as pushing a few buttons.

2 – Polar RS300X Heart Rate Monitor

Polar is a well-known brand that needs no introduction. Let’s see how the Polar RS300X Heart Rate Monitor performs.

Pros:

Polar RS300X has an indicator for low battery and your target zone, which makes it easier to interact with the device on a personal level. The Polar RS300X heart rate monitor watch will enhance the efficiency and intensity of your daily workouts.

With the RS300X, it becomes easier to monitor calories burned, heart rate, duration of your exercise, lap times and more. This is also a chest strap design model that is quite easy to wear. Another side benefit to owning this device is that you can use it as a regular time-piece when you’re not working out.

Cons:

The biggest con we found was the lack of a replaceable battery design. When the battery dies, you have to send it out to an approved repair center for a new one. On the plus side, that will not happen for many years, and I am sure technology for this niche market will be far more advanced.

Bottom Line:

The Polar RS300X wrist heart rate monitor watch has a bundle of rich and easy to customize options or features, for keeping track of all your workout activities, including your heart rate. With an embedded target zone alarms, it’s far easier to interact with the device on a personal level to make it your own.

3 – Garmin Forerunner 15

Garmin is another popular company that needs no introduction with many products in different niche markets, including fitness and health.

Pros:

The Garmin Forerunner 15 is one of the best brands with the latest GPS technology. Do we agree that it is the most accurate heart rate monitor as claimed by the company? Probably among the top tier brands that dominate the market for best heart rate watches.

It has the features needed for you to track your duration, speed, distance and your heart rate. Do not be fooled by the name, for this device is not just suitable for runners but can also be used by bikers, swimmers, and other workout routines.

We included Garmin Forerunner 15 in our heart rate monitor review because it earned high marks from critics and current customers alike. This is also a chest strap design model and comes with a Garmin app for uploading information to your favorite sites, or the cloud.

Cons:

This wrist heart rate monitor watch does not have a target zone alarm feature for knowing when you’re close to your heart rate goal. While it allows you to transfer data at a faster clip, the memory can only hold 7 laps at a time, which is below industry standard.

Bottom Line:

Despite these two shortcomings, people love this heart rate monitor watch. You can use this wrist watch heart rate monitor for heart rate training, and the GPS technology is probably one of the best we’ve seen in a long time.