Mio Shape Select Heart Rate Monitor Watch

I recently had to purchase a heart monitor watch due to a request from my doctor to keep track of my heart rate on a regular basis (in order to monitor my tachycardia). This watch is perfect for a women's wrist or just a smaller wrist overall. The bigger mios (breeze, drive, elite, etc) are too big and the wristband pulls funny.

The Good:
This watch has a lot of great features with a nice and simple design. you can keep track of your caloric intake for the day, get a good idea of how many calories you burn while working out (and even get it to subtract it from your running caloric intake tally). It allows you to set up the watch for your weight, age and sex, as well. You can set a target caloric boundary for the day and it will let you know where you are with respect to that target. You can also input your base/resting heart rate.

I have double checked the readings on this watch many times and it is almost never off by more than a couple points.

The not-so-perfect:
If you are on an elliptical, or some machine requiring balance, it might require a couple tries to get your during workout heart rate. That is my only issue. I think it is totally workable though, esp once you get used to constantly taking your heart rate with it. like with everything else, practice makes perfect. the other thing is that I wish the replacement wristbands were not so pricey...and were more available.

In short, I love this watch. For $60, you really get a lot of features and a quality product. I have not regretted this purchase even once. I use this watch all day and everyday. I use it for low-impact workouts and high-impact workouts. I use it while lifting and while walking.

This is a great way to monitor your heart rate. I use it 3-5 days a week when I work out. If you are looking for continous monitoring, buy a watch with a chest strap. This is for spot monitoring and does an excellent job at that. My only complaint is that it does not last for many years. I have owned several versions of this watch over the last 5 years. It seems that the watch has a lifespan of about 1 1/2 years. (The batteries last about 7-8 months and are relatively easy to change.) However, with the price of the watch falling over time, I have continued to replace it, as it is excellent and accurate.

The Mio is easy to up-load with the required data and very reliable in keeping time and reading your pulse. The only problem is while working out, the sweat on your wrist makes it a little difficult to get a quick read on your pulse.

This Mio that I have been using for the past several weeks is well worth the money. I prefer heart rate monitors with the chest strap because they give a continual readout of heart rate and percent of max HR.
This unit, because it is strapless, requires the placement of two fingers on sensors for about 8 seconds in order to get a HR reading. Therefore, I find its use limited to certain cardio activities I do, such as the elliptical machine at the gym; certainly, having to press the sensors is not possible while cycling, so for activities that require both hands, I use my monitor with the chest strap.
The Mio is comfortable on the wrist and I find that it gives an exceptionally accurate readout of both heart rate and calories burned, as well as percent of max heart rate. Setting up the watch is simple and is fairly intuitive.
I recommend the Mio, but do be aware of the limitations imposed by having to take 8 seconds and both hands to get a reading!

I am very happy with my purchase of the Mio heart rate monitor. I always wear one when I'm working out and I seem to go through a couple a year. I work out 4 to 5 times a week and often wear this instead of a watch. I would recommend this product.