Mio Shape Select Heart Rate Monitor Watch

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.

cannot replace battery on unit, no watch shop is equipped to replace batteries and if you send it back they will ship you a defective one in its place...you get what you pay for-good luck

I wasn't to excited about the idea of having to wear a chest strap just to record my heart rate. So when I came upon the Mio it sounded like the one for me. I basically just wanted to know that I was in my target heart rate zone when I was walking/running on the treadmill or doing a workout video. I didn't want to spend to much because I wasn't a hard core athlete or anything!

But what I have found out... was that the Mio works well if you are standing still. Even a slow walk on the treadmill can mess up a reading, and by the time you wait for the 8 to 10 seconds to give you a reading your heart rate has already dropped about 5 points at least. Also, I really wanted the calories burned feature but if your not checking your heart rate every few minutes then you don't get an accurate assesment of your workout. Oh! and it's very chunky in size.

I now have a polar heart rate monitor and I will have to say... it was worth the extra money and the heart rate strap isn't as bad as I once thought. I have the F11 which has the newer soft strap. But you can by the newer strap for any of the models I believe. I have heard the F6 are where they made a lot of improvements.

But my suggestion is spend the little extra and go with a more accurate one. My choice was Polar.

I ordered this watch to keep myself in my target heart rate while exercising. So far the watch has been great. I have small wrists so it looks a little funny but I can live with it. For the money I spent it was well worth it.