Timex Ironman Men''s Road Trainer Heart Rate Monitor Watch, Grey/Red, Full Size

Watch is the same as you would expect from a Timex Ironman. The watch is very comfortable. It looks like a regular sports watch. It appears to be well made. I am sure that it will only last about 2 years but that is alright for the money. Usually the timex ironmans tend to get beat up looking before they actually die. The interface is very intuitive. It works like a standard Ironman. You can display the heart rate in many different ways. I like that the time is visible while the heart rate monitor is functioning. I also like that you can display the heart rate in a bunch of different ways. I don''t really use all of the fancy features. I did use it once just to see how it workedit worked fine. (Avg hr, peak hr, blah blah). All that I do is keep my heart rate between 140-160. I would not count on the calorie counter to work. The recovery heart rate is a handy feature that is really easy to use. I think that measuring recovery heart rate is one of the best measures of heart health.

I bought this watch to replace an Omron that I bought off of Amazon for $32. The Omron was alright, but it was telling my that my heart rate was 220 plus beats a minute once in a while. And I wanted to see if I was going to have a cardiac arrest. The timex is coded, so I don''t get any interference from the equipment or other heart monitors. The timex road trainer is superior in every way to the omron.

The only real downside is that the chest strap is a little short for big guys. I am 6''2" 240 lbs with a wide chest (48") and it is a little snug on me. I am hoping that it stretches out after a little while. This is a small annoyance that I don''t mind dealing with for how well this watch works. Most people won''t need to worry about that. I would say that only if you are bigger than me that it would be a real problem. It is nice to leave the watch on all day and then just throw the strap on when I go to the gym. During the day, the watch reminds me to hit the gym after work!

The heart rate is very accurate and reliable on this watch. It works consistently with no problems what so ever. This is definately worth the extra money. Using a heart rate montitor is a must to get the most out of cardio workouts. I will always use one from now on.

I had a polar a few years ago, and that thing was no where near as user friendly as this watch. This thing beats my old polar in every way. AlsoI wouldn''t be caught dead wearing the polar outside of the gym!

I purchased this watch one month ago and have been very pleased. If at first you don''t understand the instructions can go to YouTube and check out the tutorials some people have been kind enough to make. The only negative is the chest band which is tight on me (48" chest). I researched for months which watch to buy a friend was trying to talk me into a Garmin with GPS but it seemed like overkill. This watch is perfect for those who do multiple sports are serious about improving their conditioning. It is definitely priced right and has a ton of features I am glad I made this choice.

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I had previously purchased a heart rate monitor with an analog transmitter system, and it would only work if it was nowhere near any electrical equipment (e.g., fluorescent lighting, television, or treadmill). The Timex heart rate monitors (including this unit) that have a digital transmission eliminate this electrical interference issue.

I have never been particularly fond of excessive bells and whistles, perhaps because I am technologically challenged--I have never found a use for all the extra features, much less been able to figure out how to use them. This unit does lack some features that some users may have preferred to have-it doesn''t retain more than one workout in memory, for example. I am also unsure whether the transmitter is compatible with treadmills and other equipment that work with Polar brand transmitters. But if you want a reliable heart rate monitor that provides real-time guidance of where your heart rate is, then this unit fits the bill.

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Moving from a very simple and outdated Polar, which only showed heart rate, I appreciate all the integrated functions of this Timex. Just after a few workouts, I have found the integrated heart rate monitor and stopwatch with laps and recovery rate to be practical and easy to use. The display is easy to customize with combination stopwatch/heart rate or just large heart rate. The chest strap is comfortable and easy to adjust. I have no complaints at all and am happy I purchased this model.

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I think it is a good basic heart rate monitor. Some usability issues make advanced features of this watch not so easy to use, but it is a great HR for the price.

Got this after my older Suunto X3 HR broke down so I''m comparing it with that model.

Good:

* Chest strap is comfortable, light and flexible.

* Watch is confortable and nice too (I wish it were a bit thinner, but it is OK).

* Very reliable HR data.

Things to know:

* As other reviewers wrote, chest strap is rather short, I''m 5''10" and using it at almost widest position comfortably, but for bigger guys it might be an issue.

* Not compatible with most sport club equipment.

Not so good:

* It has 7 different modes that one needs to switch between (and remember the current one) to access most features. Suunto was easier to use.

* HR Zones are just a gimmick here. Can only be used to select target HR range, and that''s all. It would be very useful if watch reported time in each HR Zone, but it reports time in the selected zone only (plus min and max of course, but not per-zone time).

* Various features are not well integrated. E.g. when I measure recovery rate I obviously rest, so I''m outside of the selected HR zone, but the watch is not smart enough to turn off audio alarm.

* Standard watch functions are very basic e.g a single alarm, even without ability to enable it on weekdays only.