Great watch for monitoring your heart rate during a workout.
598741
Does a great job monitoring my heart rate during my workout.  The numbers are not as bright as I would like, but it works fine for my basic needs at the gym.
1374445
Great watch - i only need a heart rate monitor and this one serves the purpose very very well -- it gives me control over the intensity of my exercises and also is a good for distracting me in a good way from the pain when i am going really hard. I have indoor machines so i haven't used it outside - might be too much of a distraction biking -- unless you mount it on your handlebars -- but the watch itself is the best and i prefer a monitor around my chest as opposed to the watches which measure heart rate from your wrist - i trust them more and also read on the reviews about this watch that it is more accurate than more recent polar heart rate monitors with the new strap -- i am quite satisfied with my selection - I should add that i was advised by a running store that Polar heart rate monitors is the best brand to get.
4388259
Got the watch as a bday gift and I love it. The heart strap monitor and the watch as insight into my workout sessions. I get an accurate account of calories burned and see that I'm getting more fit!
1031334
I love this watch. I love that I can look down at my watch at anytime and know how fast I am currently running and how far I have run altogether. It is a little bulky, but still very comfortable to wear. It is easy to use and the battery lasts long.
3958534
I got this watch initially just to monitor how many calories I burn during cardio, but I also like to wear it as a normal watch! Big numbers and today's date all on the screen at once. To start the calorie counter, it literally takes a touch of one button (2 times). Super simple and easy to use!
2410966
So far, it works great.  Syncs to my phone and lets me know when text messages and phone calls come in.  I like the hourly reminders to "move" and the heart rate monitor is absolutely awesome for heart rate training.  No having to wear uncomfortable straps and provides useful metrics that I can use to plan my workout schedule more efficiently.  Love it!
286180
Very easy to use and affordable in terms of price. Use it when doing high intensity  workouts on my celluzier mini trampoline twice a week. Doing the fit 8 exercises and important to keep track of resting and active heart rates. One thing I learned that you need to moisten the chest strap electrodes slightly with water to get it to register the heartbeat on the watch. The directions that came with the watch were unclear on how to program but the online manual is much easier to understand and more thorough. Recommend.
1909811
So I wanted a heart rate monitor to track my calories burned during workouts. I only wear this during my workouts, so 30-90 minutes depending on what I'm doing that day. The chest strap fits snugly underneath the bottom seam of my sports bra, and once it's there, I forget about it. The watch is pretty enormous, but I'm only wearing it for my workout, so I don't care what other people think. It's comfortable once you get it snug enough, but then it's a little challenging to get off when you have it on tight. Per the instructions, you must wet the sensors on the chest strap slightly. I do this by getting my finger wet and rubbing just a few drops of water over the sensors right before I put it on. I also make sure to clean it with a baby wipe after each workout so the sweat, oils, and lotions on my skin don't build up on there. The instructions are really challenging. It took me quite a while to get the thing set up, and I still don't understand all the features available, and a lot of the instructions don't show an accurate photo of what you should be looking for on the watch, or the instructions seem incomplete, so you have to use a little bit of common sense. All I care about all calories burned, so I use the stopwatch setting to track my workout. Pressing set during or after the workout will show you the calories burned. It is the large number in the center of the watch screen, not the small one where it says "kcal." That small number is either the decimals or something else - I've used a friend's fancy, expensive HRM at the same time to ensure this one is accrete and it is.
698635
This Pyle sport watch and fitness tracker has timers, a stop watch, pedometer, counts calories and monitors sleep. It has many settings so the directions must be read before trying to set anything. It tells the time in 12 or 24 hour formats, it shows the day and date and also shows A for am and P for pm. Hitting the mode button allows you to access the alarm, stop watch, pedometer, sleep monitor, memory, user information and time and date. This sport watch is nice because you can enter your own information to create your profile. You enter data like age, weight and so on. The watch needs to be snug on the wrist, not loose but not tight. That way the watch functions are accurate. The watch is comfortable but it is kind of big and bulky. A slimmer version would be fantastic.

A new gym just opened up in town. I will be wearing and using this when I get a membership there. I am going to get my daughter one too. It is a motivator to see your daily steps, and calories burned and this watch does that and more. Seeing what you do everyday helps you visualize a goal. I received this item at a discounted rate to try in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
713232
Works great for my purposes.  Very close to the calorie counting and the heart rate on any of the machines at the gym I belong to. This watch is not just for men...even though it's black and silver.  In addition, you can't beat the price.  I researched this item and Amazon had it for the very best price!
689961
I purchased this watch and forked over the $200 specifically for the strapless heart rate monitoring. I have 2 heart stints placed over the last year and need a reliable device to monitor my heart rate when I exercise. I could not use HR Strap due to an underlying heart condition. I've used the Alpha for running, walking, working out, and cycling. I find the heart rate monitor to be very accurate. Mio Alpha links up great with MapMyFitness and Wahoo apps on my iPhone 4s. Even though the $200 is a little pricey I'd do purchase the product again.
1949140
I got this watch and have been using it for a couple of weeks. It works well and is pretty easy to use. I am not wild about it only having one button but it isn't bad. This is a VERY basic one. Pretty much it tells time, works as a stop watch and takes your heart rate. The only thing I wish it would do that it doesn't is pause. Once you start you have to keep going or stop it and start a new workout.
4142604
I have been using this heart rate monitor watch for the last couple of weeks. For the most part, it is a great fitness tracker. It does a great job tracking your steps and monitoring your heart rate. My main reason for wanting a fitness tracker was to track my steps. My only complaint with this watch is that you can't set it to always show your steps. You have to hold down buttons to get that information. Other then that, it is definitely worth the price. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a low cost fitness tracker in this day of expensive ones. I received this product at a reduced price in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
715455
i use the heart rate monitor watch for running, walking and working out about 1hr a day almost everyday and i love it.  the other 96% of the time the watch alone works very well for telling time... it save's me from constantly turning on my cell phone to check time.

about the watch
-it has a nice big display that is very easy to see when active
-i like to use the buttons to navigate and check things, so i turned off the "tap" feature... i don't think i would have like that option
-it was quite easy to setup and add in the personal info following the instruction provided
-the chest strap is easy to setup and put on, i would recommend getting the band a bit wet before you put it on and once is on pushing the "heart rate" button syncs the two devices withing seconds.
-the heart rate seems to be quite accurate the few times i checked it... all i wanted was to know roughly where my heart rate was during exercise... and this watch delivers that perfectly
-it has a chrono mode that counts up from 0sec to 99hr99min59sec, and can store 200 sets of data. i use this all the time for my workouts
-it has a timer feature that you can setup to count down from 99hr99min59sec to 0sec; it seems to have a to timers with a bunch of intervals. i don't use this feature.
-it has a workout timer feature as well... don't use this feature either
-it has 3 alarms and they are easy to use and setup
-i have yet to test if this watch is water resistant... but both the chest strap and the watch are definitely sweat resistant!
2096182
I had a heart attack at 36 years old.  My cardio rehabilitation requires me to work out below certain heart beats (120, 130, 140, etc.).  So I got this watch for walking around the neighborhood.  Doing the cardio rehab, I noticed that the chest strap syncs up with equipment that states it will do the same for Polar watches.  Now I am hitting 24 Hour Fitness and it syncs with all of their equipment. This allows me to monitor my heart rate while exercising, reducing the risk of another heart attack.  This allows me to work out at a rate just below my max allowed, but high enough to benefit from the workout as much as possible.

I've been using this for a couple of hours per day for the past 4 weeks and it's still going strong.  Even if the battery fails, I can replace it without sending it to the manufacturer.  It even has a low and high pulse alert with audible warning.  Another awesome thing is that it updates the watch real time without having to push a button.

The only down side is no compatability with computer software and ocassionally if you are bent over or dry it can drop the signal; however, at the very low cost that I paid, I wasn't expecting that function.  This serves my needs and my therapist all have commended me for using this during my workouts.

Update: 01/12/11
I've been using this consistently.  It does have some issues connecting to the machine, but I check the watch and the machine that I am on.  I've cross referenced it with a Nonin GO2 oximeter and most of the time it's with 5-10 beats of the Nonin... if not right on.  The batteries seem to last about a year, and plan on replacing them when you first get the unit or within the first 6 months.  But for less than 40$ there's not much to complain about.
314086
Perfect for tracking calories, heart rate throughout exercise and length of exercise period. Easy to set up and to use. Cool color!
3243210
I'd gotten out of the habit of wearing a wristwatch once I got used to looking at my cell phone for the time (and everything else), but it wasn't hard to put one on again, given a good reason. I try to keep to a regular exercise routine, nothing too strenuous, and I'm not a fanatic about it. Still, that this watch works with a wireless sensor on a chest strap to provide a measure of my pulse in real time plus other features (stopwatch, calorie burn, etc.) seemed like it could be useful.

The watch is not the most comfortable; the band is on the stiff side and I'm not sure how it would feel if I were working up a real sweat. I have no temptation to use it as a regular watch when not exercising.

The chest strap is bearable. The elastic band part of it can be adjusted, but people of a larger frame size might still find it too tight. I'm also not sure how easily women would be able to wear it comfortably in the right position to work accurately. That being said, I was able to put it in position and exercise without hindrance. There are two pads to either side of the central sensing unit; they have to have a certain amount of moisture to get enough conductivity to pick up the heartbeat. That's not a problem once you start working up a sweat, but you may have to dampen them when first putting it on.

I confess I really haven't tried to use all of the features of the watch. I've mainly just been interested in using it to monitor my pulse, and it seems to do that well enough. I use it while walking on a treadmill, and while on a home exercise machine. It's handy to be able to just tap the dial of the watch to have it display my heart rate - I can get a better idea of how hard I'm exercising than just guessing or trying to take my own pulse. I might use more of the features, but I'll have to study the instructions a bit more. They're not as user friendly as they might be.

All in all, I find it useful but not essential. If you are really into monitoring your heart rate and want to track your work outs, you might do better to look at other monitors to see if they can do a better job meeting your needs. For casual use, the features of this system at their current price aren't the worst deal.