Being a person who hasn't ever joined a gym, I never knew stuff like this existed. I was very interested in this item because I've been walking for exercise but wasn't really sure I was reaching my target heart rate consistently.

The monitor, which displays the time as well as your heart rate on a watch, works in conjuction with a gizmo that you strap around yourself, just under your chest. (I will tell you, since I was concerned about this, that it's hardly noticeable once it's in place...it's a 12" or so long piece of plastic with an adjustable elastic strap...not very bulky at all!) The monitor also features a stopwatch and an alarm, so that after you set your minimum & maximum desired heart rates, you can be alerted when you are out of range. The alarm is a "beep-beep" that I can hear over the book on tape I drag along with me. Your heart rate is updated every second or two so you will always know if you need to pick up the pace a bit.

Although I have not yet had to do so, the chest strap has a removable backing, and you apparently can change the battery yourself (this is a big deal, I guess, since some of the more expensive monitors require that you send them to the factory for a battery change). The elastic strap is also completely removable, which makes it very easy to wash (and you will need to if you're exercising!).

The monitor comes packaged in a small, zippered carrying case, and includes an attachment that allows you to place it on a bicycle handlebar.

This does everything I need it to, and I recommend it for anyone who is just getting started in an exercise program. 5 stars

This was my first heart rate monitor & I am very pleased with it. Did not require a lot of instruction. The chest strap is comfortable. Occasionally the monitor does not immediately pick up an accurate rate when first put on - but after a few seconds you are ready to go. I will be ordering another for my mother. Excellent product for the price. 4 stars

Good:
- Works as advertised
- Easy to setup
- Rugged and well constructed

Bad:
- Wrist watch does not start receiving heart rate unless you are sweating at lot/apply a lot of water on the strap and your chest
- In a gym setting, there seems to be interference from electrical equipment (treadmills, etc) and the monitor works intermittently
- If there are other users w/ heart-rate monitors in the vicinity, their readings and my readings overlap causing some amount of confusion 4 stars

I got this heart rate monitor (my first) just to see what my pulse was while using my elliptical trainer. As a novice, I thought the watch had a sensor in addition or instead of the chest strap. Not true, guess I just have to use the sweaty chest strap. I also was not aware that you have to set "target zones" that are for people training in a specific heart rate range, so that function really only works for training in one zone. I wanted to use it for meditation and with my biofeedback unit in addition to cardio excercise, but I would need a seperate monitor or else reprogram it everyday.

But the real kicker-it works well on me but does not pick up a reading on my husband-and I am pretty sure he is alive. 3 stars

I bought this on Amazon's Friday Sale, thinking I had stumbled on to a good deal. Turned out to be not so good.

Basically, I just couldn't get the monitor to work. During a one hour workout, it would only sporadically pick up my heartbeat, and then, often as not, it would get it wrong - when measured by hand, a pulse of 140 showed up on the display as 83, 223, and 110.

I think I covered every contingency.

1) Conduction shouldn't be a problem. I started out by lightly dampening the pads (very lightly) but of course at the end of an hour I was dripping in sweat.

2) I'm fairly thin, not much adipose tissue in the areas the monitor is attached to.

3) No chest hair to speak of.

4) This was at a home, not in a gym, so there were no interfering monitors.

5) Behavior was the same all over the house.

6) I've used Polar monitors for years with nothing but success.

So, in conclusion, either I got a defective unit, or this thing is junk. Either way, I returned it to Amazon, (which is the easiest process in the world, thanks Amazon!) and will buy a Polar unit as a replacement. 1 star