Heart Monitors for Women
 

My wife would like a kickass HRM, but the cool ones with all the features are all so darn big. They all scream "look at me I'm an athlete and I'm badass." She wants a nice little petite one with features like the Polar S625 or something. Any ideas?

None out there? Where are all the women on this forum?

I'm not sure which features you are looking for, but I have a nike women's specific HRM and both chest strap and watch are small. The only feature that I really use is the heartrate reading and the zone indicator.

I use a Polar CS100 cyclocomputer, which sits on my handlebar, so it really doesn't matter how big it is.

If your wife plans to use the HRM only for cycling, what difference does it make? You normally strap the wrist unit to the handlebars.

If she wants an HRM for other sports as well, perhaps two units, a Polar s720i for cycling and a more basic unit for other activities.

the chest strap can be painful, especially if the sensor is a giant plastic chunk. because it's under the boobies, it would ride down to the waist if it's not tightened down, which can get irritating when you're trying to breathe. all of the designs i've seen are the same, so just get with google.

i have an el cheapo that was "women's" so smaller - i just asked my mom if she wouldn't mind looking for something and she found one on her own within her own budget (it was a bday present for me).

i'd just get one of the polar women's ones. http://www.polar-usa.us/act-female.html they make sports bras to hold it, which would be ideal because when you're moving around, you really want to minimize the amount of crap you have to attach to yourself.

that's what i would have if i didn't already have this other one.

Man buying a HRM is like a car. There are features she can't do without in some of them and some she feels are worthless, but then there are some features she would really like but can't get in the Polar women's versions.

Necessary: Lap, splits, stopwatch. Manual HR settings, HR Max, Min, Average, HR in zone, bikemount, feminine sizing.

Nice to have: Logs, downloadable HR data

Not needed: Personal training garbage

I really wanted to buy her one and surprise her but the more I pry I think the more the surprise won't be a surprise.