I recently bought a Polar F2 and the first day the chest strap kinda bugged me but now I don't even think about it. I've worn it all day just to see how my heart rate fluctuates in different circumstances. Funny how when I'm interacting with difficult folks it will go up and when I'm just working my regular job its pretty consistently the same. My resting rate such as at lunch was much lower than I thought it would be. My commuting partner bought a Timex without the chest strap and it worked pretty well but it was dangerous to check while riding so he is taking it back to get one like mine.