OmronHR-100CN Heart Rate Monitor

This is my first heart monitor, which I got to help me figure out when to ease off or speed up again during plyometrics intervals. I think for such a reasonable price it does a fair job, but I have two problems with it: There does seem to be a five to ten-second delay between reaching a specific heart rate and seeing that number on the readout, so if I want to ease off when my rate hits 157 I actually have to do that when the readout is still in the high 140s (anticipate instead of trusting the number). This is probably not an issue for someone who wants to get to a certain heart rate and stay there for a prolonged period of time, as in long-distance running, but for an interval-type activity like mine it's a bit of a pain.The other thing is that the strap was described (if I remember correctly) as fitting a 29 to 55-inch chest, which is quite a range, and at the time I bought this I thought "no problem." Turns out I must be pretty small for an adult because I had to adjust the strap down to the minimum (I assume it's 29"), and it just barely stays on me with all the jumping up and down. I assume that there's no such thing as a pediatric-size heart rate monitor, so I think the company should think about making this thing usable for a wider range of adult bodies, especially at the smaller end. Would it kill them to have the strap adjust down to 28 or even 27 inches? I can't be the only one with this concern since I don't consider myself unusually small, at 5' 4.5" and 128 pounds.As I said, this is my first monitor so I don't have anything to compare it to, but for the money I paid I'm satisfied that it's helping me achieve my exercise goal. If I prove to myself I'm going to stick with this plyo routine over time, I might invest in a more serious monitor later on.

I have been a heart rate monitor user for over ten years now. Straight out of the box the Omron gave me wildly inconsistent readings. Due to the way water was beading on the chest band I was suspicious that a mold release agent might have been applied to it during the manufacturing process. (Where I work we use a silicone based mold release agent). Something seemed to be blocking a good connection from forming between my skin and the chest monitor. I cleaned the groves on the chest monitor with liquid dish washing detergent, a toothbrush and hot water and the issue went away. I have no evidence that this was the real problem or that washing was an effective solution but I don't have the problem anymore.The positives.-Inexpensive and appears to be well made.-Accurate.-Back-light.-Five well thought out buttons make it easy to use. I intensely dislike monitors that try to get one or two buttons to do everything.The negatives.-The wrist strap is about as stiff as two popsicle sticks. I wrapped it into a tight curl and held it over a blow dryer to help create a curve in the strap to make it more comfortable to wear. Much better now.-No In-zone countdown timer. I know they did not advertise it as having one but it's so easy to include that I don't understand why they omitted it. I miss not having that feature. It was on my Acumen.-Zone alarms are too soft to hear in a noisy environment. This may be a deal breaker for me. I depend on the alarms to guide my pace and I don't like straining to hear it. Constantly looking at the monitor bugs me. I would rather relax and let my mind wander until my workout is done.-Poor shielding from other electrical equipment. (See comment at bottom of page)Summary: If all you want is a heart rate monitor that is reasonably well made and fairly cheap then this is worth a try. Recommended.Comments: I have never used it in a gym so I can't comment on potential interference issues with exercise equipment and other HR monitors but it DOES NOT WORK IN EITHER ONE OF MY CARS. When I start the engine the heart rate goes to zero and the heart symbol beats erratically until I turn the engine off. My Acumen did not do that.

Its simple and easy to use and heart rates seem pretty accurate. Also I do notice a higher heart rate (about +10-15 bpm) on days I had my 4 cups of coffee in the morning. That tells me it recognizes variables giving me added confidence that it is accurate. I've been all over weight wise with the high at 300lb or so and lowest at 215lb. I'm a 29 year old 6'1 large frame male. I regained about 55 pounds after being at the low with moving, losing my job, winter, and general depression. The nice thing about heart rate monitors for me is that it gives me a target goal. It lets me know my time is being well spent and I have a goal mentally while I work out. For now, I simply power walk since I am starting to work out again and as get more fit I will begin to jog. I get my heart rate to 140 warming up, then once I maintain the 140, I begin my 20 minute workout countdown, followed by another 15-20 min cool down of slowly pacing, loading the dish washer, doing laundry, and finally shower. I don't recommend just plopping down after a work out because even though you completed the "workout" your heart is still pumping and beating at a higher rate. I try to maximize this additional cool down time because its kind of like an added bonus and just plopping down reduces the bonus time you are getting post workout. I lost 15 pounds or so just by reducing my calorie intake to about 1200 daily. My biggest problem is my appetite. For some reason despite feeling completely full (like one more bite will make me explode), my brain still tells me to eat. I have no idea why this is happening but since this is the main reason why I gain weight I really needed to break my appetite and lose some initial weight to make it easier on my skeletal structure. Will post updates I progress using the heart rate monitor. Any tips, questions, or words of encouragement are appreciated.UPDATE 6-9-11After a few weeks this product is still working great and have had no issues with setting my upper and lower heart rates. On days I drink coffee in the morning it still registers the +10-15 bpm. I don't know if this is "healthy" but coffee in the morning really curbs my appetite throughout the day.Personally I have noticed a bit of a slow down in my weight loss in regards to pounds lost but I figured that is due to toning. My short's waist line is getting looser. My face is slimming down along with my stomach. My shortness of breath (which I call recovery time) after work outs is reduced. I've been able to increase my work out time to about 28 minutes a day (I work out 6 days a week since I've had the monitor) and increase the distance of my power walk by about .25 mile. My energy level has gone up. Also in addition to the power walk I started with doing 20 crunches pre-walk and am now up to 40 after one week. So for almost the whole 28 min walk I'm at 75% max heart rate which is the zone where body fat burn and muscle building takes place. My biggest obstacle so far are shin splints. If I didn't suffer from these, then I could easily walk longer and further. From doing crunches to the time I finish with my shower, the work out time has always been less than an hour. Since I've been laid off I have plenty of time to at least get this part of my life in order. If you are in the same boat it's worth considering.Update 7-1-11Heart rate monitor is still working great and the strap survived the dryer adventure when my room mate just tossed it in there with the rest of my laundry. I planned on letting it air dry but its ok!In regards to my weight loss, I keep hitting plateaus followed by 5lbs lost, then another plateau, then another 5lbs lost. I did change my scale to the one I used when I worked my way down to 215 lbs. It added 10 pounds to my over all weight, but overall to date I've lost 25 pounds. I'm at 250 and have 35 more pounds to go to reach my target weight. My stomach is flatter and I lost at least 2 inches on my waist line. I have changed up my work out routine a bit and it resolved the issue of shin splints. Also I was having trouble getting into the target zone for a sustained amount of time without running and hurting my knees. I don't run or walk on a treadmill, I use the uneven country roads I live on which is extra hard on my knees for jogging. So my new work out is 40 sit ups, 50 torso twists (which supposedly work the ob-leek muscles), then 40 leg lifts (20 each leg), and followed by 40 cross crunches (again working ob-leeks 20 for each side). After I do those, I power walk a mile and then do another set of the same exercises described above. Then another mile power walk followed by one last set of exercises and 2 miles of power walking. So it equates to 4 miles of power walking, 120 crunches/sit ups, 150 torso twists, 120 leg lifts and 120 cross crunches. Takes me about an hour to hour fifteen minutes. Google search for some exercises that interest you and target areas you want to hit and implement them into what works for you and you enjoy.

My main point for this much-reviewed product is to correct a severe error in the Amazon listing. Under "Product Features" the page currently (April 9, 2010) says:--Chest transmitter belt sends data to the receiver at a distance of up to 98 feet (30 meters)This would be an enormous advantage over competing products if ture, but the actual product user manual says this on that exact subject: "The Transmitter and Wrist Receiver Monitor should be worn or mounted within 50 centimeters (20 inches) from each others".The language which actually contains the distance of 98 feet is the specified maximum submergence depth.Other than that, I am pleased with the out-of-box experience on the unit. The chest strap fits fine, setting is reasonably intuitive. The display contrast is somewhat weak (that put it down to four stars for me). The wrist strap might need an extra hole drilled for the small wristed. I'm not truly tiny (145 pound 5'6" male of average bone size) and I'm only on the second hole.My real gripes with three previous exercise heart monitors have been battery life, battery accessibility, and strap stretching. This unit has a screw-off back for the receiver (my preferred option) and a coin-operable hatch for the battery in the transmitter. I just tested by opening both, and did have trouble with the O-ring for the transmitter wanting to get sideways--I suggest you not open it before need if you plan to swim with it.The manual advises that you take the receiver to a jeweler for battery change to assure preserving the water resistance. I had already opened it before reading that point. Actually I did not notice an O-ring problem on that one, but replacing the screws was made maddeningly fiddly by the way their entry point was recessed below the bulging back of the case. Also the battery mount itself looked rather forbidding, not at all the easy change seen in the transmitter. (sorry, it just went down to three stars for those issues).As to features I miss, not much, though I would like to get session average heart rate--something my budget model from another manufacturer does.

$30 shipped to your door. It's hard to find a decent watch at Walmart for $30 - just think about that.This thing works, it's simple, yes, but it does what it's supposed to do. It doesn't record any data, upload it to your pc, or do anything other than report your heart rate. For those of you who want detailed data, avg. hr, max hr. then this unit is not for you.I run a lot of hills and believe that my avg. hr. would be misleading given that my hr. tends to drop into the low aerobic zone down hill and will climb into the 90%-100% range on the hardest incline. I suppose if you're running on a flat track then the avg. would be a good way of measuring the hr you spent most of your time at. The max hr function would be helpful only for those who are testing themselves to find their max. When I tested myself I pretty much knew when to check the watch.I find the reading to be very stable while running - I have never seen a blip of 0 or 260 or anything unusual - the reading is always very stable and moves around by 5bpm or so on a flat grade. The monitor has a heart in the upper right corner of the display that seems to flash when it's receiving a reading, if it stops flashing that that seems to indicate that the watch is no longer receiving a signal. It's easy to set the high and low thresholds and when you are above or below your set zone an arrow appears above or below the heart to indicate that you're too high or too low. The watch can beep when you're out of your zone but I don't use this function given that I'm usually listening to music while running. The readings seem to fluctuate much more before I start my run; my wife is a nurse and has taken my pulse and we find the monitor to be accurate.The strap is easily adjusted, comfy, and *very* easy to put on. There is no scratchy velcro. I am a thin build (6'1" 172lbs) and can't believe there'd be anyone thin enough that the strap would be too large. The unit works ok if you don't moisten the strips with spit or water but has consistently worked flawlessly if you moisten it before you go. I do have a fairly hairy chest, no apparent interference. I don't use it at the gym so I don't know how bad the crosstalk would be with other units.I am very happy with it, it works as advertised. At $30 it's a no brainer! I would be tempted to get something like the forerunner 50 that used hr and a foot pod but at $130 that's just too pricey. For a basic hr monitor this can't be beat, you are sacrificing some of the fancy bells and whistles but you are not sacrificing quality or functionality - it works flawlessly every time. The watch does have a blue back light, a stopwatch, the date and time. You can easily switch back and forth between any display and the hr monitor with the push of the red button. I find that I only need the stop watch, the time and date seem pointless given that I will only be wearing this watch while running.My only quibble is that the instructions suggest you base your training zones on a percentage of your max hr. I would advocate that you use the Karvonen Formula that uses the max hr in addition to your resting hr.