Omron HR-310 Heart Rate Monitor with Strap

Product Details

Product Dimensions: 3 x 3.5 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
ASIN: B005DKJIVO
UPC: 073796883102
Item model number: HR-310

By : Omron
Price : $41.99
You Save : $18.00 (30%)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description
Omron HR-310 Heart Rate Monitor +
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:
Get the most from your workouts with an Omron HR-310 Heart Rate Monitor. This full-featured and simple-to-use monitor makes accurately tracking your progress easy, so you can get the most from every walk, jog, run, or workout.
Why you should use an Omron Heart Rate Monitor:
Whether you are a regular walker or jogger, managing your heart rate during your workouts is a crucial component of achieving your goals.
The Omron HR-310 Heart Rate Monitor offers:

+ Chest Transmitter: continuous, accurate readings
+ Tap On Lens: access your exercise data with a simple tap (no need to even press any buttons)
+ Exercise Data Tracking: monitor your current, average and percentage zones
+ Visual and Audio Zone Alerts: programmable zones warn you if you're too high or too low
+ Water Resistant: the HR-310 is water-resistant up to 164 feet

It's all about staying in the "zone."
Every fitness program from weight maintenance to strength training has an optimal Heart Rate Training Zone. With an Omron Heart Rate Monitor, you can track your heart rate to ensure you stay in your optimal zone by adjusting the intensity of your workout and maximizing your success. (See the Training Zone chart below for more details)
Features of the OMRON HR-310 HEART RATE MONITOR
Features +

Walking/jogging/running activity level
Alarm is set; flashes when alarm is active
AM/PM 12-hour clock
Flashes when surpassed heart rate limit
Time / heart rate
Indicates battery power is low
Stopwatch is shown or running
Keypad tone is turned off
Average heart rate reading
Calorie unit
Percentage heart rate reading
Imperial height units (feet and inches)
Body weight unit

Metric height unit (centimeters)
Year of user's birth
Keypad lock is turned on
Tap on lens function is active
Heart rate is outside the set limits
Flashes when receiving heart rate signal

Compare full line of Omron Heart Monitors+
Together we'll accomplish more - Optimal Training Zones
Target Heart Rate Zones: +
By exercising within your target-training zone, you'll achieve more in less time. Each zone offers different benefits. The most popular zone range is 50% to 80% of your maximum heart. This is where you achieve cardio benefits, burn fat, and become fitter. Your Omron Heart Rate Monitor is programmable so you can maintain your workout within your chosen zone. (See the chart for percentages)
+ Health Maintenance (65%-78%) – Low-intensity level training. Good if you're a beginner and strengthening your cardiovascular system.
+ Aerobic Exercise (65%-85%) – Increases strength and endurance. Burns calories faster and can be sustained during longer workouts.
+ Anaerobic Exercise (78%-90%) – Improves speed and power. This zone builds muscle faster, but cannot be maintained for long workouts.
+ Red Line (90-100%) – Maximum capacity.
This product is an excellent quality heart rate monitor.

Product Features

Continually tracks and displays your heart rate
Tap on lens for easy access to exercise data
Measures calories burned
Tracks your current, average, and percentage heart rate readings
Visual and audio alerts informs you of target heart rate zones

Customer Reviews

My experience with heart rate monitors is pretty limited, but on the whole this one seems OK. It does the job, but not as smoothly as one might like. The following items are things that I found notable about the monitor's operation.
Before testing this, I read some reviews of Omron's previous model. Some of the complaints on that item look like they persist here, including what is likely a very hard to change battery in the watch (the manual suggests having a jeweler change it). The belt battery looks like it'd be easy to change. My batteries were likely pretty fresh, as this is a new model and ostensibly shouldn't have been sitting on the shelf long, so I haven't had any trouble with signatures of low batteries yet. I've used the monitor for at least half a dozen exercise sessions now.
The listed operating environment ranges are 32 to 104°F and 30 to 85% relative humidity, which should, in theory, mean that using this outdoors in Houston wouldn't be allowed for much of the summer, but at the same time, the belt comes off me after an exercise session soaking wet, and the watch is rated for shallow water swimming and the belt is rated for splashes, so who knows.
The smallest watch band hole is at 6", which wouldn't accommodate smaller women, though extra holes could always be punched.
There's an icon on the watch face that can be toggled on and off, a pair of wavy lines at the bottom left, and it's shown on the description of the LCD in the manual, but it's not labeled, and its meaning or function is not decribed anywhere.
As is true of all heart rate monitors, you have to be careful not to let any fabric get under the sensor on the chest, or the heart rate reading will cease. I wear my sports bra strap on top of it to be sure the edge can't slip underneath.
It's not stated anywhere in the manual, but I finally figured out that the average heart rate is only calculated while the stopwatch is running. There's no statement of what the averaging frequency is.
There's no way to download any data.
There are three exercise modes (walk, jog, run) that you can set the watch to monitor and flag for under/over target heart rate. Unfortunately, you can only program one of them at a time. As soon as you change to another setting, it forgets what you've programmed for the last one, which kind of defeats the purpose, to my mind. That's maybe fine if your maximum heart rate follows the same averaging algorithms that the watch uses, but not so good if you're not average (my max heart rate is higher than average).
The tap lens to temporarily change display modes doesn't seem very useful to me, and you have to tap pretty hard to activate it.
The stopwatch can only be reset in one particular mode, though it's viewable in several modes, which can be confusing and irritating.
The light button is right next to the start/stop stopwatch button, which means that when I'm out jogging after dark, I occasionally accidentally hit the stopwatch button instead of the light. Too bad the tap function can't be set to turn on the light.
The heart rate mode can show % of maximum, but I can't find/figure out what it's using as the maximum value. I certainly never entered it anywhere.

For the most part, this is a useful tracker. It has some interesting features like tapping on the watch face to see your heart rate. But the problems far outweighed this new feature.
I have had two problems with this, the less significant being the discomfort of the heart rate band. I compared it to my Polar heart rate straps to see what the difference is. The Omron is heavier and bigger in the center and the band itself is less flexible. The latch on the side is not as easy to close as the Polar. This one has a triangle shape that is harder to close than the Polar because you have to both seat it and then click it in place. I'm not sure why all of the security as I have never had one fall off before. The biggest part for me though, is that because of its inflexibility, it often moves around and doesn't register any heartbeat. The other problem caused by this is that I am less likely to leave it on when I am not in the gym; therefore not collecting numbers while I am out on my bike or walking the dog.
The other, more significant problem is the delay in heart rate numbers. I tested this out against three or four machines in my gym that I know to be absolutely correct tested against my Polar, which was tested with the help of a nurse friend who was worried because of my sometimes too fast heart rate. I need to have faster information than this one provides. The delay on my unit is between 5-20 seconds. This is probably not an issue for most people who are just looking for general numbers.
Okay, and there's a third problem that matters more to me than probably to others. You can not use this under water. My Polar can be worn in the swimming pool while I am doing laps. Even my ridiculous Mio worked underwater, although you need a dry fingertip to see your heart rate. (How dumb was that?)
I'm definitely on the fence on this one. If I were standing on the fence though, this thing would probably slide and I would fall off while trying to pull it up and then I would have to wait a little while to see my heart rate numbers.
At this price, however, this is a good beginner set.