Couple of good reviews on the sports model over at bestbuy
Some discussion of heart rate monitors over here: http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/heart-rate-monitor.html and comparison of watch vs. chest strap here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/409746-heart-rate-monitor-watch-vs-chest-strap
I have a different model MIO and it performs poorly. It was a $70 model new. The heart rate function never works while I’m running. On the other hand, it often beeps for minutes at a time randomly while it’s sitting on the counter. That gets very annoying. As a result, the battery is almost dead after only a year.
Ordered one of these awhile back:
http://www.woot.com/offers/mio-energy-pro-heart-rate-monitor-watch-with-chest-strap
Never really works consistently. HR signal constantly gets lost and that’s when the electrodes are moistened. In addition, I use a lotion that I previously used many times sucessfully with another HRM chest strap but this MiO is garbage.
It may be a different model, but I’d skip this brand…
Would I be correct in assuming the the sport model is more for a male while the petite model is more for a female? I say that because of the word “petite” written on that model. I’m giving the watch as a gift to my nephew (a runner) and don’t want it to be feminine.
“The MIO Motiva Petite is a smaller design, created with smaller wrists in mind (case is 40mm x 40mm)”
So if the nephew has small wrists, it would be fine. As long as he doesn’t mind that it says “Petite” on the front of it.
Mio is junk. I have had 2 of them and they both were a pia. not dependable and changing batteries and making sure they resealed was a challenge. Save your money
And it’s only good down to 0 degrees Celsius? That’s not that cold for us runners of the frozen north.
Not familiar with these watches, but I’ve got a couple of other “put your finger on the watch” types and NONE of them are worth a darn. Inconsistent pickup, wildly varying HRs, darned unhandy. If you watch the video, they recommend “taking your HR as often as possible” to get an accurate idea of your fitness level and caloric output—that means you’ll be running with your free hand on the watch A LOT. Really awkward, and on a bike—forget it!
Just do what the pros and serious folks do—buy a decent HR monitor with a chest strap, you’ll see one on every serious triathlete—because they work! The prices are the same! And you get a constant, consistent readout.
I’m just going to assume they’re incompatible with binary pulmonary systems.