Mark of Fitness MF-180 Exercise/Heart Rate Monitor

by Mark of Fitness

Product Features

• No chest belt required
• 8 functions
• Great for walking, jogging, running
• National Health & Wellness Club tested and recommended
• Includes 2 CR2032 batteries

Product Description

Exercise/Heart Rate Monitor that does not require a chest belt. Great for walking, jogging or running. 8 functions: Heart Rate; Outside Target Zone Alarms; Displays Percentage of Maximum Heart Rate; 255Time Memory; Time; Stopwatch; Lap Mode; Count-Up Timer. Electro-luminescent back-light. Includes 2 CR2032 batteries.

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0002VG510
• UPC: 757549001813 757549001806
• Item model number: MF-180
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #158,979 in Health & Personal Care (See Top 100 in Health & Personal Care)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars looks good but doesnt work as great, November 3, 2005

By 

Evans N. Fernandes (San Jose, CA (USA)) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mark of Fitness MF-180 Exercise/Heart Rate Monitor (Health and Beauty)

the monitor looks really cool on the hand while cycling or at the gym... however due to its design, it does not provide accurate readings. the finger has to be in a specific position with the sensor and that too without movement if it has to be anywhere close to accurate. I'm going to stick with the chest strap for accurate readings.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a relief to find a monitor that works!, September 28, 2006

By 

W. Baker - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mark of Fitness MF-180 Exercise/Heart Rate Monitor (Health and Beauty)

I've tried several monitors over the years....including one that attached to the ear lobe and a chest strap. Neither of these worked at all well. I've had the Mark of Fitness for close to a year and it is great! When I first got it I had probs with it sticking to a constant pulse reading...even changed batteries, but then I read their manual and they indicated that the censor should be on a clear patch of skin. My clearest spot wasn't at the direct bottom of my finger but a bit off to the side. Every since then, it's been great! It's not 100%...you have to have the proper tightness on the velcro strap.....but it's easy to adjust. By the way....I do aerobics walking as well as use an excercise bicyle.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Works well but controls are a bit cumbersome, June 27, 2007

By 

Satre Stuelke (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mark of Fitness MF-180 Exercise/Heart Rate Monitor (Health and Beauty)

After reading other reviews, I'm wondering if the manufacturer has improved their sensor because I almost always get a good reading and it is very close to or exactly the same as other heart monitors I compare it with around the gym (the kind on the machines where you have to grab 2 electrodes). I've had it now for about 3 months and I'm pretty happy with it. The only time I don't get a good reading is when I haven't positioned the sensor properly. The trick is that you have to have the sensor over one of the arteries in your index finger, which is off center, NOT in the middle. You also don't want it too tight -- certainly less tight than the manual says. Just make it snug and you should get a good reading. I use the "cross-country skiing" orbital trainer machine most often and it works perfectly with those kind of movements. The only time I've seen it get confused is if you intentionally wildly swing your hand around to try to confuse it. That kind of movement never happens during workouts, though, so the criticisms about it being inaccurate unless you're not moving are not the case at all in my experience. I would have to assume that the user didn't have the sensor positioned correctly. I've been quite active with it and it has always kept up just fine. I also haven't had to have a perfectly straight finger to get a good reading. Just don't try to get a reading while you're grabbing a chinup bar or curling or anything like that. You shouldn't be looking at your heart rate while lifting weights anyway, you should be paying attention to what you're doing.

I do think they could improve the glove, but it fits my hand pretty well. I'm a male with a medium-sized hand. Someone with a large hand would probably find the glove uncomfortable, and someone with a small hand would probably find it just fine. It just seems like cheap material next to the rather well-made readout and sensor. I felt that the controls were cumbersome because, as someone only interested in cardio workouts (which is the reason to have a heart monitor in the first place), the modes I need to use are several clicks away from each other. If you want to monitor recovery time, you have to click the top button 4 times to cycle through a bunch of other modes before you get from heart monitoring, to recovery time values. Definitely could have been better thought out, but all the necessary things are there, and even some fancy things I haven't taken the time to learn yet. The big advantage is, of course, that you don't have to wear a chest strap which I have found extremely appealing. I would have given 5 stars if they would have made a better glove and would have thought out the sequence of functions with the buttons more realistically. All things considered, though, knowing what I know now, I would still buy it over any other monitor.