Customer Reviews

Oregon Scientific HR308 Wireless Heart Rate Monitor

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I was reluctant about purchasing the HR308 since I could not find a good review on the product. Overall I'm very satisfied with my purchase. I was also considering Polar and Acumen products but as far as value goes the HR308 takes the prize.
This product has all the features a beginner would expect and would satisfy most intermediate users as well. I believe that the smart trainer program benefits are a little overstated. Basically after entering age/sex/weight/height the HR308 sets your target zones for you. It does a fairly good job doing that and has the option of audible out of range alarms while training. You have two options as far as exercising goes. Either use a timer or a stopwatch. In these two modes the HR308 shows instantaneous heart rate and time and logs calories burned/percent (of calories) fat/in zone/average heart rate/total time. You can see calories burned and percent fat during exercise and all quantities after the exercise. Although I have not used a Polar F4, reading through the specifications I would say that the HR308 compares to the F4, feature wise.
Performance wise I'm also satisfied. The chest strap is comfortable and has lost my rate maybe two or three times in over 50 hours of use, mostly because of the strap slipping down. You can replace the batteries in both the watch and the strap on your own which is important in the long run. Although I have not tested it, the strap is supposed to be splash resistant but is not recommended for swimming. Accuracy is good. I checked the pulse a couple of times during the first few times I used the HR308 and it was right on the mark. One minor annoyance is interference. I do not train indoors but the HR308 looses reception in my car due to interference. This may cause some problems in a gym.
Overall I'm very satisfied with the unit. Compared to Polar F4 it has about the same features, it is much cheaper and you can change the batteries on you own. Polar F4 would be a better choice for swimmers, however. Compared to the Acumen Basix it has a chronometer which was important for me. HR308 is much cheaper then the comparable (feature wise) Acumen Basix Plus. Unless you intend to use the heart meter in the water (which I heard is difficult with the Polar F4 as well, but possible) or need more features then the Oregon Scientific HR308 offers the best value.

okay so im a woman and im 5'5" and 150...the lady at the top obviously did not read the directions because when entering your weight the watch must have some built-in avg system where it started off at 5'7" ...you must keep pressing the st/sp button to arrive at you appropriate weight and height... i think the monitor is awesome...oh and by the way you can get it for MUCH less (more than half) on other websites.

Actually, this product did what I had hoped: it kicked me up to the next level of exercising. I just wish it had been easier to program. (I ended up having to ask a work colleague for help.) But it does work particularly well when I jog, less well when I cycle. Still think it is good value for the price.
js in sd

Wrote to them several times, without receiving a response. Called and got rude responses. Will never buy from this company again!

Possibly a very good product however you will never be able to tell - The instructions are ridiculouly brief and don't cover half the symbols that appear on the screen. End result, you have no idea how to operate it. I have email Oregon Scientific repeatidly (as I see, have a number of other unhappy amazon reviewers) and never had any response. This company does not deserve your business.

i must say, i'm a pretty technically savy person but this product confuses me. The instructions that came with it do nothing to explain how to use it and I find myself only using the strap for my chest because that miraculously links up to my cross-trainer! I would not recommend this product.

This WHRM was supposed to work upto 300 ft. I use it for the very first time in a pool 3 ft. depth and it just got mad.

The water in the screen does not allow to watch numbers.

If you plan to splash your WHRM better choose another one.

I ordered this particular monitor because it was advertised as one that fit, and worked for, women. Well.....not women who are below 5'7" and 143.....which is probably a lot of us. This means that I can only use the monitor for measuring heart-rate, not for training......That makes this a seriously overpriced choice for people who are less than 5"7"......

This works great. I actually have no problems with this heart rate monitor. I just used a friends heart rate monitor and it worked just as good for 1/3 the price.