Customer Reviews

Timex T5G971 Unisex Sports Personal Heart Rate Monitor Watch

5 star:		(256)
4 star:		(206)
3 star:		(42)
2 star:		(50)
1 star:		(99)

 

 

This is my fourth HRM and by far the best. The display is big and very readable even in dim light without using the indiglo. My last two HRMs were the older model Timex Ironman 100 lappers. They became very unreliable even with new batteries. I used to have to use electrode gel just to get them to work at all. This HRM gives me an accurate reading immediately and continues to do so as my heart rate changes during my workout. It works great even without electrode gel. It doesn't have any fancy features but I don't need them. It does record your time in the zone that you can set and you average and peak heart rates. It also has a recovery time feature that measures how many BPM your HR drops in one minute. The sensor belt will also work with the HR display most treadmills and other indoor machines. This HRM has already improved my training significantly because it is so accurate and responsive. I highly recommend it.

If you are looking for a heart monitor which is easy to use and very accurate this is the one for you. I am 53 y.o. in cardiac rehab. A similar Timex model was one of the HR monitors recommended by the rehab staff. However after much comparison shopping, this monitor had additional features including calorie counting, target heart rate beep which you activate if you want it on and indigo light. The strap is very light and comfortable. It is also extremely accurate and it comes with a user replacement battery. I just love it.

I was looking for a heartrate monitor to track not only my aerobics workouts but also my weight training workouts. I wanted a wireless monitor with a large enough display so it was easy to read (yes, I've joined the reading glasses population). I needed to be able to replace the batteries myself, and it would be nice if it could tell time in case I wanted to use it as a watch.

The Timex met all my needs and at a very good price. I was a bit concerned because I have a 54" chest and a fairly large wrist. I was also concerned because the packaging is not specific about whether it has a coded signal so that it does not pick up other heartrate monitor signals. The chest strap fits me well but if my chest gets too much larger, it's going to be a bit snug. The wrist band also fits but it's in the last hole, and so far, I haven't picked up anyone else's monitor or bled over onto anyone else's cardio machines.

I'm very satisfied with this purchase.

This is my first heart rate monitor, and I really couldn't be happier with it. The watch displays your heartbeat in real time with the little heart icon on the face. It recalculates every two seconds. It's simple to program it to your weight and target heart rate (just read the instructions), and the 'recall' button tells you all you want to know - time in your target zone, average heart-rate, estimated calories burned, etc.

Previous reviewers have said that they don't like not being able to see the time of day when the watch is in heart-rate mode. If you press the 'set' button it displays the time.

I'm in the process of burning off about 25 lbs of excess fat this summer. I'm cycling across the USA in my living room. This monitor is a very helpful tool for maximizing my cardio sessions. It's accurate, it makes workouts more fun and it lets me know when I have to get moving a little faster.

There's been a significant price increase since I bought this monitor (I paid $44 three weeks ago, now it's listed at $69?). But if I had it to do over, I'd still go with the Timex over the cheaper, lesser-known brand listed along side this monitor. If you look thru the reviews, more people are satisfied with the Timex and you know you're dealing with a reputable company who will honor their warranty.

The only 'cons' I can think of - #1 - The chest strap sometimes beeps when sitting idle, I guess because of electronic interference. This is not an issue when wearing the strap, but I'm thinking it may kill the battery before its time (easily replaced). #2 - The clasp on the chest strap is a bit scrawny. You have to force the tab thru it a little. I've seen no stress wear to the female part of the clasp, but if this part fails eventually, the business part of the chest strap will need to be replaced.

I hate to recommend products to anyone, and it's very rare that I'd five-star anything. But I can honestly say that this item has met or exceeded all of my expectations.

Congrats to the Celts!

Timex T5G971 Unisex Sports Personal Heart Rate Monitor WatchI bought this heart rate monitor for both my husband and myself. We wanted one that we didn't have to send back to the manufacture or dealer everytime it needed a battery in the chest strap such as the Polar.

We've only been using them for about a month, but so far we really like them. It is very easy to learn hoew to set it and use all of the features. It also is very easy to get started. I put it on and just put a little water on the senors. In the past some of the HRM's I have owned I actually had to start sweating before they would engage.

The only thing on the negative side is that you can not see the time when you are in the Heart Rate Mode. That mode is all you can see. It bothers my husband, but not me.

I'd rate it a 5 instead of a 4, but we really haven't used them long enough to see if changing the battery goes smoothly. The 1st one we bought the buttons were jamed and my husband did change the battery to see if that was the problem. The battery was easy to change in the chest strap, but we had to send it back. The exchange went easily with Amazon.

With so many heart monitors available, I had some difficulty deciding on what to buy. I decided on the Timex T5G971 because I have always wore the Timex Iron Man. I have come to know Timex as a dependable and affordable sport time piece, and so far I am very happy with the heart monitor. It was easy to set up and works great! I have also read that other brands require that you send off to the company for replacement batteries, but such is not the case with the Timex.

I've owned this heart rate monitor for almost a year, but I can't use it now because the chest strap broke. The clasp on the elastic part going into the sending unit broke off when I was taking it off. I have e-mailed Timex in an attempt to get a replacement strap. I would hate to have to buy a new monitor just for this strap. Other than that, the monitor worked great. I used the sending unit to feed both the Timex heart rate montitor watch that came with it and a receiving unit that I bought separately that can be hooked up to my computer to record a workout's data. It did a great job before the strap broke. If the clasp hadn't broken, I would have given the monitor another star.

I bought this heart rate monitor because I wanted to increase my exercise level without putting myself at risk. The unit is fairly easy to program and seems to work very well so far. (I've been using it about a month.) The strap that goes around the chest seemed a bit awkward at first, but I soon forgot about it. I especially like the fact that the unit does not have any unnecessary bells and whistles. Its "recall" funtion is particularly basic and helpful: after a workout, it scrolls through your peak heart rate, average heart rate, time elapsed, calories burned, and recovery rate. (The last is especially important.) You can obviously spend more money on a heart rate monitor, and perhaps get more features, but I've found this to be a solid and reasonably-priced performer for someone who doesn't want a lot of excess baggage.

I bought this heart monitor after burning through two (more-expensive) Polar F6 heart monitors in two years, part of a healthy eating/exercise plan that helped me lose 100 pounds in a year.

In general, I like the Timex T5G971 very much -- particularly for the money. It's functional, easy to program & use, and easy to read. It lacks the more sophisticated display screens of the Polar, but I don't need these any longer now that I am in weight/health-maintenance mode. I also like the fact that you can replace the battery in the sensor strap, and that I can probably get a local jeweler to replace the watch battery when it goes (both of which were not possible with the Polar).

However, I have two criticisms:

First, do yourself a favor: put a fresh battery in the sensor strap before you program and use the watch. I didn't do this, and almost gave myself a heart attack trying to get my heart rate up to my usual exercise level before realizing that the watch reading was about 50 bpms off because of a dying battery. I replaced it (easy) and the watch works fine now.

Second, the calorie counter seems to run a bit "hot." On the same 90-minute exercise program, my Polar would record 700 calories while the Timex will record 1000 or more. My Tunturi bike counter seems to run closer to the Timex, so I am guessing that the right number is somewhere in between. We will see as the weeks wear on.

Overall, I am glad that I bought this watch -- at least so far.

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It's December 20, and I have been using the Timex T5G971 Unisex Sports Personal Heart Rate Monitor Watch for several months now and I am very happy with it. My only quibble is that it seems to go through batteries quickly (at $5 a pop), but that may be because I am using it a lot to time workouts. Also, I find it a bit difficult to insert the new battery in the chest strap. Finally, I find that I must make sure that the watch is on very tightly or it won't pick up a pulse. Since I am already on the last hole in the strap, I guess I can't afford to lose any more weight (ha ha). If you have trouble getting it to pick up a pulse, try rubbing the back side of the watch lightly with a cloth, then try again. Overall a great product for the money.

When I first received this HRM a year ago I thought it was great -- and it was. Nice large display and worked fine. After several months the readings became inconsistent, sometimes going way too low and other times going way too high. I tried using water on the electrodes, new batteries, tightening the strap, cleaning the electrodes with Irovy soap, until I finally found Buh-Bump HRM Electrode cream, which restored the product to perfect functionality. Now, after another 6 months it's giving low readings again. Maybe it's the battery, but there's no way on the device to actually tell when the batteries begin to get weak. Because of the frustration of it not working consistantly I'm downgrading this product from 5 stars to 3. I also see the price is about 20% higher than a year ago, reducing it's value. Note that I have no way of knowing if this performance issue is specific to this HRM or is a general shortfall of the entire product category.

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This is a great beginner's heart rate monitor. I've never had one before and in only 2 weeks I've experienced a clear increase in health and fitness. What swayed me in getting this one is that at the time I ordered it there were 21 4/5-star ratings and only 1 1-star rating. I've found it to be as great as the other reviews stated, a wonderful device, and a great value.

The only problem I've experienced is when I hadn't wet the sensors as the directions specified. Once I did that it worked perfectly. This could be the problem of the negative review.

I do wonder how well the chest strap will endure. There are 2 small rubberized plastic clips which are each potential points of failure.

The sensor and watch both use standard lithium batteries, so that will make replacement easy when the time comes.

Unlike heart rate monitors that are at least 5 times the cost, only the readings from the last session are saved, so they do need to be recorded manually if you want the save them.

I looked at strapless models, but most people recommended the strap. One advantage of the strap is that you can check your heart rate throughout the day which would be hard to do with the strapless models.

I marvel at the technologies used to create this device for such a reasonable price: heart rate sensors, wireless data transmission, data storage, and calculations. It's an incredible device and great value.