Skechers Wrist Band Watch & Heart Rate Monitor - Black

I bought this watch to make up a total goods purchase price and save postage on the item I really wanted. But I do like the watch which keeps perfect time, displays the information I need withut pushing buttons and has the usual digital watch extras, alarms etc. The heart monitor function works very well and, so far as I am able to judge, provides accurate values. The back light is great for checking the time in cinemas and the heart function is fun after watching Arny doing his terminator stuff.

It's a watch with a trick up its sleeve: that when you choose the right mode and press your fingertips on the sensors, it will tell you your heart rate. Sometimes. Sometimes it just flashes for ever and you have to give up. Apart from that, it's just a fairly nice-looking watch with a futuristic blue backlight. The only other minor quibble is that you need it exactly facing you or you can't read the display. If you need to know your heart rate, it's easier and faster to press your fingertip just behind the tendon on your wrist, count the beats in six seconds and multiply by ten.

I received my heart monitor watch in good condition and in good time. The only trouble is I have no idea how "water resistant" it is and the alarm is so quiet I struggle to hear it when awake - let alone asleep. But for the money it is pretty good value.

does the job ok but the strap is small for my wrists

Watch ok, but was intended for a gift for someone who wanted a step counter, but is NOT the version advertised, it is only the basic model that does NOT include the step counter as stated in the description, plus the box was all bent and flattened as only put in thin plastic envelope, looked like it had been walked all over in the 2 weeks it took to arrive, so was quite surprised to see it was still actually in one piece, have kept it for myself as not worth the rigmarole of returning it!

With a myriad of similar offerings on the market, I'm quite happy to confess it was the price that attracted my attention to the GOwalk Strapless Heart Rate Monitor. Typical of its type, it includes the usual stopwatch/countdown, calendar, three alarms (more a low personal sound rather than a WAKE-UP & get to work sound) and a fairly clear display. And the face is backlit with a nice soothing blue colour - but don't expect to see in it in the daylight. Oh, and it also tells the time! Although my temporary postman left the package outside by the front door in all weathers, I can't yet determine the water resistance feature! I was keen on the heart rate tech (shows 60 when I'm rested) (er, now 70 - is that right?) and would have liked additional functionality in the watch to show what the numbers actually meant rather than a colourful graph on the box. Suppose the truth is in the pudding(?) so will assess its usefulness in the months to come. Looks go to go.

On the one hand, it's a digital watch. It works in much the same way that digital watches have worked for decades: time, either 12 or 24 hour clock, day/date, a secondary (dual) time for keeping track of New York or whatever, a timer, alarm, stopwatch, same old same old. It's every bit as exciting as you think it is, in that respect. It's chunky. The resin strap merges nicely into the watch itself, which stands about a centimetre and a half proud of my wrist. Not slim, is what I'm saying here. I'd hate to be the person to give it a complex or anything, but at the risk of causing it to develop bulimia I'd even describe it as "fat". Having said which, the design is okay, the range of colours is good and it's comfortable to wear -- apart from a slight tendency to fail to disappear up my shirt sleeve when I want it to. Its clever bit is the heart rate monitor, of course. It's perhaps a tiny bit awkward: you have to press the "mode" button for a couple of seconds to get it to wake up the heart rate monitor, then you have to put a finger on each of the metal sensors above and below the watch face. You have to press quite firmly, and it works better if your fingertips are slightly damp -- although if you've worked up a sweat on the workout you've been doing, that will undoubtedly not be a challenge for you. I haven't checked its accuracy but the numbers it produces seem sensible. Overall, probably not an essential purchase but at this price it's decent value for money, it feels robust and reliable and the cool factor of having your own personal heart rate monitor -- instead of having to flag down a passing nurse when you're having a sudden and unexpected "just how fast's my heart going right now" moment -- is definitely a bonus.