Cheapest Polar RS800CX Heart Rate Monitor Watch

Story of three Polars:
This is my third Polar. The first one I had was a s510. It was great until it lost two buttons somehow during the swim portion of a triathlon. No idea how that happened, but the end result was that salt water got into the unit and ruined it.

I replaced the s510 with an s725x special edition (the one with the chrome finish). Loved it too - until it started to flake out. It wouldn't let me update the user settings and no longer shows the date. I decided to make that my permanent bike computer and took the opportunity to upgrade to the RS800cx.

I love the RS800cx's contoured, sleek design. Much better than its predecessors' big, chunky and buly block style. Again, I love Polar devices when they work. I love uploading my data to the training software via the infrared sensor. I like visually tracking my zones, HR, altitude, pace, etc. I also liked seeing my routes on Google Earth - very cool! However, after 3 months, I noted significant condensation under the lens. That was followed by the battery going dead. It's under warranty, so I sent it in. After 3 weeks, it came back with no water and a fresh battery. No more than two weeks later, two buttons fell off. I sent it back, waited for another 3 weeks and am using it again. However this time, the main button doesn't like to work. This was evident immediately upon getting back from Polar and before I started using it again. It's usable, but more frequently than not I have to press the red button #enter or start# several times to get it to work. I'm anxious about sending it back yet again because I don't want to spend the money on shipping for the 3rd time and I'm worried about what will fall off or not work when it returns from the factory.

I should note that I'm not rough with these devices. I swim, bike, run and lift. I don't wrestle, work construction or do anything that would cause unusual wear and tear on the product.

A friend of mine bought the Garmin Forerunner 305 this past summer for his Ironman training. He loves it and has had no issues with it. One of the cool things about the Garmin is that you can detach it from the wristband and attach it to your bike mount in a "quick release" fashion and vice versa. The other cool thing is that it's currently $167.99 on Amazon vs. the RS800cx which is currently $469.90. If I'm reading it all correctly, that's equally equipped with GPS, HR, software and online mapping. If I wasn't already invested in the Polar with the GPS, I'd switch to the Garmin. The biggest drawback that I can see with the Garmin is that it's big and chunky. Not something I'd wear to work, like I can with my Polar.

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