Top 5 Heart Rate Monitors of 2012 for Holiday Gifts by Heart Rate Watch Company

The top 5 heart rate monitors for 2012 gift giving have been assessed by the testing staff at the Heart Rate Watch Company. Watch favorites were grouped by sport and gender.

John Yarington, Chief Tester, A Guy You Can Trust To Make Good Heart Rate Monitor Decisions

We wanted to create a list you could rely upon to make a quick gift buying decision by sport and even by gender

Bozeman, MT (PRWEB) December 09, 2012

The Heart Rate Watch Company testers have compiled a list of the top 5 heart rate monitors for Holiday Gift Giving 2012. All of the selected monitors were new in the past 18 months, or less, tested at length and categorized by primary use.

"We wanted to create a list you could rely upon to make a quick gift buying decision by sport and even by gender", says Rusty Squire, President of the Heart Rate Watch Company. He adds, "Having testers like John Yarington makes this easy because he's a real athlete".

Best Triathlon Watch

The Garmin Forerunner 910XT triathlon bundle with quick release band, was the tester favorite. This watch measures more metrics for swim, bike, run than any other device in the market which is why more professional triathletes use it than any other product.

Best Running Watch

This was a tie between the Garmin 610 and the Polar RCX5 Run. They are both solid running watches but the Garmin 610 is better in mountainous or hilly situations while the Polar RCX5 Run is well suited on flatter road courses.

Best Cycling Watch

The best cycling watch is a draw between the Magellan Switch Up and the Garmin Forerunner 910XT. Both get speed, distance, cadence, have barometric altimeters, get altitude, maps, power and more.

Best Outdoor, Ski & Back Country Watch

The Suunto Ambit is the best new heart rate monitor for 2012 and, thanks to GPS, as well as an easy multi-sport interface, it does everything well, including navigation. A barometric altimeter, compass and barometer add to the package but it comes at a $500 price tag.

Best Female Fit

The Polar RCX3 surpassed all other women's heart rate monitors for fit, especially among those that can perform GPS based speed and distance functions. When it comes to women there is a lot to be said for detaching the GPS and lithium-ion batteries to cut the watch weight more than in half.