Hey everyone...i'm looking for a good Heart Rate Monitor to get. I really want to start hitting this exercising hard and I want to be able to calculate my calories burned as accurately as I can. I don't wanna spend a crap ton of money, but I don't want a piece of junk either. I do have this $100 visa giftcard that my wife's grandma got me for Christmas, and it has been burning a hole in my pocket, can I get a good one for that price or under? Interested in everyone's opinion, and thank you in advance!

I would recommend checking out Polar... they should have something in that price range... I've owned several Polar HRM's and I always liked them... Now I train with Suunto's and Garmin's which better suit my needs these days... so those are both worth looking at as well....

Polars are good and basic. They serve their purpose. I have a Polar that I use once in a while when I want a smaller watch on my arm and I'm doing zumba or something. I also have a garmin for walking(biking/running) but I paid quite a bit for it as I tend to really get into gadgets. Its totally not necessary - it was my splurge for being on top of my fitness for a year (a year ago).

I cosign on the Polar. I've had the FT7 for over a year now and I'm pretty sure it was under $100 (maybe around $80) even when I got it. I like it quite a bit and use it for my runs and workout videos. It's pretty basic but does everything I need it to do.

Another Polar FT7 user here. It's pretty basic and does what I need it to do. At the time I bought it I wanted more accuracy in calories burned and duration of exercise. At some point I will upgrade to a Garmin as the FT7 does not have GPS or a stopwatch which now, after 3+ years of running, I would find helpful. Good luck to you! I think a HRM is a good investment and it doesn't have to cost you an arm and a leg

I had a Polar which I liked but I really wanted the GPS feature so I upgraded to the Garmin.