Garmin FR60 Heart Rate Monitor Review - Loads of Data and a Great Value

The Garmin FR60 heart rate monitor, released in early 2009, is not just a good watch for developing fitness. The watch has an amazing amount of technology and is compatible with many other devices like footpods, speed and cadence sensors, and any ANT+ compliant product, so it can display, speed, cadence, power output, distance, and
much more.

This watch is a big step up from most of the sub-$100 heart rate monitors on the market.

The watch set up is quite easy. Just enter your age, weight and height in the initial set-up. You can also draw upon the online product manual at the Garmin website to quickly adjust other features like heart rate zone alerts.

Add in the new Garmin SDM4 ANT+ foot pod and you have accurate running distance readily displayed on the face of the watch. Add a speed and cadence sensor to the chain stay of your bike and you can now measure crank revolutions and your speed.

This heart rate monitor watch comes with a USB wireless stick that plugs in to any PC or laptop and allows you to wirelessly transfer all of your workout data straight into the Garmin Connect website for review and analysis. Track average heart rate, peak heart rate, calories burned and with optional foot pods, or speed and cadence sensors, you can add many more metrics to apply to your workouts. The watch will even work with ANT+ complaint power meters for cyclists.

I guess the word that comes to mind is value. This watch has much more technology than any of its peers and blows away everything in the sub-$100 watch category.

The only way to get more technology is to step up another $100 or more into the sphere of GPS enabled heart rate monitors, like the 405CX or the new ubber-watch the Garmin 310XT which is all the rage in the triathlon circles.

If you are looking for a great value in a monitor, that can give you much more data than just a heart rate, than you should consider the Garmin FR60. Add the additional foot pod and speed and cadence sensors and you've got a great stocking stuffer for the Holidays that will make the athlete on Santa's list very happy.