I purchased this HRM in order to monitor my exertion levels during several of my favorite activities (hiking, climbing, and moutain biking), as well as my not-so-favorite ones (Stairmaster and elliptical trainer workouts, and running). Overall, I've been pleased with its performance. It seems to be accurate enough (readouts correlate well with the manual readings I used to make...although there's a lot more margin for error there, so it doesn't suprise me that the Polar falls within that range). I like the fact that it performs only one function...I could care less what the time and date are or any of the other readings the more expensive models give during the middle of a workout. And the fact that there's only one metric on the display lets the readout be nice and big.

The only negatives I have for the thing are (1) the little retainer thingie that is supposed to hold the excess watch band against the wrist doesn't stay put, resulting in the excess flapping about (this is not a problem for me, since I have thick wrists and use most of the band anyway), and (2) the bulk of the transmitter on the chest. I really wish that someone would come out with a wrist-mounted pulse reading device that would accurately monitor the heart rate without having to strap on a chest strap. I sometimes feel like I'm wearing a bra (Not that there's anything wrong with that!).

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I use the heart rate monitor to gage my exertion during spinning (bicycling) classes at the gym. I found that I get a much more effective-consistent workout with the monitor.