Yet another HRM question, small wrist . . .

[HappyAnika]

I'm looking to buy a heart rate monitor. I don't need anything super fancy, I want current HR, max HR, average HR, calories burned, time, and a stop watch. Customizable zones would be nice, but not absolutely necessary. A coded transmitter would be preferable. I want to use it on the bike, but also for running, at the gym, and possibly for swimming, so I need to be able to wear the thing on my wrist. However my wrists are tiny (even though the rest of me is not). I wear XS gloves and I can't wear most bracelets because they are huge on me.

I was looking at the Polar F4, which is still big on my wrist, but it doesn't have a coded transmitter and I've read that the display can be frustrating since you can only see one thing at a time (i.e. HR or time, but not both together). I looked online at the Nike Imara, but its not clear if it gives you average HR at the end of your workout.

Can anyone who has the Imara tell me anything more about it? Can anyone who has the F4 tell me their opinion of it? Does anyone know if the F6 is really that much larger? (I didn't look at that one when I was in the store). Are there any other "women's", aka SMALL HRMs out there? Thanks in advance for any input.

[Bluetree]

Anika,
I have the Polar F11 women's version, called Blue Glow or something like that. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of an 625X but since I wasn't planning on the downloading thing (I'm on a Mac anyway) it does what I wanted. It does come with a transmitter.
The face is smaller, so it may not show everything you want at the same time. But the watch is great for small wrists and I can even tighten it on my handlebars without a special mount. The holes for the buckle tab go all the way around the wristband, which is niceI usually set the watch face on HR and my bike computer on time when I ride.
I think I paid about $140 for it on eBay.

[bike4ever]

The Nike Imara is a nice small size. Unfortunately, it is not coded. It will not obtain an accurate heart rate in a gym or around any other electronic interference. If you are only using the Imara on a bike, then it would work great. However, if you have a cordless computer or like to spin inside (even near a home computer with a router), this won't work well.

I have a Polar F6. I like it a lot, and it is not terribly large on my wrist. I have the pink model.

[beetle]

I use the Cardiosport Go30 (http://www.cardiosport.com/go30.html) which is a smallish HRM. I don't have a big wrist and find this watch quite comfortable and actually tend to wear it as my normal watch now. It has all the features you mention but I don't know about the coding. I've never had any crossover from other HRMs BUT I tend to train alone and do infrequent gym sessions.

It is pretty reliable in the pool (though won't work in salt openwater - like most others) and has a good range of features include one programable zone. To use on the bike I just strap it round the handlebar though you could probably get a mount. It has a HR recovery timer which I find useful for gauging improvement over several weeks. My only irritation is that you have to press the buttons quite hard.