Here's my opinion for what it's worth:
My DH has a basic Polar, but I like my Nike Women's Imara HR monitor/watch better. I really like it because I also wear it as my everyday watch. It's stylish and has lots of functions (chronograph, calories burned- which is based off of numbers about your age and weight that you put in-, interval timer, avg. HR, % HR, and alarm function). When I workout, I just put on the HR strap and hit the button and change my watch from time to chronograph. It cost $90, and for me that was great. Because I wear it all day, everyday, it's more than paid for itself. I wear it in the water and it does fine!