“For the minimalist”
($70; www.nbwebexpress.com)
Easy to set-up and use, the pearl white New Balance HRM is small, sleek, and feminine which made it a favorite for Women’s Adventure testers, especially more casual athletes who appreciated the easy set-up and simple functionality of this unit.
This model offers all the basic HRM functions needed for training and basic fitness and automatically estimates your maximum heart-rate (209 – (0.7 x age) and sets three heart rate zones, light, medium, and heavy intensity and has optional alarms to help you stay on track. HR values are front-and-center in all display modes, which makes it easy to monitor visually as well, but also makes it harder to see split, or lap-times during more regimented workouts. Though this HRM ranked on the low-end in terms of data storage (only 9 workouts) it is an excellent value for first-timers or for testing the waters of heart rate monitors.
Written by someone from New Balance. This heart rate monitor is impossible to program and the watch and manual are both too small to read.
I TOTALLY agree. I’m about ready to box it back up and take it back to Target!!!!!
I bought this monitor a week ago. I don’t work for any company. I am a utter failure at reading any instruction manuals. My husband teased me about this purchase, “I guess you’ll be asking me how to operate the thing in a few days when you give up, right?” I still can’t tell you all the tricks that my Android phone can do and I’ve had it 18 months. I think I legitimately qualify as someone who has had problems and lack of interest to learn to program ANYTHING.
Programming this thing was a breeze.
I am “of a certain age” and have to wear glasses to read. I worried about picking a watch that I wouldn’t be able to see. I do need to put glasses on to see the small readouts, but the time or HR or whatever you set in central position is plenty big enough to see without my glasses,
My only complaint is that the alarm for going into and out of the target heart rate zone is WAY TOO QUIET.
I agree. Very hard to program and the display is too small. I found it absolutely useless and would be returning it back to Target.
I love this thing. It was easy to set and easy to use. I have gone through 2 other HRM and they were both returned for being over-complicated for what I needed. I found this and was a bit skeptical. Once I got it out of the package, It took me less than 10 minutes to set, and every day use is seconds to set up. I just love this one! I’ll never look back. So far, better than the polar and walmart HRM and I couldn’t be happier!
Can you give me some tips on how to set this thing up? I don’t know how, but all I managed was my age. Now, I can’t even get to that setting! HALP!!!
So easy to set up, in TIME mode, just press & hold set ( top left button), then up and down on the buttons on the right side to enter your sex, then mode again to set your age, mode to change your weight, mode then height, ect ect ect. It’s all written in the manual, had you read it.
Very easy to set up. Not hard to read at all. I liked it until it started acting up on me on the 3rd day, started telling me my heart rate was 240…i think i would be dead… so i returned it because it kept telling me that. I got a new one, and it did the same thing fresh out of the box, oh and I work for a doctors office, my heart rate at an average rate for someone my age and weight. So I am going to return this one too and get another brand now. Not happy at all.
I cannot find a manual for this thing… can someone please tell me how to set up my strides, and gender, weight etc? No information online – lost the original papers : (
Thanks ladies! – Monica
Sabrina,
Regardless of what the manual says, it’s tiny and confusing to understand. Being rude helps no one!
Monica,
To enter personal data:
Press the “Mode” button on bottom left until it says “HRM”. Then hold in the “Light/Set” button on top left. “Set” will flash a couple of times. Keep holding button until “Set” turns to “Age”. Use the “Start/Stop” button on top right to go up and the “View” button on bottom right to go down. Press “Mode” to move to “Sex”. Again, use two right buttons to go up and down. Press “Mode” to determine level. (I set mine on 2 because it was in the middle lol), Keep pressing “Mode” and changing the item until you get back to “Age”, then press “Light/Set” again.
It’s the same process for setting the time, except you hold in the “Light/Set” button on the “Time” function.
I can figure out how to see my heart rate, but I have no idea how to determine the upper and lower heart rate limits nor how to view the calories burned from a workout. The “Data” function appears pretty useless at this point, but I’m still playing with it! I am disappointed in how difficult this HRM is to work.
Thanks a million, RitaB! Your detailed instructions were a great help! I was getting frustated.
RitaB – Thank you so much!!!! I am pretty darn computer savvy but just could not figure out how to set this thing. VERY helpful. Off to walk : )
This is a reasonable knockoff of the impeccable Nike Imara HRM which is no longer made. I bust the wristbands on these watches in the exact same notch around every 18 mos., then it is pretty much sayonara. The plastic buttons and housing on this model is particularly disappointing, but it keeps up with your intervals during swimming and running nevertheless.
I just purchased New Balance N4 heart rate monitor. NO INSTRUCTIONS IN BOX!!! I figured out everything except which level to set. Anyone know the details on each level??
Any info will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Dorothy
@ RitaB: WOW! Your explanations far surpassed the manual or anything else I’ve found! Thank you SO much! Now all I need is somebody like you to explain to me how to figure out the calories burned portion of this little device!
Cheers!
I can set all my data in my new balance heart monitor but can’t get it to record anything when I am doing cardio
Please help.
@Emmy Homer. Make sure you are in HRM mode (your heart rate should be displayed on the watch). Press start/stop button on the right upper corner to begin your workout. When you are done with your workout press the start/stop button. After the workout you can review your workout in the Data mode. It should flash Run 1 and then it will scroll through your workout data. I have not figured out how to store more than 1 workout, but when you are in the data mode, if you hold down the light/set button for a few seconds it will erase your workout and then you are ready for your next workout. You have to erase your workout because if you don’t it will just get added to your prior workout.
I also cannot figure out how to save the data from the workout. The manual instructions I believe are incomplete. Once the word save came up and that one time only the data was saved. I am unable to repeat the process to save the data. Also, every time when I press view it always reads 0 for calories burned. Has anyone successfully saved the data? How did you do it? My heart rate is accurate but I am not sure about the rest of the data.
I’ve had this monitor for awhile and everything was fine until one day it wasn’t picking up the heart rate. I changed the battery in the chest strap and still no luck. Everything else on the watch seems to work fine. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks.
I am having the same problem. The chest strap is not the problem because when I go to the gym with the chest strap on the treadmill reads my Heart Rate. I think the problem is in the watch but they said I don’t need to change the battery in the watch….so I am stumped and I threw out the receipt…
@ mike I have the same issue my new balance duo sport is brand new I changed the battery and I can’t figure out the chest strap it works fine when I touch the finger sensor. I got my sportline heart rate monitor to work with the chest strap by watching a youtube video but I’m not finding info on the new balance one they should provide better instructions with their electronic products
Thanks for the directions RitaB. The manual was worthless but your directions were great. To calc your heart rate range, subtract your age from 220. for example, 220-46= 174. Multiply that # time 65% for your low range and 85% for your upper (60% to 80% for new exercisers). That will give you your target heart rate range. Good luck.
Can anyone help me with how to get the chest strap to work? I put it on and the watch didn’t register anything :/
Thanks!
Hi Can anyone help me, I have a New Balance Duo Sport Heart Rate Monitor, I can’t get my heart rate monitor to work, I’ve entered all the required info, put on the chest strap and the watch, but it doesn’t record my heart rate?
@Annie, I had the same problem. I had to change out the battery in the strap. Now, however, I hear a high-ptiched squeal from the strap and it reads my heart rate as 240 and above. It said Wi-Fi could interfere, so maybe that’s it. Has anyone else figured out how to fix this problem. Thanks in advance for any replies of help.
Mon
Just bought this heart rate monitor tonight. Spent an hour just trying to set the TIME to no avail. I followed the instructions but still can not get to even set the time! If setting the time is this complicated, I can only imagine how much difficulty it will be to use! This is being returned ASAP!!!!
Mine did the same thing Donna-just went haywire. Can’t return it as I have had it too long but will get a different brand-worst one I have had
I just bought this monitor and I have only used it a couple times. My only problem is that I CANNOT see any of the numbers unless I press the backlight. The screen is so dark that I can barely even see the numbers even a lighted room. Has anyone else had this problem? There’s nothing in the manual about it I can’t find a setting for it. I am wondering if mine is defective.
To view the calories burned go to HRM mode by pressing “mode” button. Press “start/stop” button on upper right side. This will start the timer and start calculating the HR. While timer is on press “view” button on bottom right. Continue to press until watch displays “Kcal” at top. These are calories burned during workout. It will not work if timer is not on. Make sure to press “start/stop” button to stop timer when done and that will stop counting calories as well. To get back and forth simply continue pressing “view” button. When ready to reset for another workout press “light/set” and hold until screen clears. Hope this helps everyone!
To get the strap to work, make sure that you wet the strap…there’s little rectangular pieces on the inside that you have to wet a bit with either saliva or sweat…….
I am so frustrated with the watch. I am tossing the watch and the instructions today. I have spent hours and hours trying to figure this out. It picks up my heart rate sometimes and then just goes blank with those dashed lines. The chest strap works. I go to the gym and i can see my heart rate on the treadmill monitor so I know it is not the strap. I just want to see my heart rate when I am working out…..Who can recommend a watch that simply displays the heart rate constantly? I don’t care about anything else.
@Kelly, thank you SO much…I figured it out. Make sure you entered in all your personal information (see RitaB’s post above). Press “mode” until you get to the HRM screen. Your heart rate will display and you’ll see the timer count above that. Press top right “start/stop” to begin the timer when you start your workout. During your workout you can select the bottom right button “view” to see your high and low heart rate, calories burned thus far and the clock. Press “mode” again if you want to get back to HRM screen. When done your workout press the start/stop button again, hit the mode button to get to data screen. It will scroll through all the information from your workout by date. To clear, hit the top left “set” button and it will clear the data. From what I understand, if you do not clear out the data, it will hold 9 workouts and display them by date. Good luck!
The instruction manual reads like some sort of dadaist poem. I can’t even figure out how to set the time.
I love this HRM. Does anyone know if I can use it for swimming? I know the watch is water resistant (I’ve used it with no problems snorkelling), but I don’t want to ruin the chest strap if it’s not supposed to go in the pool. Lost the instruction manual- help!