18 Best Hr Systems For Small Businesses (2023 Updated)

I was looking to upgrade my HR chest strap and wanted to get the latest and greatest Garmin to go with my watch. I was having a hard time finding it in stock anywhere. Heart Rate Monitors USA had it in stock and the shipping was quick.

So far I am pleased with the device and all the new data I am able to review after a run. The battery is easy to replace and the strap is very comfortable.

Upgrade from the HRM-PRO to the HRM-PRO Plus, Quick setup with my FR955 and working very well. Like the grey silicon cover now vs the yellow. Haven’t had the need to change the battery as yet to see how the new system works.

HRM USA Service and speedy delivery tops as usual!.

I wasn’t sure if I would like this or not. I honestly thought I would find it really uncomfortable to wear, but I was pleasantly surprised. I completely forgot I was wearing it – It hasn’t budged during any of my workouts and I love having this while using the Garmin training program.

I’ve never had issues with Garmin straps. I not only have had several models, including the pre-2020 version of this same strap (more on that in a bit), but countless straps from Kickr, Polar, CooSpo, etc.

I wish they would last more than a year or two, but some combination of sweat and dust always kills them (or bad design… the Wahoo straps always break at the snaps). As a strap, it is fantastic. I came back to Garmin because it was the most comfortable.

Never had an issue pairing them with different GPS watches and cycling computers. Very comfortable, etc. It is also the worst, most environmentally unfriendly design and Garmin should be ashamed. I am not talking about the waste of Lithium Ion batteries.

No. Before 2020 (it’s on their site), the strap featured the tiniest Phillips screws. Very easy to lose. Instead of fixing this issue, after 2020 they went to the smallest Torx size. Torx is good for some things.

However the tiny Torx (it is the smallest size you can find a wrench for) just wants to strip. The first time I went to replace the battery, half of the screws stripped immediately. The next time I had to replace the battery, I had to jam the wrench into the head and apply lots of force to grip what was left of the Torx splines.

Then one of the screws fell onto the floor of the workshop, never to be found again. So now, I am using electrical tape to keep the cover on. I wish I had kept one of my older straps, with the Phillips screws.

Sure they were small, but they didn’t strip immediately. Basically, the screw choice is so bad that it’s almost like the strap is designed to be tossed when the battery dies. Shame on Garmin. Shame on the engineers and product team that thought that decision made sense.

I wish I kept my old Garmin straps so I could mail them all to them. Maybe toss in all my other broken straps. Congratulations, you have created more useless garbage that will clutter landfills. M.

I hate this thing. I purchased it because my older Garmin HRM chest strap was producing erratic heart rates even with a fresh battery, so I figured it was dying. I was hopeful that its “dual” nature meant I could connect it to both my smartphone and my 910.

That didn’t work: connecting it to my phone broke the connection with the 910, and my 910 then couldn’t “find” the HRM. I have to chose between one device or the other, and I almost never connect it to my phone because my phone’s battery drains at least 50% faster when this HRM strap is connected.

My primary reason for hating it is that it chafes in several spots. With two exceptions, I’m not prone to chafing. One of those exceptions has long been HRM chest straps where the transmitter is & where any metal fittings are.

This chest strap has the metal slider, the transmitter, the attachment, and it also chafes me where the smaller connections bits are (the little squares at the end of the front part of the HRM). In the past, I would turn the strap upside down (with the transmitter still right-side up) so that I could move the parts that chafed to a different location.

I tried that with this one, and the transmitter didn’t work. Now I’m stuck with chafing unless I tuck my shirt up underneath the spots that chafe. I haven’t had reliability issues or weird battery issues like others have.

That’s why it gets two stars instead of one. I’m switching to a wrist-based HRM, but I’ll likely still use the 910 for hiking and my 510 for cycling. I have years of chafing in my future until Garmin comes out with their next HRM chest strap — assuming it changes this design.

Or maybe I’ll get lucky & my hide will toughen up.

I brought a garmin heart rate monitor and pretty quickly I worked out it wasn’t accurate. I brought the chest strap and it keeps real time heart rate. I open the garmin app and sit my phone up. I can watch my heart rate come up to my maximum as rhe set goes on then I pause between reps to keep it just off Max,.

until I finish my set. Epoc hits after you put the weight down so my heart rate comes up a beat or 2 before it starts coming back down again. That feeling of 100% heart rate Max is one I’m still struggling to make friends with.

😂 But I don’t stop trying. This strap on a good heart rate monitor, and an app and you have today understanding on what your body is doing.

I find this to be seriously accurate. It can’t break if you don’t wash it enough though. You’ll need one of those tiny Phillips screwdrivers to unscrew the main component and remove the battery etc but then you can put it in the washing machine.

Worth doing once a month at least to increase longevity. This won’t connect to zwift if you are looking for a multisport watch but it still connects to garmin for cycling etc.

This is an earlier generation HRM-Run heart rate monitor and has an accelerometer to give information about running dynamics (and works with compatible Garmin watches to give power information – through Connect IQ apps).

However it ships with the earlier software version, 6. 3 and does not seem to update (through the Garmin Forerunner 645) automatically to 6. 6, which is necessary for having real time monitoring of the ground contact balance, stride length and vertical ratio.

If you are looking for a cheaper alternative to the latest HRM-Run strap to provide you running power stats, this is great. If you are looking for all the bells and whistles, there are realistic limitations.

The new Garmin heart rate monitor is an upgrade in so many ways from previous Garmin heart rate monitors. This strap is much more comfortable. I believe that it grips better against my chest during running activities.

I also don’t notice abrasions or chaffing from the strap edges on longer runs. When paired with my new Garmin Fenix 5, the data is amazing! So much more information is available for me to analyze following my workouts.

I believe it’s worth the extra money if making a new purchase or upgrading from older equipment!.

The APC 2200 tower has evolved over the years (SU, SUA, SMT, SMC), but the basics remain the same: powerful, reliable, functional. I have an SU2200I with a serial connection from 1999 still working, and this SMT2200I with USB from 2011 is really much the same.

The 2200 is now my UPS of choice for my home office in 3 locations, providing good power and longevity for computers and Hi-Fi alike. They need room. They are heavy. They need a C19 power cable, one up from a kettle cable.

Replacement batteries are easy to fit and last many years. Much the same can be said for the 1500 models except they need less room, are less heavy and use a kettle cable. I’ve been using APC exclusively at home for more than a decade and recommend them.

It was not clearly stated that the plug was not for a typical receptacle. But the plug was wrapped tightly. I discarded the enormous amount of packaging and discovered this upon set up. Office Depot WILL NOT take the return! Unbelievable.

With 10 (!) outlets, pure sine wave output and AVR, this thing is a beast. 2,700 Watts of output is nice, too. It’s large (17” x 7. 7” x 21. 4”) heavy (116lbs. ) and requires a rare L5-30R (30 Amp) power input connector, so it’s not the easiest UPS to install, but once you get everything in place, it offers the absolute highest capacity you can get in a single cabinet, 120V UPS solution.

Consider it for large, power intensive applications.

PowerChute is resource eating joke, ditch it. Give us WiFi connectivity!! APC’s wired network is great for a company with few UPS not if they are in buildings with out a connection. MAKE IT WIFI or give up network managing software or outsource it to someone that can! I manage the UPS service for LabCorp in South San Francisco.

Needless to say yes, we are biotech. We use APC for one reason. Scaleable, end-to-end service. Everything in between is pretty good as well. We have 106 APC UPS on site. Quality power is required, in fact quality power is the foundation of our wholly automated environment; including IT.

I like the fact that the units are configurable. My personal favorite is the amazing little BRG1500 or PRo1500. A lot of power from a small footprint. Not larger than a desktop PC it runs all our illumina MiSeq DNA sequencers.

MiSeq runs last 72 hours. Anything, the slightest frequency deviation and the test fails. I am excited about our UPS. APC makes my job covering all 106+ UPS easier but it’s far from fool proof.

Used this for a few weeks on a freepbx/pbxact SIP system. This phone is nicer than the s705 sangoma phones we bought initially. The call quality is better, the speaker is better, and the screen is marginally better.

The phone is also more sturdy than the sangoma. However the display remains very difficult to see unless you’re straight on. The phone has an inexpensive plasticky feel. Yealink and Polycom both make phones that are higher quality IMO, but I’d buy this over the sangoma phones simply due to consistent speaker/handset quality.

This is certainly a cheaper option that shouldn’t be completely dismissed. It doesn’t work with the pbxact contacts manager and other xml apps, but there’s plenty of ways to work-around that.

This is a SIP phone so you need to have VoIP service provider. This is not a regular phone line phone. Excellent sounds quality. Setup was fairly easy through the web interface. However, had to change port settings from default, as the default SIP port was taken.

One thing that is not ideal about this phone is the placement of the ethernet cable: it is below the phone and will make it pretty much impossible to keep it straight on a flat surface. It’s a major design flaw – but the price is very attractive.

It was designed to be on top of an office desk cablecutout, so that the cables can go straight down, and may even serve to anchor the phone in place. Manual indicated there might be the ability to display local weather, however this appears to only be available for GXP1630.

It is almost stealing from the supplier for this price. These phones are basic, but have every feature you would need in a small office. True, they don’t look as flashy as their color display nephews but functionality is the same.

Unless you are the operator, who needs more than 2 lines. I sell these phones with the Grandstream UCM 6202/6024 PBX which allows zero-config installation. Once the settings are defined in the PBX. The only small drawback is that the internal Ethernet switch is 100Mb, not 1Gb.

In some situations that is awkward, but mostly it makes no difference. Most Grandstream telephone sets do not have the 1Gb interface either.

Very affordable service which starts at 20 a month. Been using this and a their home service for years now! They’ve recently added more features to the office products. You can now use their office app to send texts without using your cell phone number.

One of the best features is that you can link up several devices to ring with one single number. Example being my office phone number is called and it will ring to my mobile app, my desk phone and if really want to, it can ring to another external device.

I was already an Ooma user for my residence when approached to participate in the beta. My experience with the home version of the product has been outstanding. I run several businesses out of my home and have always had to use one number (my cell phone) for all of them.

Taking both personal and business calls on the same line can be frustrating to say the least. I needed to have a more professional presence and Ooma Office offered me the chance to do just that. Setup was quite easy.

Now I’m technically advanced, but honestly, I could have given this to my youngest (11) and with the well written and illustrated instruction guide, he would have had it up and running in short order.

Even syncing the Linx wireless adapters too. It’s straight forward and the browser interface is nicely designed aesthetically and intuitive to navigate and use. The Linx wireless adapters are what enable the physical phone extensions.

And with the Office Ooma supporting up to 4 wireless extensions plus one on the base, any small office requiring five or less (physical) phones has a telecommunications solution here that is a must have.

There is room for even more virtual extensions. Don’t worry if you still use hard copy fax, the Ooma can support that too. You can plug your old fax machine right into the base. The real power of the Ooma Office shines thru with the Virtual Assistant feature.

This little binary beauty handles all your incoming calls with a smile on her virtual face every time no matter the time. She can be on duty 24x7x365 if you need her to be. There is even the ability to play your music or message of choice when you place calls on hold.

Think about the cost of staffing 3 shifts for a receptionist alone and the Ooma Office has got to be the biggest no-brainer in small office history! And last but not least, of course there is the issue of sound quality and call reliability.

In a nutshell, Ooma Office sounds as clear as the best sounding call you’ve ever heard. Crystal clear without exception every time and I don’t recall ever dropping a call, hearing static or having lines cross.

There is even the ability to host conference calls – yet another money saving feature to add to the list! So the bottom line from this guy is this: Send a message loud and clear to all the landline telcos and even all the other telecom service providers no matter the technology or platform – chose Ooma Office and never have to worry about your telcom needs again.

It will just be there doing its job for you so you can focus on doing your job for your customers. It really is simply an oomazing product!.

I’ve been using Ooma Office for about a month. Aside from the monthly savings vs you know who, I really appreciate the product because it saved me from having to completely rewire the office, which would have been very disruptive and expensive.

To my surprise the signal from the base gets right through the thick plaster walls in our building. Telephone line quality is clear and so far no outages, skips, or garbled messages. Another nice feature: we can use our own phones from when we had a different phone system in palce.

My biggest complain is with the Virtual Receptionist. She is at times unresponsive or just slow to respond, or mistakes one command for another. Printed instructions don’t quite match how the thing actually works.

And web-based setup is not so easy to figure out, although I can see the developers are making an effort. There are many more features offered that we don’t use, but I’m slowly figuring out how to do things.

The manuals are a bit jargony and that makes me insecure, but support has been very good. All in all a very good product, well supported.

I’m very pleased with the product and in the process of installing the unit. It’s very similiar to the unit I had which was 36 years old and didn’t function. I posted on four facebook sailing/boating sites about my experience with your company so those members could share my experience.

In the near future I will be replacing the VHF and Stereo radios and will certainly shop your store. Thank you.

This speed meter works fine as long as you keep the transducer clean. The problem with it is the transducer is a very small plastic paddle wheel that clogs up easily. If you use your boat every day it probably would stay freed up.

Easy to install and I particularly like that the connections were spade connections which allowed me to use my existing installed and faired 200 khz airimar transducer which is on the centerline of my vessel and almost invisible to the water.

I have been using appoin g5 recovery machines for many years now and recently decided to give the mr45 a try. The mr45 has been a game changer for me, I love having the digital screen and the self shutoff when it reaches 10inhg.

It gives me time to work on several units at once and not have to stand around making sure my recovery machine isn’t going to kill itself with a vacuum. Seems to be a tough case on it as well. Only thing I would recommend would be some sort of screen protector to protect your investment.

Overall the mr45 is amazing and I will be buying more from feildpiece.

Have several recovery machines including an Appion G5 Twin and Fieldpiece MR45. Love them all for different reasons but the MR45 is by far the best. After recovering 300+ lbs of 410a on one job with 15 RTU’S, the MR45 was almost twice as fast as the G5 twin.

Will definitely be adding a few more of the MR45s to my arsenal!.

After years of using the Appion G5 Hands down the industry leader in recovery machines. I have now found the new go to machine for my Techs and my company. The MR45 is hands down the best recovery machine I have ever used.

It’s lighter than the G5 ! it’s faster than the G5 ! and it’s quieter than the G5 ! So it out preforms the G5 at all levels. Anyone need a used G5 ? I’ve got 12 of them!.

I switched from Lowrance to Garmin after the 2nd Lowrance failed on my Kayak. Lowrance failed after getting splashed with saltwater (It was NOT doused or submerged. ) The Garmin has failed twice (locked-up) programming waypoints.

The failure occurs during hover-state over an info-item. This causes the device to freeze. The only way to break out of the freeze. Un-freeze requires long-press off to power-cycle the device. The problem also occurs when you use the cursor positioning on a chart.

After they fix this bug – everything looks good.

As a retired 20 Navy & 10 year USCG Veteran. I have a lot of time underway on many watercraft. In the Coast Guard as a Recreatonal Boating Safey Specialist and qualified boating instructor I have used many GPS units.

I have owned many boats and brands of marine equipment. This unit is very user friendly, a snap to install, and has many features that make it the ideal unit for my boat. This compact unit does not clutter my helm, but still gives me all the features I need that you would find in a large unit.

The unit did not arrive with the protective cover however as stated in the product description, but Wholesale Marine made me very happy with the quick response to my complaint. A new cover was shipped in a few days, and they checked back afterwards to see if I was completely satisfied.

I recommend this unit and this retailer with all 5 of my stars. Bravo Zulu WholeSale Marine.

Great little unit for a kayak. It has 1000’s of inland lakes which can help determine where to go fish, then of course the traditional and clear-vu to make sure you are actually fishing for fish. I’ve caught more a couple times out this year, then all of last season with the help of this finder.

It was easy to install, a lithium battery works for several days be recharging, and the menu system is pretty well designed and easy to use. Help yourself catch more fish.

I did a fair amount of research before purchasing this shredder. My wife and I had stored up around 10 years of confidential waste/paperwork partly down to a house move and partly because we lead such busy lives we could never find the time to dispose of it.

We decided enough was enough and the shredder we had was just not up to the job. The standard home office type shredders were not going to take the sheer volume and even if they could, it would take days.

I chose the HSM because a) It was built in Germany (a mark of quality in my view) b) HSM only make shredders, this is their reputation c) the cross shred security level d) the volume in one pass e) the size of the shred bin.

I was not disappointed. It took me 6 hours to shred all the confidential waste. There is a setting on the machine to keep it continually in motion which I left on for the full 6 hours. I filled 15, 50 litre waste sacks.

The machine never jammed in that time and after I changed each sack I ran oil across the shredding teeth. This is a serious piece of kit and at the price, I wish I had bought this years ago. The machine now sits, permanently on, at the end of my wife and my desk so that we will never let confidential waste build up again, we simply lean over, put the paper into the machine, it starts up and done! simple.

I cannot rate this machine high enough.

This is a great shredder. I’ve been cleaning out my mother’s house (60+ years of documents) and my old files. I purchased this one after I started to have trouble with a Fellows 99ci which seems to overheat very easily and refuse o shred sometimes when it is only 2 sheets of paper.

Worked with Fellows Customer Service to “calibrate” but still I have problems frustrations. (I had a 12 year old Aurora that virtually never gave me any issues until I gummed it up with labels – my fault, not the shredder! I bought the Fellows to replace this one which was trouble free.

) The HSM AF 150 cross cut just keeps going. I oil it regularly (as I do with the Fellows). I feed it stacks of paper and it just keeps going until it is gone – 150 sheets at a time. Sometimes it is a little finicky to get the auto-feed going, but once it is going it is awesome.

I can also feed individual sheets while the auto feed is working which is very nice. The unit is relatively quiet and efficient. Mine is a P5, continuous duty shredder, meaning that it can keep running without overheating.

Because of the small shred size, it self compacts so you can shred more than other shredders. Awesome shredder – it just keeps working quietly, without jamming and get’s it done!! I’ve used quite a few different brands at work etc and I think this is one of the, if not THE best!.

Just sent an email to the Vendor on here who I bought it from, if they reply and solve my problem I would give it more stars. We finally got this item out of the box to use, the manual shredding works perfectly, but the automatic 500 ( sheet ) paper cassette does not work perfectly which is mainly the reason why we bought it.

Sometimes the Automatic Tray would not shred at all and sometimes it would shred only a few of the papers that are inside the Cassette. We hope to receive an email back so we can know what to do. For a price this expensive I was thinking I would not face any problems.

UPDATE: I got an email back from these guys, I told them what the problem is and told them that the automatic feeder would sometimes work when we installed a 1/6 washer underneath the feeding plate, and they replied that YES they noticed that that actually helps and I should play with it putting different size washers underneath it to find out which one works the best.

So this tells me that they know of this problem, they know that this shredder has problems with the automatic feeder. They were willing to replace it with another one, but they told me that I have to Oil it every ten minutes, put it in reverse and clear out the path and that I should not put more than 400 sheets of paper in it ( even tho it is advertised to shred 500).

What we thought of getting was a shredder that we can just put our papers in, let it shred and leave it alone to do some more ***. but instead we have to oil it every ten minutes. I have ordered a whole lot of stuff in my life and I have to say this is the worst thing I have ever ordered.

Not what was advertised.

I haven’t had to hit the red button yet, so I can’t comment on that part! It’s quite small and light (smaller than several competing PLBs), so it’s easy to carry – fits in a pocket on the shoulder strap part of my backpack.

I’m using it for hiking in remote areas on land, so that’s quite important. The belt or horizontal strap clip looks useful, but it turns out I didn’t need it. The display is a useful reassurance that the GPS section is working when you self-test it (and position acquisition was pretty fast, about 15 seconds) – since the “View” version of this PLB has the same functionality and costs only slightly more than the base version, I would recommend this over the base version.

Delivery from Force4 was rapid and simple – next day delivery without problems, at a good price.

Actually I hope never to use it, but if the need arose I suspect this unit would be helpful. This replaces a McMurdo Fast Find which I’ve had for 8 years and never used. The battery in the Fast Find still shows full charge after all these years, but I thought it best to replace and upgrade.

Both are fine units, I just appreciated the longer signal life on the ResQLink. The only downside is the belt clip is close to impossible (don’t give up) to attach to the unit and for all the trouble the closure on the belt clip is too wide and doesn’t stay on your belt or pack.

Also, the antenna can and does deploy when thrown in a bag or pack. Not a big deal, just an inconvenience.

I couldn’t give any stars for the battery life because I just got it , I assume it’s battery will last like it says. This was very easy to register online. The instructions were very simple on how to use it.

As far as I know it will work , i did run the test and it passed. Size wise it’s about like a small version of the old clunky cell phones and not super heavy but heavier than the average cell phone. I’d say worth the money for the peace of mind.

I think anyone that goes out on the water should have one of these. Things can go very wrong very quick.

Good quality and dependable HRM. I have owned two previously; one of which was lost or misplaced, the other was very slightly used and was purchased as a replacement for the lost article. However, it was determined at a later point in time after the purchase that the transmitter wasn’t accurate, which resulted in my third purchase of a new item.

Please note that this monitor does not provide an “average” heart rate reading, which constitutes its only deficiency, in my opinion.

I purchased the HR-100 to replace my Polar monitor, which served me well, but I couldn’t replace the chest strap battery after it died. I have used the HR-100 for two months and it has performed well.

The treadmills at my gym have no problem receiving my pulse rate from the chest strap and displaying it on the console. The price versus quality factor is excellent and the batteries in the watch and strap are user replaceable.

I have been using this monitor for years and it is very sturdy and reliable. I do not use the watch, though.

I set out to bag an X-T4 but it was outside my price range. The X-T3 is a truly exceptional alternative but lacks the in body image stabilization of the X-T4. That aside the X-T3 is beautifully made camera that looks as good as it shoots.

If you love bomb proof construction, more manual controls than enough, a great range of amazing lenses all wrapped up in a body compact enough to take with you where ever you go then this might just be it.

Constructed from 4 Magnesium Alloy sections and fully weather sealed it’s likely to be a long and faithful companion. I’ve had many cameras over my 40 years in photography but (so far) this is my favourite.

I may look to step up to an X-T4 if finances ever allow but I don’t feel like I’ve “settled” for the X-T3, I just need to take a little more care when relying on stabilised lenses. Also, I come from an era when stabilisation didn’t exist and you took a tripod everywhere, and with the newer carbon fiber tripods and monopods even this is less of a chore.

I thought I’d dislike the X-Trans sensor but even this is much improved in its fourth incarnation so all in all I’m very happy with my purchase. Despite some very strong video chops it’s not best suited for vlogging as the rear screen tilts up, down and to one side but never faces forward.

The 3. 69-million-dot electronic viewfinder is also excellent even with my glasses on and now the dioptric adjustment locks so one less thing to need “correcting” on a shoot. All in all a very nice camera that really feels like proper kit and not a toy.

The Fujifilm X-T3 itself is a do-almost-anything camera. After getting over the learning curve of its proprietary features through the menu, you’ll realize how it differentiates itself from other brands of mirrorless APS-C sensor cameras.

Its film simulation modes does an excellent job of altering JPG and RAW photos while allowing for further tweaking of photo and video parameters. Its super low noise, especially at high ISOs come in handy when shooting in low light.

In fact, in video mode, it captures much more shadow details than any consumer camcorder I’ve tried. You won’t find deep shadows crushed to black even in the darkest locations. The high bitrate recording also prevents any video artifacts and the 24 progressive frame rate is a very nice touch to make video appear more film-like.

When you combine this with the built-in film simulation modes. Home videos take on a whole new dimension. The 18-55mm lens is faster than other kit lenses at F2. 8. This allows for decent bokeh for portraits and faster shutter speeds in darker scenes.

The lens’s optical stabilizer generally helps you get a stable picture at about 1 stop lower than you’d otherwise be able to get; you can get away with a shutter speed of 1/8 using the wide end of the lens.

The wide end of the lens is equivalent to a 28mm on a full-frame camera so it is wide enough to capture most landscapes and fit in a human subject at the same time. The long end may be slightly wanting but it’s not a problem in most situations.

The Flashpoint X R2 external speedlight does add substantial weight to the camera but there really is no substitute for its angling flexibility, flash output range, and ability to do stellar flash fills.

The transceiver function is also a big plus if you need multiple flash syncing capability. The whole package easily fits in a small backpack and is the perfect alternative to a full-frame D-SLR for travel and vacation photography and videography.

Have only used it for a Week now, but I’m glad I read the reviews and checked out other products before settling with Garmin Vivofit!! I love the fact that I don’t have to take it off and charge it. Love that the product is Wireless and can hook up with my computer and Android Phone.

Love the fact of how lightweight it is and I never have to take it off, even in the shower. Love the clasp and the plastic band, nothing to dig into my skin or get hung up in my clothes. Love the Red Bar to tell me when I have been inactive for too long.

Love the SLEEP monitoring and Charts. Love the Daily Goal reminder and daily charting of activity on my phone, keeps me motivated. Love the Clock and Date on the band. Love the Mile distance and not just step count.

Love the tutorials and support I get online, plus the challenges from other family members and those who also own Vivofit. The only Negative is that is has NO Light for seeing what time it is a night or during low light workouts.

But, I knew this going into purchase and would rather have 1 year length of Battery over a light on product. Love the additional items or accessories that can be added, like the Heart Band monitor which I have ordered and the extra colorful band I ordered for my daughter.

Love the constant monitoringthat THIS YEAR, I will be better Fit and more Healthy. Its only been a Week, but I am determined to loose 60 lbs and thanks to my NEW Garmin Vivofit I am down 6 lbs already!!!! Would definitely recommend to others.

I was flip flopping back and forth between getting a Jawbone UP24 and a Fitbit Flex (the newer Fitbits with the screens weren’t out yet) when I saw the Garmin Vivofit and thought I’d give it a shot instead.

I love that I don’t have to worry about charging the battery and it has a watch display so I was able to replace my watch rather than having another thing strapped to my wrist all day. It’s swim proof, I’ve wore it in both the bathtub, shower and even a pool with no issues.

It fits very comfortably and seems pretty accurate when compared to the tracking my iPhone does. I used to have syncing issues, but I found that when it’s having trouble its usually because my Bluetooth headset is on as well and using the connection.

If I turn the headset off, the Garmin will sync just fine. And it stores a lot of information. I’ve gone over a week without syncing before and haven’t lost a thing. I had an issue for a while where the time was getting off.

but I think it was mostly because I hadn’t been syncing often enough. That and there was a firmware update around that time, but I suspect that problem was fixed. The Garmin Connect app isn’t as robust as the Jawbone app.

Sleep tracking is rudimentary at best, but it works with MyFitnessPal alright and the graphs are easy to keep track of. The screen on the band means you never had to guess at what your goal is and can see steps to go, steps taken, calories burned and miles walked in the current day without having to sync.

The latest update also made sleep detection much smarter. This was one of my main complaints was that I always had to manually update my sleep time. Now it guesses based on your activity around your “normal” sleep hours and seems pretty accurate.

I’m thinking of upgrading to a band that offers phone notifications. Based on my Vivofit experience, that band might just be the VivoSmart.

I have been thinking about getting an activity tracker to motivate me to stay fit. I am generally a fit person and finding that the biofeedback trend is really helping me get a better grip on what works and the best way to work out.

I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on an activity tracker because, honestly, I didn’t know if I would really use it. This Garmin Vivofit is perfect as a starter activity tracker. This tracker tracks steps, calorie burn, and sleep cycle.

It sets goals for you and a red bar comes up when you have sat too long and need to get up and move before your metabolism drops into a lower mode. It also functions as a watch. It syncs through your computer wit the ANT stick and also you can use your bluetooth on your smart phone and download the app.

What it doesn’t do is give you your heart rate. Like many of these trackers, you need a separate chest band to do this. This model also does not have a back light which is a little inconvenient but for the price it’s a reasonable sacrifice.

It also comes with a one year warranty. I am a small framed woman so I didn’t like the larger models on the market that look to masculine. I like that you can buy cheap replacement bands that are in colors and prints to make it a little more stylish.

So far, I am veryhappy with my purchase and would highly recommend this product at this price.

Best Framers Belt there is, PERIOD! I own an Occidental 7 Bag Framing Belt, and I have owned it for 21 years. This is by far the Best and Toughest Framing Belt that I have ver had the privilege of wearing.

There is nothing liie the feel of good quakity hand crafted Leather. It will “learn” your body, and confirm to you, and your Tools. This system was designed by some of the Framing Carpenters in the world.

It has all the perfect Tool pockets, put in the perfect positions. Once you wear it for a week or two, you won’t have to look for anything. Your hand will go to it instinctively everytime without having to look, and the same goes for putting that Tool back in it’s place.

Might sound crazy but this is a tremendous time savings. I carry a lot of Tools and Nails, and have never felt the need for the Suspenders because of the 3″ Ranger Belt. This system is so comfortable even with a heavy load.

There are a lot of “Custom” Bag makers out there these days, and I have tried a few, nut never for very long, because I just haven’t found a Framing System yet that is as comfortable, and laid out as well as this one.

Mine is Green Leather Bags, that will tell you how old it is. Occidental quit using that color on their Leather many, many years ago. My biggest complaint with Occidental right now, is that they don’t offer the 7 Bag in Black.

When they do, is when I will retire my Green Bags. I can’t even convince them to do it as a Custom Order, which they don’t do anymore. Treat yourself with Occidental Leather.

This tool belt / pouch is excellent. It provides ample room for multiple variations of nails and has working convenient spots for sometimes awkward items such as a speed square and nail puller. It is comfortable.

of high quality and most importantly durable. I highly recommend spending the extra dollars for this set up as it will save this framer from having to buy the Home Depot high end contractor pouch every 1 1/2 – 2 years when the stitching fails.

I have had this belt for almost 6 months now and it has held up great, as expected. I wish I bought it much sooner than I had, but the price seemed hard to justify. It is absolutely not. It is a solid belt and I 100% would suggest that anyone considering this belt or another Occidental product, to bite the bullet and get it.

You will not be disappointed.

I’ve had the Andreja Premium for about a week now and so far satisfied with my purchase. I’m coming from years of entry level machines such as the Saceo Aroma and Gaggia Classic. I make primarily cappuccinos and lattes.

After weeks of research I knew I wanted a HX machine to allow for simultaneous brewing and frothing – Quick Mill has an outstanding reputation for reliability, after all they’ve been around since 1945.

With a machine costing over $2k you want it be as visually appealing as possible and this is one area where the Andreja Premium Evo really shines above the competition. Gorgeous high-quality, hand-made stainless steel, curved corners top and bottom, small detailed design touches on the side panels and base and even a stainless steel base make this a quality machine through and through.

Cool blue backed gauges. Note, not all the images on the IDC site are of the newest model (revised in 2018). Internally its got all the features of a high-end machine, brass/copper insulated boiler (1.

8L), large capacity water reservoir (3l). I can go several days making 2-3 cappuccinos daily without having to refill. Auto shut off in case of low water with audio sound to let you know. The group pressure pressure can be adjusted /controlled from under the cup warmer (mine came set to 9.

5/10 bars). The vibratory pump is not loud at all, seems they made it quieter. This machine can also be plumbed-in which is a nice option should you want o do this. Initial set up was easy but be warned there is no detailed manual with this machine.

You can download one online. Also would have liked a joystick steam control as I find the valve type a bit cumbersome. Joysticks are available as an option. I’m also going to pick up an Acaia Lunar scale with built-in timer which is an invaluable tool for dialiing-in great shots.

I also bought an Eureka Mignon Specialita grinder. You need a good grinder with this machine, so don’ skimp on your grinder or you won’t benefit from such a fantastic espresso maker. Dealing with IDC was good.

I’m located out of province and shipping was fast (2 days). IDC responds to emails in a timely manner. Overall happy with their service.

I have been running this machine daily since I received it in early January 2020. There are a few differences in the machine from what’s currently advertised or shown on this page. The indicator lights are now LED’s and look white when not lit and the power is 1500watts vice 1400watts.

A respectable metal tamper is included in the box. The internal reservoir no longer has hoses going into and out of it and the low water cutoff is actuated by a sensor incorporated in the bottom feed port.

I find that there is lots of steam power to quickly create 20 oz of mico-foam infused milk, right after I pull a shot. I have already replaced the shower screen with the IMS 200 version and the group gasket with a silicone one.

The included shower screen works well, but the IMS one minimizes fine grounds being pulled back into the group at the end of an extraction and it does have a more uniform drip pattern. This is my first ever espresso machine and I expect it will be with me for many years to come.

It looks great and works well with minimal trial and error at the beginning.

Well perhaps the title of this review is not saying much but I have been running a Nuova Simonelli Oscar for the past 10 years, and the Oscar is no slouch. However, Andreja is my first E61 machine and she is definitely a step up.

The shots made by this machine are excellent and there was only a very small learning curve to get used to the machine. I’m still experimenting with various flushing/cooling techniques. The steam wand is powerful and totally up to the task of foaming milk.

The fit and finish of the machine is superb. Inside, the machine is professional all the way with the Sirai pressure stat and other high-grade components. Lesser pressure stats need replacing quite regularly but not so with the Sirai, or so I understand.

The machine fits perfectly under the upper cupboards in my kitchen- it needs a clearance of 400mm. The Ulka vibe pump is much quieter than I was expecting. By the way, I have found iDrinkCoffee to be excellent to deal with during the purchasing process and whenever I have had a question.

They have a phone number and a real person picks up- not like some other big suppliers in Canada. The version supplied by iDrinkCoffee is the Chris Coffee version with the 3-way on/off switch and the dual water tank level warning indicators- one for low water (intermittent beep) and one for fill now (continuous beep).

Be aware that there are other versions being sold out there in the retail trade, which do not have these two important features. I do not hesitate to recommend the Andreja!.

My first ever device was a Withings Scanwatch. The watch suggested I was experiencing AFib, but the cardiologist wouldn’t accept the ECGs. I then bought a Frontier X monitor, but I didn’t get on with (the FX has a great app and lots of functions but was uncomfortable to wear and kept popping off).

It did however have alerts to make sure my heart wasn’t going too high during exercise, so I looked around and settled on the Wellue. So positives first: 1) The Wellue is really comfy to wear. I use the strap because I just use it for my lunchtime workouts, but the flexibility is really good, even doing core stuff and it doesn’t pop off like the Frontier X used to.

Maybe if I were a ripped man rather than a squidgy little woman it might have worked, but the flex in the Wellue is just genius IMO. 2) It has 2 alert levels for the heart rate. This is a gentle buzz and then a persistent buzz.

3) It seems pretty accurate tested against a finger pulse-oxymeter. 4) The ECG will run for thirty seconds and when resting looks like it’s a good trace (I’m not a cardiologist though, so this is not an expert opinion).

5) easy to charge and lasts reasonably well, though you can’t turn it off, it’s always ‘on’ even when not worn 6) It’s a 1/3 of the price of a FX or Scanwatch Negatives are: 1) Get out of range of your phone (like answering the door or something) and the monitoring stops.

You have to completely quit the app and re-start it. 2) You either monitor your heart OR have an ECG, you can’t do both. 3) The ECG isn’t really reliable when exercising, but this is pretty standard for most monitors (the FX USP was that the traces were very reliable when exercising).

It might work better using the patches though. 4) The app is really basic. If you are expecting to find out how many calories you burned or how many steps you took, you will be disappointed. 5) It doesn’t connect with other apps like Apple health app which is a real shame.

Apparently it connects to some gym devices but I just jump around at home on my lunch break, so can’t comment on that. The negatives are outweighed by the positives and only the app connectivity and functionality is an actual annoyance for me.

The device does what I need it to do at a really reasonable cost.

I bought this device to help me monitor my heart rate hands free. I like that one can capture an ECG, but because I do not know how to read it so it doesn’t help me. All though I’ve learned what a normal ECG looks like.

Oh, my ECG looks normal but do not see a P-Wave, l’ll share with my doctor to confirm. Another reason why I bought the Visual Beat you can set your target heart rate. I use it in conjunction with an oxygen devices (I have Wellue O2 ring and finger sensor the app version).

I need to know my O2 level when in motion for I have Pulmonary Arterial Hepertension. Thus, keeping track of my heart rate and my O2 is very important (I’m on 4 litters of oxygen). So, while working out and the O2 drops to 90% I can check the Visual Beat see the heart rate and adjust (increase the 02 or slow the heart rate.

Maybe one day I’ll find a device that does all that I need and is accurate. The O2 ring sensor is not as accurate compared to the finger sensor. Anyway. I love that I can monitor my health with these devices.

I found that skintact electrodes work very well, in the vertical position it stays on for 24 hours even when I’m sweating. I paired it to my garmin watch but it doesn’t seem to do much as my watch already has an optical pulse sensor.

It works great with my bike computer. For best results I found if you are using it in the virtical position its best to bend the device a little when applying it. That gives a little room for you to bend too, otherwize if you stretch it can cause the electrodes to pull off.