heart rate monitors using watches is a thing of the past. this is such a cumbersome interface. you can collect and see unlimited history of your training data with a great using interface using a smartphone. Tied to gether with the GPS you can even track yourself on the web via google earth with your real time data. Have a look at www.athlosoft.com. Their bluetooth chestbelt comes with a motion sensor and provides your your stride count and stride length. the interface is great as you can customize the buttons and the info you want, as you want to see it.

Using a heart rate monitor watch is a great way to make the workout more efficient. I would like to point out that there are also heart rate monitors that do not have the chest strap, they are called the strapless heart rate monitor

They are very good for those who just can't stand the thought of wearing the chest strap. 

Heart rate monitors are used for exercising purposes and health purposes. eCardio offers many different cardiac monitorsto ensure patient compliance and more accurate diagnosis of heart rhythms and arrhythmias. www.ecardio.com