Edge 500 compared to Polar HR

[pdhrml]

I'm thinking of changing to an Edge 500.
Right now I use a Mavic wintec and a polar HR monitor. I'm happy with the Mavic-speed, distance, cadence... it's close enough. The Polar HR I have had forever. Using it for heart rate and more importantly calorie burn. It's all I've ever use, so I'm pretty comfortable gauging my caloric intake/output vs. my weight with it.
All the metrics the 500 offers are very appealing, but my main concern is calorie count.
Now I've done some reasch and found that the 500 measures calories much the same way
as Polar does- user profile + heart rate.
My question is how does the edge 500 directly compare to a Polar HR monitor for calorie count? I've read some conflicting reports. Any and all info & opinions are greatly apperciated

 

[Boeing]

I'm thinking of changing to an Edge 500.
Right now I use a Mavic wintec and a polar HR monitor. I'm happy with the Mavic-speed, distance, cadence... it's close enough. The Polar HR I have had forever. Using it for heart rate and more importantly calorie burn. It's all I've ever use, so I'm pretty comfortable gauging my caloric intake/output vs. my weight with it.
All the metrics the 500 offers are very appealing, but my main concern is calorie count.
Now I've done some reasch and found that the 500 measures calories much the same way
as Polar does- user profile + heart rate.
My question is how does the edge 500 directly compare to a Polar HR monitor for calorie count? I've read some conflicting reports. Any and all info & opinions are greatly apperciated

IMHO Calorie count is no reason to buy a bike computer over another. On any devise it is just a vague calculation and as accurate and your best guess at home.

As far as function Garmin is more user friendly to my pea brain than anything Polar ever produced.

 

[Master50]

My biggest reason to move from polar to Garmin was the attitude from Polar when I upgraded my computers to 64 bit. All my polar hardware did not have 64 bit drivers and polars response is it is time to buy a new HR monitor. Or in other words throw my 710 in the trash because the software won't be updated or learn how to create a virtual machine in 32 bit? The Garmin does 100 more things than the Polar. as for calories. the number may change but it will be consistent. Calorie counts are best guesses since the machine cannot really count your calories with the few data points. It is a best guess based on the speed, altitude changes and other info if available. So adding a power meter could change the calories by adding more data.
So if your Garmin consistently tells you that you are burning more calories or less than the Polar you have to realize that they are both estimates. The altimeter can add accuracy too but I think several Polars have barometric altimeters too.

 

[ElChingon]

Garmin Edge 500 kicked my Polar 800 or what ever it was and the 700's rear from day one. No more missed connection or lost connection to the speed/cadence/HR strap, altimeter data much better on the Garmin, well GPS data much better and less negative recordings (yes I'm well above sea level).

Sure the Garmin 500 can't double as a watch but then again who wants a watch that sticks out so far from your wrist that you bang it on everything?

I really hated the Garmin brand for other reasons but in the end it was the clincher after trying it out (everyone else I rode with had one and showed me how much better it was as I was always complaining of my lost signal to my other sensors), I did erase the logo's though not that you can't tell what it is.

I could sell you my Polar 800 or what ever it is if you really want a HRM that loses its connection to its sensors all the time, give you something to complain about if that's what you'd like?

 

[Tapeworm]

I prefer my Suunto and Suunto + SRM just to put another opinion out there.

 

[Race Radio]

The Garmin is excellent. You can fine tune the calorie count by accurately inputing your user info into your profile in Garmin Connect and updating the 500 when it is connected to your computer. Most of the info is normal stuff, weight, age, etc. but the key figure is how active you are.

Once I entered all my info correctly it produced similar numbers as a watt meter.

I would never by another Polar. Crazy confusing to set up and terrible customer service

 

[simo1733]

I have a polar CS500 and an Edge 500 .The Edge has the advantage of the data fields being user configurable, also it is compatable with Strava if you use that.
The CS500 head unit is easier to use on the bike and is better build quality than the Edge.
Another advantage of tge edge us that if you use several bikes you can use the edge without any sensors relying purely on the in built GPS.
The CS 500 speed/cadence sensors do not have replaceable batteries, this sucks.To upload your training files you need additional hardware.
The CS 500 is not Ant + compatable so you cannot use it with 3rd party power meters.
Thats a long list of negatives for the polar.