
I got this watch about 13 months ago. I didn't want to have to wear a chest band, so I was looking for this kind of heart rate monitor watch. The size is okay - the face is larger (the silver part is ~1.5" or 3.5 cm square) than any watch I'd normally wear, but I'm only 5' tall, and have pretty small wrists, ~5.25" or 13 cm around in circumference. The wrist band does fit my wrists, so that's nice.
The heart rate function seems to work okay - the few times I've checked it against other monitors, it's matched up reasonably well. It can take a while to get a reading - sometimes 5 to 10 sec, every once in a while it times out before giving a reading and I've had to press the button multiple times - but most of the time I get a reading within ~5 seconds. Waiting that long isn't ideal, but I figure that's the price I pay for not wearing a chest band.... (FWIW, I haven't tried licking my finger, which another reviewer suggested.)
The watch also has nice features, like an alarm, 2 different time zone options, a stopwatch (which counts up), a timer (which counts down), and a calorie counter/calculator. I don't know how accurate the calorie counter is, but it gives me numbers that are about 1/3 to 1/2 of other sources (treadmills that I've tried in hotels, and a PS2 fitness program). You can also set your target heart rate based on your age and gender, or set the upper and lower limits manually.
As for durability.... Almost exactly a year after I bought it, I was using it while working out, and the watch buttons froze in the calorie calculator mode. The watch kept counting up, but nothing happened when I pushed any of the buttons. I sent the watch back, according to the warranty instructions, and 2-4 weeks later, I got a new watch in the mail. I didn't get any other notification during the return process, but overall, I'm pretty happy with the customer service.
The replacement watch has a new "power saving" feature - if you press the Mode and Reset/Lap buttons simultaneously, the display goes blank to save power. To activate the display again, you just press any button except the heart rate monitor button. My new instuctions also mention that typical battery life is 1 year, and that when the battery dies, the display will fade and/or the heart rate monitor won't activate. These weren't the problems I had, so I'm not sure whether my original watch just had a bad battery (I guess it was about time for it to die) or whether there were bigger problems....
Overall, I think that this Sportline 925 heart rate monitor watch does what I wanted and expected, though it isn't perfect. if you're trying to avoid heart rate monitors with a chest band, this watch seems to give reasonably accurate heart rates, fits small wrists, and has lots of other features - plus decent customer service. But if you're looking for instantaneous heart rate readings, or expecting a watch that will last forever, this may not be for you.... Get more detail about
Womens Sportline SOLO 925 Heart Rate Watch Monitor.