HRM recomendations

[neilr]

MY old Polar FT1 has bitten the dust after 6 years of excellent service. Wrist based HRMs that can use a chest strap seem to have gone crazily up in price since i bought it. I assume thats because the cheaper ones use optical sensors (which from what ive read you might as well not be wearing)

Im not looking for (or need) fancy features, i just want to look at my wrist and see what my HR is ! I use a Garmin 200 on my bike and only ever use that for gps (not that its got many more features anyway !) so im not someine who gets entrenched with data and features, i lke just the basics.

why wrist based? so i can use it running as well.

THe Garmin FR35 looks like it mght be alright, and not silly money.

Any recommendations for the chest strap also!

I have to admit, after paying 37quid for the FT1 i feel slightly aggrieved that i might have to spend 150+ to get the same thing.

Anyway, thanks all.....

[Gareth79]

It looks like the Amazfit can pair to a chest strap, you can ofter get those fairly cheaply and it should be pretty solid. I use a Wahoo Tickr strap (although with a Garmin Edge and a PC) and it has been completely reliable.

edit: Apparenty it's only possible with certain models though, so it may not he massively cheaper than the Garmin: https://www.gearbest.com/blog/how-to/is-it-possibl...

Edited by Gareth79 on Tuesday 20th October 23:46

[eyebeebe]

I thought the general consensus was that wrist based HRM wasn’t reliable when you are on the bike because of all the vibration/random movement. I don’t find them that great for running either tbh. That’s with a Fenix 5X and 6X. I would always choose to wear a chest strap. Maybe look for someone selling a watch second hand and get a chest strap? Something like a Garmin HRM-Dual will broadcast Bluetooth and ANT+ so should be pretty future proofed. I expect Wahoo and Polar do something cheaper. Another option that gets good reviews if you don’t want a strap is the polar OH1+. You can wear that on your bicep instead.

[FA57 VWT]

I’ve got a Fenix 6 and the wrist hrm is much better than the 5, but obviously very expensive.

My wife has the Wahoo armband and I’ve used it too, it’s very accurate and works with my Fenix plus it’s much more comfortable th,an the chest strap IMO.

https://uk.wahoofitness.com/devices/heart-rate-mon...

[Hard-Drive]

Picked up a Garmin Vivoactive 3 watch on Prime day for about £100. Seems perfectly accurate on the bike as far as I can tell, and pairs with my Edge 830. Pretty decent watch too.

[IrateNinja]

Wouldn't bother with wrist based monitors. I've seen such inconsistent reliability across running, rowing and cycling the numbers given are worse than useless.

I've been through a number of different chest straps over the years, probably a lot to do being a relatively heavy sweater...

- Various cheap chinese models. Fine, but treat them as consumables. I got about 6 months of use max out of one costing approx £20

- Garmin strap. Again fine, but can be a little unreliable over bluetooth on the turbo. I also had to warranty the first one after it stopped working after 3 months. Garmin were fine with that, though it took 2 months to get a replacement. have since had 12 months of good service.

- Wahoo tickr. Occasionally slightly dodgy numbers at the top end, but otherwise fine. It's only 3-4 months old at the moment.

[Ares]

Another vote for the TICKR here. Faultless.

Mrs Ares has the TICKR+ which stores the data for later syncing with the app, makes running easier.

[Gareth79]

I read it that OP needs to see their actual heart rate "live" so a display of some sort is essential.

I run occasionally and one thing which does sort of work (but won't with a Garmin 200) is to use a Garmin Edge cycle computer on a wrist strap mount, which syncs with a chest strap and has a screen with heart rate. You can even record a run like that, you just need to save it off and then change the activity type in Strava from ride to run. The Edge 130 (£100) will work like this (and it's not massive), and you get to upgrade your cycle computer too!

Edited by Gareth79 on Wednesday 21st October 15:39

[smn159]

Probably not relevant to the OP, given his requirement for something simple, but for others it's worth looking for a HR monitor which measures HR variability (not all do). Some watches will use HR variability to measure your LT threshold HR - certainly for running anyway, which is useful to know if you're following a training plan. HR variability is also useful to check your readiness for a 'hard' training session.

[Ares]

smn159 said:

Probably not relevant to the OP, given his requirement for something simple, but for others it's worth looking for a HR monitor which measures HR variability (not all do). Some watches will use HR variability to measure your LT threshold HR - certainly for running anyway, which is useful to know if you're following a training plan. HR variability is also useful to check your readiness for a 'hard' training session.

I've got a Whoop strap and the HRV measurement is fantastically insightful.

[dirtbiker]

I tried a Whoop for a while but didn't get on with it. DCRainmaker wasn't impressed with the accuracy of the HR sensor either (which is completely the point!)

I've got a Wahoo Tickr Mk.2 which I'm pretty chuffed with. Pairs well with my Fenix 6s, Wahoo Elemnt Bolt and MacBook for Zwift. Occasionally struggled to pair properly with the iPhone app but generally its a good bit of kit. Had a couple of the Mk.1 versions before this one which were also decent.

[MikeeS3]

I do a lot of turbo training and have been through Garmin chest monitors (not a fan) and then found the Tickr Fit which goes on your forearm (or upper arm like me) and it's fantastic, it's accurate and the battery lasts for ages.

I've also been impressed with my apple watch too and found the numbers to be consistent with the Tickr.

[Ares]

dirtbiker said:

I tried a Whoop for a while but didn't get on with it. DCRainmaker wasn't impressed with the accuracy of the HR sensor either (which is completely the point!)

I've got a Wahoo Tickr Mk.2 which I'm pretty chuffed with. Pairs well with my Fenix 6s, Wahoo Elemnt Bolt and MacBook for Zwift. Occasionally struggled to pair properly with the iPhone app but generally its a good bit of kit. Had a couple of the Mk.1 versions before this one which were also decent.

The whoop isn't good for HR at immediate responses, but longer/normal tracking it is good and certainly more accurate than the Apple Watch.

This was the same ride last Sunday. Whoop Vs TICKR

[frisbee]

Watches with optical sensors aren't that bad, I've got the cheapest possible Garmin running watch and its fine. There is the odd run where I get an unexpected spike but if I tighten the strap a notch or two when I go running it works fine.

It certainly works well enough that I'm not going to splurge out on a more expensive watch that works with a chest strap or faff around with apps on my phone instead.

[Ares]

frisbee said:

Watches with optical sensors aren't that bad, I've got the cheapest possible Garmin running watch and its fine. There is the odd run where I get an unexpected spike but if I tighten the strap a notch or two when I go running it works fine.

It certainly works well enough that I'm not going to splurge out on a more expensive watch that works with a chest strap or faff around with apps on my phone instead.

Optical sensors always have their limitations compared to a proper chest strap.....depends how accurate you needs it, and how responsive.

[millen]

I've been happy with an original Tickr for 3.5 years now. Very occasionally flatlines for a while - perhaps not sweating enough?

Interestingly the Gramin (830) also derives respiration rate from it. On my last effort, 1.5 hrs with steep climb, it recorded 16/30/41 breaths/min as min/avg/max. Figures look plausible though I've never tried to confirm manually. Supposedly based on small differences in the timing of heartbeats as you in/exhale, which sounds a little far-fetched.

[neilr]

many thanks all. plenty of optons that dont cost the earth which is great.

[Dannbodge]

Wahoo Tickr gets my vote.

Recently the popper on the strap broke.
An email to wahoo and they've sent out a new monitor and strap.

Amazing customer service.

[fredd1e]

I've used Garmin wrist HRM for about 4 years and apart from the odd anomaly that usually required a device reboot/stop start etc I've not found any issues with the readings obtained. So the question is what level of accuracy do you actually need for the activities undertaken? note I exercise for my own benefits and not as a athlete seeking optimum competitive performance for a planned event so these provide trends over time etc . I currently mix and match between a garmin Vivoactive 4 and an Instinct dependant which is charged (VA4 preferred for its app features) and I also broadcast the HR to my garmin 830 Edge so I have a HR& HR zone indicator showing during my bike (MTB) activity. I was also using both of the garmins for pool swimming (up until lockdown closed the local pool) with one running a cardio recording app broadcasting HR to the other running the swim app as neither offered HRM in a swim app, though a swim specific garmin (and possibly other new garmins) cover this now. Note HRM in a pool is more problematic than elsewhere so it is probably where accuracy suffers the most when using wrist based measurement.

[jinkster]

I've just started with Whoop and giving it a go for a month. Will see how I get on with it.....

Get a free WHOOP strap and your first month free when you join with my link: https://join.whoop.com/#/2D685B