Recommendations on heart rate monitors

[Captain Darling]

I've been rowing without a H/R monitor recently as I no longer have one. I used to have a Polar which I always found accurate and was looking into buying a Polar H10 but thought I'd pop a thread up asking for any reviews or recommendations on recent Polar models or other options?

Thanks in advance!

Adam

[winniewinser]

I've been rowing without a H/R monitor recently as I no longer have one. I used to have a Polar which I always found accurate and was looking into buying a Polar H10 but thought I'd pop a thread up asking for any reviews or recommendations on recent Polar models or other options?

Thanks in advance!

Adam

H10 for me.....been faultless for 3yrs+....just needed new batteries.

[Sakly]

Buyed the same 2 month ago, absolutely satisfied.
2 devices connected at once, logging locally on belt without device, very nice features.

[Captain Darling]

Thanks Winnie and Sakly.

I had a H7 which I gave away a couple of years ago. Something I regret now!

It was a terrific bit of kit though from what I've read the H10 is a significant upgrade.

[MartinSH4321]

H10 for me too, I'm happy with it, premium price but very good quality, no connection issues so far.

[Dangerscouse]

For the past couple of years I've used a CooSpo, and used the Polar Beat app to track it.

Quite a lot cheaper than most HRMs, and it's been rock solid. The strap needed replacing after about a year, but it had gone through circa four million metres so I can't complain at that.

[mict450]

I have two...a Coospo chest strap & a Polar OH1 optical arm band. Love the convenience of the optical.

[Carl Watts]

I have been with Garmin for years now.

The biggest problems are batteries and eventually you have strap problems as it ages. The electronics seems good as long as you rinse it after every row or they get pretty disgusting.

Currently having issues near the end of my 30min with the change in weather, the fan still running, lower than normal humidity and only rowing at 2:06 pace the lack of sweat is causing the HR monitor to drop out. Moisture level on the strap seems to be a problem at present, got to give it a good soak before the start.

[Joebasscat]

Polar H10 for me. No issues. Rinse after use, hand wash once a week. Battery as needed. No isues.

[Captain Darling]

Thanks all.

I'm on a tight budget at the moment to be honest so the CooSpo might be worth a look at.

There are a few second hand H7s in decent nick going for not much as well. Fared well for me previously.

I don't know many who have used the Garmin HRM with the chest strap but I have a pal with a Garmin watch and H10, he says the HRM on the watch is very accurate when compared to the chest strap, obviously very convenient. Sadly just a touch out my price range at the moment!

[Tsnor]

Thanks all.

I'm on a tight budget at the moment to be honest so the CooSpo might be worth a look at.

I own an H10 and love it. The CooSpo should work fine for rowing.

If you think you might later want to track your heart rate variability then you'll need H10 or something similar - the low cost belts don't transmit accurate R-R Intervals so you can't get reliable HRV readings.

I have a pal with a Garmin watch and H10, he says the HRM on the watch is very accurate when compared to the chest strap

Watches are very accurate walking, sitting and lying down. While some of the watches can also operate well while rowing, many of them loose track of your pulse often enough that they are just guessing (example my Fitbit Charge 3 is hopeless). Do you know if your friend did the compare rowing? The toughest test for watches is short intervals (say 30 seconds on, 90 seconds rest) where there are abrupt swings in Heart Rate.

[Zuman]

I second Garmin. Their belts now have four contact points with the skin, and I've had no problems with drop-outs. I really like the way the Wahoo belt fastens, but I've had trouble with pick-up without using a gel. With the Garmin, tap water or spit works fine!

[mict450]

If you desire to track HRV, the Coospo H808S has the accuracy to do so at a friendlier price than the H10. I've been happy with mine, although you can't go wrong with either model.

[ejweisto]

This is probably too late to be helpful … ~3 months ago I changed from an H10 to the Verity Sense, largely because I was having skin sensitivity issues with the H10’s chest strap and the Verity Sense is worn on the upper- or forearm and not as prone to skin irritation. What I’ve found is while the Verity Sense requires a little more maintenance (I have to charge it 1-2 times/week) and uses optical sensors (vs the H10’s ECG sensors), I haven’t observed any decline or improvement accuracy.