Hairy Arms!! (Not me!) Does it mess up the HR tracker?

tiatiamaria

My husband is deciding between the Charge HR and the Flex. He has super hairy arms. Will that mess up the heart rate monitor? I've heard that it doesn't track well on sweat or during very physical exercise.

editorgrrl

http://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/Heart-rate-FAQs/

As with all heart-rate monitoring technology, whether a chest strap or a wrist-based sensor, accuracy is affected by personal physiology, location of wear, and type of movement. In other words, not every person will get a perfectly accurate reading with every type of exercise.

I don't have hairy arms, and I have no idea how accurately my Charge HR measures my heart rate. But I do know that my Fitbit burn is 100% accurate—I lost the weight & have maintained for a year. (I had a Flex for a couple of years, then upgraded to Charge HR a couple of months ago.)

Googling Charge HR + hair turned up a positive review from a hairy guy: http://appleinsider.com/articles/15/01/31/first-look-fitbit-charge-hr-fitness-band-with-real-time-heart-rate-sensor

So far, the device has been able to consistently find and monitor our pulse, a task made difficult by a forest of thick arm hair. Other optical systems have failed in the past and electrode-based sensors are particularly ill-suited for our specific needs. The Charge HR's ability to read through the "noise" is a testament to its design.