What is your favorite hr monitor strap?

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Christismylife
Christismylife Posts: 93 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Looking into getting a blue tooth heart rate monitor strap that I can pair/sync with my iPhone. I have looked a little on Amazon and found this info on Runkeeper's website:

"iPhone 4s, 5 and the 6 series should work with any Heart Rate Monitors that follow the BTLE standard. Notable HRMs in this group include: Polar H7, Wahoo Blue HR, Mio Link, and Zyphyr."

Do any of you use these and can you advise as to any pros and cons? I have read the chest straps work better during exercise than a wrist monitor. I had a chest strap hr monitor that worked with a watch, but the watch broke. So any advice....go! Thanks! :)

Replies

  • xaryo
    xaryo Posts: 104 Member
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    Also interested to know.
    What about waterproof?

    Im doing freediving and i want to know how much my heart rate lower when the mammalian dive reflex kicks in.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
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    Honestly for most purposes there isn't a great deal of difference between chest straps. Get the one that:

    * Transmits over Bluetooth (not ANT+ unless it does both)
    * Is comfortable
    * Fits your budget
    * Comes with free chocolate

    Swimming is a special case. Radio signals like BT and ANT+ can't travel more than a few inches through the water. I use a Garmin HRM-Swim for this, the strap has a memory, and syncs with my watch when I get out of the water. The strap is more expensive than most because of it and this feature only works with certain watches.
  • scorpio516
    scorpio516 Posts: 955 Member
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    Btle ant+ combo straps. There all just about the same, except for two cases. The aforementioned HRM-Swim and it's brother the HRM-Tri have a memory that saves underwater hr data (don't think they are btle though). Other case is the Schosche Rhythym+, optical arm band, btle and ant+, I really like it.
  • BasicGreatGuy
    BasicGreatGuy Posts: 868 Member
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    I was using the Polar H7 heart rate monitor. It is very accurate. I have recently switched to the Scosche Rhythm + Armband. It is a heart rate monitor that you wear on your arm. It does a very good job as well. I highly recommend either one.
  • Christismylife
    Christismylife Posts: 93 Member
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    NorthCascades wrote: »
    Honestly for most purposes there isn't a great deal of difference between chest straps. Get the one that:

    * Transmits over Bluetooth (not ANT+ unless it does both)
    * Is comfortable
    * Fits your budget
    * Comes with free chocolate

    Swimming is a special case. Radio signals like BT and ANT+ can't travel more than a few inches through the water. I use a Garmin HRM-Swim for this, the strap has a memory, and syncs with my watch when I get out of the water. The strap is more expensive than most because of it and this feature only works with certain watches.


    What is ant+?

    Free chocolate sounds good...
  • lizandrashaw
    lizandrashaw Posts: 154 Member
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    I use the polar H7 HRM for swimming and it works great. Interested to see if it still works when I'm wearing a wet suit this winter.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
    edited October 2016
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    Another vote for the Scosche Rhythm+ armband. It's BTLE and ANT+, so it can be paired with a variety of devices. When I run, I pair it to my Apple Watch; when I bicycle, I pair it to my Apple Watch (via BTLE) and Garmin Edge 520 cycling computer (via ANT+) simultaneously.

    I've played around with the various positions you can wear it in and find that it works flawlessly when I wear it with the monitor positioned on the outside of my upper arm, right at the bicep/deltoid junction. Added plus is that it's concealed under the shirt sleeve in that position. It's also much more comfortable than wearing a chest strap (I used to use a Polar FT7).
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,583 Member
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    I've been looking into the Fitbit Surge as of late because I'd like to wear a watch again instead of having to pullout my phone every time I need to see what time it is.
    It's gotten decent reviews and even has a GPS and Accelerometer in it to record biking and climbing. It's pricey though and I'm pretty frugal, which is why I haven't taken the dive yet.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • mikevfr
    mikevfr Posts: 47 Member
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    H7 is decent. Fiddly to setup on some android phones to work with 3Rd party apps though.

    I believe iPhone support is much better though.
  • narak_lol
    narak_lol Posts: 855 Member
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    I am confused... You are looking for a hr sensor strap or a hrm bundle?
  • EspressoLvr
    EspressoLvr Posts: 100 Member
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    I have a really old Polar that's held up great over the years. It's the only one I've ever owned, so I can't compare.
  • lemmie177
    lemmie177 Posts: 479 Member
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    If you don't need it to be waterproof or don't need it to store data (phone is always close), you can just get any generic bluetooth heartrate chest strap. I got one off ebay ~2 yrs ago. Works with every fitness tracking app I've tried and was only $10. I think the brand is SYNC.

    Pairing gets finicky when the battery gets low. Takes one CR2032 and I have to replace it every 2 months or so. Though I wonder if battery life would be better on a name brand monitor; its kind of annoying.
  • Christismylife
    Christismylife Posts: 93 Member
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    narak_lol wrote: »
    I am confused... You are looking for a hr sensor strap or a hrm bundle?

    Just looking for the strap with Bluetooth so I can sync it to my phone.
  • narak_lol
    narak_lol Posts: 855 Member
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    Christismylife wrote: »
    Just looking for the strap with Bluetooth so I can sync it to my phone.

    Hi there - I'd suggest to take a look at Polar hr sensor strap or Sunnto smart sensor, both transmit via bluetooth. And as you researched already, it requires Bluetooth 4.0 to sync so iPhone 4S or above, if yours is the "right" phone, can't go wrong with either imho and good enough for what you described how you want to use it.

    I have used both and find both are quite solid and have pretty good customer service (at least in here where I live), the rrp is just a small difference the last time I looked. The plastic contact patches of the newer Polar strap is far more comfortable than the old design just fyi.

    https://www.polar.com/us-en/products/accessories/H7_heart_rate_sensor
    https://www.suunto.com/Products/Heart-Rate-Belts/SuuntoSmartSensor/

  • curlsintherack
    curlsintherack Posts: 465 Member
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    I think wahoo monitors are on sale and they work either bluetooth or ant+ and some have a memory so you wouldn't even need a phone running at the time you were using it.

    I use the polar h7 and like it.
  • Christismylife
    Christismylife Posts: 93 Member
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    lsutton484 wrote: »
    I think wahoo monitors are on sale and they work either bluetooth or ant+ and some have a memory so you wouldn't even need a phone running at the time you were using it.

    I use the polar h7 and like it.

    Does the polar h7 do all those things you described that the wahoo does?
  • Christismylife
    Christismylife Posts: 93 Member
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    Also, what is ant+ technology? Is that where it transmits to an elliptical?
  • scorpio516
    scorpio516 Posts: 955 Member
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    Pairing gets finicky when the battery gets low. Takes one CR2032 and I have to replace it every 2 months or so. Though I wonder if battery life would be better on a name brand monitor; its kind of annoying.

    Pretty much. Ant+ uses less energy, but a garmin strap lasts over a year per coin battery.
    My Scosche optical lasts about a week on a charge, but opticals use a whole lot more energy than electrical/standard hr
  • curlsintherack
    curlsintherack Posts: 465 Member
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    Christismylife wrote: »
    lsutton484 wrote: »
    I think wahoo monitors are on sale and they work either bluetooth or ant+ and some have a memory so you wouldn't even need a phone running at the time you were using it.

    I use the polar h7 and like it.

    Does the polar h7 do all those things you described that the wahoo does?

    the version of the h7 that I have does not record although there may be a polar unit that does I am not sure.

    Ant+ is how older hrm units connected to a watch or gym equipment. Its still in use by Garmin and probably some other companies.I have no idea which is actually better however I purchased my hrm to work with my phone. I also believe that there might be ant+ smartphone adapters but I'm just trying to remember off the top of my head.

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