Recommendations for HR Monitor

General Discussion
1

I’ve purchased 4 Wahoo Tickr HR monitors and have had two fail (one replaced on warranty) and another ended up with broken tabs for holding the battery in place. I’ve used a spare battery holder (from a failed Tickr) and also broke a tab on that as well. It still holds, but soon I will likely need to tape it on.
Recently 2 of the 3 working Tickrs are starting to fail. Incorrect readings, frequent drop outs …
Batteries are good (new and checked with a meter), straps seem fine as I can switch them up with the one that is working fine.
Mainly I am looking for something that is going to last a couple of years.
Any suggestions.

Relec

2

My Garmin HRM-DUAL has lasted several years. Never a problem pairing it. I’ve started using a Coospo HW706 rechargeable arm band for convenience. It’s been great but I cant offer a long term review yet.

3

This is the one I have same as Paul, have recommended to a few friends,… been using since June https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0891W6N1Z/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

4

Polar Verity Sense armband. 2 years’ use. Absolutely 0 issues.

And the best thing? Rechargeable.

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5

Thanks!.
I will probably pick up a Garmin as they are priced decently right now. Maybe add a Polar as a backup.
If either of them fails then maybe I will look at a Coospo. Based on the price, I suspect they are just a copy company.

6

I’ve got a Garmin HRM-Pro, had it a few years and use it almost daily, apart from needing two new batteries it’s been faultless! :slight_smile:

7

I’ve been using the Coospo H808S since the start of this year with no issues. Some of the models appear to be on special on Amazon right now.

I have had several Garmin Duals and my experience is that the strap stops working more quickly than I think it should. I also like that the Coospo clasp has a slightly longer ‘catch’ than the Garmin, so the strap doesn’t come undone so easily.

8

I use the Wahoo Tickr Fit. No problems with batteries because it’s rechargeable.
No dropouts and always working. It’s a armband heart rate monitor.

All others HRM (chest) from Garmin, Wahoo and some other brands did fail after a while.

9

My Garmin Dual HRM lasted 2 years on its little CR2032 battery; it finally died on me a few weeks ago.
No complaints with it at all, it’s been great, and has always connected to my watch, Edge, and Zwift without fuss ever (well, until the battery died, more on that in a second).

If I had to produce a complaint; it’s that Garmin Connect said the battery was “OK” on literally every ride, even including the one where it wouldn’t connect / died.
Which, there wasn’t much warning. I had just noticed it didn’t want to connect to Zwift one evening. It did eventually, but took longer than normal which was the first sign… beyond that, it just dropped once in a while during a ride.
So a better warning that the battery was going, would’ve been nice…

That said; something like 1200-2000 hours on a CR2032 is insanely impressive.

Downside of course to a lot of HRMs, minus those rechargeable ones folks are talking about; is the need for those watch / glasses sized tools which most folks don’t have (and for some reason aren’t included).

But most folks I’ve heard have always said either get the Garmin Dual or one of the Polar straps.

I’ve heard most complaints indeed with the Wahoo Tickr just going out probably more than any other device which is unfortunate to hear.

Only thing I’d be cautious about with those arm bands is they’re LED/light based much like watches, which can sometimes get pretty inaccurate when you start to get sweaty (I imagine this does greatly matter person to person though). I know my Garmin Fenix gets quite useless after about 10 minutes, which is when I eventually got my Dual HRM strap.
HR values wouldn’t necessarily drift, but they were slow to respond / never that accurate.

Whatever you end up with, particularly a chest strap; definitely just make sure you wash it UNDER A FAUCET, and lightly scrub it.

I think most folks manage to kill their straps by tossing them in the clothes wash, or just being overly aggressive when cleaning them, which leads to premature failure.

As far as smell goes; Lysol has a disinfectant / anti bacterial spray, and clothes wash soap… 10/10 recommend. I’ve been using it since early summer when someone told me about the stuff, and have been using it on all my kit since; all the lingering smells are gone; definitely worth using on HR strap as well; as they can get… quite smelly.

10

I’m going on 3.5 years with my Garmin HRM Dual and it’s been flawless for me, both indoor and outdoor riding. 2 battery replacements and that’s been it. I do follow their washing instructions and throw the strap (without the transmitter) in the wash every 1-2 weeks with my other cycling gear (cold water, no dryer and hang to dry) and have had no issues.

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11

I’ve had zero issues with the Garmin HRM Dual as far as connecting to various devices. I machine wash the band about once a month with my other sporting clothes. There’s one problem though, the way to change the battery is very flimsy, with the tiny torx screws. You can easily overtighten them and shatter the plastic around those screws. Which I did, I think my cover is currently held in place by one screw only. Still works though.

I’ve heard pretty good things about the Decathlon/Kalenji Dual HRM band, I might get one of those next. It’s good price/value at about 35 €/$/£.

12

Picked up 2 Garmin HRM Duals. Tested first one, worked great out of the box. Came with a little tool for battery replacement. HR seemed accurate, looks like there is a little more filtering/averaging with this compared to the Wahoo.
Pretty happy so far. Thanks for the recommendations.

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