Has anyone any advice im thinking of changing to Wahoo HRM chest strap, i have been using garmin for the last 8 years and have gone through about 5 Garmin monitors, once i seem to change the battery they stop working properly and then stop working altogether,
Any advice be great
I had Garmin straps in past as well (without BT). When I started zwifting, I first used a laptop with ANT+ dongle to connect to HR chest strap but when the Garminâs chest strap started acting up few months later, I decided to buy a new one.
Due to price point (1/2 of Garminâs) and previous smooth experience with Wahooâs cadence sensor, I decided to give Wahoo Tickr a try. It is almost one year later now and the chest strap has been very reliable. The only time when it was acting up was when I replaced battery 2 weeks later and forgot to reset it (it dropped to 0 bpm in the middle of next ride which unfortunately was ZRL raceâŚmy mistake!). When I did the reset properly the following day, it came back to be reliable again. I can recommend 
A plus for me is also that the Wahooâs chest strap supports multiple BT and ANT+ connections so I can be connected to Zwift on tablet (BT), TrainerRoad on mobile (BT) and Garmin watch and Wahoo headwind via ANT. But that is probably what any recent Garmin strap would support as well.
I had a Wahoo Tickr-X, when it worked it was great, burnt through batteries and had to wait for it to âwarmupâ, sometimes it didnât.
Replaced it after a year as it got worse, went back to Garmin, this time with both BT & ANT+
The Garmin has been rock solid reliable, just need a torx-5 to replace the battery once tha battary finally goes.
Iâd wanted to move to a Wahoo eco-system, ended up with Garmin HRM & Watch instead.
The Garmin HRM just works.
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I have a Gen 2 Tickr, not a Tickr-X, but this probably applies anyhow. My Tickr worked flawlessly for 3-4 months, then started working intermittently. It would drop down to 120bpm randomly when I was at 160+bpm. I changed the battery to see if that would help, but it didnât. I started being more diligent about washing it with a mild soap every time I used it and that worked pretty well for a while.
After a while the pads started to detach, and even washing with soap was no longer helping. Then I messaged Wahoo, and they gave me a brand new Tickr. This was 1 year after purchase. Iâm now using that new band which seems to work well. Sometimes it takes a while to âwarm upâ even though I always do wet the pads before each use.
Overall I wish it was more reliable, and not so finnicky personally. That said, Wahoo support seems good at replacing them when things donât work.
Relevant thread: Wahoo Tickr / Apple TV4K constant drops - #12 by Otto_Destruct
Iâve owned âall the HRMsâ. Quite literally, everything from the Garmin HRM1G (hard plastic) strap, to a variety of no-name or unknown brands, armband optical HRMs, Polar H10, Garmin HRM3, HRM-Run, now the HRM-Pro+, and a Wahoo Tickr.
Wahoo has connectivity issues and I wouldnât touch one with a barge pole. I returned mine as it wouldnât stay connected from the get-go.
Garmin are great until they arenât - the four-screw battery door is awful. Yeah, some people donât have problems. Mostly though, Garmins HRMs are on borrowed time after a battery swap. The HRM-Pro+ may by an exception as they redesigned the battery door to be a tool-free, twist lock. I bought one and am putting it through its paces.
TL;DR: buy a Polar H10 (or H9) if you want a reliable HRM thatâll last years. The Garmin has some additional metrics if youâre already in the Garmin ecosystem or if you need a footpod - it actually acts as a footpod thatâll work with Zwift, as well as a Running Dynamics pod and step counter if youâre in the Garmin ecosystem. (also does swimming with their watches) Both the Polar and Garmin support multiple BLE connections as well as ANT+.
I replaced my original Garmin after 4 years because the strap was aging and I wanted BT connectivity.
Tickr-X, I had CR2032âs on subscription for the 20 months I put up with it.
Garmin is one battery change in, after 3 months of daily use. The battery replacement process is âfunâ but had previous experience of it.
My big grip is with Wahoo, I expected better.
Polar, heard good things about them, but havenât used one.
Started with a wahoo tickr, used it for 2 years without any problems. I licked it before putting it on and after finishing I rinsed the pads with water en rubbed it with a hard towel.
I changed it to a Garmin HRM-pro, because Iâm a Garmin âfanboyâ. It had a fancy battery level display for in the connect-app. This never worked, battery status was still full according to the app, but low according to my multimeter. After 1 year the pads were torned loose and short circuited in my first WTRL race.
Went back to my first wahoo tickr (now 3 yrs old) but unfortunately I snapped of a plastic cover cap (my fault) without the cover cap it started irritating my skin.
Now back (happily!) to a tickr-x, but just used this one for only 3 months
For running I use a Garmin HRM-tri for running dynamics. Also 3 yrs old, but only used for running and also torned pads, so I expect this one to fail me in short notice as well.
Ps. Iâm a really really heavy sweater, so it survived a lot of salt
Still doubting to buy a Garmin HRM-pro, but only because it is Garmin, not for qualityâŚâŚ
Cheers for all the help 