4+ years!...Was it the old hard one?
On the new there are a lot of complaints, many only 6 months. If going for the new soft strap better to use the garmon transmitter on polar strap. With that said, it sounds like your transmitter is what went out

Sounds like you got a pretty good run from it. Just one note, I have had trouble getting units to sync sometimes after replacing the battery. Last time it was my footpod, tried and tried, took battery out and shorted contacts in footpod, gave it up as dead. Tried it again a week later and up it came, good, but ?????

Yep, 4+ years on the old hard plastic.

I barely got a year from the so called "premium" strap. I washed and dried it weekly (Garmin say every 10 uses). Tried using electrode gel on the contacts but was getting erratic readings such as a HR of 54 going up a climb. Changed the battery, following Garmin's protocol to "short out" the contacts, and my 510 wouldn't sync up to it after that. Ended up going to my gym and buying one of their branded ANT+ straps and it has worked like a charm. It is a hard strap model. Don't think I'll go back to a soft strap anytime soon. The one I got at my gym was $25 and if it craps out I can buy 2 more before I end up spending as much as 1 Garmin "premium".

I just had a problem with the HRM2 from garmin. I now have the HRM3 which they said is better. Are people also having issues with the newer HRM3?

My Garmin hard strap is still trucking after 5 years. My Cycleops straps are the same way. My Garmin softstraps keep flaking out. Replaced with Polar straps and no issues thus far.

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"Most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps"
Blog = http://extrememomentum.com|Photos = http://wheelgoodphotos.com

Mine was the 3 and my experience was none too satisfactory. Hopefully yours will be better.

I'm still using the my original hard strap that I first received with my first Garmin Forerunner 305. I looked back at my Garmin Training Center records and I did my first workout with my new Garmin on June 11, 2007. Yep, over 7 years ago. Btw, it was a 4.27 mile run with an average pace of 8:58 and average HR of 144.

did garmin replace your premium after it failed?

My hard strap Garmin? Hmmm...had about three years on the 1st and lost it (took it off to shower after a duathlon and drove home - the strap didn't make the return trip). Replacement is now two years old, still perfect and using original battery... I don't get the soft strap benefit - but, then again, I 'grew up' with a hard strap Polar when I first started using an HRM about 12-15 years ago. Still, if the hard strap is uncomfortable, you're not running/cycling hard enough...

I switched to a Timex Ant+ soft strap and it has been working great for about a year now.

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BC Don
Pain is temporary, not giving it your all lasts all Winter.

Their premium straps stink. I went through 1/2 dozen in a year. No BS.

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Keith Burtis
Buffalo Triathlon Club Board Member 2013/2014
<a href="http://duyoutri.net">Du You Tri - Podcast</a>
<a href="http://rodsracing.org/keith">RODS Athlete - Racing for Children with Down Syndrome</a>

YMMV but same for my dad's ones. He's gone through 3 in 1.5 years.

However my one chugs along just fine - 1.5 years and counting (also a soft strap). Maybe I'm not working out hard enough though haha.

I had a HRM3-SS that I used 2-3x per week for 11 months. Stopped working at which point I spoke to Garmin who sent me a new one.

I use the hard plastic strap and I am on my 4th one. I am lucky if they last 12-18 months. I am using the soft strap now. It is much more comfortable.
I hope it's more reliable too.

I'm two years into using my hard plastic strap with very good results. I only wear it 4 or 5 times a week though.

jaretj

I lost my premium strap and elected to go with the cheaper 'plastic' strap. Glad I did if you were able to get 4 years out of it.

I didn't try. Past experiences with Garmin customer service left me frustrated and ticked off so I just went and got an el cheapo strap from my local gym.

Is the plastic original garmin HRM available through garmin or amazon?

From here

http://gps-offers.com/store/index.php?route=product/category&path=35

I believe mine is at least 4 years.

The strap itself is way stretched. I have a safetypin tightening it to the maximum and still it feels loose. I wish it was a weight loss, but the elastic is dead with all my sweating.

I have the new-fangled strap that I got my with 310 still in the package. I'm pretty cheap so I'm saving it until the other one breaks.

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Swim - Bike - Run the rest is just clothing changes.

10 uses? Hell that's < a week. Mine would fall apart being washed that much. I agree, the soft strap probably won't last more than a year when you using it 12 times a week.

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TrainingBible Coaching
http://www.trainingbible.com

brianb10 wrote:

I didn't try. Past experiences with Garmin customer service left me frustrated and ticked off so I just went and got an el cheapo strap from my local gym.

Just FYI, it's not worth it. Garmin customer service has ensured that I will buy something else next time.

me
garmin

Bumping an old thread to say that Garmin addressed the issue. I received a reply from someone else who addressed my HRM strap issue. Would say it was worth it for me to contact their support.