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Heart rate chest strap
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Hi Everyone,

Should I purchase a heart rate chest strap to track my training, heart rate zones etc. even though I use a Forerunner 935 that can track the same info?

Your advice and expertise are greatly appreciated!
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Re: Heart rate chest strap [Hukdonfawnix] [ In reply to ]
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I've had the 935, and now have the 945 and found Optical HR built into the watch is not responsive enough for intervals so I still use a chest strap. The optical HR is ok for steady state efforts but still seems to read low compared to a chest strap for similar pace and RPE.

YMMV
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Re: Heart rate chest strap [Hukdonfawnix] [ In reply to ]
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I bought a chest HRM when I bought my head unit this summer. It's been a good purchase so far because I can ride without wearing a watch and it pairs with Zwift/Wahoo etc. In general I think the optical HRM on my 735xt was accurate enough for me, but it's nice having the additional flexibility.
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Re: Heart rate chest strap [CyclingClyde] [ In reply to ]
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Same from me. I'm using a Polar Vantage watch that has optical HR.
Good enough for steady state, but there's a real lag innthe numbers on intervals. Also get some garbage figures at start of OW swims until everything settles out (thing the optical sensor is adding real HR + arm stroke rate somehow).
So mostly I use a chest strap.
For me that's convenient as I still use a Garmin edge on the bike and so both watch and bike computer gets the same figures.
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Re: Heart rate chest strap [BobAjobb] [ In reply to ]
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I guess my ultimate question is........Do I NEED a heart rate monitor strap if I have a Forerunner 935?

Or is it just another toy added to my collection?
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Re: Heart rate chest strap [Hukdonfawnix] [ In reply to ]
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Yes. You need the chest strap.
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Re: Heart rate chest strap [Hukdonfawnix] [ In reply to ]
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Chest straps tend to work for everyone, but wrist-based optical tends to vary from person to person wrt accuracy and responsiveness. So the answer is: YMMV

Personally, my Fenix5 optical works as well as my chest straps; so I do 90% of my training w/o a strap. The only reason I have a strap is that the Fenix5 won't broadcast in bluetooth, so I Zwift with a strap (I don't run an Ant+ dongle).

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Re: Heart rate chest strap [Hukdonfawnix] [ In reply to ]
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I love the Wahoo tickr. Wife does too. Optical sensors need to be pretty tight to work best, FYI. Seems to be no issue for us.

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Re: Heart rate chest strap [Hukdonfawnix] [ In reply to ]
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Hukdonfawnix wrote:
I guess my ultimate question is........Do I NEED a heart rate monitor strap if I have a Forerunner 935?

Or is it just another toy added to my collection?

Need, no.
Useful - only if you use the data.

I have 935, and use the HRM-Run. I'll be honest the HR data I don't pay a huge amount of attention to when running (or riding) post analysis I do look. When Running I use pace and then also post run the stride length, balance and ground contact time. In part as I have historic injuries and I use this data to show when I'm favouring one side or other as I find it's a great early indicator of changes in form/style that history has shown will manifest as pain in 3 weeks time if my physio doesn't get ontop of it.

Same riding, I'm using watts not HR when riding, the correlation of watts to HR after is a useful indicator for me in terms of fatigue and oncoming sickness/level of recovery.

Do I have scientific evidence of either of those, no. But I've not looked as I know it works for me. And so if you're going to spend $ on a HRM strap, then I'd suggest you seriously consider spending even more on the HRM-RUN. Noting my previous post on Slowtwitch was pasting this link which talks about how bloody fragile I find them. https://forum.slowtwitch.com/...armin%20hrm#p7348177
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Re: Heart rate chest strap [Hukdonfawnix] [ In reply to ]
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I have a Fenix6+ and the optical HR functions perfectly for example now when I'm sitting on the couch.
Doing sports though it does give phantasy values, so for running and biking I have to use a strap.
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Re: Heart rate chest strap [Hukdonfawnix] [ In reply to ]
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Yes you need a HR strap. Wrist HR does not directly measure the heart as a strap does and can be considerably inaccurate for our training demands.

A HR strap is the most important tool in your arsenal for training. They are cheap and last for years.

Strava
Last edited by: rsjrv99: Oct 22, 20 5:02
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Re: Heart rate chest strap [Hukdonfawnix] [ In reply to ]
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Yes get one but get the garmin bluetooth HRM strap. Its pretty much bomb proof. The straps from the tri bundle are crap.
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Re: Heart rate chest strap [Rideon77] [ In reply to ]
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Rideon77 wrote:
Yes get one but get the garmin bluetooth HRM strap. Its pretty much bomb proof. The straps from the tri bundle are crap.

There are two Garmin Bluetooth straps: HRM-Dual, and HRM-Pro.

The HRM-Dual is an overpriced Wahoo TICKR ($20US more for the exact same function).
The HRM-PRO is an HRM-TRI but with blue-tooth. Also overpriced at $129US.

Reliability of both is unclear. The Dual is only a year old---but, there are some complaints. The PRO is only a month old.

Garmin has a long standing reliability issue with their HRM straps. Particularly, the higher end straps (HRM-RUN, SWIM, TRI). I'm on my 4th total HRM-TRI (warranty replacements). The 1st lasted 3 years. When it died, I bought a second one--which died in 3 months, the 1st warranty replacement died in 2 months, the 2nd warranty replacement died in a month. This time they are sent me an HRM-PRO as my 3rd warranty replacement. It arrived yesterday. We shall see.

But, at this time, I wouldn't recommend to anyone to buy a Garmin strap. They are the most expensive, and have a long standing poor reliability history...and don't have any useful features that differentiate them from anyone else.
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Re: Heart rate chest strap [Hukdonfawnix] [ In reply to ]
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In my experience, optical HR is only good for resting HR (which I think Garmin watches do well).
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Re: Heart rate chest strap [Tom_hampton] [ In reply to ]
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Polar H10 is tried and true. I’ve had mine for two years and use it daily. Never a problem! I also get lots of other data, such as HRV and respiration rate, though I’m not sure if others do that too

Strava
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Re: Heart rate chest strap [rsjrv99] [ In reply to ]
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Yep. If you want a "compatible with everything" strap, the H10 is the way to go. Ant+, Bluetooth smart, and 5KHz analog for gym equipment. Also has HRV metrics, and Run Dynamics (if you care about that sort of thing).

The only real caveat to remember is that while the H10 has internal storage, it does not work with Garmin head units. That's not relevant to the OP...but, anyone else reading should keep that in mind when reviewing the H10.

As far as I know, only Garmin straps will store and forward HR data to a Garmin head unit.
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Re: Heart rate chest strap [Tom_hampton] [ In reply to ]
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I have gone thru quite a few Garmins and a few Wahoo's. I found these on Amazon and they just keep working. I am using it with a Garmn 530.

https://www.amazon.com/...f_=pd_bap_d_rp_1_6_t
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