I use a Wahoo Tickr, which is about half the price (in UK); does ANT+ & Bluetooth.

---

29 years and counting

2nd the Wahoo TICKR. Replaced my old Garmin hard strap. It’s comfortable and transmits both frequencies.

---

I still lapped everyone on the couch!

The first question is do you just want the HR data. The HRM-RUN is more expensive because it is also transmitting a number of running metrics that a standard HR strap won't. The HRM-SWIM is also extra because it has internal storage. So you are paying extra for the extra functionality.

In terms of quality buying a Garmin heart rate straps has long been a throw of the dice. A huge number of factors seem to affect the lifespan of the devices and sometimes its the strap that goes and other times its the pod. I don't think cheaper alternatives have a better or worse hit rate but the price of a Garmin isn't a guarantee of success.

DO you use this during races too (as in under tri and wet suit)? Reading on Wahoos home page it is not waterproof only water resistant? Same as some of the cheaper ones i have looked at, but maybe that is enough?

DO you use this during races too (as in under tri and wet suit)? Reading on Wahoos home page it is not waterproof only water resistant? Same as some of the cheaper ones i have looked at, but maybe that is enough?

I've been using the Scosche Rhythm+ for 2.5 years now and I'm very happy with it.
It's more comfortable by far, for me, than any of the Garmin chest straps I've used (which includes the old classic hard strap one that came with the FR305 for a few years, the premium soft strap clip one that came with my 910XT for a couple of years and most recently the soft Tri strap with the blue bezel that came with my 920XT for a year or so before switching to the Scosche). I originally intended to only use the Scosche for running where chest straps annoy me, but the Garmin Tri strap has been sitting unused for quite some time now!

2 significant downsides to the Scoshe Rhythm+:
- Short battery life of 7-8hrs > sufficient for most things besides IM but newer version Scosche 24 should give you 24hrs.
- No local storage of HR data for syncing with watch afterwards to allow swim use > again the Scosche 24 addresses this

Advantages:
Slightly cheaper I think
Far more comfortable for me (especially for running)
Usually more reliable at the start of winter runs where I used to get spurious data from the Garmin units

I think the Scoshe 24 had some teething issues. Not sure if they're sorted yet, but if so it should be very good and I think it's still similar or cheaper price compared to Garmin.

Truthfully just got it last week. But I like it a lot since the second I’ve put it on it’s been super stable. From what I’ve read it should be ok under a wetsuit.

---

I still lapped everyone on the couch!

Wahoo’s page says up to 5 feet. I’m assuming that will be fine considering I don’t think I’ve ever had my chest 5 feet underwater in a race. Especially if you have the protection of the wetsuit added. Also for what it’s worth Wahoo is well known for their customer service, although I can’t attest to it after only a week.

---

I still lapped everyone on the couch!

I wear the TICKR during race swims and have had problems over maybe 10-15 races and about 3 years. IMO, the TICKR is much much much more reliable than the standard Garmin HRM (I don't have any experience with the HRM-RUN, HRM-Swim or HRM-Tri). For the standard HRM, i'd go through a strap a year and the HRM itself would die after about 2 years. Another big plus is that you don't need a super tiny screwdriver to replace the battery.

Is the transmitter unit dead or the strap? When my Garmin strap died I just bought a Polar strap - which I think was cheaper - and I attach the Garmin transmitter to it. One of my mates did the same, but had to shave off a little of the plastic around the connectors. I also recently bought a dirt cheap old-school hard Garmin strap for my gym bag, and it isn't anywhere near as bad as I remember it being back in the day!

---

-----
http://www.howesgreg.com

Both. The strap would die first. I used the Polar straps as the replacement and they would last longer (I thought they were more comfortable as well). My experience with the transmitter was that they would die after about the 2nd strap and aligned roughly a couple of months after a battery replacement. Might have been some user error with the battery replacement and not getting it sealed well, but IMO, the Garmin HRM battery lid and the 4 tiny screws is a pretty awful design. Give me an idiot-proof twist to open/close design like on the TICKR any day of the week.

I agree 100% with the four tiny screws - I know I'm only a battery replacement or two away from rounding them off.

---

-----
http://www.howesgreg.com

Except for the fact that for o-rings in order to properly compress them to seal require quite a bit of force pushing down on them and that is probably why they have the screw design. As convenient as an easy twist open close design is unless you are able to crank it down with enough torque you won't get enough compression to seal as well as using several screws. That is probably why a TICKR is only rated water resistant 5 feet and the older Garmin HRM's with replaceable straps/batteries are rated up to 30m (or almost 100ft) depth.

I have the older Garmin HRM and replaced the stock soft strap with a HRM USA branded on and it works so much better than the Garmin one ever did with spikes and high readings. I'm hoping that it is easy to source an replacement o-ring for these things for the next time I replace the battery (only have replaced it 1 time and have had mine for nearly 7 years).

Food for thought. I also have a Vivoactive HR with the optical and find that is a chore to turn on Ant+ only transmit mode for HR when cycling (I use an Edge 520 when riding). Why it won't also transmit HR in BTLE I don't understand since it used that to pair with my phone. I've also noticed it will randomly stop transmitting HR and I just went back to using my Garmin HRM with soft strap when riding. I thought about buying one of those Scosche Rhythm but the wife gave me the Vivoactive as a gift so I never bothered.

I am not sure if you are aware of this or not but I think Garmin released its HRM-Dual earlier this week and it fits the criteria you are looking for (Cost, Bluetooth Etc) or at-least it somewhat meets your criteria.

https://buy.garmin.com/...010-12883-00#devices

DC did a review on it also;

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/...in-depth-review.html