Wrist based HR monitors
- Thread starter MrGrumpy
- Start date
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Biff600
Veteran
I picked up a Garmin Vivosmart HR from Maplins for £50 last weekend, brilliant bit of kit, links to my phone and displays text & email messages etc as well as the usual heart rate, steps, flights of stairs climbed and the such like
nickAKA
Über Member
- Location
- Manchester
Bargain for a Garmin activity tracker! Guessing that model doesn't have ANT+ for sensors which is a shame, but even so great for the money.
PaulSB
Legendary Member
- Location
- Chorley, Lancashire
I have a Polar T31 chest strap monitor and a Vivoactive HR wrist monitor.
The Polar I chose because it’s the one the NHS use for people in cardiac rehab exercise classes. Been there, done it. I chose the Vivoactive because it doubles as a GPS unit and is good for recording walks, rides etc.
I’ve been a bit sceptical over the Vivoactive’s accuracy and have worn both this and the Polar together as a double check. The readings are usually within 2-3 beats of each other. There are occasions when riding when I wonder how accurately my HR is being shown using the Vivoactive, not frequently but enough to be noticeable. I do wonder if temperature influences the device readings? Very cold or hot weather seem to be when odd readings occur.
In the main I use mine to confirm my HR is at the level I would expect for a particular level of exercise. For example at 15-16mph in a group I expect an HR of 115. If it regularly varied from this I’d be concerned.
The Polar I chose because it’s the one the NHS use for people in cardiac rehab exercise classes. Been there, done it. I chose the Vivoactive because it doubles as a GPS unit and is good for recording walks, rides etc.
I’ve been a bit sceptical over the Vivoactive’s accuracy and have worn both this and the Polar together as a double check. The readings are usually within 2-3 beats of each other. There are occasions when riding when I wonder how accurately my HR is being shown using the Vivoactive, not frequently but enough to be noticeable. I do wonder if temperature influences the device readings? Very cold or hot weather seem to be when odd readings occur.
In the main I use mine to confirm my HR is at the level I would expect for a particular level of exercise. For example at 15-16mph in a group I expect an HR of 115. If it regularly varied from this I’d be concerned.
