Simple question for the TR gang today. If you were buying a chest strap HRM to pair with both Wahoo Bolt and Apple Watch Ultra 2 for running and cycling - which would you pick and why?
Wahoo has a poor history, garmin has unpredictable battery life, polar seems like it continues to lose market share across the board for no real reason.
I’m looking for the buy once solution and not interested in saving a few bucks at the cost of having to replace this piece of tech in the next few years.
I think given my history with HRMs Id go for the Polar H10
Definitely.
With the orange strap, so you don’t misplace it all the time
I have both the Polar H10 and the Garmin Pro+ and I would recommend both of them 
If I lost them both and only had funds to replace one I think maybe the Pro+ would edge it because the battery compartment is better and I like the running dynamics stuff.
The strap on the H10 is better though - I like the extra rubber grippers that stop it sliding around.
I had a nightmare with wahoo tickrs and garmin duals failing and chewing through batteries.
N=1 may Garmin pro+ is rock solid for battery life - i think maybe better than my H10 - I put that down the the improved battery door design.
I would have recommended the H10 a while ago, but have had problems with both of mine (original and warranty replacement.). I am much happier with the Garmin HRM-pro-plus.
The first one worked fine for the most part, however it started eating batteries - they’d last 2-3 weeks. Sent it in for warranty replacement, and got a replacement.
The issues I have with the H10 are:
There is always going to be some variation in heart rate during steady state, but the variations in the H10 are not really plausible and can be resolved by changes to the sensor.
Here is an example from the H10:
Here is a very similar workout from the garmin:
I liked my Polar oh1+ (Until i left it at a CA hotel last year…)
the new Polar Verity Sense has a much longer battery life, and can be as accurate (and more comfortable) than a chest strap.
Second generation Wahoo stuff was crap. That being said I’ve been on the TRACKR HR for awhile now and zero issues. We still need to see long term, but I killed second gen ones very very quickly before.
I know it officially does but I have been using 2032s for the last two years and touchwood getting more out of a battery.
The only “issue” I have had with the H10’s is the chest straps don’t last forever (the internal leads get stretched or corroded and fail), and you’ll likely need a new one every year or so if you train 5-7 days a week. IMO though it’s a cheap wear item, and shouldn’t hold you back from getting it. The sampling rate is very high, and data is very accurate. I’d still buy the H10 today based on data accuracy, my experience with longevity, and cost.
My TICKR rusted (inside the stud where I couldn’t see) within a few weeks of new and died but came back to life after cleaning with a wet wipe. I was careful to clean its stud cup internally and was successful for a while but it eventually died again and this time it didn’t come back to life. TBF to Wahoo they sent me a warranty replacement, no quibble but I ordered the H10 anyway.
what makes an HRM a “Good” HRM? Aren’t they all the same? I have a 3 year old Wahoo… seems fine
Sampling rate, accuracy, battery life, and it lasting more than a few months under normal athletic conditions. Ideally not something I need to build an entire routine around with cleaning and maintenance just to ensure it does the one thing it’s advertised to do.
Thank you @toyman for the exceptionally informative comment!
Either you don’t use your Wahoo very often, or you got lucky. In my experience (I went through two of them) and many others’, tickrs don’t last very long. H10 — so far, so good.
In fact, while I’m happy with H10’s longevity so far, it’s sometimes too much effort to put a strap on. So, literally last week I purchased Polar Verity Sense - an arm strap with an optical sensor. Honestly, it’s now my favorite. And if I don’t encounter any issues with it in the near future, H10 will go into the drawer as a backup.
That’s exactly why I like the arm-based hrm so much. Nuke proof and requires zero effort.
I have a fairly small chest I guess. 38"? The strap is much easier to get on than my bib shorts haha.
Much of a muchness imo.
I use Garmin Dual, as I’m in the Garmin ecosystem and price is okay. I’d say about two years until the strap needs replacing for a heavy sweater that trains a lot.
Cant say much about batteries, but probably change once every three to six months maybe?
Polar came to dominate the heart rate monitor market, and I think they earned that domination. But that was before cheap electronics, ANT+, power meters, etc. They never got with the times, in that they didn’t have their own cycling computers comparable to Garmin or Wahoo. So that’s probably why they’re losing market share. Probably people buy a Wahoo computer, then they decide I might as well get a Wahoo HRM, then it fails and they warranty it or it’s cheap enough to just replace.
But yeah, Polar is what I’d buy. This doesn’t mean their devices can never fail, just that their average quality and lifespan should exceed Wahoo.
Interesting
Is that the Pro or the H10?
I use 2032s in the Dual.
It took me buying my second Dual to realise I was meant to unclip the HRM after using it. Battery lasts a lot longer now.
I’m sure I’m not the only one not to realise…
