Heart Rate Wristbands -- any good, recommendations?

[Thrasymachus]

While at a store recently I saw a Mio LINK Heart Rate Monitor Wrist Band prominently displayed:
http://www.amazon.com/Mio-LINK-Heart-Mo ... 00JQ6YEMO/
http://www.mioglobal.com/Mio-Link-heart ... oduct.aspx

A review by DC Rainmaker: http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2014/01/mio- ... -look.html

I am thinking of snapping one up before my trip to Greece as I will be stuck in an isolated Greek mountain village with nothing much to do. I never got into serious training with a heart rate monitor, and I will not have much else to do there. Plus I have read that cancer patients who exercise have better life quality and duration, so am gonna start to get my dad to go on walks with me and if he gets healthier build up his cardio base.

What do you guys think about such wrist based monitors?
Also does someone know a wrist head unit for it I would also be able to use along with my bicycle speed sensor and cadence sensor? I already have a dedicated Garmin 510 for my bike, but don't want to use it on rides I get off the bike and go to stores as I have to take it off and put it back on.

[vgpedlr]

I have trained with a HRM consistently for years, but it's always been at traditional model with separate chest strap transmitter and wrist receiver. Many don't people don't like them, but I'm so used to it I don't notice it. Critical for Maffetone style training. The wrist based HRMs have been rumored for awhile, but they're still pretty new, so I haven't heard much about them good or bad. The concern is that measuring the pulse at the wrist may not give as consistent or accurate data as a strap right over the heart. For instance, I take my Heart Rate Variability every day because my chest strap receives very precise data about each heart beat that I don't believe a wrist model could do. I usually just buy the cheapest Polar I can find and used it till it drops dead.

If you find a good deal, go for it.

[Thrasymachus]

DC Rainmaker who is a very technical in his reviews seemed very positive in the link I gave, infact he infers it is more accurate than his chest strap:

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2014/01/mio- ... -look.html

Now, you know what’s funny above? It just happened that this shows exactly why optical HR can be so handy. In my case, on this run, my legacy chest HR strap was funky for the first portion of it. It was reading low – about 20bpm low. I know it was reading low merely because I know my paces and perceived efforts pretty well. Plus, later when I adjusted the chest strap a little bit, it then immediately matched the Mio Link optical HR:

I figure I am taking the plunge and get it and some type of heart rate monitor watch. I want to get into Maffetone style training, I have seen you and other mention his name and finally found one of his books at a local Goodwill.

[Katydid]

I use the one that's built into my appleWatch. I can't judge it against anything else, since its the first one I've ever owned. I like how it automatically measures my heart rate throughout the day and dumps the data into the Health app where I can see the lowest and highest rates of the day.

Kate

[vgpedlr]

Now, you know what’s funny above? It just happened that this shows exactly why optical HR can be so handy. In my case, on this run, my legacy chest HR strap was funky for the first portion of it. It was reading low – about 20bpm low. I know it was reading low merely because I know my paces and perceived efforts pretty well. Plus, later when I adjusted the chest strap a little bit, it then immediately matched the Mio Link optical HR:

That sounds like a bad connection between strap and skin, which happens sometimes and is why some people dislike them. The strap needs to be snug and skin moist enough to get the electric signal, otherwise wonkiness ensues. I sometimes have that problem in cold weather until I warm up enough to sweat. Also, sometimes an environmental electric field can cause it to go haywire. I've read mixed reviews of the optical technology, but I'm sure it's improving all the time.

I figure I am taking the plunge and get it and some type of heart rate monitor watch. I want to get into Maffetone style training, I have seen you and other mention his name and finally found one of his books at a local Goodwill.

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of the Maffetone method. I think it gives the biggest number of people the most benefits and at very low risk. Just ignore his low carb rants.

[Skip]

For under $40, I have used this one for the last couple of years. I like it because it works great for swimming/underwater as well....
It is very simple in that it records only your average heart rate and your max heart rate for your workout...It has the strap/monitor that goes around your chest and I believe that this style is more accurate....
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003HT ... 1_6&sr=8-6

[vgpedlr]

For under $40, I have used this one for the last couple of years. I like it because it works great for swimming/underwater as well....

That's what I've been using as well. I usually go for cheapest Polar I can find and use them until they completely die. I am toying with the idea of going back to a Garmin, so I can record some data into the computer while preparing for Leadville. I'd like an HRM that mounts n my bike that I can swap from bike to bike so I don't have to look at my wrist, and also track cycling data. But I'm unimpressed so far with GPS tracking.

It is very simple in that it records only your average heart rate and your max heart rate for your workout...It has the strap/monitor that goes around your chest and I believe that this style is more accurate...

For Maffetone training, the only important data is current heart rate and total workout time. Everything else is irrelevant.

[Thrasymachus]

Hmm, I was thinking of getting something like the Polar m400 which had a chest band heart rate monitor, but you guys are probably right, I should get a cheaper Polar and I can always upgrade up if I continue on with cardio training according to Maffetone's recommendations. Who knows, likely I would get an expensive one, flake out and not use it. That is what happens with most consumer goods, they are not used much a short while after purchasing.

For one, the m400 despite its cost cannot interface with my operating system of choice linux and for some reason they don't allow you to connect as a normal usb host device. Plus I also don't have a smartphone either. So I wouldn't really be able to benefit from all the data it could provide. I know the Garmin 510 on my bike has the same issue, it won't allow me to use it as a host device on linux to get at the data.

But I will definitely get one that has Ant+ heart rate monitor to mate up with my Garmin 510 when cycling. What is the cheapest Polar with such a Ant+ monitor?

[vgpedlr]

But I will definitely get one that has Ant+ heart rate monitor to mate up with my Garmin 510 when cycling. What is the cheapest Polar with such a Ant+ monitor?

I'm not aware that there are any Polar monitors that use ANT+. That's why I used a Garmin for awhile, as there was no OSX software at the time for Polar data, but there was for Garmin. Things may have changed. Software that is web based may work fine across all platforms, but I like to be able to work offline whenever possible. I used the Garmin mainly to upload race data, so I could see what HR I could maintain for different durations. Race intensity is much higher than MAF, so it helped my pacing.

Then when it died, I realized that MAF training only needs current heart rate and total time, I went back to the cheapest ones I could find, since I beat the crap out of them. Also, it didn't matter between cycling and running which I trained roughly equally. But with my Leadville project, I want to experiment with a little more data collection and different training methods, and it will be more bike specific than past seasons.

[Skip]

I use a Fitbit Surge. The heart rate monitor is good, but not perfect. Sometimes it fails to track the heart rate for a couple minutes at a time. The average for the run seems accurate. It works better if you wear a wristband between the hand and the watch. It's better to wear the watch loosely while exercising.

The graphs and other data recorded on the Fitbit site are excellent.

Added: The GPS is accurate. The battery lasts from 5 to 10 hours while using GPS. A few days without. It takes about half an hour to recharge the battery.

You can program alarms every 1, 3, 5, 10, 20, or 60 minutes or every .5 or 1 mile. It will summarize pace, heart rate for the split, and distance. There is also some number too small for me to see.

You can also log splits of your choice by pressing a button.

The Surge will keep a step count for the run so you can determine your average stride length. It records calculated calories for the run.

Gershon, is that you? It sure sounds like it! I thought you said you were leaving! Anyways, your Fitbit surge showed wild eradic heart rates (big jumps and dips) from minute to minute based on the charts you supplied. So I would say that the under $40 polar is much more accurate......welcome back Old Walking/Running Man...

[Fuzzy]

Polar has a new product with wrist-based heart rate A360. Just a thought.
I use Fitbit One for my daily activities, which I love and Fitibit also has wonderful customer support.
For running, rollerblading, biking, hiking I use Polar m400. I also took it on a 40km walk this year and it did great. I think you should consider long-term use. I used two cheap Sigmas before Polar and I'm not going back. I love having gps, measurements, looking at routes I took, revisiting them even on rainy days and even when I don't dare to take my phone with me . My thinking is, if you are going to use something, it's worth the investment, paying more.

[sharonbikes]

After way too much research, I just jumped into this arena. I went with Polar because they have been in the HRM business the longest. I bought an A300 wrist fitness tracker with chest strap from Heart Rate Monitors USA and I bought the M450 bicycle computer from Polar because they will give a 25% discount to owners of older Polar HRM. You have to ask for it. I went with the A300 because it is the only HRM in the 100 dollar or so price range that does in the pool heart rate. I have had it about a month. The wrist trackers all record more steps than you actually take. My trusty OMROn pedometer is very accurate and I have been wearing both as an experiment. At the end of the day the wrist tracker shows at least 2k more steps than my pedometer. I like the. PolarFlow App, too. I have long been all about heart rate training. It's the best coach! The app has some coaching feature, but I haven't played around with them too much yet. You can't beat the polar bike computer. I haven't added the cadence sensor yet, but the bike computer part is awesome.

I looked closely at the Mio and also at the misfit shine. DC Rainmaker has great reviews!

Sharon

[sharonbikes]

Oh, and let me add, Polar does work with macs and iPhones now. I use both.

[nonstoppete]

I used a Polar monitor years ago when I first used HR training. I've been using a Garmin FR220 with the HR strap for the past year doing first Maffetone and then 80/20 training. I found the run tracking on the Garmin helpful to do MAF testing to see how I was progressing (or regressing). I also like the ability to see HR graphs integrated with Pace and elevation charts. I can create a training plan for a run and load it on the watch and it will cue me when I want to change HR zone etc.

I've been looking at the wrist based monitors because the newer watches (Apple or Garmin) give you continuous HR monitoring and activity tracking (steps) as well. I've had a few problems with the strap monitor registering very high during the first mile or late in the run. Garmin recently replaced it under warranty and it works like new. I've been very happy with Garmin support. They gave me a trade in credit on my previous watch when I bought the FR220.

The Mio is the same sensor used in the Apple Watch and the Garmin FR225. In the FR 235, Garmin is using it's own sensor.

I use the HR monitor on every run to keep my HR in the appropriate zone.

[Mober]

I have been using Polar chest strap with Runkeeper, it logs avg hr and gives you audible updates if you set up Runkeeper for it.
I'd like to have warning when I go out of target zone, as a Forerunner or dedicated device might, but this isnt a bad way if you set up audible notification in small enough increments