SHOKZ OpenRun – Open-Ear Bluetooth Bone Conduction Sport Headphones, Sweat Resistant Wireless Earphones for Workouts and Running, Built-in Mic, with Hair Band, Black
Original price was: $179.95.$129.95Current price is: $129.95.
True Open Ear Headphones, Bluetooth Headphones 5.3 Sports with Smart Digital Display, 36H Playtime, IP54 Waterproof, Wireless Earbuds Lightweight Design Fit Cycling, Running,…
Original price was: $19.99.$16.99Current price is: $16.99.
Skechers Women’s Go Run Elevate 2.0 Sneaker
Original price was: $80.00.$59.99Current price is: $59.99.
JkPhoto –
I ended up buying this unit to start with. TLDR this unit ended up getting replaced with the Polar H10 instead. That is a much better unit compared to the Garmin. Here is a comparison between the two units if you aren’t sure which to buy.
The strap.
I’m a big boy at 275 pounds so I bought the larger strap to go with the unit. The garmin strap was trash. Too thin and soft and so it just rolled up with movement. The Polar strap is a little firmer though so it can better stay flat without rolling up. This is huge when it comes to comfort as when the strap rolls up it will dig into your skin a little more. The Polar strap I could probably wear all day long without issue.
The unit itself – Big win for Polar.
The Garmin unit at first wouldn’t detect my heart rate. Tried all the tricks from submerging it in water, licking the pads, getting all sweaty and then trying it. Nothing. Only way I was able to get it to work was buying conductive gel and using that on the pads. Next problem was once I started working out I had about 20-30 minutes before it quit working. What sucks is you wouldn’t know it though as it doesn’t display 0. Instead, it just keeps displaying the same heart rate that it was able to detect. This kind of sucks though as your heart rate could be very different, but you would never know.
what makes it even worse is once the unit quits working, that’s it for the next couple hours. It WILL NOT WORK no matter what you do. Dry the strap out, clean the strap and pads, apply more gel, apply less gel, dunk the strap, dry it out again. NOTHING!
Had this happen during Full Frontal 4DP test by The Sufferfest by Wahoo. Figured it was just a fluke and I’ll try again. Once again half way through the test it just quits and will not work for the next couple hours. That’s a pretty crappy deal to get half way through that test and then just have the heart rate quit working invalidating the whole test.
Figured ok maybe it’s just too much. maybe I’m sweating too much, maybe my heart rate is going wonky. Who knows. Lets just do a normal training run instead that’s hopefully not quite as intensive. Again 20-30 minutes in it would just quit. This happened EVERY SINGLE TIME for any type of ride I did. This is kind of worthless. You get through any warm up, and just starting on the actual workout at which point the unit bricks itself and won’t work for the next couple hours.
The Polar unit on the other hand worked right from the start. I have never used the conductive gel with unit. Hell I don’t even have to wet the strap down or anything. I just put it on and start riding.Don’t think I have had it actually drop out during an exercise. I have tested it though to see what would happen if it does quit detecting my heart rate by lifting up one side of the pads of my chest. This is another huge win in that if it does quit detecting your heart rate this will show 0. Very much unlike the garmin still displaying the last heart rate detected which is incorrect. Even if that heart rate was from 10 minutes ago.
The polar unit also has the ability to be used through third party apps to detect your heart rate variability and such. You can even download apps so you can actually see the electrical signal from your heart if you really wanted to though I have no way to confirm how accurate that is. It’s just the fact that Polar opens this up for use like that unlike the garmin is a huge win.
Overall I wouldn’t bother with the Garmin unit. If you are unsure which to buy, just guy the polar H10. Much better unit over all in every way.
The strap.
I’m a big boy at 275 pounds so I bought the larger strap to go with the unit. The garmin strap was trash. Too thin and soft and so it just rolled up with movement. The Polar strap is a little firmer though so it can better stay flat without rolling up. This is huge when it comes to comfort as when the strap rolls up it will dig into your skin a little more. The Polar strap I could probably wear all day long without issue.
The unit itself – Big win for Polar.
The Garmin unit at first wouldn’t detect my heart rate. Tried all the tricks from submerging it in water, licking the pads, getting all sweaty and then trying it. Nothing. Only way I was able to get it to work was buying conductive gel and using that on the pads. Next problem was once I started working out I had about 20-30 minutes before it quit working. What sucks is you wouldn’t know it though as it doesn’t display 0. Instead, it just keeps displaying the same heart rate that it was able to detect. This kind of sucks though as your heart rate could be very different, but you would never know.
what makes it even worse is once the unit quits working, that’s it for the next couple hours. It WILL NOT WORK no matter what you do. Dry the strap out, clean the strap and pads, apply more gel, apply less gel, dunk the strap, dry it out again. NOTHING!
Had this happen during Full Frontal 4DP test by The Sufferfest by Wahoo. Figured it was just a fluke and I’ll try again. Once again half way through the test it just quits and will not work for the next couple hours. That’s a pretty crappy deal to get half way through that test and then just have the heart rate quit working invalidating the whole test.
Figured ok maybe it’s just too much. maybe I’m sweating too much, maybe my heart rate is going wonky. Who knows. Lets just do a normal training run instead that’s hopefully not quite as intensive. Again 20-30 minutes in it would just quit. This happened EVERY SINGLE TIME for any type of ride I did. This is kind of worthless. You get through any warm up, and just starting on the actual workout at which point the unit bricks itself and won’t work for the next couple hours.
The Polar unit on the other hand worked right from the start. I have never used the conductive gel with unit. Hell I don’t even have to wet the strap down or anything. I just put it on and start riding.Don’t think I have had it actually drop out during an exercise. I have tested it though to see what would happen if it does quit detecting my heart rate by lifting up one side of the pads of my chest. This is another huge win in that if it does quit detecting your heart rate this will show 0. Very much unlike the garmin still displaying the last heart rate detected which is incorrect. Even if that heart rate was from 10 minutes ago.
The polar unit also has the ability to be used through third party apps to detect your heart rate variability and such. You can even download apps so you can actually see the electrical signal from your heart if you really wanted to though I have no way to confirm how accurate that is. It’s just the fact that Polar opens this up for use like that unlike the garmin is a huge win.
Overall I wouldn’t bother with the Garmin unit. If you are unsure which to buy, just guy the polar H10. Much better unit over all in every way.
Stevie H –
I had a Wahoo and was quite disappointed in the battery life and reliability(it worked and then did not work and the HR varied inconsistently when reading).
The Garmin HRM has been flawless… No battery issues, automatically pairs to my Edge 530 and is very consistent during cycling… Does exactly as described, can’t say that for the Wahoo(which is now in the trash).
JC –
Es el segundo que compro. Realmente funciona muy bien, lo compre en promoción esta vez, realmente vale el precio, es práctico a la colocación y muy cómodo de usar.
OfficialPouya –
The HRM Dual Heart Rate Monitor is fairly more accurate than the one my Apple Watch. The monitor also pairs easily with my watch. The chest strap is adjustable and feels comfortable while running. The transponder it self is small, light, and well built. I recommend this to anyone who would like to have a more accurate reading of their heart rate while running, walking, or biking.
Chris Abraham –
I just received my new Garmin HRM-Dual heart rate monitor chest strap from Amazon today and took it directly to spin class at CYCLEBAR Columbia Pike. I love it! It’s exactly what I needed.
It supports dual Bluetooth signals and also ANT+. Now I don’t need a series of Garmin 010 10997 00, Polar H7, and Scosche Rhythm+ straps to combine together to connect to the Concept2 PM5, the iPod Touch, the Garmin 920xt, and even the Keiser M3 and the Schwinn spin bikes at CYCLEBAR. Technically-speaking, the HRM-Dual transmits real-time heart rate data over ANT+ connectivity and dual BLUETOOTH Low Energy (LE) technology
The new Garmin HRM-Dual heart rate monitor chest strap replaces them all. Don’t pay attention to what DC Rainmaker says about this strap with regards to it being just bundle-fodder, this is the strap I have been waiting for. Yes, maybe the Wahoo TICKR through TICKRX are better value at the low end ($50) and offers more functionality like memory at the high end ($80); however, I will never use the Wahoo app nor will I ever need the memory feature. While the baseline TICKR does offer the same functionality at $20 less, it’s no a Garmin, its battery lasts 1/3 as long, and what’s $20 over the next decade that I’ll probably be using it on all of my machines and devices.
Other than that DC Rainmaker did an amazing review both on his site and on YouTube.
I also prefer the electrical (ECG) heart rate monitors over optical (PPG) heart rate monitors. While they both work, I have deep veins and so sometimes the optical heart rate monitors are either delayed or they can get lost for a few seconds. While the ICG monitors, such as the HRM-Dual, require moisture to make a solid connection with the pulse and heart rate, I keep a tube of Spectra 360 Electrode Gel next to my Concept2, which seems to work.
Yes, it is more expensive than the competition but the battery lasts 3.5 years and it’s Garmin and when you think about it, if it replaces everything, even spin class, the rowing ergometer, the SkiErg, and my watches and bikes, then I’m good to go.
I had been using both a Polar H7 around my chest and a Scosche Rhythm+ optical heart rate monitor that I wore on my arm. The Polar H7 supports Bluetooth and the Scosche Rhythm+ supports ANT+.
So, I’m pretty psyched about it. It worked perfectly with my watch and my Schwinn Blue Carbon spin bike without a hiccup; however, the signal is pretty strong so my neighbor cyclist recorded my ANT+ signal on her monitor while she was riding as well. I mean, that doesn’t matter much to me—and most riders at CYCLEBAR don’t seem to wear heart rate monitors—so I’ll see how it works out over time.
I needed a heart rate monitor that tracked ANT+ and Bluetooth, preferably more than one channel of Bluetooth LE. I am always either on a Bluetooth-enabled device or on an ANT+ device. Often, like at Spin class, I needed both at once and wore two heart rate monitors: first, two chest straps (awful) and then a chest strap and an arm strap. That was OK but the arm strapped required nightly charging and I am not 100% sold on optical heart rate monitors for anything more than my activity tracker. So, when DC Rainmaker reviews the brand new electrical (not optical) heart rate strap that Garmin released, I ordered it right away. It wasn’t even shipping yet. When it arrived, I brought it right to Spin class and it worked. The only down side, maybe, is that the signal for the Garmin HRM-Dual is strong enough that the machines around you might pick up your heart rate. Either the lady next to me at spin class and I were heart-rate synced or her Schwinn was also displaying my HR. But that’s not a bad thing. I assume that if the person next to me had a strap, its closer proximity might override mine. Maybe? One more possible downside is that the strap hooks with the same sort of bra-like hook and loop closure like the Polar H7 has, which can start to become less reliable as the strap gets older and a little more stretched out, instead of a proper clip or the sort of snap-button based attachments that the Wahoo TICKRs have (a nice feature) or the plastic clips, similar to what that old-timey-but-cheap Garmin 010 10997 00 heart rate monitors had.
Sanny Maura Leite Santos –
It works very well, I use it while doing sports and cycling, I am satisfied
Very Good One –
Como todo lo de garmin, funciona a la perfección.
RTSea15 –
I used the HRM for about 6 months and it was great, worked with the Polar and Strava apps, easy to clean, good price, etc. Then one day it just stopped pairing. I could see the HRM on all of my devices, but there was no way to sync it to any of the apps. I reset all of my apps, tried new devices, changed the battery, nothing worked. Then months later I randomly came across a thread online that said the polarity of the strap/device may occasionally need to be reset. To do this, remove your battery and then re-insert it backwards for about 10 seconds. Then change the battery, screw everything back on and it should sync. It took me two tries to get this to work and I had to change to a new battery (even though the one in it was less than 2 months old). I don’t recall reading about this troubleshooting method in any of the manuals nor did I get this advice when I emailed Garmin for help. Anyway, I’m pleased that it works again and I don’t have to send it to the landfill. Hope this helps.
ignacio godinez –
ótimo produto, de boa qualidade
Chris Abraham –
I bought this to use for indoor cycling with a bike app on my iPhone. No connectivity issues and overall works really well. I am really happy with it.
Also if you’re petite like me (measuring 27.5 inches around my chest, just under the sternum), it fits perfectly and I find it very comfortable. I even can make it even smaller if needed. I was worried that it would be too big for me.
This is my first time using a heart rate monitor and did have a little bit of issue with the set up at first, but this was an issue with me rather than the product. So if anyone is having difficulties, here are a few tips that may help you. Before I could connect/find the heart rate monitor on my bike app, I had to first connect it to the blue tooth on my iPhone. After that, I can select/connect it to my bike app. I have to do this every time I use the bike app.
The other issue that I was having was getting my heart rate monitor to stay connected. I realized that I didn’t wet the electrodes/contact patches on the back of the strap enough (like it shows in the Garmin HRM dual heart rate monitor tutorial). I was previously dabbing water on the contact zones instead of fully immersing them in water. Now, there is no connectivity issues at all, wears comfortably, and stays fully connected for my entire workout (I usually cycle for around 1.5 hours).
A tip I learned about battery life. I saw a YouTuber talk about disconnecting one of the buttons of the heart rate monitor to preserve the battery life when not in use. Not sure how much of this makes a difference, but it looks like a good tip.