![]() ![]() This is without digging into the rest of the feature list, which includes offline playback for Spotify, GPS tracking, sleep monitoring, Garmin Pay and the ability to track more types of exercise than you even knew existed. Garmin’s Training Effect (used to guide you on when to train and rest), heart rate variability, VO2 Max and other estimates all lean on the optical sensor and help you develop a much clearer overall picture than you receive from just a strap. Outside your training, heart data is used for other measurements. It can be used for swimming, since the design is waterproof, but you’ll need to pair with a Garmin chest strap to receive reliable heart rate figures from underwater. The Forerunner allows you to train easily in heart rate zones through alerts, as well as broadcasting that data to other devices using ANT+. Its heart tracking package is much more than just beats-per-minute. It didn’t quite manage to report large heart rate fluctuations in the same speedy manner as the straps, but, generally, the data matched up very favourably. The triathlete-focused watch harnesses Garmin’s Elevate algorithm, finishing as the most accurate wrist-based heart rate monitor in our test. If you’re a heavy trainer interested in having a heart monitor in a watch, the Garmin Forerunner 945 (£500) should be your top consideration. Price: £65 | Check price on Amazon | Polar | Wiggle Pros: Very accurate comfortable excellent battery life Cons: No dedicated running or cycling metrics So, even if you’re an aspiring Olympian, we’d wager you probably won’t need to hunt down a replacement for at least the first year of owning this chest strap. Polar estimates you receive around 400 hours of tracking action before needing to replace the CR2025 battery. Unlike a watch, you won’t need to charge the H10, either. For swimmers and triathlete enthusiasts, the swim-proof design and 5kHz transmission (required for it to still be able to transmit data from underwater) makes this the top option for those planning to take dips in the pool, too. If you already have a turbo trainer, for example, you can connect to both this and a GPS watch in the same session. The ANT+ connection means you’re not just limited to linking over Bluetooth. This means you don’t have to take your phone with you when working out - you can simply start workouts in the Polar Beat app then sync it when you’re back home. The handiest feature is the built in memory, which can store data for one session - although Polar doesn’t specify the maximum time a session can be before running out of memory. This is down to Polar’s buckle-style lock, which is slightly more secure than the loop-and-hook connector found on rival straps. That may not sound like a big deal, but having a wobbling band can seriously interrupt the flow of an exercise you don’t want to stop every 4 minutes to tighten it around your ribs, after all. It’s not just the most accurate of the devices we tested - suffering no glaring drop-outs or under/over-reporting - during our test runs, indoor cycles, strength training and interval sessions, it’s also the most comfortable chest strap of the trio, too. The Polar H10 (£65) chest strap ticks all the boxes required to be a top-tier heart rate monitor. ![]()
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