H9 Heart Rate Sensor

The strap sucks. If you have no lats, maybe it won't slide down your body as you run. But for those of us with big lats, you have to modify this thing. You can either modify the strap, or buy the $40 Polar Pro chest strap (you’ll have to replace any strap you get probably every 6-12 months so keep that in mind). I haven't tried the outrageously-priced Polar Pro but it's the only one on the market that has grips all the way around the strap, not just in the front. The chest strap can be easily modified as follows: Buy one of the "zig zag silicone grip wave bands" you can find online, and sew it (or use fabric glue or something) to the inside of your Polar chest strap and it actually stays in place while running! Just make sure you get the strap customized to your underchest first, and give yourself some space for the inevitable long-term loosening of the strap (you might need to tighten it gradually over time). Without the extra grip, you have to find the perfect balance through much trial and error between too tight and too loose. Too tight, and it creates a little cavity where the electrodes are between the strap and your chest (so it gives you terrible readings, if any). Too loose, and it falls down to your waist. I also found that using a small dab of electrode gel on each of the two electrodes on the back side of the chest strap (enough to cover just the two circles on the strap where the strap touches your chest) makes a huge difference in getting a consistent, accurate, read. Don't use water, it just doesn't work nearly as well. I love the Polar Beat app it comes with! It was the best free app I could find for Android for a heart rate monitor. I'm sure there are probably better paid ones out there but I didn't try any of them so can't attest. The Polar Beat app gives you a graph at the end of your workout that shows your heart rate over time, and tells you how many minutes and seconds you spent in each of the 5 heart rate zones (50%-60% of max heart rate = zone 1; 90-100% = zone 5). It has certain modes that track your GPS location for accurate maps of your runs/rides and the app will tell you every mile when running how long your mile took, your pace, and average heart rate. I've never used it for a bike ride. It also tracks calories very well and whenever it doesn't get an accurate read, it does a pretty good job "guessing" (better than the old Polar Watch I have). If I start my workout on the Polar app first, THEN start the workout on my Polar watch, it will let me use both to track my workouts which is great. That way I can leave my phone in my gym bag while running around the track, and use the watch instead to track % of max heart rate. It's also nice when using my phone for anything else while I'm doing a HIIT circuit or on the exercise bike, that way I can just look at my watch to see my stats. I don't have a smart watch so can't comment on how it works with that. I think you might need to get the latest and greatest to pair it to two or more smart devices at once. But this one works perfectly for one smart device and one dumb device.

I've only owned this for about 2 months now, with about 3 - 4 hours of intense sweat contact per week. But my impressions so far it's better than Garmin HRM Dual that lasted around 1.5 year with similar use pattern. The Garmin had noticeable corrosion on metal contacts, the metal buttons on strap was separating, would drop connections frequently towards end of life, and the ultimate failure points around screws on plastic unit seemed to be a silly design flaw. Unless the Garmin was a case of planned obsolescence, in which case kudos to that Garmin engineering team, it was an inferior product compared to the Polar. The Garmin failed because the thin plastic pieces beneath the tiny screw heads cracked and crumbled away so back cover could not hold battery in place. Seal was broken and the internals corroded to failure. All those weak points on the Garmin seem to be addressed on the Polar. In addition, the Polar actually pairs better with my Garmin products more quickly, consistently, and easily without having to wet the strap when I first put it on. Polar strap is a little narrower but for me its more comfortable because of softer elastic fabric. Minor downsides, the Polar strap loop and hook is not as robust and easy to use and narrower strap sometimes gets a little bunched up.

I went ahead and got this based on the reviews I saw and beside it was on sale. It wasn’t worth the $50 I spent on it. I’ve used for a couple of months now and at first it gave me a more accurate calorie burn and heart rate trend than my watch, and I was happy to have it to compare to. Suddenly, it’s not giving me heart rate or calorie count because it keeps disconnecting. I have tried all the of the recommendations to fix it and it hasn’t done anything. Love that it happens outside of the return window by just a little over a month. Don’t waste your money, spend a little extra for a better brand. I’m just going to call it a sunk cost and get a Garmin.

I had tried to find an acceptable solution to monitor my heart rate while using my home elliptical machine. My prior Polar strap connected well to my Precor elliptical and to equipment @ 24 Hr Fitness. Then the heart monitor function on my Precor became erratic and unreliable-although the machine still performed other functions like raising and lowering. I tried various forms of fitness trackers-and off brand Bluetooth straps-that supposedly connect to multiple fitness apps, but ended up returning them all. I have used Polar equipment in the past when I used to run-but found the strap watch combo marginal in reliable performance. I am happy to report that this device worked perfectly-with the Polar Express fitness app-right out of the box-it connected immediately on my Android devices. I used the app function itself to make the connection-it was immediate, smooth and reliable. I use the most simple of the many functions available on this app-and get a great amount of summary information at the end of my workout. I can recommend this Strap/App for the heart rate monitor function unequivocally-I would be very optimistic about its other/myriad functionalities. The app is the performance key-the strap is the connection key.

So far so good, there was only one sweaty sesh so far the readings kept getting cut off, maybe it was moving around too much. I which the app it self was better but I’m sure there are other apps to connect to

My 13 year-old FT4 monitor was losing beats and quitting before the workout was over, so I sought to replace the H1 sensor that came with it rather than buy a new watch. It didn't surprise me that these were no longer supported. But the H9 is totally backward-compatible, no pairing required, just snap it on and get to work. Kudos to Polar.

I have been using this strap for over a year to monitor my heart rate on runs and bike rides, and it has worked flawlesly throughout. I've only changed the battery on it once during this time when I noticed that it would not connect to my bike computer. I personally have never had the band slip or shift off my chest. Once you pair it to your watch or bike computer, it's remarkably simple to use - just put it on and it automatically turns on and starts transmitting to whatever device you have. When you take it off, it automatically powers down. There is no on/off indicator light, but I found that it's not needed, and would likely just waste battery.

This chest strap monitors heart rate better than a wrist device, with greater accuracy and a little bit faster reading. it is not noticeably better or different from a very cheap ANT+ only sensor such as those produced by COOSPO. The three stars is for very frustrating but fixable connectivity issues. If the ANT+ capability is enabled, expect extraordinarily intermittent connectivity, and repeated disconnection in the middle of a session, often resulting in losing heart rate during a given event. you will only be able to disable the AT&T plus connection via the Polar app. But then it should not engage if you are using Garmin, Strava, Erg, etc. In use with Erg, make sure you only connect to one device, example connect to your wrist Garmin, and not your rower, or connect to your rower only. If your Garmin has the H9 in memory from a different type of event, e.g. Running, it will attempt to auto connect in the midst of an event posted on a different platform such as ERG, and cause loss of heart rate in one or both. Never saw complaints like this for the H6/7 but 9/10 are rampant. If the polar app or other things attract you to this product, perhaps it's worth it, otherwise, the cheaper varieties do about the same job or better without some of the hiccups and are far cheaper, roughly half the price. Fix the ANT+/BT issues and it's 4 stars, fix the "memory of devices and disconnecting from one platform midsession" and it's 5

Verbindet sich sofort mit ANT+ und Bluetooth, egal ob mit der Uhr oder Trainings-App. Die Messwerte sind konstant genau, auch bei intensiven Einheiten. Der Gurt sitzt angenehm und rutscht nicht. Für mich das beste Brustband in dieser Preisklasse.

Does it’s job. Simple setup and straightforward to use . Have been using for more than a month and has worked flawlessly. Mainly used while cycling and a few times for brisk walks. Heart rate readings are consistent without drop outs

Ho comprato l'H9 poiché costa meno dell'H10 e per quello che ci devo fare va più che bene. Provato sul campo, funziona alla grandissima. L'ho usato per registrare l'andamento cardiaco in vari test, diversi tra loro: dal classico yoyo test, quindi corsa, a test per atleti di arti marziali (taekwondo). Funziona benissimo. Le funzionalità che ha in più il fratello maggiore (H10) a mio avviso sono inutili per il 99% delle persone che utilizzano amatorialmente questo tipo di prodotto o comunque non sono in grado di capirle e leggerle a dovere. Le rilevazioni dell'H9 sono fantastiche, oltre che la precisione di rilevamento, con le app giuste si può avere traccia persino dell'HRV. Questo giusto per sottolineare la potenza del dispositivo, ma ancora una volta, se non sapete che cosa sia o come si legga, non ha nemmeno senso usarlo. L'unico punto che un atleta o preparatore potrebbe davvero indirizzare l'acquisto di un H9 o H10, è la memoria interna. Ci sono sport o momenti in cui il collegamento con il cellulare o la possibilità di utilizzare uno smartwatch adatto non è fattibile e lì entra in gioco la memoria interna. Se nel vostro sport non vi muovete molto nello spazio o sé portarvi dietro il telefono è sempre possibile, l'H9 ha il 100% di validità per voi. Se invece avete lo smartphone non è possibile o difficoltoso e/o se il collegamento rischia di interrompersi, allora l'H10 è più indicato. Penso in particolare a sport come il nuoto, per cui l'acqua può fare da schermo al telefono (magari però avete uno smartwatch e il problema non si pone). Oppure anche all'arrampicata sportiva, dove avere il telefono non è sempre possibile o banalmente l' altezza e/o la roccia che fa da schermo inficia il collegamento. Personalmente facendo anche arrampicata sportiva su roccia (non boulder) mi sono trovato a dover restituire l'H9, proprio perché il collegamento su interrompe spesso e non possiedo uno smartwatch. Ne avessi avuto uno lo avrei tenuto senza alcun dubbio. Per tutto il resto, taekwondo, pesi, corsa, telefono+H9 funziona alla grandissima (e si capisce dopo pochissimo tempo quanto il plus dell'H10 sia veramente superfluo a chiunque). La fascia dell'H9 è molto buona, non scivola, facile da far aderire e aggiustare. La chiusura è diversa dalla fascia pro, ma è (s)comoda allo stesso modo. Sinceramente tutta questa differenza non la vedo, anzi.. Ricapitolando, se vuoi un cardiofrequenzimetro ottimo e non hai particolari esigenze sulla funzionalità, l'H9 è perfetto e ti fa risparmiare 20-30€. Se invece per qualsiasi motivo ti ritrovi ad allenarti senza la possibilità di portare il telefono \smartwatch o se devi nuotare, allora l'H10 è l'unica opzione, poichè può registrare un allenamento. ps in tutto questo sono convinto che l'H9 non sia altro che un H10 con limitazioni via software.

Product is as described and works ok. It works 100% accurately with the paired Polar watch. It also works with gym fitness machines equipped with Bluetooth technology for HR reading (e.g. Life Fitness treadmill), but for some reason approx. after first 10 minutes of training, the HR indications on the machine start jumping up and down. I could not figure our why.

Les informations sont claires et précises. Excellent outil pour s'entraîner de façon cadrée. MAIS il faut choisir le modèle avec la boucle de sécurité avec poussoir plat à insérer (formes rectangulaires). Le système à crochet comme celui-ci saute tout le temps et la ceinture se détache très vite. J'achète les bonnes ceintures à part du capteur. Evidemment cela revient plus cher mais sans ça je ne sais pas travailler.