Polar H10

Bought this to replace a crappy Garmin chest strap. So far this thing beats it every single way possible. I'll give a little bit of a comparison below as to how it stacks up to the Garmin HRM dual. 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.

I have been using a Suunto 9 Baro for a few years now. The watch is great but their HRM was not very reliable. It would loose connection or simply not connect at all and the belt, itself, would become tattered and worn quickly which, ultimately, may have been the problem all along. Replacing the belt has become impossible because they redesigned the whole system so I have sensors but no belts to use them on. I began searching for an alternative I had heard of Polar and heard their sensors can pair with many brands of watches. I found out that it works with mine and decided to buy one. I got a seamless, reliable connection and can still use the Suunto app with it. The belt is also more substantial and comfortable than the one Suunto made. If you are looking for a replacement chest-worn HRM, try the H10.

The chest strap is only warrantied for six months and fell apart after about eight. (I was unsnapping the pod to wash the strap, as the instructed by the manual, and the backing of the snap pulled out.) Polar customer service consists of a form that generates an auto-reply email that they are too overwhelmed to answer your message. After weeks, I finally received an email saying that the strap was out of warranty and that I could buy a new strap at a discount. I held my nose and did this. (Remember the sunk cost fallacy you learned about in Econ 101? Apparently I skipped class that day.) The new strap finally arrived but doesn't work — I can't pair the pod with any devices using this strap. I submitted a new customer service form, received the same auto-reply, sent follow ups, finally received a reply only after posting a query on the Polar sub-Reddit asking if anyone knew of a customer service phone number or some way to reach a human. Even a human in Bangalore. I can return the strap for repair or refund but not the pod (which does not function w/o the strap). Then I received a random email from UPS with a link to get a shipping label. It looks like a phishing scheme, and I almost deleted it but went to the UPS web site to see if the tracking number was legit. Write back to customer service to request instructions for returning and finally receive a link to register the return. (At present, am waiting *again* for how to find the required serial number for the strap, since it appears nowhere on the strap, and the website only gives instructions to find the serial number for the pod. A query to "customer service" yielded only a screen shot of how to find the serial number on the pod.) Meanwhile, it has been several months that this HRM has been unusable. Now that I have that off my chest, a few notes about functionality. The only other HRM I've ever used is Garmin's, and I wanted to switch because (until Garmin came out w this pretty pricey rechargeable HRM), the design for the battery case involved these microscopic screws that are pretty easy to strip out. The Polar H10 works about as well as the Garmin in terms of providing accurate (or at least credible) heart rates during various kinds of workouts. Sometimes I would get something really wacko, but it mostly worked. More often than I would have expected (maybe once every couple of weeks), I would have to reset the pod. It's not complicated -- involves removing the battery and holding down the contacts for 30 seconds or so -- but kind of a hassle when you want to get on with your workout. And the battery cover comes off with a coin or a flat-head screwdriver rather than the neurosurgery required for the Garmin battery cover. I'd probably give this four stars if it weren't for the customer service issues. But now I just have a non-functioning HRM sitting in the drawer while I wait around for another email from the bot.

This monitor is amazing. I had to adjust it on my chest because I was getting intermittent results. But once I got it in the right place it works very well, I am an athlete and also have heart problems, along with a pacemaker and ICD. So it's crucial that I monitor my heart since I do a lot of high intensity interval training, and Mountain biking. Along with weightlifting. And I used it for the first time this morning at planet Fitness, and when I got on the elliptical, the machine automatically picked up my heart rate on the machine! Very accurate, I wish I would have bought this years ago :-) will update my review in the future, truly amazed with this monitor, and I did contact customer service, and they were amazing as well.

I went looking and while others were really good choices too; when it comes to accuracy Polar heart rate sensors and straps are highly rated across the board, compatible with pretty much everything, and are durable. I was particularly impressed with the in-depth research and testing they do with their equipment, neutral comparisons that they make with other comparable HR sensors as well as certified medical heart rate monitoring. I started leaning toward the Polar H10 , which are the 5th generation of Polar's Heart Rate tech, which started in 1977. According to Polar's testing against medical-grade heart rate equipment and other heart rate sensors - the ECG H10 sensor detects HR within 2 ms accuracy at 92.9% for running, 99.3% for cycling, 95.3% for weight training, 95.6% for all activities combined. Amazing accuracy, and very much as good or better than the informal tests I have done of previous HR sensors and straps that I have had - my tests being comparing them to other equipment as well as manually using the old tried and true 'two fingers on the neck or wrist and a watch' method. This sensor IS quite wide and extends across a large part of the strap, this entire section is the HR sensor area. The H10 can do two Bluetooth conenctions, with ANT+ both will connect to multiple ANT+ channels and there is a proprietary GymLink connection also - which connects to some fitness devices. The H10 can be used with any device underwater. The H10 has an internal memory that can save one training session on its own and can be accessed with one of the Polar apps like Polar's Beat app. The H10 works with pretty much everything and anything that we use for fitness nowadays. Anything that receives Bluetooth (Bluetooth 4.0 and Bluetooth BLE) or ANT+ and the Gymlink 5 kHz signals. It will output Bluetooth and ANT+ at the same time and even two Bluetooth devices at the same time. This of course includes watches by nearly all manufacturers as well as nearly all bike computers (not including non-smart old-style bike speedometers/odometers without ANT+ and Bluetooth), and any smartphone. This list is extensive. The HR sensor is not rechargeable but uses the common 2025 battery, Polar says that it lasts 400 hours. One thing you may want to do to extend battery life (recommended by Polar themselves and individuals who have used it over time) is to pop up one of the sensor pod's connectors out of the strap so that it goes to sleep, I have tested it many hours after I have stopped an activity and taken off the chest strap, and sometimes it still is transmitting. So this is something to keep in mind. The battery is easy to change, via what looks at first glance to be a quarter-turn battery hatch that you turn with a coin to open but it actually is quite different, as it snaps open with a little tab. The battery door is of course sealed with an o-ring and everything seems very tight and secure. The total weight with the strap is 60 grams with the sensor pod itself being 12 grams by itself. The soft strap is very easy to put on, wet it with a little water so the sensor can get good contact with your chest skin (you can wait for a little sweat to do it for you but then the sensor may not read well until that happens). You position the sensor monitor pod itself in the front of your chest, which puts the long wide sensor strap in a very good position all across your chest. This sensor area is quite extensively wide to give you that nice accuracy. You could even position this fairly inaccurately and it may still probably work - whether you positioned it by accident or deliberately as perhaps the strap does not fit you well for whatever reason. Some people do have problems with chest straps for many reasons, so I think those who do might find this works better than other chest straps with smaller sensor areas. It even works if you get it too low or too high on your chest, within a reasonable range. There are little rubbery dots on the strap itself to keep it in place. Does this actually make it work better? I don't know, but it seems like a great idea. I have never had one move on me so I can't say whether this makes any difference to me personally, but perhaps to others who have issues with HR chest straps staying in place, it might be just the thing to help. The latch snaps into place easily with one end snapping directly into the other end, to take it off you push a button on the latch and it disengages easily. The button is slightly recessed so you never accidentally pop it off (at least I have not as yet) and also won't get squeezed even by a tight jersey or compression shirt. The strap is very adjustable, with a conventional adjustable loop system to tighten or loosen it. There are two size options for the strap when you order - XS/S and M/XXL. The smaller one covers chests 20-30 inches (58-71 cm) in diameter while the larger one goes from 30-45 inches (67-95 cm). While riding or running or lifting or anything else I can't even feel it unless I consciously make myself aware of it. The Polar H10 sensor monitor is easily cleaned with a little dish soap and water, and a quick wipe to dry it. The soft strap is also very easy to clean with soap and water, or you can put it in a washer - though I recommend using a small washer bag to keep it from snarling and getting bent around other things, and maybe air-dry it instead of using a dryer Make sure you take the sensor off first of course. The soft strap now comes in not only the standard black but a burgundy with a design on it. The H10 is fully waterproof and can be used underwater for swimming and other things, up to 30 meters deep. And you don't need your watch or phone with you for swimming or anything else, at least for one session as the internal memory can store one workout. To set this up you use the Polar Beat app so you do have to connect it to your phone first, set it up and then you can use the strap without the phone present or nearby. When you are finished you reconnect and download the sensor data to the Polar Beat app, which can upload it to a few other sites or allow a download. The Polar Beat app also can be used to keep the firmware updated, check battery power, etc. And there are a number of workouts and such that you can use it for. The Polar Beat app can also estimate your Vo2 Max, you find this in the app under Upgrades (not sure why - as it's a free option) and then under Fitness Test. It estimated mine at 49, somewhat above what other fitness services estimates mine at but very close. Also, the Polar Flow app is another app with training and syncing to other services. And of course any other device you sync it to will have it's own abilities when connected to the Polar H10. You can even test your HRV (Heart Rate Variability), which is a good test of your health and recovery. You could use this as a 24-hour monitor with the right app, I suppose, but the H10 is really meant for exercise. But if you wanted to test your HR and HRV over an extended period of time you could. I think it would be comfortable sleeping, depending on the person, but it's not really made for that and it's possible that the sensor area might dry out over such a long period of inactivity. Lastly, I was going to include some comparison charts between the H10 and other HR monitors that I have but, outside of a few dropouts by optical heart rate sensors because of arm movement - which is to be expected, they all performed within pretty much identically. I had to really go data point by data point comparisons to see much difference. So in conclusion I would very highly recommend the Polar H10 - you are not going to be disappointed in accuracy, comfort, usability, connectivity, and compatibility. UPDATE Spring 2023 - For the last few months the output has become increasingly erratic with low heart rate readings. I have tried to wash the strap as much as I could and added extra moisture to the sensor pads, and even electrode gel. Both things seemed to help for a while, yet the strap became more and more intermittent over time, despite washing and using the electrode gel. It had to be thoroughly washed in the washing machine after each use for it to have any chance of working halfway decent. Once I started biking outside a few times it went in the opposite direction and started sometimes showing super-high HR readings. I was going to send it back to Polar for warranty but it seemed obvious that it was the strap and not the sensor itself, and instead of paying the shipping cost to send it back for warranty I decided to just buy a cheap replacement strap. That did the trick and it works perfectly and reliably again. The replacement maybe isn't as nice as Polar's but the important thing is that it works, I will see what the durability is for it.

Edit: I changed my review to a four star. Took off one star only because of the app not being that great. I will leave my initial review below only for reference so anyone that thinks they have noted the same will understand that it is not a specific problem with the H10 but more an issue with how the H10 and other HRM, including Garmin communicate with your watch or Garmin Connect if you use that. Turns out this is how these HRM work, at least with Garmin watches. If you put it on and connect it to your Garmin watch, you will only see your rate from the HRM after you have started an activity. This gets confusing but this is what Garmin says: "The HRM will only connect to the watch while actively recording an activity. If you are wearing the watch and not recording an activity, the watch will still be the primary activity tracker." What this means is that you can have the HRM strap on and pair/connect it via ANT+, but when you leave that sensor pairing setting the watch will disconnect from the HRM strap and the heart rate you see anywhere on the watch will be from the wrist sensor only. THEN, if you start an activity, the strap will override the wrist and you will get the heart rate from the strap as long as the activity is still going. As soon as you end the activity, the watch goes back to using the wrist sensor heart rate. This is true only for the watch, however as if you are wearing the strap with no activity in progress, the heartrate that is synced with Garmin connect is the HRM strap, (I think). I tested this by turning off the wrist sensor while wearing the strap. I then had dashed lines in the heart rate field on my watch so no display of HR on the watch even though I was wearing the sensor. But I still got a heart rate synced to the Garmin Connect app - so that had to be coming from the strap. As soon as I start an activity, however I get a brief message that the watch and the HRM strap have connected and a heart rate starts to display on the watch, even with the wrist sensor off. I told you it was confusing and maybe a bit involved for a review but maybe the information will help someone else considering using this Polar H10 with a Garmin watch. Bottom line is that the H10 was working as well as it could and working as well as the Garmin HRO Pro Plus I replaced it with. They just do not work as well and intuitively as they should. If you are wearing and HRM Strap paired with your watch, I think that any and all heart rates displayed on the watch should come from the strap as that is much more accurate than the wrist sensor. But that does not happen. You will only see the heart rate from the strap when you are in an activity and in the records on Garmin Connect and I believe also in the Polar app. When I replaced the H10 with the Garmin HRM Pro and it was the same, I went into it in depth, testing all possible uses and the above is what I found. INITIAL REVIEW: I liked the design of the H10. Also, the strap was VERY comfortable which is good as with many others, the strap is a big complaint. The issue with this H10 was that (I thought) it would not stay connected and transmitting either in ANT+ or Bluetooth. I started out using it with a Forerunner 255S watch. It would pair and connect just fine but within seconds of leaving the pairing/settings screen and returning to the main screen or a running activity screen, the HR would drop off the display. Go back into settings and it was showing disconnected in the list of devices. But just selecting the H10 in the list would prompt it to immediately reconnect. I then tried it with the Polar App on my Samsung S22 Ultra via Bluetooth and it worked fine, staying connected and displaying an accurate HR. So, I thought maybe it was an issue with the Garmin FR 255S. I tried two other different model watches however, and it was exactly the same, it would not stay connected. After much troubleshooting online and with phone support, I had to send it back. I will try the Garmin HRM Pro Plus which is on sale here on Amazon right now. Hopefully I will have better luck staying in the Garmin universe since my watches are Garmins. Having seen a couple of older Garmin HRMs and reading reviews, I know some complain about the straps being less comfortable than the H10. We shall see. I have to say the strap on the H10 was great! If the H10 will connect and stay connected for you I think you will love it! But the whole reason for a HRM is to have consistent heart rate monitoring and recording and the H10 was not doing that. (Again, this is what I thought but I was wrong as all the straps do this where they only connect when running an activity.) Hopefully using a Garmin HRM with the Garmin watches will work. And, hopefully the Garmin strap will be OK.

UPDATE after one year: Over time, the unit started to eat through batteries MUCH faster. No idea why. As an experiment, I tried removing the battery after each use, and this solved the problem. So from now on, I just pop out the battery when I'm done, which isn't too inconvenient. You can always check the battery level in Settings, within the app. Overall, after one year, I am still very pleased with the unit. What I use this for - I’m a rower. I primarily use this with my Concept 2 rowing machine, and it connected right away with the PM5 on my machine. It also works flawlessly with Concept2’s app for this, called ErgData, which records your workouts on your phone and then uploads them to the Concept2 Logbook online. The “Polar Beat” App, and website profile - To use this HR monitor, you’ll need to download Polar’s “Polar Beat” app, and create an account which will automatically sync your workouts to your account which you can see in more detail on the website. I have an Android, I’ve had no issues with the app, and I think the overall layout is clear, user-friendly, and not too bulky. I’ve also had no connectivity issues, and RARELY ever have a loss of connection or hiccup in any readings. However, I would not trust any data related to distance or pace. As seen in my screenshot, my phone interpreted my straight path down a street as totally zig-zagged. The distance and pace is not accurate as a result. But I’m assuming this is my phone’s GPS which is wrong, and probably(?) not the app. Luckily, I am not a runner so I personally don’t care about this issue, but just pointing out that it may be an issue for some. Regarding accuracy: The accuracy of calories burned and heart rate training zones is not only based on HR, but if you know your Vo2 max and anaerobic threshold, you can input these, as well as other data, into your profile via the website to increase the overall accuracy (as seen in my screen shot). Also on the website you can analyze your individual workouts in more detail, and see a handy calendar view of them. Strap sizing - I have a 34” chest circumference. The M-XXL, when loosened to its maximum *un-stretched* length, is 35” long. When stretched, this extends to 45” or so. So if unless your chest is larger than 45”, you should be fine with the M-XXL. Also, the "turquoise" is totally BLUE in color, not aqua or greenish at all. :p Personal use and opinions - This HR monitor has quickly and completely taken my health and fitness to another level. I seriously regret not having purchased one sooner! I’m a high-intensity kinda person when it comes to exercise. I got hooked on HIIT once I tried it years ago. I never, ever used to bother with endurance stuff (long sessions with LOW heart rates), until I got this HR monitor, and I was advised that I needed to do more endurance work to increase my baseline aerobic fitness. It took a LOT of patience for me to slow down, and actually keep my HR between 130-140. Turns out I had truly never worked out at such low intensity. Despite thinking this low intensity stuff was useless, I stuck with it, and I was flabbergasted at the results. Within just a week of beginning long, steady state daily rows (45m-1hr): -my resting HR dropped by about 5 beats. -my blood pressure dropped to completely normal levels (I’m 35 with an excellent bill of health, but doctors could never understand why I had BP readings that were always high. Apparently, I just needed a little more aerobic fitness!) -and this was totally unexpected: my mental stress levels decreased dramatically. I suddenly had more patience during the day, and even better appetite control. It felt like I was taking a chill pill. And this was just after ONE week. After a month: Aside from feeling a noticeable improvement in quality of life… My pace in rowing (at the same HR) has already improved a lot since I began, which is direct proof of an improving cardiovascular fitness. Further: I recently completed a really tough hike which I hadn’t done in about 7 years. Result: it was a LOT easier this time because my HR drops much more quickly now, so I felt almost *instantly* rested as soon as the elevation would level out. Without the use of a HR monitor to control my workouts in order to properly build this baseline aerobic fitness, NONE of this would have been possible! (And by the way, the Polar Beat app recorded that entire 4 hour hike flawlessly, as my phone was tucked away in my jacket pocket with the screen off and locked, and I never had to fool with it or double-check it). Look, just buy this. Whether you’re experienced or a beginner, don’t ever, ever trust your “perceived exertion.” It is NO substitute for actual data. I wasted SO many years doing that, and robbed myself of a higher level of fitness!! To achieve fitness, you need a combo of high AND low intensity, not just one or the other. And to do this, you need a HR monitor. It’s SO simple: choose your workout and just stay in your zones! :) Hope this helps!!

The strap works great when it works. I've had it for over a year and it goes through batteries pretty quick. It claims 400 hr but no way. When I think it's the battery again, it's not. It just doesn't want to connect. This is really frustrating when you want to start your workout but are delayed trying to connect this thing and it won't. The great reviews are right after purchase, and I would give a great review too the first few months of use. I'm not sure where to go from here because it works with my concept rower when it works. I'm going to look at other options. I went through all the troubleshooting to connect and after 30 minutes it’s working again. I want to use this as it has the best accuracy. If you can put up with the Intermittent connectivity issues, it really is a great product.

Good quality product, comfortable fit, usually connects to devices quickly and works reliably.

Perfecto para hacer deporte y controlar las pulsaciones. Se complementa perfectamente con la aplicación de Polar para tener los entrenamientos guardados

mega! Idealnie pasuje do zegarka Suunto. Bardzo precyzyjne wskazania, łatwość połączenia. Nawet łączy się z bieżnią mechaniczną na siłowni :)

The chest strap is way too short even for average male. Returned and awaiting refund.

I use this with Welltory and EliteHRV. Very useful to track recovery and morning readiness. I thought the strap would be uncomfortable but can't really feel it. One issue is certain yoga poses will be uncomfortable with the device strapped across the chest.