Welcome to The Run Testers. In this video we’re talking heart rate monitors, chest straps and arm straps. While most running watches now pack built-in optical heart rate, if you want to improve the accuracy of your running, training and recovery metrics, it pays to invest in a heart rate monitor.
Heart rate monitor prices range from £40 up to £140 and from basic BPM trackers to sensors that offer extras like tracking running form metrics.
Here at The Run Testers, we’ve tried and tested all the latest chest straps and arms straps for accuracy, comfort, connectivity and the additional features. And we’re here to help you find the one that’s right for you.
So from Garmin, Polar and Wahoo to Myzone and Scosche,
and now COROS, Here’s our guide to the best heart rate monitors you can buy right now. Including our best chest straps for accuracy, best budget chest straps and best HRM armstrap. Enjoy.
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
0:00 – Intro
0:56 – Best Chest Straps
13:07 – Best Arm Straps
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Hey people welcome to the Run testers And in this video we are talking heart Rate monitors chest straps and arm Straps Now While most running watches Now packed built-in Optical heart rate Sensors if you want to improve the Accuracy of your running training and Recovery metrics it pays to invest in a Good heart rate monitor prices will Range from £40 up to 140 even Beyond and From basic BPM trackers to sensors that Offer extras like tracking running form Metrics we've tested them all here at The Run testers we've tested and tried All the latest chest straps and arm Straps for accuracy Comfort connectivity And additional features and we're here In this video to help you find the one That's right for you so from Garmin Polar and Wahoo to myone and sco now Even coros are in on the ACT here's our Guide to the best heart rate monitors That you can buy right now including our Allrounder chest strap best budget chest Strap and best arm strap watch on to Find out which ones we [Music] Chose So we're going to kick off then with the Chest straps it's the old the favorite For some people I mean obviously some People struggle with how it feels and Fits but if you're going to go for Accuracy a chest strap is still the way
To go and out of all of the chest straps That are available out there we have Honed in on Two And we have chosen these Two because they are the ones that we Use there are go-tos and we've picked Them based on I guess Comfort feature Set but above all accuracy these are the Chest straps that we will use when we're Testing to see how they match up against Uh an optical heart rate sensor on a Watch for example so the first of those In no particular order we've got the Polar h10 Nick why is this one of our Favorite alltime chest straps well polar I guess and the polar h10 in particular Have long been almost the gold standard For accuracy when it comes to chest Straps and that that still holds true Like I do think the other strap we're Going to talk about later is just as Accurate but if accuracy is all you want Go and buy the strap it will give you Peace of mind it's exception accurate It's very comfortable I find it a really Comfortable strap this is probably the Strap I've used more than any other I'd Say for the last couple of years even Though I'm not a huge fan of this Camouflage color way I've got here You've got rarely a a strap with like a Little clasp closure instead of the hook And loop which is very comfortable Although when I sweat a lot I can get That a bit crust to assault so you have
To wash it out occasionally so basally What you get it's a very accurate strap That's comfortable for any length of Time with you know good feature set not Some of the most advanced features on The market which you get from the Garment strap we're going to talk about In a minute but in terms of the core Basics of heart R tracking it's very Hard to Beast it yeah I mean this this One is it's basically just covering that Is it it's got accuracy cut of nailed Has a 400 hour battery life on the coin Cell battery which is relatively easy to Replace and it just does that really Well it's quite simple sort of Fuster You get two simultaneous Bluetooth Connections as well which is pretty Competitive compared to the other top End chest straps but it won't do run Tracking running Dynamics bells and Whistles I mean I was glad you mentioned The class that's one thing that I really Like makes it super easy to put on and Off I actually find the the sensor part Of the chest strap is actually a bit More pliable bit more soft against the Skin some of them can be quite rigid so I really like that but overall it's just Essentially it's just been there for Accuracy this is the strap that when I've done University lab tests for Various different things you go in put You on the treadmill for your V2 Max
Test or whatever this is the chest strap That they tend to hand me so for me it's Like the scientists rely on it then it's Kind of up there yeah same I did a V2 Test recently and they gave me a polar H10 and also I like about it is that I Well the battery is easy to change I Actually changed my battery earlier Today um but you take it off at the end Of a run which does give you peace of Mind about that it's not using battery Life uh which sometimes I tend to hang My straps on a on a radiator so in the Winter they're warm when I put them on But if I forget to put the take this off Sometimes that means they are using the Battery so it's quite easy to take that Off and on obviously which helps on that Front and finally it's relatively keenly Priced really considering you know it's Not the cheapest but actually £80 in the UK roughly speaking just under $90 yeah It's not the most expensive either which I think makes it a good option yeah Always in sales as well like any sales Period cuz it's an older strap and Polar's not seen any need to replace it Which is right so it's often going to Every time there is like a Black Friday Period or anything like that you will be Able to get the h10 at a discount and Then next up we've got one that's Slightly more expensive this one from Po's major Rivals Garmin and this is the
Garmin HRM Pro Plus slightly different To the pro this one comes in just short Of £1 120 in the UK $130 and this one's a little bit more Feature Rich right so it's got the Accuracy but there's a few more bells And whistles that you're going to get With this Nick yeah it's a it's a clever Strap lots of different ways you're Getting things like running Dynamic Stats running power so the running Techniqu stats you get on this are Things like ground contact Time vertical Illation that kind of thing does running Power natively it also work on your Speed uh inside if you're using the Treadmill so getting a few extra things Here and it's also obviously very Compatible with Garmin watches so you Can use it for swimming and it will sync Up the heart rate from your swim session To the Garmin workout recorded on your watch CU Bluetooth doesn't talk to each other Underwater so it's you know it's really Designed with that in mind I think Actually is almost leans a bit towards Triathletes in that in that realm Because obviously this is a running Channel we only run but some of the Benefits you get on this you don't get Elsewhere are probably more focused on Things like swimming but for us and for Me it's a very very comfortable strap
Good uh great accuracy as accurate as The h10 I found in my testing yeah worn It for many hours don't have anything to Fce it really it's just a very solid Strap just a bit more expensive because Of those extra features yeah and I think You're right accuracy for me as well in My test has always been bang on if I Haven't got the h10 with me or whatever I'll reach for the the Garmin HRM Pro Plus to do those Benchmark tests the Other thing I really like obviously one Of the big bug Bears about Garmin was Having to get a screwdriver out to Replace the battery they've now made it Super easy to swap that out it's a small Thing but it's a major Improvement There's no sort of fuss with that I also Battery life is a little bit shorter Than the um the polar h10 I think you Probably get around about a Year's worth Of training on this one where the h10 Might go further on its sort of single Battery op connectivity is slightly Better you can have three simultaneous Bluetooth connections on the Garmin HRM Pro Plus and again I think that really Speaks to people who might have like an Indoor bike setup where you've got a few Different things that you want to speak To at once but Comfort wise it's great It's obviously got the hook clasp as Well which is slightly different but I've used this now for a long long time
And actually durability wise I think It's bearing up a little bit better than The h10 the strap seems to be a little Bit more robust for me as well yeah I Actually find the strap a little bit Like almost stretchier and more Comfortable to pull on like with the Polar once I've tightened it enough to Go around my chest it feels quite tight When I pull it on but the Garmin has a Little bit more give I'd say uh also say The change they made to the battery Thing is quite important because I Managed to break my HRM Pro when Changing the battery and with a Pro Plus You don't have to use a and that was When you I was using a screwdriver to Change it uh so I do think that is a a Good upgrade although overall if you can Find the HRM Pro in sales it does a very Similar job to this in lots of ways uh It's you know there's some modest Updates that mostly rolled back to the HRM Pro apart from the hardware thing That means you don't have to use a Screwdriver which is important because Like I say I did break my strap but I Suppose one other thing that g has done Since releasing this strap is brought a Load of the running technique stats that This measures natively to their watches So you don't actually need the straps That undermines some of those extra Features a little bit if you've gone out
And bought a new Garmin watch lately You're going to get things like vertical Oscillation and ground contact time from The watch without the need for the strap Although with older watches you'll get It from the strap and not the watch yeah And with this one you can also so you Can run with this and then sync the data Later to the Garmin Connect app direct As well so if your watch dies for any Reason you can still have your data Going flowing into the Connect app and Obviously um sort of up to stra and Whatnot as well so that's another useful Kind of thing but yeah so I think for Those those are our two if you're Looking for sort of gold standard Accuracy going to cost a little bit more But these were ensure that you're Getting good data into your watches that Feed all of those kind of recovery Insights and training insights that you Know we pay a lot of money to have them On the watches so to make them the most Accurate it's worth investing in one of These now beyond that we've also picked Some more budget friendly options that We think are interesting and the first One we've got on that list Nick is the Cuso H9 Z yeah this is a a really a I Was going to start beeping sorry I'll Put it Down yeah one one fault as it beeps During videos but um I tested this
Recently I think it's a really solid Budget strap that I tested against the H10 throughout my testing it didn't miss A beat it was perfectly accurate which You know sounds like it's always going To be the case with chest straps but it Isn't always the case I've chested some Other cheap chest straps lately and they Haven't been you know perfectly accurate And if you're going to pull a chest Strap on you do want that accuracy no Matter what you're paying and this is a Much cheaper one that has been highly Accurate for me good connectivity good Battery life it's a rechargeable battery So that is help basically I think that's What you prefer like some people prefer The Peace of Mind of a coin battery only Changing it once a year but every time You do change it I fine with the coin Battery you don't have one in the house And that's very frustrating so uh Rechargeable battery is handy because Obviously it's rechargeable you get into Like a rhythm with it uh but really I Really solid all around cusos chest Traps in general are quite impressive You're paying a little bit more for this One compared to their very cheap ones so You get that rechargeable battery and The little light that shows what heart Rate zone you're in but that's not Really necessary I think the main thing To talk about here is the fact it's a
Really reliable heart rate monitor at a Good price yeah I mean this is one of Those things where it's a it's not Saving you any money if the thing isn't Accurate it's like a waste of50 quid but It comes in £36 $45 roughly the other Thing the beeping that you rich I really Like the fact that it does beep to let You know that it's working so sometimes With some chest trps and I'm not really Sure if the battery it's the battery and The heart rate monitor that's not Working it won't connect or it's the Fact that I haven't got it wet and with The polar and the garm is a more Expensive one sometimes you're not Really sure I love the fact this lets You know that it's alive and it is Working and it should connect I think That's a real bonus yeah and also if you Take it off it and you take it off Without taking the thing out it'll be Aggressive about it so you remember to Plug it yeah I mean I think the strap's Not maybe as soft as some and that's Maybe where some of the you know the Price is going I think that you the Tracking is obviously limited to just Heart rate there's none of the bells and Whistles you don't get workout storage But if you're looking for a I guess a Good reliable accurate heart rate chest Strap then this one does it I actually Test it up against another chest strap
Which is a really expensive 400 chest strap which does um ECG on the Move it's a really interesting strap It's a bit more expensive most people But actually it matched that pretty much Beat for beat so yeah that's pretty Impressive for something that is you Know under under $50 yeah actually I would say quickly Actually this is a strap we're not going To cover in this and the reason why I Think people might ask is is the cathon Strap which I have tested recently and The keni strap and actually I didn't Find that to be reliably it was much Better than an optical heart rate Monitor on your wrist but it isn't the Standard of even the cbow for me I found I did have some Dropout so just in case You're wondering why we're not covering That that's why we praise the cbow so Highly is that it has been so accurate As a budget option speaking of accuracy As well I think you know before the h10 Maybe you know the polar H9 another good Reliable option that's cheaper offers Some of the same kind of good solid Basics as the h10 and that will come in At 5250 and around yeah just under $60 and This is on our budget list as well as a Good reliable kind of Workhorse if you Want to call it that yeah you're getting The polar accuracy here without some of
The extra features that you get on the H10 but a lot of people won't use those I probably wouldn't use those myself so Actually I'd probably starting a fresh now with All I know about heart monitors I'd Probably buy the H9 myself as a cheaper H10 because the accuracy is there and That's what I need from it and then Finally this one another interesting one And I don't really know how you Pronounce the name of this I do know It's annoy name as a writer and as a sub Editor it's got It's crack you up it's Basically four I right four i i i i i i I and it's called the Viva with four I Eyes in the middle of the Name yeah why not why not put Four Eyes In yeah I mean that's the whole that's The whole guess isn't it and this one Has got a neat little trick right yeah So this can work as an entt Bridge uh Basically to connect your entt plus Devices to Bluetooth devices which again Speaks probably much more to the cycling Community than the running Community but Yeah it's it's a pretty it's a I've not Seen this anywhere else I don't think Have you no this is the first time I've Come across it yeah and yeah that is Quite I mean actually lots of straps are Now going to Bluetooth only and in General devices are going to Bluetooth Only but like I say if I I do jump on
Swift occasionally in my garage and you You you need to you need to link up a Few different sensors having a heart Rate sensor that can Bridge your entt Devices to a Bluetooth connection is It's pretty smart I mean I really I Understood this you know almost less Than the Four Eyes in all the names but Uh it's it's pretty clever stuff yeah And that's just under £60 or just under $50 the other really interesting thing It will give you 65 hours of workout Storage as well so it's one of them that Has more kind of onboard workout storage Than a lot of others you'll get 160 Hours off the coin cell battery as as Well so that's another one to look out For particularly if you need to do that Anti Bluetooth [Music] Bridging so then we're going to move on To another category of heart rate Monitors and this one's I guess has Emerged within the last sort of three or Four years as a viable alternative to Chest straps these are the arm straps That can be worn on the forearm some of Them worn on the bicep some of them Actually move around you can even wear Them on your temple for some of them I Think there a really interesting Arguably offer a bit more accuracy than Some of the optical heart rate sensors On watches but we can get into that Nick
We have done the same here we've picked A couple of top recommendations based on The all around package and the Reliability that we've experienced in Our testing uh so first up we have the Polar Varity sense which is now I don't Know what generation it's been updated a Few times uh this one will cost you just Under 87 or just under $100 and Nick this is one of the best Arm straps we think overall for its kind Of broad feature set yeah it's it's is a Really clever strap I think is the key To this it can be worn in a few Different ways it's got a swim mode and You can attach it to your goggles uh it Could be one on the arm or the bicep I Would always say bicep with arm bands I Mean I've got very skinny forearms so I Don't really get much of an optic in Accuracy there compared to the wrist but Yeah really comfortable strap really Accurate like I've tested a couple of Generations of the VAR STS I also tested The o1 from Polar which I think is still Available but VAR sense is that it's Like better all around package in terms Of things like battery life and a strap That doesn't flip over so much on your Arm but the um VAR sense for me Basically performed really really well Against a chest trp now for most of the Time that means it would be bang on beat For beat but even when I was experienced
A little bit of lag which you do get With Optical sensors you know you might Just lag slightly behind a chest strap In terms of how quick your heart rate Rises and falls on intervals in Particular but what I would say with a Very sense is that it match the actual Rise and fall it might be just a Millisecond late so it's actually still Getting the correct heart rate data in It's just maybe not as far lightning Fast as a chest strap but overall the Accuracy I think is hard to F and you Know it is a little bit more comfortable To wear an arm strap a little bit more Convenient at certain times of the year I would say actually in the winter an Arm strap is less convenient for me Because if I don't put it on I have to Take off two layers to put it on the Upper arm whereas the chest strap you Can lift up your layers and put on but In the summer it's certainly nicer just To pop on an arm strap I think so Frustrating when you forgot to put that Arm strap on the bicep like oh now I've Got with me I particularly because I Wear about 57 layers Does the ball off it's got great workout Storage as well so he's got 600 hours of Of workout storage so that idea you can Use it sort of on its own and then syn The data later is really handy I think Another thing if you're going to run
Long long so sometimes if I go out and I'm wearing a chest strap for six or Seven hours on runs I find recently it Can sometimes it can rub and cut a bit And so if I want heart rate data from Longer training runs on the bicep it's Just a bit more comfortable it's a Little bit less interfering and yeah I Really like this there's one thing I'm Not so Keen about I'm not I don't really Like the way that you've got the Charging cradle which is like a small Thing that plugs you can plug it into USB plug it into your computer or you Can plug it into a a plug but it's it's Very losable I find which is a bit of a Problem yeah yeah the battery life is Worth noting on this because you will Charge it once and then you it'll run Out battery and you''ll lost the charger That's probably the big problem with it Um but yeah I do think it's very good uh I really like it I think probably I Think it's the best arm strap out there Because you get so many more features Compared to other on we talk about Otherwise probably prefer our second Pick um even though the very sense is That bit more feature Rich again cuz as A just a Pure Runner I don't tend to use All of the features that you get on here Like the internal storage and the um Swim mode and speaking of our second Pick this is the choros HRM one of the
Newer options out there first time corus Has made a heart rate monitor this one's Going to set you back just under 770 Just under $80 the interesting about this you can Only wear this on the bicep as far as I Understand or for the if you want to get The max accuracy they recommend wearing On the B bicep they don't suggest that You wear it on the forearm whereas the Vality sense sort of says it's open to Be worn anywhere you obviously because Of the form factor and the way the sense Are strapped in you can't put it on a Goggle clip and wear it on the temple Either so it's kind of sort of Restricted to that kind of bicep area But it's really nice and light I think The straps nice and wide and soft the Sensor itself is um Slimmer and it Protrudes less so it gets snagged on Clothes a little bit less and then again For that overall kind of accuracy Packageing my tests I found this to be As reliable as the Varity sense in the Test that I've done again maybe not Quite matching a chest strap bang on but Close enough and adding something that You don't get from an optical heart rate Sensor on a watch if you're wearing in The right position super simple got some Other clever tricks Nick like Auto on And those things I know that also comes With a downside that I'll probably let
You explain yes this strap came in and I Was kind of oh corus have done a heart Rate strap and it's my favorite heart Rate strap now I have to say yeah it's Really run me over like uh the auto Oneoff thing is you basically put it on It turns itself on and then it starts Tracking and links up to your watch you Know as previously uh set up and then You take it off and it turns itself off It's got rechargeable battery it's got Quite a long rechargeable battery life And I think it is really convenient like Obviously the downside of the onoff is Is it off I'm not entirely sure at any Time you might leak a little battery but Actually in my testing it was always off It kind of Hit the numbers suggested by Chorus I started using this trp a lot This summer it's the first summer I've Done Ultra distant runs and like kin Says when you're on those longer runs a Chest strap not only I think can be a Little bit uncomfortable I found it just Was a bit annoying when I've got a rock Zack on with those straps across the Chest so I was using the chorus for all Of the ultra runs I did this year two Ultra runs all of the ultra runs the two Ultra runs I did this Year and I thought it was unbelievably Comfortable really accurate so again I Tested it against the h10 in lots of Like track workouts interval sessions
Stuff like that again either matching it Beat for beat or a very slight amount of Lag but again the correct rise and fall Which is the key information you you get The right information on the timeing Zones and in the moment you know when I Was looking at watches throughout Obsessively I was really seeing very Tiny bits of leg I always had the right Information on my wrist really so all in All I think it's just a really well put Together bit of kit uh it doesn't have Entt connectivity but like I said it's Not a huge problem for me as only a Runner but it has got a few connections You can do from Bluetooth at once is it Two or three is it three connections it Does at once you've got three Connections on this one so that's you Know again that's pretty much at the top End of what you're going to get that's Great so I just think it's a really it's One of those devices that just works and Is easy and convenient and comfortable And just means you you get it and you go Okay well it's got all these features That every other thing has got but it Does it in a really well put together Way that makes it enjoyable and Convenient to you so it has become Pretty much my go-to if I'm not pulling On a chest STP yeah and I love not Charging stuff and the fact that it is Rechargeable makes a big difference but
You on paper you're supposed to get 38 Hours of training time that's above the 30 hours that you get on the Verity Sense it beats the sco it beats the Wahoo ticker fit option which is 30 Hours as well And yeah in my test you know I went for A 2hour run and it burned something like 4% battery life this thing you know it's Really good really reliable and it can El eat kind of most of your runs that You would do over over a month basically Yeah yeah really nice bit of Kit I would Say probably the batter difference to The polar might end up evening out a bit Because I don't know if this maybe does Stay on for a few beats after you take It off but all in all I was really Surprised by how much I ended up liking This trp I have to say Okay and then We've got a budget option in this Category as well and this one is another One from cuso Nick what have we got here Cuso annoy but yeah it's an arm strap Heart rate monitor again Fair bit Cheaper than the other options we've Talked about the choros and the polar It's rechargeable it's an armband and It's pretty comfortable pretty easy to Put on it's got a stretchy band there I've used this a lot over the last month Or so I was testing it I think again up Against chest traps like normal I think You are losing a little bit of accuracy
Here compared to the choros and the Polar sensors so that is obviously a big Worry it is definitely an upgrade on the Optical sensor in your watch and for the Most part it was very accurate but I Think you've got basically got a lot Fewer LEDs on this compared to the polar And the choros now I'm not a scientist I'm not going to say that less LEDs Automatically makes it less accurate but It was less accurate in my testing I had A few more just slightly off readings Things like that a little bit more lag But overall it was a pretty good Accuracy and certainly an upgrade like I Say on your watch and for the most part You know very accurate uh and Comfortable so you know it's not a Budget option I'm saying def you can Definitely tell the difference here Compared to the more expensive options But it is certainly good value for money And like I say mostly accurate and very Comfortable hece and then for one final This one's a sort of a bit of a left Field one and we've put this in because It's it's just an interesting piece of Kit it's probably priced a little bit Too highly arguably it's you know and This one is the myone MZ switch which Comes at40 or $160 the really interesting about this Is that it's the first chest strap ECG Chest strap Optical arm strap crossover
Where you can switch it between wearing It on your chest or wearing it on your Arms you get that full Versatility and you can wear it kind of Anywhere this was myone were the first People to do this and it has a loot of Other bells and whistles thrown in too But that was the main reason we put it In here if you want the Best of Both Worlds and you're willing to pay a Little bit higher at least in terms of Where you're able to wear it this is Something that myone MZ switch offers Yeah and and it's rechargeable it's a Very small little straps uh the actual Sensor is very small so it sits very Neatly on the chest strap and obviously Sits in the armband pretty well I think It's a really good strap like it's Really accurate for me I enjoyed using It I have nothing against you got the Myone app which obviously then turns Your effort into myone energy points and That could be a bit of a motivation but Really the problem is the price here Because you say best of both Wells but In a decent sale you're going to get the Polar you get polar h10 and the chorus HRM or the but you know you can get two Straps of the price of this both a chest And an arm strap so you can get the both Of both Best of Both Worlds that way as Well so it's it's a wild price but um a Good product good product for sure and
You're never realistically going to need To be swapping from one to the other I Don't think it you know just I'm not a Trly but in transition I'm going to go Okay now I'm done with that I'm going to Pop it on famously they famously like Taking extra time in transitions Tolet yeah I mean the price is a bit Baffling sad they made it a little bit Cheaper it would it would then be quite A good option but I think the other Thing is you know myone if you've if You've ever encountered it you're more Than likely to have encountered it as a Chest trp that you're handed in a gym Where you have all the screens up and You're using it to compete in real time To gain kind of turn your effort into Points which you know it does have that And I get why that's a popular thing it Gamifies your effort effort and so in Some gyms that's a really handy thing to Have just to say as well the battery Life is pretty solid on that you're Going to get 35 hours using the optical Arm strap and you'll get 140 hours on The chest TR that's not as good as the Top end chest TRS we talked about but Pretty competitive when it comes to the Optical arm strap that's and that's Rechargeable right sorry the 140l so That is you know great for rechargeable But obviously not matching a coin I Guess yeah and that is yeah so there you
Have it that's the myone MZ switch so there you have those are Our top picks for the best heart rate Monitors for running we hope you found It helpful if you have any questions hit Us up in the comments below we'll Endeavor to answer those don't forget to Like And subscribe and ring the bell for More great run testers videos when they Land otherwise thanks very much for Watching and we hope to see you again Soon on the Run testers happy running And good luck with whatever it is that You're trying to achieve out there go And get it
