Polar 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'm darn near 60 and recently was diagnosed with A-fib. Nothing super serious but none the less... I had been wondering if I could trust the heart rate monitor on my fruit watch (optical) and decided I needed to try something different. I should say, the Polar H9 nor the fruit watch are able to accurately detect A-fib. I read reviews an read reviews and decided the Polar H9 would be what I need. If I didn't care for it, I could give it to someone and not be out a gob of money.Well, I'm keeping it. I like it but there are a few quirks. 1 - It feels a tad odd when it's on you. Wear it snug so it works well and doesn't slip around on you while exercising. I'm sure I'll get used to it in time. Once I get it on and wet the contacts (I'll get to that) I don't notice it. The longest I've run with it on is 4 miles. It did not bother me at all while running. Quirk 2 - you have to wet the area under the strap where the contacts are so it reads accurately. I did try it out without wetting it and it worked fine. I sweat a lot so It got damp fairly quickly. Quirk 3 - Pairing. When you want to pair the device PAIR IT WITH THE APP NOT YOUR DEVICE. I paired it with my phone and then tried to pair it with my watch. Nope. I downloaded Polar Flow and it didn't work. I then recalled something I read in a review about Polar Beat. I unpaired the Polar H9 from the phone and watch and deleted the Polar Flow app and downloaded Polar Beat. I did pair it with my phone through the Polar Beat App. Now, I did not see those instructions with the device. All was good finally. Can you pair with Polar Flow? Darned if I know since I got it to work with Polar Beat. I may try it later and if so, I'll update this. But for now I'm sticking with the Beat.The battery life is supposed to be 400 hours on a single coin cell battery. We'll see. If that's true, that should last me a while. I don't think I'm going to get more than 6 - 8 hours of use a week so it'll last about a year. Maybe when it warms up I'll use it more so we'll see.Oh, the instructions indicate you should rinse the strap out after each use. Probably very good advice or this thing will get stinky and crusty and not last as long.And regarding the accuracy of this monitor vs the fruit watch, they are very similar. That actually surprised me. I'm still learning the Polar Beat App so I can't really speak to what you can and can't do with it yet.If things go sideways, I'll edit this review. Cheers and keep moving.

No matter what I tried, moistening the strap, changing positions of the sensor, disconnecting the sensor from the chest strap while not in use, changing batteries, and using different apps, this heart rate monitor constantly failed to accurately demonstrate my heart rate. Using the Polar flow app, it graphs heart rate during the exercise period. Every time my heart rate was peaking (above 120 I'm 70) It would stop registering and even decrease. I walk the same hills and course every time. As I started a grade, my HR would begin increasing 90-95-100-106 then flatten or decrease even though I was increasing my speed or reaching a greater grade. I have sessions recorded and in each the recording show an increasing rate and then flat line or decrease until some arbitrary time it would resume, always after finishing the hill. I have researched everything I could find to resolve this issue with no luck. In my years past, I have used Polar chest straps with wrist mounted display and never had an issue. As a final note, the return window is only 30 days with this product and I find others who experience similar problems.

I use my Polar strap every AM upon waking and then after exercise. It has helped me understand how my HRV fluctuates when I’m rested and then after a good cardio workout. I am learning a lot about my capacity to recover from both cardio, walking and weight training.