Any Android smartwatch?
Any Android smartwatch?
I liked the Fossil Neutra and then saw it's from Texas, so... My research started. A quick glace through a search engine didn't return anything... Hence, I'm asking you
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This page lists a bunch of brands you could look into, can't recommend something in particular since what I have myself is also American.
Can't speak about their smartwatches but the Polar heart rate chest strap I have is a total piece of crap that I haven't gotten to work once, mainly because they cheaped out on actually putting some sort of switch in there to turn it on and instead you need to somehow hope it picks up on the fact that it is on your body and enables bluetooth on its own. All while not having a proper rechargable battery. Oh, and you need to make sure the sensor contact with the skin is a bit wet too while you are at it.
I have used many such chest straps, and that applies to all of them.
And I'm sorry it doesn't work for you, but my Polar H10 works. Which is now a decade old because I can replace the battery, instead of having a built in rechargeable battery that makes the whole thing disposable...
Good point about replaceable batteries having a positive side in that regard.
I've used a Polar H10 extensively and am very happy with it. The specific model is hands down the best regarded hrm for accuracy. It's the only model I have experience with so I don't know whether other / older models are equally reliable. (Apart from the H9 which is basically the same device with a different strap)
On the off chance this helps:
The strap is switched on when the module is connected to the strap. It's switched off when you disconnect at least one of the connectors.
Initial pairing should be done with the Polar Flow app with your phone. You can manage the strap's settings from there and see the battery status among other things. E.g. turn ANT+ and bluetooth on or off.
Yes, it's supposed to connect to your sportswatch automatically when you strap it around your chest. At least if you've paried them. For my fenix you do this from settings "add sensor".
Iirc I get "sensor battery low" notifications on my watch. It's hard to remember because the battery lasts such a long time (even when on a marathon training cycle). It's been a while since I've had ro change it. Not that I wouldn't prefer a rechargeable device.
The H10 is precisely the one I am talking about. I did use that app and could barely get it to show up a few times for 30s in the app in several hours of trying with dozens of times of removal and re-pairing before I gave up in disgust.
Interesting. Only options that come to mind are a faulty device or inefficient contact between the strap and skin. During colder months I wet my fingers under the tap and swipe the strap and my chest before putting it on. Otherwise it would take ages to build enough sweat for reliable contact during my run.
I mean it could be other things too but those are a bit harder to diagnose. Well apart from using the wrong battery (many fit but the slimmer ones don't stay put).
I'm pretty confident swapping it under the warranty would probably have fixed the situation. Don't know if that's still an option for you.
I suspect from other comments I found about it online that it is a design that fundamentally does not take the existence of body hair into account, much like pretty much all the other details about the device are flawed (no indicator if it is on or battery indicator, no rechargeable battery, no switch to turn it on, difficult to put on and take off, reliance on wet skin,...). People also reported it cutting out after 30-40 minutes of use. I have no real interest in babysitting a device while I am exercising, especially one that literally has one job.
You sound like someone who's never used a HRM before. Chest straps are simply the HRM design that's been around the longest, and is the most accurate and responsive.
All chest straps have exactly the same limitations if they don't work for you or your use case I'm sorry to hear that. You bought the wrong product, and a different vendor would have made no difference at all.
Just wash it well and resell it on eBay, I'm sure you can recoup a good fraction of your loss.
By now also the LED based readings, which you get from either a wristwatch or an armband seem to have reached a decent level of performance, so that may serve you better.
You seem to be unfortunate enough not to be in its target demographic but that doesn't make it flawed.
As electrical conductivity is essential for the proper function of this hrm strap as much as it is with any other model or brand, it hardly makes it the problem of this specific device. Hair, dry skin, it's the same problem and has to do with how the technology works on these kinds of straps.
Furthermore none of the features you mention, from a physical power button to a battery indicator exist in any hrm strap I've seen. In other words you would regard a similar strap from any other brand equally as bad.
Why should it rely on electric current then? Because compared to measuring heart rate optically, it's far more accurate. They also work much more reliably under water.
As to the cut outs you mention, that is simply anecdotal and in this instance third hand information. Not to say it's not true, just saying it's impossible to put something like that into perspective. There are faults with all devices and without reliable statistics of return rates or failures it's not particularly fruitful to form a view based on that kind of evidence.
In all fairness, perhaps using the in-built optical hrm on your watch just is the best option for you.
There's also armband hrms which are optical but iirc somewhat more reliable than wrist based ones. For instance the Polar Verity Sense and OH 1. They even have rechargeable batteries and a physical button.