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Backcountry Skiing app : Heart rate monitor does not work

Mykeee

Hello,

I have a Fenix6 X Pro and i have an issue with the backcountry Skiing app.

When i'm using this app, Heart rate monitor does not work. The monitoring logged during the activity stay very low and does not indiquate my real Heart rate.

I was thinking that it was due to the cold temperature and the fact that we grip the poles as indicated on Garmin documentation but i think that it's an app issue : 

I'm recorded evert days my commuting trip with the eBike app. The Heart rate monitoring works well with this app. Today i have tried to record my commuting trip with the backcountry Skiing app and i can see that the Heart rate monitoring is not correct and stay very low. Hereafter my heart rate monitoring on the same trip rided with the same intensity recorded with eBike app on pic1 and backcountry Skiing app on pic2.

Does anybody have the same issue? Is it a setting on thé backcountry app?

I'm very disappointed because backcountry app was one of the main reason that make me chosen the Fenix6.

Thanks.

  • 0 in reply to 5297075

    Thanks for the Update. I must say, I am very disappointed about that feedback by Garmin. Using the mountain bike app worked for me on my last ski tour. However, I bought a watch to use for backcountry skiing and mountaineering and I would expect, that for the amount of money spent that all functions work appropriate. I would also recommend not using a HRM strap to near to the avalanche beacon. No idea if there is an interference but I would not want to test it in an emergency situation. 

  • 0 in reply to Pierrotsc

    Wearing a HRM strap is fine if you're not wearing an avalanche transceiver.

  • 0 in reply to Niterider4

    Thanks for the hint. Works well enough. There is a clear difference between XC ski and MTB heart rate measurement – tried it today. 

    There has been a lot of frustration not knowing this issue, as I was thinking my Fenix 7X has a bad/flawed OHR sensor.

    You pay for the flagship, yet completely unaware of the known software issues. 

  • 0

    I would love to know if anyone has tried the backcountry skiing activity with the 25.00 firmware update.

    Apparently, the 25.00 firmware allows for the automatic detection of ascent and descent, although someone on the beta forum said it didn't work for them.

    What I would really like to know is if the firmware update fixes the broken WHR for skiing activities.

    I'm going on a week-long backcountry ski trip in a few days, and I do not want to use the backcountry ski activity if it's still broken.

  • 0 in reply to Niterider4

    I don’t have the update but everything I have read indicates it is not fixed and the auto-detection is garbage. It’s beyond me why Garmin would do add new functionality that nobody asked for while the app is fundamentally broken to begin with.

    I went on a 13 mile, 3,000 vert gain tour on Saturday and my average HR was like 105bpm. Was just annoyed the whole time. My fitness score is just stuck on either Recovery or Maintaining.

  • 0 in reply to Niterider4

    I have 25.00 installed and did a backcountry ski tour Saturday. Max heart rate 121. So definitely not fixed. 
    No idea whether it switches between climbing and descending as I am not interested in that and have always left in climbing once started. 

  • 0 in reply to Hogges

    Thanks guys. I guess in that case it will be mountain biking for me once again.

    I am completely committed to the Garmin universe, and for the most part I love their products. The one thing that continues to drive me crazy is Garmin's insistence on introducing new half-baked features instead of fixing core functionality. Yeah, dog walking, I'm looking straight at you here. I suspect it is because they are continually looking to compete in the endless comparison lists of features that are used for marketing purposes. People just assume that core functions will work - an assumption that, sadly, is not a sound one when it comes to Garmin watches.

    Garmin: Please focus on fixing core functionality.

  • 0 in reply to Niterider4

    Well stated. It seems everyone wants to become a social media and marketing data collection company these days, if that’s what’s going on. But we pay pretty decent money for a tool which should just plain work in its most basic functions.

  • 0 in reply to Niterider4

    What’s extra annoying is now that this new patch is out we 100% can’t expect a fix this season given the pace of development.

    Really sucks. I’m happy to utilize an HRM for XC skiing (though I really shouldn’t have to), but as someone above mentioned, absolutely a safety hazard when conjoined with an avalanche beacon (though I suppose there’s an argument to be made that the watch / inReach is already doing that).

  • 0 in reply to 5297075

    I'm okay wearing an electronic watch (which is not broadcasting HR) on my left wrist and my avalanche beacon on my right hip. I'm sure there is some risk, but I think it's small. I keep my inReach turned off when I'm backcountry skiing.

    My concern with wearing a HRM strap (which is broadcasting HR) is that in a fall it could very easily slide down my torso to end up very close to my avalanche beacon.

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