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Garmin HRM Pro Plus strong offensive odor emanating from the chest strap

3828955
10 months ago

Hello fellow Garminians,

I have an issue with the Garmin HRM Pro Plus chest strap. After about 3 months of regular use (running), it starts to smell bad, like really bad to the point where its nauseating. I follow the care instructions to the T, rise after every use, hand wash weekly with mild detergent, rinse, hang to dry. The odor is unique in that it smells like something of a burnt electronic? Not sure exactly how to describe the smell but very pungent and fills the room and sticks to my clothes and skin. At first, I thought it was leaking something internally, Garmin kindly replaced the original unit, however the exact same issue has developed again with a new unit after 3 months of use.

I am wondering if anyone else experiences this. Is there a better way to clean it? Do all chest straps smell like this? Is it me?

I do enjoy using the unit for HR accuracy, but the smell is too much and I don't want to replace it again for a 3rd time only to have the same thing happen.

  • 0 7 months ago in reply to 3828955
    3828955 said:
    you will only end up with another smelly strap down the road

    …likely due to care issues if not cleaned properly. As noted in the previous post and others, always wash and dry the strap after use. Every time. I always wash mine in the shower after every use, rinse it, and hang it to dry. I don’t usually get the spike people talk about but if you do contact Garmin Support. 

    3828955 said:
    Hopefully Garmin considers a change in the multi-layer design for future straps.

    Hopefully, people will take away from this the need for better strap care as well. 

    And yes, I do accept there are some genuine strap failures but in the main I'd suggest most of the problems with odour comes down to strap care.

    And bear in mind it's often hard to sort out hyperbole from fact. It's human nature to exaggerate.

  • 0 7 months ago

    I believe the smell comes from the adhesive used to hold the strap together. 
    My previous HRM-SWIM strap came loose about a month ago and the adhesive holding together the front and the back had a very strong petroleum/chemical/burnt smell. This smell slowly started appearing when the strap layers started to come loose and was full-blown when the adhesive was fully exposed. 

    If you are starting to smell the adhesive after ~3 months of use it means you're putting enough wear and tear during this time for the layers to start ever so slightly unsticking and revealing the adhesive. 

    I am currently using a HRM-PRO plus for less than 1 month and it has no signs of having this smell, but I will try to be as gentle as possible with the strap as not to unstick the layers. 

    Just a note, my SO has used a HRM-RUN strap for the past few years and the smell isnt't there - but she is known to take extremely well care of the strap and it looks intact. 

  • 0 7 months ago

    I have the hrm dual, and I'm quite suspicious that the smell is coming from some compound or the rubber used in the rubberized part of the strap, it's not coming from the elastic-stretching part.

    There must be something in that rubberized material that reacts to the sweat, or maybe it depends on the skin/sweat PH, who knows, but it's something that starts at some point in time after use, no matter how you keep it clean. As stated by others, it's more a mix of chemical-ashes odor than sweat, and it's always the same, very characteristic smell, it does not change over time.

    With the hrm dual though it's something that I can smell at like 10-20cm from the strap, not even at 30cm, so maybe the pro is worst for some reason.

  • 0 7 months ago in reply to philipshambrook

    Can't always be lack of user care: all 3 HRM-Tri's I bought, came out of the box emanating a bouquet of rubber and burning plastic with a hint of petroleum, that did not subside. At 1 meter, for me a -5 on the Odor Hedonic Profile scale.

  • 0 6 months ago in reply to Adrian s

    I agree it’s a chemical smell 

  • 0 5 months ago in reply to 3828955

    +1, don't just rinse the strap, wash it properly and let it dry after every use. I submerge it in water with a bit of soap and shake and squeeze it for a few seconds so that the water and the soap can penetrate. Then I rinse under running water and hang it to dry. My both straps smelled like horse in the past when I was following Garmin guidance to just rinse every time and wash every week or so. I have no issues with bad smell on either of my two straps since I routinely hand-wash them after every use.

  • 0 5 months ago

    I have all 4 of them amd they all stink after 3-5 months of use