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Elevate V4 a big improvement

Today was my first run with the FR955 and I have to admit I was impressed with the OHR. Basically since optical HR monitors started appearing in running watches I have not been able to use them due to the cadence lock issue. Since the FR235 I've had a Fenix3HR, FR935 and a Fenix5+ and all of them, without fail, would tell me I'm having a heart attack after just a few kms into a slow jog. I always assumed I had the wrong skin type and gave up on them and stuck to chest straps. Today I ran a 10k and the optical HR data was solid and reliable with no chest strap paired. It reacted as expected when running uphill and my HR settled again on the downhills. At a steady cadence of ~180spm on the flats it was where it should be. All in all I'm very happy with it so far. Yes, there are problems with maps that cause reboots but once those issues are ironed out it should be a solid watch.

  • Yeah, I've noticed that the HR on the 955 adjusts quicker than the previous 945.  If I edge above zone 2 with the 955 and then slow down, the HR comes back again fairly fast.  On the 945, it seemed to take a long time to get back into zone 2 so I often over-compensated and this affected my pace and momentum.  With the 955, I can ease off and know the HR will come back down within a few seconds.

  • Haven't really 'clicked' with it yet myself... perhaps I don't wear it properly (to tight? not tight enough? to low? hight?)

    Am now testing it with my Polar OH1+ attached as well during the normal day, simply recording OHR + Polar seperately so I can compare them at the end of the day over a few hours. 

    But during a run there could be quite a difference (like 10+ beats) which is quite a bit when training in zones which are set pretty tight. (And an increase of 10 easily gets you to another zone)

  • Not sure what you're using but a velco strap makes a huge difference for OHR compared to a rubber strap. The best one I think is the one you loop through the pins, it's called YOOSIDE on Amazon. There are some cheaper one that you fit on both ends

  • Yes, Elevate 4 is really good as I'd already found on my Venu 2, especially when used with a velcro like the YOOSIDE.

  • Using an official garmin quickfit sillicon band for activities (and leather strap for 24/7).

    But how would a velcro strap make such a difference? (Apart from more flexibility in fit, would still need to know what a good fit is though ;) )

    I do have a very long velcro strap which I bought for my FR945 when I thought it might be a good idea to wear the watch on my upper arm for better readings and was thinking about buying a normal one for the 955 anyway so will look into it! Thanks for the tip.

  • The velcro really allows the watch to "hug" the wrist like a QuickFit can't with its "tabs", now the original strap is certainly better than the QF in that respect but the velcro is still lighter.

    The other day for a run I forgot to remove the QF on my Venu 2 (Elevate 4 too) that's always been near perfect even for intervals on the track and the HR was way off until I turned the watch inwards...not great to look at the data! 

  • Received the velcro strap today, looks nice and feels nice as well! I felt very stupid not being able to figure out how to put it on the watch properly, but once looking at the manual it made sense ;)

    Might give it a try for a small run tomorrow, ran with the Polar OH1+ and a Garmin HRM RUn strap today to make sure those are indeed good (and they matched almost perfectly, very small delay on the Polar with changes at times) so I indeed can see those as the 'golden standard'.

    Hope the straps indeed do their magic! 

  • webvan, off topic but...how is Physic True-Up working between the Venu 2 and the 955? Are the stress readings from the Venue 2 being factored into the stress data used to calculate Training Readiness? 

  • So is that the "YOOSIDE" you got ? It's the best one as it's secure and long and adjustable so you don't have to squeeze your hand through like those that you insert on each side.

  • I haven't been wearing the Venu 2 at the same time as the FR955 and I'm not sure it would be a good idea. It's confusing enough to ride with both the 955 and Edge 530 at the same time where you have some control on the files that get saved and that you can delete in case they get "doubled". I no longer save the Edge 530 files now.

    I suppose I could try wearing the V2 during the day (FR955 at night to try to build the HRV data) and not the FR955 to see what it does to "recovery" and "readiness".