Would you buy the 235 again?

I think either yours is defective, or you're not wearing it snugly enough. I always cinch it two holes tighter than I normally wear it, so it doesn't move around on my skin while running.

While it's never going to be as accurate as a chest strap, mine is "close enough" to not deal with the inconvenience of a strap. It's definitely not far off enough for me to ditch it altogether! If the normal behavior is as far off as you're experiencing, there's no way this thing would have gone to market.

As to OP, yeah I'd buy a 235 again! If mine got run over by a car today, I'd go buy one locally and not try to save the few bucks buying online because I'd want it back ASAP. After using a Fitbit (Charge HR) and an Apple Watch, the 235 is a FAR superior workout buddy and all-day smartwatch.

In not all cases is the issue a defective watch or the user not wearing it properly, though I'm sure this may be the case with many. I have tried wearing my 235 almost every conceivable way possible. I've also used the Amiigo Tracker (amazingly accurate), the Atlas Fitness Tracker (very good), a Basis Tracker (above average) and a Fitbit Charge HR (slightly below average). With the exception of the Fitbit, all preformed much better than the 235. Unfortunately, those devices don't have all the options/features that I wanted with the 235. I don't know if it's by design or technology, but I have found Garmin's Elevate sensor to be quite lacking. Ironically, I had one of the first 235's released and was very happy with the oHRM. The first WHR update, and every update since, has just made my oHRM function worse. If someone where to find a way to rollback FW/WHR versions, I would definitely reconsider my opinion on the 235.

Ironically, I had one of the first 235's released and was very happy with the oHRM. The first WHR update, and every update since, has just made my oHRM function worse. If someone where to find a way to rollback FW/WHR versions, I would definitely reconsider my opinion on the 235.

That is incredibly odd. You mentioned at one point you tried doing a factory reset on it, yeah? If that didn't fix it, I'd just get it replaced by Garmin. It could be the sensor itself went bad at some point, and maybe it coincided with a firmware update? Good luck!

I think either yours is defective, or you're not wearing it snugly enough. I always cinch it two holes tighter than I normally wear it, so it doesn't move around on my skin while running.

While it's never going to be as accurate as a chest strap, mine is "close enough" to not deal with the inconvenience of a strap. It's definitely not far off enough for me to ditch it altogether! If the normal behavior is as far off as you're experiencing, there's no way this thing would have gone to market.

Yeah. I've tried everything between tourniquet-tight and flapping-around-loose. Sometimes it'll find a reasonable heart rate for a while and lose it again, but nothing consistently works. I've used a lot of chest and optical straps and this is by far the least useful of the bunch. I don't think it's defective either - it seems to do OK at finding heart rate at rest (like if you flip to the HR widget and wait for it to stabilize). *shrug*

I initially agonized over paying $500 for a running watch, but now ( 3.5 months later) I would buy again in a heartbeat! It's strange that some have had so many issues, but mine (the second one) has been stellar. I did return my first watch within 2 days due to the 66 HR lock, but since then it's been great. As it turns out, the 66 HR thing was later solved with a firmware update. I love it because of the OHR. If I had to wear a strap ... well, I just simply wouldn't be interested! I'm sure that the HR isn't perfect, and the calories might not be exact, but I don't need PERFECT data ... it's pretty darn close. The GPS is awesome! I only use regular GPS. It even recognizes obscure side trails through the forest where I sometimes run. I've had a couple little issues - no HR for the first part of ONE run and .... well that's about it. I always ensure I have a registered HR before I begin my run now and it's been fine. It is a great motivator! 30 day streak of 10-15,000 steps now. My run frequency and times have improved dramatically, mostly due to simply being aware ... I get stoked everyday, waiting for work to end so I can go for my daily 5K run!

Max

That is incredibly odd. You mentioned at one point you tried doing a factory reset on it, yeah? If that didn't fix it, I'd just get it replaced by Garmin. It could be the sensor itself went bad at some point, and maybe it coincided with a firmware update? Good luck!

I wish it were something as simple as that. There are too many people posting threads with the same problem I'm having. If there are that many sensors that are failing after a couple of months use, perhaps a recall is in order.

At this point, I'd buy again. Before the last update, I don't know if I'd do it. Before, the OHRM was just good enough to be somewhat useful but not good enough to be worth the extra $ due to all the cadence lock issues. But since the last update, the OHRM has been nearly flawless for me on runs.

I don't like wearing my watches supertight 24/7 so the OHRM is useless for general purpose use for me. Fortunately, I don't give much of a crap about the 24/7 tracking or RHR features.

The only annoying part to me right now is how long it takes to get the OHRM locked in when I go to start my runs... the GPS gets a lock in under 3 seconds but the HRM takes 1-2 minutes.

Yes I would buy again. The optical hasn't been perfect but it's good enough for me. I run, I don't constantly stress about heart rate. I thought the strap was a pain and often had plenty of cadence lock problems in cold weather. The Scoche optical was about perfect for me but I'll still take the 235 and any minor annoyances in the one small package.

Now that the 24/7 heart rate monitoring is working better, i have no regrets. Last week, I had higher than normal work/life stress, wasn't sleeping enough and I was training way too hard (~10 miles and 2000 feet of elevation every day). This ultimately resulted in me catching a cold, the first cold i've had in a few years (since before i ever wore a heart rate monitor). For about 24 hours before I actually felt the symptoms, it totally blew me away to see that my heart rate jumped from low/mid 40's to mid/high 50's. I kept wondering "why is my heart rate 10 to 15 bpm higher than normal?". It sort of amazes me that your heart was will raise a red flag that you're getting sick. Now I see the OHR monitor as an important health tool, not just for running.

The last update was a game changer. I would definitely buy it again now.

Yes, very much so. The latest update is great. No qualms here.