The other day I tried for the first time a run using optical HR instead of HRM belt. Most of the time it showed values around or above my maximum heart rate, obviously not right as it was an easy run. I tried it again today and had a similar experience, except the HR was continuously way above maximum. It was relatively stable, and appeared to have some correlation with my actual HR. It was not showing my cadence. I tried tightening the band, moving it up the arm and even rotating it under my wrist, all to no avail. I do not have very hairy arms, but i shaved the spot on my wrist before the second run. Both runs were done after the 3.3 update, so I have not tried the Optical HR for a run with the previous software version. For everyday use the optical HR mostly works well. I plan to try my wife's Fenix 5 to see if is the sensor on my watch that is bad. Any advice or anyone else seen something similar?
I have given the OHR three weeks of solid runs and I am consistently seeing Low values for the first couple of km's maybe 10-15 min. Today I even tried using the watch on the inside part of my wrist because it is more 'fleshy' and has little to no arm hair, but again total garbage numbers for the first 12 minutes. It jumped from 135 bpm to 185 bpm (which was correct as I was doing a high intensity run and was on a hill climb).
Other things I have tired include shaving a little bit of arm hair on top of wrist, tightening strap to stupid levels, pushing watch up wrist. None have worked so far.
And if you all searched before posting you'd find heaps of posts and threads about the pitfalls and weaknesses of OHR and 'active' activities. It's all been covered. You have not discovered anything new.
And if you all searched before posting you'd find heaps of posts and threads about the pitfalls and weaknesses of OHR and 'active' activities. It's all been covered. You have not discovered anything new.
I never said I did discover anything new? Regular posting of user experience is the whole purpose of this forum. It is relevant to anyone using and updating regularly in the hope that something has changed.
Absolutely right. User experience is important. But before starting a new thread, search the forum. Better than than starting a thread and increasing the clutter while adding nothing new.
And if you all searched before posting you'd find heaps of posts and threads about the pitfalls and weaknesses of OHR and 'active' activities. It's all been covered. You have not discovered anything new.
I've not said that anywhere. However, if you take some time to read some of the many posts about OHR on any of the devices that have it, along with broader internet reading, you will see that OHR is ok for day-to-day use, but quickly loses its utility as activities become more 'active'.
While improvements have been made, I cannot see it ever getting to be as good as a chest strap. You have a device on your wrist attempting to detect changes in skin colour as blood is pumped through surface veins while exercising. It's a challenge. It is not a replacement for a chest strap if you are active and want results that are generally meaningful.
While improvements have been made, I cannot see it ever getting to be as good as a chest strap. You have a device on your wrist attempting to detect changes in skin colour as blood is pumped through surface veins while exercising. It's a challenge. It is not a replacement for a chest strap if you are active and want results that are generally meaningful.
My baseline device is a Scosche Rythm+ which is optical and I can wear it on my wrist and it is rock solid. Its only downside it that is a separate device that I always forget to pack and charge. Like many others have found, its better than chest strap from a signal and comfort perspective, doesn't need to deal with conductivity issues. Garmin are clearly attempting to achieve something as good and many of us expected that a Gen 2 optical sensor in the 935 would be close to Scosche. The weird thing about my 935 experience is that it does achieve good results similar to the Scosche, BUT it seems to take 10-15 min to work it out. My 935 handles intervals at high intensity if I give it the time.
For me it's the same too, with the 935, in the first 5-10 minutes of a run I get unrealistic high BPM, and then it goes back to something more real. I have tried to wait 10 to 15 min before actually start the activity but with little success. I have to say that this didn't happen to me with my 235 and 735 so, it is obviously something that is relative to the new watch/sensor.
