Polar Heart Rate sensor

[Cruz Addict]

hi Guys, i am interested in doing a tri-Athlon at some point and am just curious as to whether or not there is a polar heart rate monitor strap that will work in water. i have the normal "dry" strap but know that's not going to work for the swim, also when i finish the swim there is probably going to be a section of time where it is not recording due to being soaked( i know it may not be long but i am looking for accuracy).

so bearing this in mind and the fact that i already have a Polar that i paid through my a** to afford i ned to know if there is such a strap or if for that matter they even exist?

[Zula]

The RS800 (which is top of the range) does'nt work in water. You can start the clock etc but it wont pic up your HR. Apparently the new polar (not sure on the model) works in water.

 

I do triathlon and have the RS800, to be honest you really dont need to know your HR whilst swimming. That aside the watch is fantastic especially when you use it as a multi sport watch with the shoes and bikes etc. Wouldn't change mine for the world.

 

Another positive to Polar is vitality points. I went from silver to gold just by uploading my exercise files onto the internet. Pretty easy!

[gripen]

Which polar do you have? Generally, you move about a bit too much for it to read accurately in the water. The newest ones come with WIND which uses 2.4GHz - which does not propogate well under water (similar frequency to a microwave oven i.e. perfect for the water to absorb - in layman's terms). So if you have one of these you're up the creek. I'd say write off the HR measurement in the water.. I do find that in water PLE is much more accurate than on the road - you will know if your HR is too high!

[Iron Midge]

The "Hybrid" polar strap works well underwater, however it only works with a polar unit set up to use it. The RCX5 is the only one that I am aware of.

[AndreZA]

I don't see how anything can work underwater. The signal gets lost in the water and it's nothing to do with the transmitter or the receiver.

[gripen]

I do triathlon and have the RS800, to be honest you really dont need to know your HR whilst swimming. That aside the watch is fantastic especially when you use it as a multi sport watch with the shoes and bikes etc. Wouldn't change mine for the world.

Agree. However by now you'd think they would have worked out how to get the watch to auto-sense which sensors are active so that you don't have to change the settings in T2. It can be a hassle. Otherwise, all good!

[Iron Midge]

Andre, I own a RCX5 and use it while swimming all the time. It works really well and only misses readings if the heart rate strap slips down during turns etc. Under a wetsuit this isn't an issue and the watch works really well.

[Zula]

Agree. However by now you'd think they would have worked out how to get the watch to auto-sense which sensors are active so that you don't have to change the settings in T2. It can be a hassle. Otherwise, all good!

 

Fair point, but that aside the unit has zero downfalls.

[davetapson]

I remember my brother saying that the normal polar hrm (this is from a good few years ago) works in water, but that the water flow pulls the strap away from the body - so unless you're just bobbing around, isn't much use for swimming.

 

He was doing fin swimming tho, which is faster than ordinary churn the water to a foam swimming.

[Cruz Addict]

i have a RS800CX so looks as though i am all out of luck in terms of the sensor strap.

[FanieFiets]

but seriously.....why do you want to see the heartrate in the water? Just for viewing it afterwards because not really practical to have a look while swimming.