Jump to content

Polar Heart Rate sensor


Cruz Addict

Recommended Posts

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?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Settings My Forum Content My Followed Content Forum Settings Ad Messages My Ads My Favourites My Saved Alerts My Pay Deals Help Logout