Over the years I’ve experienced numerous chafing issues when wearing a traditional heart rate monitor strap. I’ve used the old fashioned hard rubber straps, Suunto straps, straps from Polar and even the premium “soft strap” from Garmin supposedly designed to eliminate discomfort. Coupled with regular spikes/dropouts and the whole training-by-heart-rate thing soon became more trouble than it was worth.
Earlier this year I dabbled with the Mio LINK Heart Rate Monitor Wristband, but results weren’t great either. According to Mio the bad data was caused either by excessive moisture from sweating, light entering the back of the unit due to a poor fit on my wrist or the Mio LINK was too far away from the receiver – in my case a Garmin Forerunner 620. Results were slightly better when I wore the LINK and Garmin on the same wrist, but still not as accurate as my trusty chest strap, and to be honest I hated wearing both devices so close together. To be fair to Mio, they did release several firmware updates to address common complaints, but my experience never improved and I ended up selling the unit on eBay.
Enter the Scosche RHYTHM+ Armband – a great alternative to the traditional heart rate monitor chest strap, that transmits both ANT+ and Bluetooth Smart at the same time to any compatible device. I ordered mine from Amazon.com, but there are numerous other online retailers selling the armband, and even our local speciality running store, Running Etc., has started carrying them. Good news for the 757 running community!
The box contains just 5 items – the Scosche RHYTHM+, 15″ large band, 10″ small band, USB charging cable and instruction leaflet. Once fully charged (approximately 2 hours), the flashing red light on the unit changes to a solid blue light and you’re ready to go. You can either wear the armband on the upper forearm (the short band works best for this location) or further up the arm nearer the bicep. Ideally the sensor should be located on the inside of the arm and worn snug enough that it doesn’t slide around.
Pairing with my Garmin Forerunner 620 was a breeze and it was just as easy to setup for use with the Strava app on my iPhone. Accuracy has been excellent – spikes and dropouts are a thing of the past, and with the armband located on my upper arm, the strap is super comfortable and easily forgotten. Battery life is pretty good too, with a typical charge lasting about 7.5 hours. This is fine for day to day training, but unfortunately isn’t going to work during Ultra races in excess of 50 miles. The only other negative I think of is that the unit is quite difficult to turn off – you need to hold down the center button for at least 4 or 5 seconds until the red light turns solid. Not a huge problem, but I must admit I’ve failed a few times turning it off.
Another point worth noting, apparently the RHYTHM+ does not accurately transmit HRV (heart rate variability). I’ve noticed some odd recovery times on my Garmin FR620, and I do believe the VO2 Max estimates have been skewed since wearing the unit on a regular basis. Not a big issue for me personally, but it could be a deal breaker for prospective buyers. DC Rainmaker elaborates on this point in his excellent product review of the Scosche RHYTHM+ – well worth a read if you haven’t checked out his blog before.
So, that’s pretty much it for the quickie product review. I haven’t worn a chest strap in months, and with all the MAF training I’ve been doing recently, it really is nice to have a comfortable, accurate option available for obtaining heart rate data both during and post-run. Thanks for reading, and as always, feel free to post comments/questions in the section below.
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Features
No Chest Strap Required
Breathable neoprene armband design means greater comfort and ease of use. Comes with both a large and small armband.
Accurate
Employs patented optical sensor technology for highly accurate monitoring and measurement. The accurate measurement of exercise intensity is an area where many other products fall short, but Rhythm+™ excels.
8 Hour Battery Life
Extended use rechargeable battery allows you to workout for up to 8 continuous hours, then simply plug it in with the charging cable (included) to recharge the Rhythm+™ for your next use.
Sweatproof & Waterproof
IP67 sweat and waterproof construction means the same great accurate performance in both dry and wet conditions. Rhythm+TM can even be submerged up to 1 meter.
100ft Range
Allows you to wirelessly workout up to 100 feet from your mobile device or exercise equipment.
Fitness App Friendly
Works with over 200 popular fitness apps.
Green/Yellow Optical Sensors
Provides superior measurement with all skintones. Better than monitors and watches that employ only green sensors.
Works With Virtually Any Device
Great for use with smartphones, tablets, smart and sport watches, exercise equipment and many other devices that support Bluetooth Smart or ANT+ heart rate data.
I wear mine next to the Garmin in the same way I wore the Mio Link. It has worked flawlessly so far without the spikes I saw with the Mio. I just hope the battery lasts as long as advertised. Maybe I’ll get to find out this winter on the longer runs. It’s a good deal at Running Etc. with the 10% Tidewater Striders discount.
THANKS Bulldog for the review, etc. As a (former) CLYDESdale I had issues wearing the Chest Straps for a few years, and was happy to read up on the wrist worn models as reviewed by DC Rainmaker and others. I tried the Fuse and Link. Kept the Link – about 3 months now. Works great for me, every day. No spikes if I have it snug enough, and good enough stats with the MIO app on my droid cell. No issues pairing with my Garmin devices. I’m waiting for something a bit more capable and as you mentioned, longer battery life. Cheers, Dean W (Virginia Runner)
Overall I like it however it does read higher than my Garmin Premium Strap…sometimes much higher. I have tested both at the same time by using my S7 with Endomondo monitoring the armband, and my Garmin 78sc monitoring the chest strap. Sometimes they would read the same, but usually the armband read higher. I am going to try different locations on the arm to see if that makes any difference. I wish they had some way to monitor battery status via whatever training app is being used. So I may be charging it more often than I really need to, but how do you know unless you use it until it quits. But I sure hope it continues to work because it is easier and more comfortable than the chest strap.
Sorry, but after further testing of the armband vs. my chest strap, I can no longer recommend the Scosche Rhythm+. The readings are not consistent or even believable …reads way too high. I have tried different positions and tried linking with different devices, but the results are the same. Very disappointed because the concept is great and I was really hoping to be able to ditch my chest strap.
That is disappointing. My Scosche armband gives a very similar reading when paired with a Garmin 235 (usually within a beat or two) to my Suunto Ambit3 Peak chest strap. I typically wear the armband on my upper arm/bicep area, which personally feels more comfortable than on the wrist/forearm. Might be worth contacting Scosche to ask their opinion?