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A chest strap is the most accurate way to measure your heart rate during workouts, and today some of the best ones are discounted for Amazon’s Big Spring Sale. That includes the popular and highly rated Polar H10.
While most fitness watches and other devices (like smart rings) can measure heart rate, they use optical sensors that are often “good enough” but not necessarily as accurate as you’d like. I’ve written more here about why chest straps are your best option if you care about accuracy. Most chest straps—including the H10—sense the electrical activity of your heart directly. Watches, rings, and armbands use a green light instead to detect blood in your blood vessels. These can be thrown off by poor fit or ambient light, so they aren’t as reliable as a chest strap.
Fortunately, most watches can pair to a chest strap—so your Apple Watch or your Garmin can display your heart rate from the strap while you’re running. You can even pair a chest strap directly to your phone, no watch needed. (The iPhone’s Fitness app recently added this capability; on Android, you may need a third-party app like Polar Beat for a direct-to-phone connection.)
Today’s deals on Polar heart rate monitors include:
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Polar H10: $76.99, down from $104.99. This is widely regarded as the best heart rate monitor out there.
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Polar H9: $56.44, down from $69.90. This model can only pair to one Bluetooth device at a time, which is enough for most of us.
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Polar Verity Sense: $84.99, down from $104.99. This is an armband with an optical sensor.
If you need some help deciding between the three, the H10 is hands-down your best option. It has excellent accuracy and can connect to two Bluetooth devices at a time (say, your Peloton bike and your Garmin watch). If you don’t need dual connections, the H9 is significantly cheaper and will do the same job.
The Polar Verity Sense is not a chest strap, but I’m including it here because it’s a wildly popular device. It uses an optical sensor, just like smartwatches do, and that sensor is mounted on an armband. Many people find that an armband placement is more accurate than a sensor on the wrist (this will vary from person to person), so it’s a good option if you don’t like the fit or feel of chest strap sensors.
