I was part of the testing team. Super easy to set up, very comfortable and during the entire month that I engaged in the testing I did not have to charge it even once. Im done with a chest strap heart rate monitor - they're not comfortable and this new device worked really really well.
In this video it is compared to the Coros Apex watch, a Garmin watch and some Polar straps. It tends to be more accurate then the Coros Apex watch and is very close to the Polar straps. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fbZFmXAvsuI.htmlfeature=shared This one also tests it against a Polar chest strap. It does pretty good. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-787qQcuEkIg.htmlfeature=shared
Been using this for a month and the results are impressive. Dead in accurate and in-line with my ECG chest strap. Simple and easy to use connects right away each time.
4:47 just be careful when doing this, as you may scratch the sensor if you hit it with your watch when you are putting it this way. I have a Polar Verity Sense and I scratched it exactly in that way as I touched the sensor lens with the watch bezel. Luckily for me, it was under warranty, and they replaced it without a hassle, just to take that into consideration with these sensors. I usually unwrap the Velcro strap, adjust it in my forearm and the slide it into position. If I recall correctly, the accuracy compared to a chest strap is around 90% on the average for these devices, even in other activities like weight training. To be honest I do prefer the trade-off and be more comfortable with almost as good accuracy as a chest strap, and I'm glad there are more choices in the market as not many brands offer these type of sensors, which also solves the problem of the big watches. I have a Polar Grit X Pro and you can feel it bounce in your wrist while riding MTB unless it is very tight; this way you can let your watch be a little loose without losing accuracy, and you don't have to deal with chest straps that can be very uncomfortable in such kind of sports.
Pretty nice product! Ive been using it for a month and i have to say I definitely perfer it over my chest strap. Everytime the weather gets warm i end up getting a rash from the chest strap.
I wish Garmin would make something like this but which also tracks Steps and some of the other metrics that the watches do. The most annoying thing for me is I like to track my steps everyday but when I go out for dinner or to something formal I wear real watches and at the moment the only way I have found to keep my step count accurate is to keep my Garmin watch in my pocket. If Garmin made a strap like this that could sit on the bicep and track more than just HR this would be perfect!
Another great video, glad to see Coros keep putting out great gear. Couldn't agree more about wearing a chest strap, not fun to wear. Does it matter if the sensor is worn on the inside or outside of the arm for better accuracy?
I'd imagine for women this could be super useful. For me, I rarely have a problem with a chest strap and it's hard to believe this could be more accurate. If it was like $40 I'd pick one up.
Thank you for the detailed and polished video. I had been on the fence about ordering this as the PWR Labs armband one is a good $30 cheaper. But I decided not to be cheap on this decision and ended up just purchasing the COROS one. I do bodybuilding 6x a week and around 210 minutes of cardio on those 6 days of gym sessions. The one I could not find though is..are there additional band replacements available for this device? I don't mind the white one it comes with, but I like to have options available. I searched on Amazon and did not see any other options for this specific device.
The Coros website offers replacement straps in bright orange, neon yellow or the standard grey color. The bands are $15 and the only size they make it in is medium. If your biceps are more than 13" around then be warned that the strap can be uncomfortable or even painful to wear.
Great video! Thanks for putting able to it out. I did end up buying the heart rate monitor from Coros. I guess the only disappointment I have is the connectivity. Can't seem to record activities. I got it mostly for heart rate recovery and VO2 max and zone 2 training. Are there any apps that you can recommend? I am using Strava at the moment but have not figured it out 100%
Nice if you want just an HRM. I use the Garmin HRM Pro Plus because it also includes dynamics for various activities like Nordic Skiing, running. The Polar OH1 because it pairs with the Form Swim Googles.
During the long runs and hot days I often get rush from the chest strap. I’m happy I was able to join the testing phase and have to say this HRM works well. The comfort is great, even after 14h of activity I didn’t feel it at all. And I was amazed how good the optical sensor can work if you place it on the upper arm. We were able to compare data from watch, chest strap and HR31 and even when watch OHR failed to show correct data, HR31 was identical with chest strap.
Does wearing an armband like this give us a more accurate idea of our heart rate live during our run on our watch or just after a run when we look at the stats afterwards?
I didn't even know that there are arm HR monitors. I the last couple of years I had the Epix Gen 2 and used the HRM strap because the Epix had a lot of issues measuring my HR. Lately I upgraded to the Epix Pro and its HR wrist monitor is great, so I stopped using the strap. Now I'm actually thinking of switching to this Coros strap. Looks awesome.
I can’t comment on the Coros band but I’ve been using the Polar one for more than a couple of years now and it works well so the Coros one likely will also. More accurate than a wrist sensor and more comfortable than a chest strap, wouldn’t use anything else
I have the coros pace 2 and the coros pod . I love both of them and after 2 years I want to change for the coros pace 3 but can't really justify to change as everything work so well
Very surprised the BPM registered were almost exactly as in my Magene H303 heart band, and also in mi cheap Amazfit Band 7!!! I'm thinking about getting the duplo with Coros Pace 3.
Just ordered it. I have the Garmin hrm pro +. It’s accurate but it rubs my chest during runs. It rubs off my skin and I had to stop wearing it. Was going to get a polar verity but like this better.
with that positioning, im wondering how many months it takes before the band smells terribly and you have to replace it before throwing up... how replaceable is it, and how much does a replacement cost?
It’s easy to remove to wash or replace. So far it’s holding up well and isn’t too gross. COROS doesn’t sell replacements yet but they will soon. This is the same issue all HRM sensors face including chest bands.
Good purchase for it being the first HR monitor I’ve purchased? or should I look into something else? I have a garmin watch but know the HR monitoring on that is not accurate. Mostly wanting to use it for running!
If you're only interested in heart rate the COROS HR Monitor or Polar Verity Sense are both great options at a similar price point. Polar has a swimming function which might be important to you. COROS has the no-fuss/no button feature which I appreciate.
great video! Worried about the 13" arm size Although after thinking about it I wonder if this isn't as big of a deal as I'm thinking because you wear it above the meaty part of your arm? Am I way off base?
While yes designed to wear on the bicep, we have also tested on the larger part of the forearm and it works perfectly! So if the bicep is too large , moving to the forearm will give you excellent results also
It's a bit of a concern. In my case I'm a 5'7" smallish guy and don't consider myself to be overly jacked. The COROS HR band has about 3" of spare adjustment on my arm. It is stretchy though and you can position it above the bicep where the arm is smaller.
In addition to tracking my heart rate, I also appreciate the dynamic data provided by the HRM-pro. I'm not sure if the Coros monitor offers this feature, but it would be worth exploring. I find that chest bands can be uncomfortable during workouts due to the excess sweat and warmth they generate.
This sensor is simply a heart rate sensor and doesn't provide any additional information like the HRM-Pro. To be honest I don't think many people know what to do with data like Ground Contact Time, L/R Balance anyways!
@@Panagiotis-Skordilis for sure! They are useful tools what I meant is that I suspect 95% of HRM Plus owners pay no attention to those metrics or what to do with them. Some, like yourself do.
I already have the Polar verity sense to pair with my coros so I won't be getting this just cause its 'new' but it is a good alternative to people finally wanting all things coros.
Not for me Dave, even though its the coolest looking arm HR monitor in my opinion. I still use Polar H10 for certain occasions, but I dont find myself needing super accurate HR in my use cases. This looks more useful for gym applications where HR broadcast is needed, or folks who dont like wearing watches due to hindering certain workouts. So far the most accurate HR on my watches are on my Polar Grit X Pro and Huawei GT Runner (based on H10 benchmarking), and I wonder how more accurate this Coros HR monitor is in comparison, since the sensor LEDs look similar to most watches. Thanks again Dave.
How does it feel on the arm after extended use and how does it perform in the winter time compared to the HR chest strap? I am curious to what feels more comfortable when compared to the chest strap. Can you wear it with arm sleeves without it being restrictive. Also wondering when Coros plans on rolling out HR tracking for swimming for the HR arm band. 🏊♂️
I much prefer to wear this arm band over the chest strap. It seems to work fine in cooler temps but it's not super cold here in MA yet. At worst, it's been around 25F so far and performance doesn't seem affected. Yes, you can wear it with arm sleeves without it being an issue and it's ideal that it automatically turns on/off so you don't have to worry about bumping the button when it's under layers.
@@ChaseTheSummit Hey thanks for the response! I really enjoy your content and reviews. The video production and your attention to detail I think is excellent! I like the fact that you went ahead and tested the HR strap on a swim workout. Even though it’s not recommended or supported by Coros at the moment. Tbh, this might be the only thing holding me back from buying as an accessory to compliment the (potentially purchasing) watch. I think it is a good sign that the strap can collect some data on swims. Though will probably need something that can support an option for swim/OWS/triathlon workouts. I don’t want to have to purchase more then one HR strap if I don’t need to.
When you going to review the Samsung Classic 6 watch ,we need you to do a review soon, too many click bait reviews out there with no real life tests on battery usage, sensors ,GPS etc..thanks .
Have any concerns with chaffing, like under your arm against the upper part of your ribs? I just wonder with the arm swing during a run and the HR band fabric rubbing against your upper ribcage.
@ChaseTheSummit Do you have an email or somewhere I can send pics of this issue LOL it's still showing 2 heartrates... the watch and the sensor. On the watch face. So if I lift the sensor strap off its zero but the watch is still collecting heart rate. So if this is what it does what is the benefit of the extra sensor? Just trying to figure this thing out I need to take a course on something so simple LOL 😮
I got it, and used it once, and what I realized is, I have no idea if there is a clear place to see if it's tracking, other than the lines in the coros app look...fuzzier?
Chase could you provide a better amazon or affiliate link? I can find the product on the coros page but not on Amazon and would prefer to use an affiliate link. The amazon link in your video description doesn't seem to work for me.
Do you know why this would work better than a wrist based sensor considering it's the same thing and tech? Where I find wrist based optical sensors fail are in interval training. How is the accuracy with that
How is the accuracy on sprints and HIT? I often find that the optical sensors lag so much that they are useless for tracking tabatas, etc. where you get sharp spikes and valleys in the heart rate.
In the samples in this video I specifically did intervals to near-max heart rate and it looked pretty solid! Of course I'm only a sample of one but in terms of accuracy it's doing a decent job in my testing but I only run so your mileage may vary with other activities.
It needs to be connected to something. Though, I wonder if you left your phone or a watch on the sidelines if it would collect data. A soccer field is pretty big so that might not work. Check out the Polar Verity Sense as it has internal storage and can collect its own data.
I bought this and requested a return a few minutes after getting it from Amazon. The sensor may or may not be good. That is entirely irrelevant if it hurts to wear so I will never wear it. It will not open up large enough to fit me comfortably. It is painful to wear. They label the strap as size medium when in reality it's the only size available. They definitely need a large strap.
My bad. I guess my biceps are bigger than I thought. My wife just measured them and they are 15.75" around. I hope they end up making a large strap in the future.
So HR accuracy is good but what about other metrics? If I use a, say 965 do I lose the Running Dynamics (Preformance Condition, Training Effect...) when measuring HR from the Coros strap?
Like it a lot.... but charging form-factor is just ridiculous at both ends. Does it match the adapter for Coros watches? No. Can you plug it in to slave-charge from a modern smartphone? No. All of this is possible of course, in time, with adapter. Yet more and more adapters. Very disappointing frankly.
Using coros apex pro + Garmin Hrm pro plus (over ANT+ to keep battery longer). I don't think this HRM can beat 2 years battery on traditional HRM strap... It would be cool if coros implement dynamics data from Garmin HRM , I even ready to pay for it)))
@@Aldinequeen based on coros group, watches live usually for nearly 2 years. So if it will be same with coros hrm - chest strap HRM needs replace battery, and this device will simply die. Especially if it's required charge each second week.
Will check this out for the winter, but I've always found that the optical monitors have 10-15 seconds of lag compared to a chest strap. If you really zoom in on your graph did you notice that at all? It's not relevant over a long period, but on hilly trail runs where an uphill takes 45-60 seconds to climb it definitely makes a difference.
Not so with the HR31, I have been testing for the last 3 months and is comparable if not beating the Polar H10 in responsiveness...it is a wonderful piece of equipment
Why aren’t there any electrical sensors like a chest strap just for the wrist or upper arm? These optical solutions are fine but according to many sources electrical measurement devices are just the gold standard… Nice video! Keep it up! 🫶🏽
I think it’s due to the location. Since it’s not directly on top of your heart like a chest sensor it won’t be as accurate. That’s just a guess though.
Did you figure out how to pair it with Garmin and can you please share the instructions? I just just this and am looking everywhere for specific instructions on how to pair it with Garmin connect and my Garmin watch
@@leighstewart3223 hi, you don't need to pair it in the garmin connect app. You put the hr monitor on your arm and then you go to Sensors & Accessories on your watch and then Add New and then the hr monitor will send the hr data to the watch
Nope, you need to pair it to something to record the data. But it's got decent range so you could leave your phone off to the side of the mat while you're rolling and still record HR data from a distance using something like Polar Beat or Strava apps.
I don’t own an extra heart rate monitor, just Garmin watch. And I monitor it thru it. Garmin watch satisfies me totally. So, I want to know the point to purchase this. Are they willing to pay extra money for some more accuracy? What is the point for pursuing just a little more accuracy? Does anybody know? Please tell me.
It's about the accuracy. If you're training for something very specific the difference between 5-10 BPM can be problematic. The HR strap also sees less "delay" between when the sensor reads your heart rate and when it's displayed on your watch as compared to wrist sensors. It's not for everyone though.
The HR moniter kicking on happens with my Garmin watch as well, I dont know if its light based or motion based but i got in the habit of putting my watch in low power mode when i take it off to avoid that. Earned a 100 minutes activity badge one day while my watch read the inside of my shoe in my locker at work a few days after I got it. Earned the 200 legit to make up for it.
I can't get a reply from Coros support so I'm posting here. Does the Apex 2 Pro continue to collect HR while the heart rate strap is worn? Meaning is the sensor on the watch active while the strap is worn? I'm a former Polar user and I'm losing my kind here because I'm a data person HELLLPPPPP MEEEE
Nope, the HRM will override the watches optical sensor if it’s paired. However if you want to collect data from both sources you could pair the HRM to your phone and record it in something like Polar Beat or Strava.
@ChaseTheSummit I wonder what is happening with mine. It's actually driving me absolutely nuts. Because it's paired but my Apex is still on, the green lights are blinking while my HR sensor strap is ALSO running. I only want the HR Strap collecting data not both. Wonder how to fix?
@@drr1981 the lights on the watch may still be flashing but it won’t record the data. You’ll only get the data from the HRM paired to the watch. As a test you could try starting an activity with the HRM paired and lift it off of your skin. You should see your HR drop to zero or show that it’s disconnected.
There are lots of variables that will determine how accurate optical sensors are. Tattoos, Skin Color, Hair, Body fat percentage, ambient temperature, how tight it is, your specific blood flow, how bright the sun is, where the sensor is positioned, etc... etc... Unfortunately lots of things can mess with optical sensors. I can only share my experience.
Yes, you can use this sensor with any bluetooth enabled device including your phone with an app like Polar Beat or Strava, or with another branded watch like Apple, Garmin, Polar, or Suunto. The band itself doesn't collect or record data by itself it's an accessory that requires another device to actually store the data it records.
The timing of this is just terrible from where I'm sitting. I literally bought a Verity Sense about a month ago because I got tired of the H10 straps failing all the time. If I'd known Coros was about to drop an equivalent gadget I'd have waited! 😆
I wrote the same thing earlier but I'm wondering if because you can wear it above the meaty party of your arm maybe we would be fine? I'm at about 15 relaxed but thats on the meaty part. Wonder if maybe it really would work?
It's a good move for Coros to make this an "open" product that doesn't only work with their watches, unlike their foot pods. Hopefully Coros finds a way to open up their Pod 2 to generic BLE connectivity in some future software update instead of being limited to Coros watches
