Find the Best Last-Minute Deals on Heart Rate Monitors During the October Prime Day Sale.
Heart rate monitors on smartwatches are usually good enough for casual workouts (and some are actually quite good ), but to achieve maximum accuracy, you’ll need a separate heart rate monitor—ideally a chest strap . Luckily, fitness trackers and smartwatches aren’t the only wearables currently on sale. Heart rate monitors from Polar, Coospo, and other manufacturers are all discounted, and here are the best deals I found.
The Polar H10 chest strap is on sale for $20.
All electronic chest heart rate monitors are good, but the consensus in the fitness community is that if you want the best, you need the Polar H10. This is the heart rate monitor Apple used in its own heart rate accuracy tests; I also remember wearing one during a VO2max test in the lab. It retails for $104.95, but it occasionally goes on sale, and right now is one of those times: you can get the Polar H10 for $84.74 .
The Polar Verity Sense Armband is also on sale for $20.
Okay, personally , I wouldn’t use a wrist strap instead of a chest strap; wrist straps use optical sensors, the same technology found in your watch. Optical sensors are more error-prone than electrical chest straps. But while they’re not my favorite, wrist straps like the Polar Verity Sense are popular, and their accuracy is good enough for most people. If you don’t like the feel of a chest strap or simply prefer the convenience of a wrist strap, the Verity Sense is a great alternative, and it’s now $85.46, down from its regular price of $104.95.
My favorite budget brand, Coospo, is currently on sale for 29%.
I love it when a budget option works just as well as a high-end model, and that’s why I value my Coospo heart rate monitor so highly. Frankly, the H6 I’ve been using for over four years finally broke, so I upgraded to the newer model, the H808S . Both are currently on sale: the H6 is $23.99 instead of $29.99, and the H808S is $26.26 instead of $36.99.
Wahoo Trackr costs $TKTK
Wahoo has another solid line of fitness products, and the Trackr heart rate monitor is another excellent choice. It’s currently on sale for $84.99, off the regular price of $99.99.
How to use a heart rate monitor
Heart rate monitors connect to watches or exercise equipment wirelessly, usually via Bluetooth, but sometimes via the older ANT+ protocol. (Many heart rate monitors support both protocols.)
You’ll need to set up your heart rate monitor to either transmit your heart rate or pair it with another device. (Usually, you’ll transmit your heart rate to fitness equipment, but you can also pair it with a watch or phone.) The specific settings vary by brand, but it’s usually fairly straightforward. If you have a fitness watch like a Garmin, Apple Watch, or Samsung Galaxy Watch, pairing the chest strap is a simple task. Unfortunately, the Pixel Watch can’t pair the heart rate monitor.
But even without a watch, you can use a sensor with your phone. I like the Polar Beat app as a simple heart rate tracker, but there are plenty of other options. The Apple Fitness app can use third-party heart rate sensors, as can Strava .