Soft Heart Rate Straps that WORK long term???

[Jiffer]

Thanks for all your comments.

Seriously, I think equating its lifespan to that of running shoes is a good idea.

The problem with that, is you don't really know how long it will last and can be quite expensive to replace. Some people have trouble after a very short time.

Fortunately, I bought my first one from REI using my dividend and they keep them in stock so I can exchange as necessary. Sigh.

I actually thought of that option too. I don't know that we have any dividend credit, though, and they REI so expensive to begin with. But other than the hassles of dealing with the sporadic HR readings as they come and go, exchanging the strap there is probably one of the best options if you don't want to go with the plastic.

Of course, dcrainmaker has a solution. The man is a total geek - and we love him dearly for it.
http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2010/08/s...utsspikes.html

I loved this! And I may just try his suggestion of putting the Garmin transmitter on a Polar WearLink strap (which can be bought without a transmitter for a cheap price). If you look further down the thread of comments, you see where someone said it worked for them until they were two hours into exercise, they think from sweat getting into the strap. Their fix was to cut a 1 cm strip in the strap behind the transmitter, keeping the two ends from touching each other, and it worked. For them and others who commented after. So more options to try.

I have had three Garmin heart rate monitor straps; a 'hard one' (no longer use) a soft / premium that went wacky with readings after about six months. I contacted Garmin, and after trying all of their suggestions - to no avail, they graciously replaced it. I had to send mine in and they sent me a new one. I have had no problems with this one. That was in November of last year; I use it almost daily.

Here are their suggestions for troubleshooting:

I'm aware of all their suggestions. I emailed asking if there was an update to the premium strap or one coming out any time soon, cause surely they're aware of all the trouble people have with them. They said no, but gave me troubleshooting suggestions, which I already knew about. And, by the way, I have the newest premium strap.

SO HERE'S THE LATEST WITH MY HR STRAP WOES. As of last night, hubby replaced the battery (again) in my strap. He had wondered if when I replaced it myself, if it wasn't seated properly and, upon inspection, decided he was right. So he fixed that.

Also, one of the things Garmin told me was that when you change the battery, you need to wait 30-60 seconds before putting the new one in to avoid a power overload to the device, which can cause erratic readings. So he did that.

He also put electroglide gel where you snap the metal parts of the transmitter into place, hoping that would help. (Can't remember his theory and I'm no scientist!) By the way, electroglide gel is what they squirt on you when you get a sonogram. We use it to moisten the strap where it reads your HR.

I used the strap today and it worked great . . . for 42 minutes. After that, the readings went sporadic again. Mostly really low. It also happened that about the time the readings went bonkers, I had just picked up my pace a little bit. Not a lot at all, but I'm not sure it was coincidence that it happened at the same time. I have heard wind can cause problems with readings. It just wasn't much "wind".

So now my husband let me switch straps with him and he's going to try mine. I've always had more trouble using a HR strap than him, so we always have to wonder if it's my strange body causing some of the issues. The strap has to be "just so", a specific amount to the left, like two inches. I use a tiny freckle to figure out where to place it! But when it stops working right, if I move it a bit, sometimes it works again. Very frustrating.

So now I get to use his HR strap, which he's been successfully using for like a year or more. YAY! Hopefully I won't have trouble with it, at least for a while. In the meantime, I'll make HIM figure out what to do if the other strap gives him trouble. Muahahahahaaaaaaa!!!!!!!

In the future I would seriously consider either buying one from REI to later exchange if need be, or buy the cheaper Polar WearLink and put the Garmin transmitter on it, OR . . . maybe first bug Garmin to replace the strap all together. I suppose that should be the first thing to try.

Thanks again for your comments.