Wallonthefloor

It is something I've been wanting/needing. I read a few reviews of the Garmin Instinct watch and they seemed bad, in-fact everything "budget" from Garmin seems not so good in my experience, a more expensive one the reviewers stated the heart rate monitoring was good! Does anyone have any suggestions, maybe even a different brand? Im new to incorporating tech into my fitness.

Iride01 

Are you going to wear the watch all the time? I got over using a watch when cell phones started displaying time. If you are only going to use if for cycling, then I'd just get some flavor of Garmin Edge or the equivalent from one of their competitors. I use a Edge 530 but probably should have gone with the Edge 1030 plus. Usually I find if I buy the latest and greatest, I can go 10 years or more between purchase. But I didn't this time, partly because it was a gift to replace my almost 12 year old Edge 500.

If you are going to wear the watch all the time, then I'd probably look at the Garmin Forerunners if you do additional sports like running. Or the Garmin Fenix line of watches if you are more into hiking, camping, etc.

With any, if HR is your main concern and you are going to want to look at it while on your bike, then remember you'll have to take that hand off the bar or twist it enough to get a look. And then you might disrupt the position of the HR monitor and you won't see your HR momentarily. So for those that do have issues with that, you can pair a HR strap to them. Not to mention that when looking at your watch, you won't be watching the road.

gauvins

My recent watches were F5 and Enduro (not low-end). Fairly accurate, although when running, if the watch is worn to loosely it'll tend to report cadence rather than HR... For better results, the usual advice is to wear a chest-strap.
WRT accuracy -- you may want to read what DCRainmaker has to say about straps. Based on what I read, the Instinct is reasonably accurate. I wouldn't worry. Just be sure to wear it properly and if you strive for better accuracy, get a strap.

Seattle Forrest

Fenix 6X. You didn't mention a budget, and that's a good watch. 🙂

The wrist heart sensors in these devices have strengths and limitations, if the data is important to you then you should read up on how they work. I use a chest strap sometimes even with the watch on my wrist.

gpburdell

You'll need to give more info about exactly what you're looking to accomplish, else the answers will be no more help than going to Amazon.com and searching.

What is your budget?
When will you wear the watch?
Why do you want HR data? / What do you want to do with the HR data?
What other devices do you have and would you want the HR watch to talk to them in some manner?
What other things would you want the watch to do for you? Will you use it with other activities?
Are you particularly invested in any existing platform such as Apple, Garmin, Android, etc?

Think about and answer the above and you should then get some solid recommendations.

blacknbluebikes 

I've found the watch solutions too "glitchy" for training use. Apple watch does OK for general stuff, like walking/hiking, intraday checks, resting rate. For riding/logging exercise, am much happier with a chest-strap solution. Been using a Wahoo Ticker-X for about 8 months now, replaced a Polar H10 that was not keeping up with other software integrations and the strap was aggravating my skin. Highly recommend the Ticker-X at this point, integrates nicely with both Garmin head unit and Zwift.

scubaman

+1 that your intended uses matter. From following DCRainmaker reviews over the years, many/most watch-based HRMs are reasonably accurate during non-exercise use, but not very accurate during exercise. For that, I think chest or arm straps are much more consistently accurate.

msalvetti

I just started cycling real miles this year (over 1,000 now). At first I was just using the free version of Strava to track my rides, but then I decided I wanted heart rate. Went the cheap route with a Fitbit Charge 4. I link it to my phone GPS for each ride, and it seems to accurately capture my heart rate. At least it seems consistent.

I prefer mechanical watches, so I wanted something I could wear on my other wrist that was unobtrusive and didn't look like a watch. The thin black band on the Fitbit works for me. It also vibrates when I get text messages and calls, and this has turned out to come in really handy for me too.

Mark

Tourist in MSN

Your post title is good heart rate watch. But, what do you really want? Something that communicates to other components? Does statistics? Just gives you your current beats per minute number? There are so many options, it is hard to provide much input.

I just want a basic current beats per minute, nothing more and nothing less. I find the Sigma ID.GO to be ideal for me. Works with an older style (pre-ANT+ wireless) chest strap, which is good for me since I have plenty of older chest straps for receivers that died.
https://www.sigmasport.com/en/produk...d-series/id-go

For most things, I use a handlebar adapter for wrist watches from a defunct manufacturer to put it on my bike where it stays. It stayed outside for a rainy five week long bike tour, water never got into it.

OldRailfan

I bought a Vivoactive HR a few years ago when it was a very good price, works very well for me and is used with several of the Tracker apps from https://www.007software.eu/apps/
Combined with Garmin Connect I get the data I want/need