Are Strapless Heart Rate Monitors Useful?

Generally, heart rate monitors are subdivided into two major categories: those with chest strap transmitters and the strapless type. Knowing which type of heart rate monitor is suited for you depend on your intentions of using it.

If you have noticed, conventional heart rate monitors include a transmitter that is worn around the chest to pick up electrical signals from the heart and count the heart rate of a person. Hence, to be able to get a heart rate, you should always wear the chest strap transmitter during workouts. Sadly enough, some users particularly women are annoyed by the presence of this strap because can be uncomfortable and can easily slip out of position. Many of them also necessitate wetting the strap or applying a conductive gel for better conduction. Because of this, strapless heart rate monitors are increasingly gaining in popularity.

Athletes and seasoned exercisers have professed that heart rate monitors with chest straps offer more accurate readings than strapless ones, which is why many have asked whether strapless heart rate monitors are just as effective. Here, we look into the strengths and drawbacks of strapless HRMs and draw a conclusion of their efficiency.

In identifying the advantages, first it is essential to look at how a strapless heart rate monitor works.

Review on Strapless Heart Rate Monitors

It is undeniable that one of its greatest benefits is to perform the same functions with the conventional HRM without the hassle of wearing a strap for a transmitter. This is due to the fact that they detect a person’s electrical impulses from his fingertips using a fingertip sensor. Therefore, it measures the heart rate of a person when he places his two fingertips unto the sensor–which is also its disadvantage.

To get a reading, a person may need to pause for a while to touch the sensors. This poses danger for cyclists who may have to remove one hand from the handlebar and become diverted from the activity. But now, newer units have been released to provide a continuous monitoring without having to touch the sensors of the watch. There are strapless types that include a ring sensor that is simply fitted to one of the fingers to conduct signals and measure heart rate, there is also another type that is wound around an arm and it will automatically provide the user a continuous reading. A good example for this is the ePulse Strapless Heart Rate Monitor and Calorimeter that uses the same technology as cardiac monitors found in hospitals and clinics.

Many manufacturers have claimed that a strapless heart rate monitor is just as accurate with an electrocardiogram. And several critics have also supported this claim by using heart rate monitors with and without a chest strap side-by-side. And the results yield no apparent difference in their measurements. Furthermore, they can also be programmed with the target heart rate zones plus many features.

Little by little, strapless heart rate monitors are being used in various sports activities. Apart from that, they are also very convenient to use anytime all throughout the day without the need to have a bulky strap around your chest.