Wrong heart rate ohr

[Stefan Kersting]

These OHR discussion is a little bit like that. If you wanna go for a Golf, go for it. You know what you get but Don’t complain that you don’t have a Mercedes. The gold standard for HR measurement is the chest strap, if its Garmin, Suunto or whatsoever

[BrunoH]

@Stefan-Kersting glad to know I wear a Merc on my wrist when I’m driving my Skoda

[surfboomerang]

@Stefan-Kersting I drive a Golf and I can tell you that there are more bugs in my car that in my Vertical

[zhang965]

@6294946 said in Wrong heart rate ohr:

Egika do you mean to say that one is not allowed to point out problems with a product you have? I don’t get why you are being defensive here. Many people here reported the same problem. Seems like maybe it’s not just about OP

This is SUUNTO community forum, if you point out Garmin works well on a particular function, it’s not productive for Suunto.

Welcome to Suunto community forum.

[A Former User]

@zhang965 flames keep us alive

[DMytro]

In my opinion it’s useful for as much users as possible to point out whether a certain feature does or does not work for them.
Saying ‘ohr is hard and depends on many factors’ is obviously telling the truth, likewise that HR strap is going to be better.
But, if 100 people say that suunto ohr doesn’t work for them in certain (or most) occasions, while Garmin does - it would infer, in my opinion, that perhaps Garmin has more advanced SW or HW. And this is something I’d like to know as a potential buyer, if I don’t have a possible to try the watch before buying or if return policies are not nice - or even to decide the order in which I’m going to buy->test->return the different models of different brands.
To contrast that, I wish more people would speak out about which features of suunto work better for them (also compared to other brands). This way everyone can benefit.
P.S. By repeating the ‘nags’ about persistent issues by multiple users (not the same single one though), I guess one could try and direct suunto’s attention to the problem in hopes that SW/HW will be improved in the future.

[Łukasz Szmigiel]

@SuperD OHR accuracy has been discussed here many, many times.

While I personally have a poor opinion on how Suunto OHR algorithms are performing, I see great improvement in accuracy between S5 and S9PP up to the point that I rely only on OHR while doing easy runs on flat. But there are others who say it’s still poor. And S5 was performing worse than an old tomtom I got from my friend (in regards to OHR during the workout).

I still use the belt for trails and cycling as it’s far too hard for the OHR algorithm to interpret the data when you’re flexing your arms in different ways and have plenty of bumps, shakes, like the example that you’ve mentioned (placing hands on your legs while climbing isn’t the kind of movement the algorithm is optimised for).

Please keep in mind that the OHR sensor is a stupid simple device that sees some light and the algorithm has to figure out if it’s even HR or a banana.

Garmin, Polar, Coros, Apple, or any other brand can do it better in this particular example (ie in one’s personal example) but in general - if you’re into accuracy and repeatability of said accuracy - you’ll be better with a belt. Regardless of your watch brand.

And this is my recommendation while still having the opinion that Suunto doesn’t have a good OHR accuracy record in couple of last models: Get a belt if you want to have good HR accuracy regardless of sports, weather, sweat, skin colour, hairs, tattoos, etc. Or use OHR while knowing its limits and weaknesses.

I wouldn’t use OHR for a race from which I’d like to get the most from HR data.

[Łukasz Szmigiel]

@DMytro this is while assuming that Suunto takes into consideration what’s going on on this forum and is not limited to ie. testers or its own surveys, which may itself be biased.

[suuntastic]

@SuperD please take also in account that seasonal lower temperatures are not beneficial for OHR. In summer I forgot my belt for a longer trail run day. I was impressed how well my S9P performed. It felt nearly almost like belt for me. Really good. But now weather is colder and I tend to have easily litte bit colder arms. That matters a lot for OHR in general. And you can’t compare two different watches in different seasons. Despite having made this one superb experience in summer, I would never make the choice to leave belt at home in general. Belt always feels more robust and dynamic. And in Winter I want to wear my watch above my clothes.

Regarding Coros and Garmin I would admit, that they could be ahead in OHR, but all watches tend to have same issues with lag and colder days. So even with this watches I would wear a belt, because I want the best HR experience. But from all outdoor accuracy and UI aspects, I cannot imagine wearing another watch than Suunto

[wakarimasen]

@Łukasz-Szmigiel I think one thing to consider is that the larger the customer base, the more wide and diverse is the data pool. A smaller customer base can yield less diverse results and will not be as beneficial for improvement. Just a thought

[Egika]

@6294946 said in Wrong heart rate ohr:

@Egika do you mean to say that one is not allowed to point out problems with a product you have? I don’t get why you are being defensive here. Many people here reported the same problem. Seems like maybe it’s not just about OP

Where in my post do you read that I mean something is not allowed?
I am basically trying to understand, what the TO is aiming for, since for me it is not clear.

It could be just pointing out, but it could as well be looking for tips and best practice. To be most helpful for the TO I was asking this question.

[mikekoski490]

@SuperD I’ve worn a Garmin F6X solar and a Coros Vertix 2 prior to Suunto 9PP then Vertical. From that experience 9PP was the best OHR probably because it was the lightest. Garmin was about the same as Vertical, and Coros was terrible.

Garmin forums complained a lot about OHR when I had it, and posters just said get a heart rate belt lol.

Please post a screenshot of a race you did when you were using your Garmin 945 - I think that would be more meaningful than just saying ‘My Garmin was better.’ Would be VERY interested to see an actual OHR comparison shot given the same conditions - as you said “going uphill I used my hands on my legs”) as this would normally be not something OHR is good at. That way people on here wanting to rely on OHR to race could then choose a Garmin 945 (lighter than Vertical because its plastic case?) and not make the mistake you did. Thanks!