And just like that, Polar now makes ANT+ devices. The Polar OH1 is one of two devices today that Polar has announced that are getting ANT+ compatibility. The other being the H10. But I cover that (and thoughts around possible Vantage series ANT+ support), in this separate post.
This review is focused on the Polar OH1 Plus, but the good news is that Polar OH1 owners will soon find a firmware update that also gives their existing OH1 units the ability to broadcast via ANT+. However, if you can’t wait for that, the new OH1 Plus units start shipping later this week and are already en-route to retailers.
Note that if you are looking at buying an OH1 (non-Plus), you can use this review as well. In fact, for this review I used a few devices. First was my own Polar OH1 that I bought and then had the firmware upgraded to effectively make it an OH1 Plus (hardware-wise there’s no difference, the Plus just comes with a goggle strap for it too). In addition, Polar sent over some loaner OH1 Plus units that had the little ANT+ logo on the outside. But again, exact same hardware. I’ll send those back to them shortly.
Oh – if you’d like to skip all the textual stuff and just get the entire lowdown in a few minutes, hit up the video for all the demos and OH1 goodness:
As always, if you found the review useful – hit up the links at the bottom to help support the site.
What’s in the box:
The Polar OH1 Plus has almost the exact same box contents as the previous OH1. Only difference is this now comes with a little swim goggle clip. Here’s the box contents, once transformed into a plastic baggie because the final boxes hadn’t quite arrived yet:
I’ll update this section likely tomorrow when the final exterior box arrives here, but the contents are final. And honestly, the contents are exactly the same as before internally. Here’s the pretty top-down shot of all the parts:
Here’s a closer look at the pod and charging cradle:
Then, there’s the one new thing – which is the small swim goggle clip. I’ll talk about that later on, but essentially it allows you to clip the pod to your swim goggles and then use the optical HR sensor against your temple.
And…that’s the box contents. I suspect in the final paper cardboard bit I receive there’s the final instruction manuals and safety stuff. But frankly, neither you or I will read that anyway. So let’s get right to using it.
The Basics:
Actually, it’s about now many of you might be wondering if there’s any differences to the pod itself. Internally Polar says they’re identical, and that makes sense given that the existing OH1 pods will get a firmware update to make them identical in functionality to the OH1 Plus. However, on the exterior someone got out their stamper and stamped the little ANT+ logo onto the new OH1 Plus pods. You can see that here side by side:
Everything else Polar says is the same. And that makes sense – no company wants to rev the internals of hardware if they can avoid it. As noted above, the one other bit that comes with the OH1 Plus is the new swim goggle clip. You can see this here:
This is actually a smart move by Polar. The temple is a great place to measure optical HR, as there’s no whacking going on there like your arms do. As such, there’s far less external forces that are going to reduce accuracy. And in fact, there have been other HR sensors that have leveraged your head before for measuring HR. So that is interesting. I’m looking to do more testing here in the pool in the near-future, though again, there’s no change to the existing OH1 (which I’ve used on my arm in the pool with pretty good success lately).
From a charging standpoint, the unit comes with a small USB charger that plugs directly into your computer or any other USB port you find:
You just pop the pod into it and you’re good to go. Additionally, this allows you to sync via Polar’s Flow Sync desktop app. Fear not, you don’t have to use the desktop app, it’s just another option for sync and/or firmware updates.
You can instead use Polar’s Flow app on your iOS or Android device. To do that, you’ll simply bring the pod nearby while you’ve got it powered on, and it’ll go through the pairing process. It’s quick and easy:
You may be wondering why you’d need to sync at all – isn’t this just a HR sensor? Well see, the OH1/OH1 Plus has internal memory in it, so it can record your sessions in the event you either don’t have a watch handy, or, if in a sporting situation like swimming where signal can’t broadcast to the watch.
To start a recording, just double-tap the outside power button twice after you’ve turned it on:
This will then trigger the status LED on the other side to blink rapidly twice, indicating it’s in recording mode.
This works well enough, except when it doesn’t. My complaint on this has always been that it’s flaky. Not because the hardware is flaky, but because me as a human is. Specifically in that usually this is just under the edge of your clothing, and can be awkward to catch whether or not the button press registered (as the button is well designed to be protected from accidental presses). So if you missed the double-blink (as it’s super quick), then you have no idea if it’s recording or not (Edit: Looks like the status light will change the blink pattern slightly when in recording mode, though trying to remember twice-blink vs blinking every two seconds is kinda a weird differentiation.)
I’d love Polar to simply allow me to press the button again and then have the light illuminate some unique recording color. Purple, red, really, anything to indicate it’s recording. Scosche does a bit better job at this, making it far more clear you’re in recording mode. Again, I know it’s a minor thing – but I’ve lost two swim workouts and a ride in the last few months where I thought it was recording but wasn’t. In all cases it’s likely 100% my fault, but since there’s no way to double-check, you just have to trust.
After the workout, you’ll power back on the sensor and it’ll automatically connect to the Polar Flow app and start the sync process via Bluetooth Smart, which you can see below on the left. On the right is the completed workout:
You can then dig deeper into the completed workout. Note that I don’t believe you’ll see the Training Load Pro details if you just have the sensor, that’s because I also have a Vantage V in my account.
Now, in this distraction of cached workouts and all we got distracted from the obvious: To turn it on, you simply press the button. Once on, it illuminates the green LED’s on the back, which allows the optical sensor to measure your blood flow:
The pod is then placed in the strap (or you can do it before) and slide up onto your arm. I prefer the upper portion of my arm near my bicep, as that’s usually covered by a shirt or what-not.
At this point, the sensor is on and transmitting your heart rate, which is now a good time to talk about how it does that.
Pairing and Compatibility:
The original Polar OH1 has always transmitted your heart rate over Bluetooth Smart to compatible devices. It uses Bluetooth’s heart rate sensor profile, which means virtually every fitness/sport app and device out there is compatible with it. Even most Garmin devices made after Jan 2017 are also compatible with it as it previously stood.
However, what the OH1 Plus (and the firmware update for the original OH1) add is the ability to also now broadcast over ANT+. So what you get is the following concurrently:
A) Unlimited ANT+ HR Connections
B) A single Bluetooth Smart HR connection
I note this singularity bit on the Bluetooth Smart , because the Polar H10 strap actually gives you two concurrent Bluetooth Smart connections (as well as ANT+), as does the new Garmin HRM-DUAL. When I asked Polar about this, they noted it’s something they may be able to address. Both units use the same Nordic chipsets, so there really shouldn’t be a reason one is more limited than the other.
Speaking of which, I go through the entire history of how and why ANT+ came to be on Polar in my other post here, you may want to read there.
So what does two concurrent HR streams look like? This. Below is an example from Zwift showing both the ANT+ and Bluetooth Smart side of an OH1 Plus sensor:
Sometimes, like above, you’ll get slight 1-2 second latency difference between ANT+ and Bluetooth Smart signals. That’s normal for all sensors.
Where it becomes even more interesting though is on Garmin gear that doesn’t support Bluetooth Smart sensors. Take for example the Garmin Edge 520 Plus, released less than a year ago. That unit was built atop the Edge 520 platform, which Garmin elected to not upgrade to support Bluetooth Smart sensors. As such, it’s ANT+ only sensors there. But now with the update, you can pair to the OH1:
For dual-capable head units like the Wahoo BOLT, or others in the Garmin range (such as the Edge 1030), it leaves you with just a case of which side you’d prefer. Though, I’d recommend using ANT+, as to not use up the single Bluetooth Smart channel. Here’s how the data looked yesterday on my ride, with the Polar OH1 streaming my HR to the Edge 520 Plus (lower unit), while the Polar H10 strap was showing HR on the Edge 1030 (upper one) also using ANT+:
(Heart rate on the upper unit is the biggest data field at 135bpm, whereas on the lower unit it’s in the lower right corner at 135bpm)
One interesting tidbit is actually going back to the swim bits here, in particular for team scenarios. Currently they’ve got coaches that want to monitor the HR of athletes in real-time in the pool. The challenge with Polar’s existing solutions is that they all require the athlete get to the wall and then wait for transmission to pick-up. That delay/latency for swimming HR…basically sucks. It’s just not super useful. But with the goggle strap attachment, the pod stays above the waterline enough to keep a near-constant stream of HR data back to a coach using an iPad on the sidelines. Here’s a screenshot from that video:
That’s brilliant. Note that Polar says it won’t backfill/cache data to the coach’s app for cases where the pod is underwater for extended periods of time. So there is that limitation. Still, this is by far the best solution out there for real-time monitoring. The iPad app can monitor up to 40 athletes concurrently.
Ultimately, I haven’t had any issues with connectivity to any device I’ve tried with the OH1 Plus (or OH1), on either ANT+ or Bluetooth Smart. I’ve personally used it for workouts via ANT+ or Bluetooth Smart with Zwift on Mac, iOS, and PC – as well as the Polar Vantage V, Garmin MARQ, Garmin FR935, Garmin Edge 1030, Garmin Edge 520 Plus, and probably more that I’m forgetting. Oh, like the Wahoo BOLT.
HR Accuracy:
Before we move on to the test results, note that optical HR sensor accuracy is rather varied from individual to individual. Aspects such as skin color, hair density, and position can impact accuracy. Position, and how the band is worn, are *the most important* pieces. A unit with an optical HR sensor should be snug. It doesn’t need to leave marks, but you shouldn’t be able to slide a finger under the band.
Ok, so in my testing, I simply use the sensor throughout my normal workouts. Those workouts include a wide variety of intensities and conditions, making them great for accuracy testing. I’ve got steady runs, interval workouts on both bike and running, swimming, as well as tempo runs and rides. Basically, most everything a typical triathlete would do. While I’ve been using the OH1 in swimming workouts, I haven’t had a chance to get to the pool with the OH1 Plus yet. Though again, it’s the same sensor/internals/etc, so I wouldn’t expect any issues there. If you want to see some swim data from it, check out my most recent COROS APEX In-Depth Review, which shows some data sets there.
For each test, I’m wearing additional devices, usually 3-4 in total, which capture data from other sensors. Typically I’d wear a chest strap (lately that’s been the Garmin HRM-DUAL and Polar H10), as well as two watches using optical HR sensors and often finally another optical HR sensor on the other arm (most recently the Scosche 24). I never wear more than one watch per wrist, and never more than one optical HR sensor per upper arm side.
Note that the numbers you see in the upper right corner are *not* the averages, but rather just the exact point my mouse is sitting over. Note all this data is analyzed using the DCR Analyzer, details here.
We’ll kinda work our way roughly backwards with some of these data sets. First is one from Sunday night, a reasonably hard structured workout indoor ride on Zwift. Comparative data from this particular set includes the Polar H10 (over ANT+ no less), as well as the Garmin MARQ optical HR watch, and the Scosche 24. Here’s the data set:
Well damn. That’s boring. Everything just worked. Perfectly. Seriously, when’s the last time that’s happened around here?
Ok, I suppose technically at the 17:42 marker the Garmin MARQ watch did briefly bobble slightly for a few seconds, but seriously, everything else is spot-on perfect across four different optical HR sensors. Next thing you’re going to tell me all the power meters matched too. Oh good, they didn’t.
Next, here’s another cycling activity – this time outdoors. This one from a nice loop out on open road. I had it paired this time via ANT+ to an Edge 520 Plus. There’s also comparative data against the Fitbit Inspire HR, Garmin MARQ Athlete watch, and Garmin HRM-DUAL chest strap. Here’s that data set:
Now there we go –that’s the kind of optical HR sensor messiness I’m talkin’ about!
We can see the Garmin MARQ and Fitbit Inspire are having a rough go of things. Now technically the MARQ was still in beta during this ride. Meanwhile, if we manage to dig through all that we’ll see that the OH1 and Garmin chest strap agree most of the time. Except, when they don’t. For example, let’s take a look at this earlier section:
To the left of the yellow line is a bunch of stop and go as I exited the city. We’ll ignore that for the moment. Instead, I’m most interested in the section just to the right of it as a start a long threshold section. You can see the Garmin chest strap catches it first, then somehow amazingly the Fitbit Inspire HR wakes up too and notices. But it’s almost two minutes later that the Polar OH1 catches on (but then yet another two minutes further for the Garmin MARQ). None of that’s ideal. Though, at least they figure out recovery together, all declining at the same time.
Now if we use your best rainbow decoder glasses and focus in on the red and green (just like Christmas), you’ll see those two entities near perfectly overlay each other the entire time. That’s what I’m looking for!
Next, switching over to running, I’ve got this interval session around Vondelpark. In this case, I paired the OH1 to the Garmin Fenix 5S via ANT+, but I also recorded it internally on its own memory too. There’s the same assortment of other comparative sensors as the previous set. Here’s the data set.
There’s a lot going on HR sensor wise in this graph, so I want you to focus on the green line (that’s the Garmin chest strap), and the blue line (that’s the OH1).
I’m going to zoom in to show the last few longer intervals and first few shorter intervals:
What you notice here is that the chest strap and OH1 are super close to each other the entire time. The chest strap leads the way on recovery just slightly by a few seconds, but the OH1 isn’t far behind. We know there’s actually no time drift here since the way the Analyzer tool accounts for that – also, in a second I’ll show you how I recorded it two different ways.
Again, the slight latency here is hardly an issue for most. Also – the fact is this $70 sensor easily outperformed the optical HR sensor on the wrist-based $1,500 Garmin MARQ watch and the $99 Fitbit Inspire HR activity tracker.
Now before we leave this set, there’s one thing to note: I actually recorded the OH-1 also internally. And in fact, what you saw above was the internal side of the equation. Whereas below shows the purple line of the ANT+ side from the Fenix 5s. You can see the two Polar OH1 tracks match perfectly atop each other, except at three points where the signal drops out momentarily. It’s not clear who’s fault this is, though, the Fenix 5s (non-Plus) does have some substantial history with 3rd party sensors and dropouts. I haven’t seen dropouts in other workouts be a problem, but it’s important to note.
Finally, another running session – this time a giant rectangle. Because the shape of my running route most definitely matters to optical HR accuracy. In this case I simply used the OH1 without any watch at all. I just used the internal memory to capture my run and then sync’d it later to the Polar Flow app. Here’s that set:
In this run I basically did half of it at a relatively even steady-state intensity, followed by the last half or so doing constant 60-second on/off intervals of hard running. The Polar OH1 is in teal, while the Garmin chest strap is in red.
Once again, just like above we see the OH1 mirror every interval spot-on. However, like before there’s a few seconds of lag compared to the chest strap.
Again, the other contenders all struggled here. Which I suppose makes things a bit of a boring accuracy section when the sensor being reviewed just works.
If one wants even more accuracy data, there’s tons more OH1 sets available in both my recent Polar Vantage M In-Depth Review as well as my COROS APEX GPS Watch In-Depth Review.
Ultimately though, from an accuracy standpoint, I think the specific optical sensor inside the OH1/OH1 Plus is probably either the best, or equal with Scosche for their implementation in the R24 or Rhythm+. Though I think in general there’s probably a slight accuracy edge to Polar, at least in my tests over the course of 2019 thus far.
I’d also argue that in most cases, I get better performance from the OH1/OH1 Plus than traditional chest straps. The reason is simple: With most optical HR sensors on the upper arm, you don’t have to deal with the reality of cool/dry chest straps in cooler/dryer winter months. That often manifests itself as issues early in the workout with drops/spikes, as well as static electricity discharge. Things I used to write annual posts about. With wrist based optical HR sensors, you can still run into blood flow issues on cooler days at the start of a workout. But for the upper arm, that’s rarely an issue – and thus, accuracy is usually really really good. Just like I saw here.
(Note: All of the charts in these accuracy portions were created using the DCR Analyzer tool. It allows you to compare power meters/trainers, heart rate, cadence, speed/pace, GPS tracks and plenty more. You can use it as well for your own gadget comparisons, more details here.)
Product Comparison:
I’ve added the Polar OH1 Plus into the product comparison tool within the heart rate sensor category. I’ve compared it against the Scosche Rhythm 24 as well as the Wahoo TICKR FIT, which are basically the only other upper-arm options in this category. Of course, there’s plenty of chest straps, so if you want to see how this compares against those and make your own comparison charts, hit up the comparison tool and do some comparing:
| Function/Feature | Polar OH1 Plus | Scosche Rhythm 24 | Wahoo TICKR FIT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copyright DC Rainmaker - Updated July 27th, 2023 @ 10:46 am New Window | |||
| Price | $79 | $99 | $79 |
| Product Announce Date | Mar 20th, 2019 | Jan 9th, 2018 | Jan 3rd, 2018 |
| Product Availability Date | Mar 22nd, 2019 | Late April 2018 | Jan 3rd, 2018 |
| Measurement Type | Optical | Optical | Optical |
| Typical Placement | Upper Arm | Mid/Upper Arm | Mid/Upper Arm |
| Battery Life | 12 hours | 24 hours+ | 30 hours |
| Battery Type | USB Rechargeable | USB rechargeable | USB rechargeable |
| NFC Capable | No | Yes | No | HR Transmission | Polar OH1 Plus | Scosche Rhythm 24 | Wahoo TICKR FIT |
| ANT+ | Yes (with firmware update) | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth Smart | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dual concurrent ANT+/BLE | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Analog for gym equipment | No | No | No |
| Usable HR data underwater | DEPENDS: IF ON SAME WRIST, YMMV. | Depends: If on same wrist, YMMV. | Depends: If on same wrist, YMMV. |
| Bridging ANT+ to Bluetooth Smart | No | No | No |
| Can record activity in memory | Yes | Yes | No | Additional Data | Polar OH1 Plus | Scosche Rhythm 24 | Wahoo TICKR FIT |
| Run Pace | No | Yes | No |
| Run Cadence | No | YEs | No |
| Run Economy/Metrics | No | No | No |
| Cycling Cadence | No | Yes | No |
| Cycling Power Meter Estimation | No | No | No |
| Valid HRV/RR data | No | At rest only | No |
| Configurable Sport Modes | No | Yes | No |
| Displays HR Zones | No | Yes | No |
| Requires Bluetooth Smart Phone for Configuration | No | Yes | No |
| Firmware Updateable | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SDK For App Developers | No | App | Polar OH1 Plus | Scosche Rhythm 24 | Wahoo TICKR FIT |
| Can show workout afterwards | Yes | No | N/A (No recording) |
| Can sync files/workout to 3rd party | Yes | Yes | N/A (No recording) |
| More Info | Link | Link | Link | Purchase | Polar OH1 Plus | Scosche Rhythm 24 | Wahoo TICKR FIT |
| Amazon | Link | Link | Link |
| Backcountry.com | Link | ||
| Competitive Cyclist | Link | ||
| REI | Link | ||
Again, don’t forget you can make your own comparison charts in the product comparison tool here.
Summary:
Overall the OH1 Plus is exactly the product it honestly should have been when it launched nearly two years ago as the OH1. The good news is that water is under the bridge and Polar now has an incredibly competitive offering on its hands, even more so if they decide to enable the 2nd Bluetooth Smart broadcast channel – in which case it’ll easily sweep the category.
Though honestly, pitted up against the Scosche Rhythm 24 and Wahoo TICKR FIT, it’s hard to see how it’s not already the winner. The TICKR FIT lacks offline caching that both the Scosche and Polar have. However, Polar edges ahead of the Scosche when it comes to their app/platform ecosystem – which is full-featured, rather than just being a somewhat clunky conduit. Of course if Scosche pulled out the stops and allowed things like the long talked about swim-sync to Garmin watch capability, that might definitely change things. At present, none of these sensors can transmit your swim data to any watches directly (an oddity for Polar especially).
There are very few things to nitpick on the Polar OH1 Plus (or OH1 post-firmware update). As I noted earlier, I really wish they’d figure out something for the status LED light to re-confirm you’re in recording mode when tapped. Additionally, there’s really no excuse for Polar not having OH1 to Polar Vantage M/V offload capability like Garmin has (whereby for swimming it’ll sync post-work automatically and merge the data together on the watch). But I suppose that’s honestly more a Vantage M/V complaint than an OH1 complaint.
Anyways, as I said earlier – if you’re in the market for a standalone optical HR sensor, there’s little reason at this point to not choose Polar OH1. I’ve really picked up my usage of it since earlier this year, and now with ANT+, it’s pretty much going to be my go-to upper arm optical HR sensor – mainly because of just how clean the sync is post-workout and because the accuracy is so good.
With that – thanks for reading!
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Somehow the OH1+ is missing in the comparison table…
Fixed! Thanks!
(Publish time on that database item was incorrect)
Hi Ray,
Great review.
I have a question that may seem silly but I’m a neophyte: can this device be used to record heart rate data while recording a swim session with an Apple Watch, and have its heart rate data replace the watch’s heart rate readings for the duration of the session?
Thanks in advance.
No, unfortunately no way to do that for swimming on the Apple Watch. Your best bet is to do something Akin to what Circe noted below, which is admittedly sorta cumbersome.
Thank you very much for clarifying that for me, I appreciate it.
Hi,
How about using OH1 with Suunto Ambit3 when swimming? Suunto’s own hr sensor does the same, it records hr-data and syncronises it after the swim. But would that work also between these two? Would prefer other thatn chest strap while swimming.
Thanks!
Same story there. There’s no specific standard for how BLE offloads HR data to watches after the fact. So that’d take Polar/Suunto working together. Given Polar hasn’t even implemented in their own watches, that’s a tough gamble.
(Now: Funny tidbit – if you look at my other post, Polar has implemented an SDK today for their OH1. So technically speaking someone could actually do that offload bit themselves.)
Hopefully you will finished your Garmin 945 test before it gets announced 🙂
There is a BLE standard for transferring files (object transfer). The only thing to do is settle on a data description.
Correct, but as noted, no standard for HR data specifically. Hence the challenge.
I usually use my oh1 during my swim session in the forearm; record Hr then export tcx in Polar Flow and merge it in sportracks(desktop) and TrainingPeaks. HR tracks seems plausibile with my effort; also i can see Hr live with Connect iq datafield and oh1 near the wrist (opposite side pf the watch where there a better vascularization)
Great review, as always.
The only downside of the (my) OH1 is its batterylife. And the fact the battery drains fast while not in use.
Curious about the OHR accuracy when placing it on the temple. If it´s more stable than upper arm then why not use it for other activities than swimming?
You could put the OH1-sensor under a sweatband OR attached to a cap/visor/sunglasses that many runners use to shield themselves from the sun.
Do you plan to test the OH1 positioned on the temple and compare it to the upper arm? Or have some data from Polar regarding accuracy in that position? Thanks.
I’ll be doing some temple swim testing for sure. I’ve got all next week slated for various product tests in a warmish destination with both pool and OW swims.
I had the same thoughts about using against the temple for all sports running, cycling, yoga, gym etc a bit like the moov products do
Curious about this too – if you could wear it on a headband where presumably there is little chance of a cadence lock problem, then it might be handy for other sport applications.
The OH1 has a different blink rate when used as independent training device.
The Green LED blinks rapidly twice when HR is detected and recording internally.
Otherwise the Green LED blinks once every two seconds when HR is detected and transmitting to another device.
My only complaint with the OH1 is the tiny size of the button.
Any chance existing OH1 users will be able to acquire/purchase the swim google clip?
Hmm, there’s a different blink rate after the initial two blinks? My challenge is missing the initial two blinks sometimes. So, like 5 minutes later – how can I tell its still recording?
link to support.polar.com
When used as a sensor Green LED blinks once every two seconds.
When used as an independent training device Green LED blinks quickly twice.
Huh. Learn something new every day:
Used in sensor-only mode:
Heart rate detected: Green LED blinks once every two seconds
Heart rate detected: Green LED blinks quickly twice
I’d argue that’s still Confusing AF, since basically it’s still green for both and variants of two’s. Twice or every two seconds. But it’s something.
LED can also blink Yellow, Red, White, Blue or Purple so remembering what they all mean is unlikely?
So for everyday use I can remember that Green is good and Red is bad.
You lucky guy.
For me it’s green good, except it’s actually red, then it’s bad.
I welcome white/blue status LEDs, at last a noticeable difference.
I remember it as:
Slow blink…. read … read… read..
Quick double blink…. read/write….read/write…read/write
Hope that helps someone!
Ok, I’d agree that now after knowing the double-blink and using it daily, it’s working out mostly pretty well for me.
Also – randomly interesting: I learned that if the battery is in critical, it won’t seem to create a recording (but will seemingly keep transmitting till it dies).
I like the temple placement during the swim – that is really clever. One thing that isn’t clear to me, Ray: Does the OH1+ provide the cached HR data post workout via ANT+ like, for example an HR SWIM?
If so, it would be a great replacement for the HRM-SWIM and I wouldn’t have to answer the why-are-you-wearing-this-chest-strap question all the time.
No cached workout to the watch for BLE or ANT+.
Polar would have to implement ANTfs for ANT+ to work with Garmin watches for the post-swim caching. It’s something Scosche has been saying they’ll do for some 15 months now, but haven’t done yet. In theory it’s totally open standard, but in practice it’s unclear if there’s some catch that’s causing Scosche to stumble.
For BLE, there’s no standard there for sports-offloading that I’m aware of. But, Polar could easily implement their own thing in their watches.
Thank you Ray for clarifying this. It’s a shame, would’ve loved to use this instead of the HRM SWIM, oh well, maybe Scosche or the OH2 will be able to pull this off.
+1 on this.. It is a shame it won’t work with Gamin watches on the post-swim caching. I was just about to click the link to Clever Training until I read this detail.
Yeah, it’s definitely something Polar could theoretically implement. Though honestly, I wish they’d implement it on their own watches first (for both OH1 and H10).
This is something that would also get me to buy this (or the Scosche). I use the HRM-Swim and would definitely prefer something like this to wearing a chest strap in the pool.
If anyone from polar is reading this (hi!)I would buy this yesterday if it had ANTfs support to replace my Garmin HRM Swim and download HR data to the Garmin 935 after the workout!
Hi
Just jumping onto this thread to see if there’s any update on the OH1+ sharing swim data with a 735xt?
Cheers
Garry
2 questions here:
What’s the sizing of the armband like? The OH Plus sounds great, but I have really skinny arms. I mean like 10-year old kid-sized.
Did you test it against the Apple Watch 4 HR sensor? (which is usually within 1-3 beats of my Garmin chest strap).
Hmm, it gets super small. I don’t think I’ve heard anyone have any issues there in the last year and a half, though perhaps I missed it.
I did some Apple Watch testing against it back in February. I think that’s in my Polar Vantage M review actually. I’d say this is more accurate than the Apple Watch 4 – but it’s also in an easier location for HR too.
Ray, are you suggesting the optical HR algorithms have been improved in this firmware update as well? If so, I ought to give it another try.
For info, I bought the OH1 for my wife who likes it but when I tried it ~1 year ago I wasn’t very impressed with accuracy. I tried the Scosche she had before that and wasn’t very impressed with that either. Tried it in different positions, different band tightness, I have white skin etc. Totally unconvinced by optical sensors for run efforts beyond jogging steady state to date. I’m sticking with my conventional chest strap H10… I’m so used to it that I don’t notice any discomfort, very, very rarely get any drops if I wet the band (spit is fine!) just before starting a workout, and it’s worth the extra accuracy. Excited to read your next post about the H10 being upgraded to dual BLE/ANT as that was it’s achilles heel…
I’m not aware of any algorithm improvements planned in this specific update, but I know they’ve been making them over time to it.
I don’t offhand have a list of firmware updates for the OH1.
Both OH1 and OH1+ works emiting to a Garmin Edge 520?. Or only the OH1+?. Thanks.
OH1 will connect via ANT+ after a firmware update that is not yet out (as I´m writing this on 20 March 2019).
Correct, update is slated as sometime this spring.
I am still looking for a solution so I can properly track swim workouts with HR in Strava. The ones I do with my 735xt and swim chest strap won’t sync correctly because Strava refuses to support them (it’s been that way since 2015, with hundreds of complaints in their support forum)
Any suggestions Ray? It’s a joke how bad Strava supports triathletes imho.
That is a Strava issue. According to an interview given by Strava’s Paul Niemeyer to a German podcast Strava sees it’s main future revenue stream by monetizing the location data they are collecting. Pool swimming – which is that loses all HR data as opposed to open water swims AFAIK – doesn’t have any location information so working on this is probably really low on Strava’s priorities list.
I’ve given up and started using TrainingPeaks for my main analysis platform.
Definitely a Strava issue. In a nutshell they don’t correctly follow the ANT+ spec for how to read the appended .FIT files Garmin generates. It’s comical really, this spec has been around like 3-4 years now at least. There’s really no excuse – everyone else support it just fine.
“OH1 has always transmitted your heart rate over Bluetooth Smart to compatible devices. It uses Bluetooth’s heart rate sensor profile, which means virtually every fitness/sport app and device out there is compatible with it.”. Tomtom runner 3 it isn’ t compatible device.
That would be surprising, and honestly, if so – would definitely be a TomTom bug.
It’s a pretty standard spec, an in fact the first standardized Bluetooth Smart profile there was was the heart rate one. If there’s anything that works cohesively on Bluetooth Smart every time, it’s HR.
Is the goggle clip available separately today? I hope they sell it later too – someone’s going to lose that clip! I don’t see it on their site yet
Yup, you can contact customer support and they’ll get one to you. It’s not clear if it’s free or a few dollars, but either way, they said for now that’s how they’ll handle it.
Accuracy looks great, but two things are showstoppers here. Battery life would be acceptable 3 years ago, but not now – especially considering the competition; and i always found the OH1 too small and susceptible to flipping over or moving about too much. Trying to my arm into a compression top and have the OH1 stay in place was almost impossible!
I get on very well with my TICR FIT, and nothing here will tempt me to move back to an OH1. Is local caching a big use-case outside of swimming ?
Yeah, I think it depends on battery life. For me I just kinda get into a rhythm (no, that that Rhythm), of charging every few days. Still, a valid point.
As for caching, I think swimming is the main one. But there are also some sports that in certain scenarios prohibit watches (soccer/football comes to mind), so that’s the appeal there.
Hey Ray,
Thanks for this piece of great news as I have the OH1 and want ANT+ too. Maybe since I post early after your publish I can get an answer from you 🙂
You say the Fenix 5S has problems with 3rd party devices and get dropouts. In my experience this is not a 3rd party thing, it’s a BLE thing, but maybe I’m wrong. I’ve tried running with Fenix 5S as well as FR935 connected to OH1 but both Garmins have been terrible (except for TWO runs with Fenix 5S) with a lot of missed readings, like once every 1-2 mins or so. I never had this problem when using V800 or SSU or Vantage V with OH1 (I think). Then when I started running with F5S or FR935 with a Wahoo Tickr Fit ANT+ signal I have NEVER had any missed readings so I just assumed this was a BLE problem with Garmin. Any comments on that? Even my FR735XT works flawlessly with Tickr Fit.
I have usually been running as well as XC skiing with a Polar or Suunto + OH1 on one arm/wrist and Garmin + Tickr Fit on the other and at times there is a lag in one of them, but I don’t know who’s right actually but I guess the OH1 is more correct.
Please give me some comments about the reliability of BLE sensors from Garmin or at least with the OH1. Can’t wait for ANT+ now btw!!
Weird, I actually haven’t heard that. In fact, mostly the opposite.
Most people that have had ANT+ issues with the 5/5S (not 5X, that’s different), have had better luck with BLE on it.
I haven’t seen any issues with my FR935 with BLE sensors – so I wonder if there’s something else at play there. 🙁
Thanks for the reply! 🙂
I too wonder. There was recently a sensor hub firmware update for 3rd party sensors both for 5S and FR935 for me. Wonder if they made a difference. Have yet to test with OH1 but will later on.
The placement for OHR is the most important I know, so it makes me wonder if that played a part for me but since it never seems to be a problem with VV, V800 or SSU I blame Garmin. Funny thing though, the Garmin app does not show these dropouts, only Garmin web connect. Strava doesn’t show it either. At first I thought it was a display error but it’s clear in the GC web that lots is missing. (sample picture attached)
Sounds like I need a 5X as well lol. Kinda want a 5X plus but it’s so expensive.
If you have time Ray, someone asked on the (harsh) SSU review page you posted, whether or not it is a good buy now that it’s at discounts. I said it was but I suspect he wants you to reply 😉 I feel the SSU is not buggy anymore with the 2.x firmware.
Yikes, that’s pretty bad chart ndeed.
I’ll check the Spartan review, but in general some of the X-1 (previous gen) watches are great deals right now. We also tend to see good deals on wearables in the May timeframe as well.
Two weeks ago I ran with my FR935 and OH1. Had similar bad experience as the one above with lots of missing values. Today I ran with my newly purchased Fenix 5X Plus (I had something to celebrate and I’m obsessed lol) with OH1 and had NO dropouts at all, zero, none, nada!! Worked like a charm! It could be a coincidence, but I kinda don’t think it was. I will do more running with OH1 BLE and FX+ from now on to see if it continues to work well. Guess ANT+ for existing OH1 users is still a while away, but we will see. Ok so it’s Friday, will check if your new Samsung review is up yet 🙂 With Garmin Pay on the F5+ I think I have no reason to try out a Samsung watch 🙂
Hi Jens- any chance you can tell me what kind of training effect numbers are you getting using OH1 with your Fenix? Thanks!
Hi Karl,
Not sure if you wanted the good runs (F5X+) or bad runs (5S and FR935 i.e with or without dropouts), so I’ve made a pic with both. Seems the dropouts didn’t really make a difference. Is this what you wanted to see?
Of course this all depends on the pace of my runs. I think these two 7k runs were threshold runs for me, so neither super fast, nor slow.
Thank you, Jens. Much appreciated!
So yesterday I got the ANT+ update for my OH1 and today I ran with my Fenix 5S using OH1 connecting with ANT+. No problems with dropouts today!! I will try with my FR935 on Friday to see that it works as well there too. Surely I can’t be the only one with this problem?? Today COULD have been a coincidence but I believe ANT+ did all the difference. Now I can even take out my FR735 and use the OH1, amazing development 🙂 Wrist OHR has been working pretty well with 735 for me though, but only possible in summer(less clothing) for me.
Ray, does the OH1 measure HR below 40bpm? Scosche doesn’t, and for someone like me with a daily resting in the low 30s that’s a dealbreaker for any HRM.
Hmm not sure off-hand. But what’s the scenario for using the OH1 (or Scosche) for all-day HR? It tends to be a workout device more than a 24×7 device.
I get up and take my resting HR each morning, so whatever HRM I use needs to be able to handle that.
Theoretically my Garmin 935 can, but for me I’ve found there optical unit to not work well on me (or any optical near my wrist). I’ll sit there and it fluctuates rapidly between the 50s and 90s and sometimes will eventually, after 10 minutes or more, settle to a plausible reading. And we know the Garmin way to telling someone their resting HR with the all day monitor is weird.
I’ve been using the Wahoo Tickr, but when I use it for exercise I get chafed a lot. So a reliable optical HR would be nice.
I have the same issue. My scenario is for morning HRV testing.
Currently using the R24 for that, but i know its inaccurate in measuring my resting HR as my fenix 5+ shows a resting HR in high 30s, whereas R24 always shows resting HR of 42.
3-5 years too late. they’ll go the nokia way …
Hi Ray
Do you think Garmin (I have the F5) will ever implement the OHR sensor for swimming on any of their range of watches, now or in the future? Whenever I have read about this previously its stated that being underwater kills the reliability of the data. That obviously doesn’t seem to be the case here, hence my question.
I presume that you’ve covered this a million times but seems relevant anyway.
Thanks
I feel like at this point that ship has sailed unfortunately, at least for current units. 🙁
Is there a way to get the goggle clip for an existing OH1 owner?
Polar says to contact customer support and they’ll get you all hooked up.
Polar Australia have quoted me $39 delivered for the goggle swim clip. This is just a piece of plastic right? The price differential online between OH1 and OH1+ is $10.
That’s nuts. Yeah, just a tiny piece of plastic not much bigger than two peanut M&M’s side by side.
Somewhere either on this page or the other Polar ANT+ one someone got a quote for I think 5GBP from Polar.
Any idea whether this will record a workout AND broadcast in ANT+?. I use a Garmin Edge 520 for cycling but prefer the recovery charts in Polar Flow so I usually also wear a Polar M430 with a Wahoo Tickr chest strap broadcasting to both units. If this would record and transmit to the Edge 520 I could leave the watch at home and replace the Tickr with the OH1.
Yup, in fact, it’s what I did for virtually every workout here. Concurrent recording and broadcasting.
Thanks! Just pre-ordered one using the link and code you provide to CT. Thanks for always providing such great content.
Thanks for the support!
Nice to additional functionality added – although not sure I’ll use it as I’ve set up everything to be BT based. Had my OH1 for a few months now, please with accuracy (in fact i got it because I liked the sensor on the M430) but the battery life….
12 hours battery life is fine with me, but the fact that it drains when not in use so I actually only every get about 4/5 hours of use in a cycle spread over a couple of weeks is not helpful!
Is there any news on sorting out the battery drain when off issue?
“pitted up against the Scosche Rhythm 24 and Wahoo TICKR FIT, it’s hard to see how it’s not already the winner.”
Well, other than the off-line storage thing, 30hr battery life (TICKR) vs 10hrs (OH1) is a big deal. Whether you’re an ultra runner or an IM distance triathlete. I had a setup with my Mio Link and Suunto Ambit2 where I could see real time HR during my swim. that was pretty cool. That said- I don’t miss it much and would rather have the battery life.
Yeah I think the battery life does definitely depend on which type of athlete you are. For an Ironman/Ultra/etc, then certainly – the 12hrs is cutting it too close for most (or not enough at all).
But I suspect for anyone else, the 10-12 hours probably covers their weekly training demands without too much issue. Like I said, I prefer the form factor (and LED’s) on the Scosche, though I think the whole app situation is so much better on the Polar.
Maybe you should read the manual…
I mean … After reading you would have known about the different modes causing different status led blinking.
You wrote that you have not read the manual at all in your article.
Yup, missed it in there.
Though, given I brought this very item up to Polar’s product managers on a call a few days before and they didn’t mention the status modes either, sounds like it’s not well known (and I still stand it’s confusing that its implemented).
“No cached workout to the watch for BLE or ANT+.”
Oh no, I was just about to press “buy”.
Hi Ray,
Does the Polar OH1+ capture/record heart rate variability when paired to something like the Elite HRV app (via Bluetooth)?
Is Polar OH1 or OH1 plus working with Tacx Neo?
And one more question if OH1 Plus works with Fenix 3?
Yes on the Fenix 3. In fact, it’ll work with any Garmin wearable/bike computer they’ve ever made – except for some of the later Vivosport/Vivofit products that no longer allow you to connect to HR straps for some odd reason (of any sort). But all Vivoactive are perfectly fine.
As for the Tacx Neo, that trainer doesn’t directly connect to HR sensors of any sort. But the Tacx training apps can indeed connect to this strap as well.
Thanks a lot. Of course. As You answered i understood that question was not quite clear. I mean with Zwift app with Tacx Neo. So if it can connect with TAcx training app so also it can be connected with Zwift. Thanks a lot for answers and Have a nice weekend!!
Great review Ray. I have a Polar OH1 and looking forward to the firmware update to get ANT+ . There is one significant advantage to the Polar OH1 compared to the Polar chest straps and Garmin chest straps I have used in the past – not sure if this has been raised by others. I used to get a severe allergic reaction to something in the strap’s construction, along with many other people from what I have seen on the internet, resulting in nasty rashes that got to be so bad I stopped using the straps. No such issue with the Polar OH1, given where it can be worn.
Could you put the goggle clip on a helmet strap while cycling? Or is that a stupid Idea?
It is unlikely one would get meaningful data if worn as such. Goggle straps are tight to the head (which by default will hold the OH1 sensor/cradle securely) where as helmet straps would be too loose. -Mike@PolarUSA
This could be useful for rowing as the pressure fluctuation on the arms makes getting a consistent reading with a optical heart rate monitor spotty. Seems that it would just require a head strap to keep the OH1 tight against the temple.
Got my OH1+ today. Looks like it will work on the temple with an ordinary headband. This could be a great option for workouts like rowing that put lots of fluctuating pressure on the arms resulting in poor readings.
Thanks for sharing. I wonder if this might work for running as well. However, in this case it seems that the unit might unclip itself due to all those jarring impacts from running.
When will you try the temple mount while swimming? Eager to see your results! Sergio
Yup. I did both a pool test and an openwater swim test in the last few days. I haven’t had the time yet to consolidate all that data and see how it looks.
Functionally speaking the only caveat I’d note is that it’s sorta a pain in the ass if you take off (like put on your forehead) your goggles for a moment in between a set. That’s because the little pod tends to rotate and flip over. So sometimes it ends up facing outwards and you might not realize it. So you have to somewhat remember to double-check each time before you re-start your set.
Also interested to see the HR data from using the swim clip. I put my OH1 under my swim cap yesterday for 2 laps (100m) to compare with wearing on my upper arm. Only did 2 laps as I didn’t want to lose it although it probably floats?
Very interesting product. I’ve been (pool) swimming since high school. I’ve used the Polar strap under a swimming shirt (otherwise it would move every time you push yourself hard from the end walls) but the OH1+ clipped to the googles seems like it could be a game changer. Quick question, can it transmit HR data in real time to a Garmin…say 945? I asume (I’ve read) that not while swimming, but if used in other sports, would it? What I would love to know is if the data from the OH1+ sensor would be recorded by (or imported into) the Garmin and then downloaded from the Garmin for analysis as part of the same exercise, or if not, how do I merge the HR data from the OH1+ into the distance and other swimming metrics taken by the Garmin. I’m sure you know what I mean. I thank you in advance for your comments.
Hi Joaquin,
I Have the same question. Ive already bought theOH1+ based on this review (Thanks @DCRainmaker!), but can’t seem to find HR after a swim. have tried all combinations I could think off:
Start recording OH1+ then start a swim session. nothing found afterwards
Start a swim and then start recording OH1+. again nothing.
Start a swim in normal mode (not recording), it does see my HR continously but not when I sync to garmin connect.
It just doesn’t seem to work for swimming when combined with a garmin watch (F5+). I do have the HRM swim strap. that connects almost immediately ehen I finish a swim. this OH1+just doesn’t do anything when it comes to recording and then connecting to garmin for analysis. So yes its a good HR device for contious ANT+ readings on a garmin Edge 820 for instance, or when running. But for swimming you can only read the saved data through the Polar app. Not as compatible as I thought it would be.
Anyone interested in buying one? Ill stick to the HRM Tri and wait for Garmin to come up with something thats works with their range of products
Hi Paul and Joaquin,
The OH1+, just like any generic ANT+/BLE HR-device can only transmit HR under water in a very limited distance (like 2-3cms). No Garmin watch can receive HR data in POOL SWIM activity during the activity (under water). Workaround – which will not show distance – is to use indoor activity during swim and have the OH1 next to the watch but this is a very bad suggestion for accurate readings. For open water swim you will get realtime HR with this method, but it’s still not a good suggestion IMO since OHR is not very reliable under water.
The only way to save recorded/cached HR data with OH1+ is through Polar Beat app. I suppose there is some way to get this into the fit file for a Garmin pool swim activity but I am sure it might be hard work.
I tried to do pool swim using Mio Link next to a Suunto Ambit3 Vertical using BLE and that actually works, but it’s just because the Suunto watch can handle realtime HR in the pool. Only older Suunto models can do that I think.
I think the OH1 is great with Garmin for non pool swim activity now that I got ANT+ in mine through firmware update anyway. It got disconnected for 1-2 mins last weekend while running however so not sure what that was about. Fortunately it wasn’t a race and not so long, but still alarming.
Kind of off topic, but if you pool swim with Garmin with HRM-Tri or HRM-Swim, the HR data will not be shown in Strava due to an incompatibility with the format Garmin saves the HR for pool swim, but if you do open water swim, it WILL go to Strava! Kind of annoying.
Hope I answered some questions?
One thing I didn’t notice is once the battery no longer takes a charge, in about 3 to 4 years which seems to be typical time frame, how much will it cost to replace the battery? Polar is notorious for expensive battery replacements.
Does it give you all the metrics when connected to Garmin watches? I personally am mostly interested in the training effect numbers. Scosche does not and all what I am getting from their and garmin’s support is fingers at each other.
*pointing
Hate doing this on a phone!
When we will get the firmware update for the OH1? Has anyone already with it?
Someone had called support recently and they said April sometime, though I haven’t had a chance to re-validate that with Polar directly.
Got my new OH-1 today at hands.. Connecting with Garmin 5X did not give another option to connect with ANT+ though which I needed for trainer use (leaving the Bluetooth for the Zwift device). Would be fixed with new firmware?
My other use case would have been/ is to wear it with the watch while swimming but that would give the HR only during breaks, out from the water, right?
Apparently issues to connect were on Garmin’s side as after some restarts and removing Garmin belt from the connected devices it finally gave another option to connect OH1 via ANT+ too. Problems solved during one night 😉 – Will keep it!
Your battery lasts for a couple of weeks!?
Mine is dead within four to five days – without using it for a second! In fact it does not make much of a difference if I use it or not, I have to charge it about twice a week.
Is this normal or is my OH1 defective?
If you haven’t used it, and your battery dies within 4-5 days, then yes, your unit is defective.
Can you turn off the broadcasting on the OH1 when in cached mode to save battery? I was thinking of using it for a 12+ hour event which will push the limits of battery life, but I do not need to broadcast HR, just store it. Is there a way to turn off the broadcasting completely to add battery life?
Is the oh1 sensor also compatibel with suunto 9 or suunto ambit 3 peak?
Johny I would say yes to that without actually knowing. I use my OH1 with my SSU without a problem so I could almost guarantee it works with both of those. Should work as any BLE HR sensor IMO.
I’ve only had problems with Garmins, FR935 and Fenix 5S, getting lots of missed readings. Never happened with Fenix 5X Plus though(I just got a firmware update for BLE on 5X Plus so I hope that will not mess up anything!!).
Hi Jens, thanks for support! I have lots of problems with hr registration with suunto. Therefore i was thinking about the oh1 connecting with suunto
I’ve successfully paired with ambit 3 and have been using it for a few days. The heart rate data for the first 10 mins is so much cleaner than the “noisy” old chest strap. One side effect I’ve noticed; the “performance difference” metric on movescount is now always 0.0%
Will fenix 3’s VO2 Max and Recovery Advisor work with this sensor? Or am I correct to assume that needs HRV to work?
My recovery estimates and training effects get updated with fenix 5X when this one’s used. Did not try running 10km to try for vo2 update as have the run belt for more parameters.
Hoping someone out there might have the same issue and have suggestions. My OH1+ will not maintain a solid bluetooth connection to my series 3 apple watch. This is not an issue with every other bluetooth HR device that I have. Typically for a ride, my HRM will connect to the watch and to my wahoo (via ANT+) and maintain a solid connection until I power off the HRM. With the OH1+, if I pull up the bluetooth settings on the watch and look at connected health devices, the OH1+ fluctuates between connected and not connected. The OH1+ is not connected via bluetooth to any other devices. While my iPhone sees it, I have not paired it with it. Again, every other bluetooth HRM I have does not have this problem. Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions that might help me keep a solid connection between the OH1+ and my apple watch. As an aside, I am not using any workout apps on the watch, just simply having the watch use the OH1+ in lieu of the watches built in HRM. Polar was less than helpful when presented with the situation. Thanks so much.
I am trying to pair the OH1 Sensor to a Garmin FR 920XT without success. Any tip?
Jerome, did you update firmware so it has ANT+? I think 920XT needs that. Hopefully that is what is missing. Also hope you didn’t already get the OH1+ because then I am clueless.
Any have problems getting the oh1+ to provide HR to the Health App on an iPhone? I have the latest oh1 firmware and have done a factory reset of the oh1+ and have bounced my iPhone.
My iPhone XR successfully pairs with the oh1+ but it doesn’t show up as a HR device in the Apple Health App.
My Apple 4KTV pairs with the oh1+ and I have HR for Zwift.
I can see oh1+ HR with the Polar Apps on my iPhone.
The iPhone Health App will show HR with my old MiO wristband.
I got the google clips thru the post for my OH1, Polar charged the following
– OH1 # : SP – Spare parts sales
DESCRIPTION QTY LINE TOTAL
———————————————————–
HOLDER SWIM ASS OH1 1.00 5.00
POST AND PACKAGING 1.00 3.50
************ 8.50 ************ 0 0.00
———————————————————–
BALANCE 8.50
I appear to have got 2 clips, not sure when you’d chose one of the other?? I think I’m going to try the bigger one of the two today, for fear of loosing the sensor in the pool!!
I just got an email notification from Polar that the original OH1 is now Ant+ through Power Flow app.
I posted a comparison of the OH1 in the forehead location to the Hexoskin shirt (single lead EKG). It’s decent during steady state but has issues with the beginning and the end of a HIT workout:
link to muscleoxygentraining.com
It also is pretty uncomfortable under a bike helmet.
First run with the OH1 plus connected to via ANT to F5s (auxiliary heart rate IQ data field) also connected with HM-TRI chest strap normally via ANT. With 1-2 bpm diff throughout the run other than on the recovery from an interval, normal for optical, however instead of on my arm it was against my temple using the goggle connector attached to my glasses. Only a 10k easy run but something I would recommend if you are not getting on with chest strap or on the arm. On my left temple with Garmin F5s on my left wrist
Would be the icing on the cake if Polar could incorporate the store and forward for ANT+ too – would be great for swimimng without a chest strap that everyone points at
Hi, does anyone know if there is a larger version of the strap? On the polar website you can order one that claims to be m-xxl. The one which came with my oh1 says „m“. Is that the same strap? It’s barely big enough for my forearm and I‘m not a bodybuilder.
Hi.I have a S9 and I am looking for a new HRM. I hacer 3 questions: (1) The OH1 works with S9? (2) In a triathlon, how is it works? Because in water doesn’t send HR figures to the watch, but when you start biking automatically send the figures? (3) It is confortable to use with wetsuit? Thanks!
1) Yes
2) No swim data during the swim on the watch (however, you can put the OH1 into recording mode, but that data won’t merge to your Suunto data)
3) It’s cumbersome only in that you need to ensure the pod is facing the right way once you get it on. It’s not impossible, but I find it mostly a pain in the ass to get right.
Thanks Ray!
I just purchased the OH1+ and have successfully used it with my Concept2 Rowing Machine, Concept2 BikeErg and my Garmin VivoActive3 and Edge25 devices – all devices connected via Ant+. I also have it connected via Bluetooth to my iPhone 8 and like to use the Polar Beat and Polar Flow apps and the Polar Flow web interface.
One question though … Having done a few workouts now all of which I see on Polar Flow, I’d like to be able to see my Recovery Status on the Polar Flow web site. However, that tab is missing under the Diary submenu for me. Is that because the OH1+ doesn’t support the Recovery Status feature and I’d only get that if I was using another Polar device?
Has anyone else been able to see the Recovery Status using only the OH1 (no other Polar watch or device)?
Many thanks in advance,
Gary
When I try to use my OH1 for recording data. The following happens: I press the button two times, and the LED blinks red three times. It doesn’t start recording. On the Polar support site thay say this for three red blinks: “Training recording set on but first time use not done”
So, what is this first time use? I have used it for a year now mostly for recording and some broadcasting and suddenly I can’t record anymore. I recently updated firmware but can’t remember if I used it successfully for recording after that.
Can somebody help?
Hi Kristian,
I have the exact same problem, did you get any help?
/ U
Hi there,
I do a lot of sports, also muay Thai… Question if I place the sensor on the inside of my upper arm, where I normally don’t get hit, will the sensor read that accurate?
I wouldn’t expect any issues there. However, just beware of any rubbing that might occur (which could cause chaffing, or also, inaccuracy if it essentially makes a thump – since that might overrule a HR from an algorithm standpoint).
Thanks for the quick answer. Love your site and your reviews!
Last week I tested it at muay Thai training. I wore it at the upper arm with the sensor at the back of the arm where it is normally save from hits or kicks or whatever. Well, it worked perfectly great.
So I got a oh1+ and it works perfectly. Which polar GPS watch can you recommend? Could be an older one, too. It should have GPS accuracy and a decent battery life. Possibility to track sleeping, too. Normally I wouldn’t hesitate to buy the ignite, but the GPS isn’t accurate yet, as I read. Possible also to buy an older used one until the ignite GPS is fixed…
Any suggestions?
Thanks a lot in advance
A question. It states for swimming you attach the clip to the side you breath on in freestyle – well I breath every 3 strokes, which means I breath both sides! Will it still register my heart rate correctly? Thank you
Purchased a Polar OH1HR monitor last week. It paired easily to my Garmin Edge 1000; however, once paired the Garmin stopped working properly. When I started a ride it remained fixed at 14.8 mph, 0.26 miles distance for a 33 mile ride. Fortunately I had also started Strava so my wife could follow my ride and that recorded properly. I never experience this with my Scosche Rhythm 24 or any of a number of strap monitors. Needless to say I returned the Polar and am going back to my Scosche.
That seems like an unconnected coincidence. There’s no distance aspects at all of the OH1. Does the HR drop-out at the point that it stopped recording? And what does the GPS and speed tracks look like?
Hi Ray
Soo Im finally gonna take the plunge and try optical… But I get an error on clever training… They wont accept your coupon 🙁
I get an error saying that the OH1+ is not couponable. (if thats even a thing?)
For anyone like me that lost the little charger clip within a week, Polar sells them (over the phone only) for $13 plus $5 shipping via slow boat usps.
While I wait a week or two for it to show, I figured out you can charge it by applying +5v to the contact closest to the metal button with ground being the contact on the opposite side. I covered the two middle data contacts with non- conductive electrical tape. I then used metal tape to affix the leads from a wall transformer to the +5v & ground contacts. Charges like a dream.
You may need to use a little pin push to get the metal tape to make contact through its adhesive.
Hi does anyone knows. If this can connect via ble or ant plus to garmin watches? Or only exclusive to polar watches?
I have successfully connected my OH1+ to my Garmin Vivoactive 3 watch.
Cheers,
Gary
Yeah Gary and Fazhira, it connects to all Garmin watches after the latest ANT+ addition, even old Forerunner 225 that I have. I say ANT+ addition since I have an OH1 which didn’t have ANT+ until a firmware upgrade this year.
Sorry, one last question – Tried googling it but cant get a clear answer.
1. Does the OH1+ broadcast in 5mhz (gymlink (?) too? Want to use it with a Kesier m3i
2. Unclear too if the OH1+ will send swim HR data to a fenix 5 after a swim workout. Will it operate the same as a Garmin Swim?
Thanks
Luke
Hi Luke,
About 1. I think it doesn’t but I can’t be sure. Sounds like an analog thing which I know it can’t handle.
2. It will not send swim HR data. Only Garmin chest straps can do that to a Garmin.
I’d like to use this for volleyball. If my Garmin watch is a bit too far away somehow, will the HR sensor record data and sent it to the watch ones the connection is restored? Obviously I’ll not be wearing my watch while playing.
No, unfortunately not. There’s no ANT+ based offload to a Garmin device for post-connectivity.
You can still save the workout on the OH1 itself, but there’s no (even remotely easy) way to get that onto your Garmin device.
I’d honestly recommend something like the HRM-TRI for that, though it sorta sucks since that’s an ANT+ only strap and I suspect its days are limited.
The problem is a chest strap is not going to work are at least is very uncomfortable. Jumping, driving, etc. My footpod data (synced to my Fenix 5S) does seem to have no or very little drop out. Can I expect this OH1+ should be able to cover a similar distance?
It might cover the distance just fine, I haven’t done a lot of distance tests with it. Generally speaking ANT+ in a clear-air environment can go dozens of meters easily.
Question: Does the OH1(+) meanwhile support two concurrent bluetooth connections (like H10 can do) or is it still limited to only one bluetooth connection?
Still limited to one as of yesterday.
I’ve switched to OH1+ from Rhythm 24 at the beginning of June and have never looked back. It has not failed me even once! Its HR readings are reliable during running, commute bike rides, roller skiing and even body weight strength training (all are areas where I’ve had issues – in some more, in some less – with R24). The only thing bothering me is battery life.
Thus, the question – is this behavior normal or is it a defective battery? I get screaming blinking red lights from OH1+ after 8-8.5 hours of usage during 6 days (and that’s including the approximate time before / after activity). I use it in Bluetooth mode connected to my Garmin 945.
I changed from the 24 to the OH1 when it got ant+. Much improved reliability. Battery run times are similar to yours.
Thanks for your sharing your experience Bikeman and Chano! It’s a bit comforting to know that I’m not alone out there with such battery life 🙂
Nevertheless, I’ve also sent a question about this to Polar support team and will post the reply here when I receive it.
A short update. Thus far I’ve received 3 e-mails with nothing useful… This Saturday, I headed into the run after the OH1+ had been turned on for ~6:45 during the week period. Before the run I received low battery warning both from my Garmin and OH1+ (it had green-red light warning). The OH1+ lasted for 2:03 and then died. Thus the overall time switched on and unit’s battery limit was short of 9 hours (via Bluetooth connection). If we look at the max capacity of 12 hours, then it’s either 25% less or there was 25% discharge during 6 days…
The latest Polar reply is as following (offering no solution; I’m skipping hello and best regards part and by comments in brackets):
“There could be several answers:
1. Battery lifetime was published before adding ANT+ connectivity mode. [I had ANT+ disabled via Polar beat app thus there should be no impact as the unit should not broadcast ANT+ signal]
2. Polar gives info regarding their own products, meaning OH1 + Polar watch. Not Polar + Garming or Suunto. [Really? I presume that this has really minor impact as OH1+ is simply broadcasting a signal and whatever unit is receiving it makes no difference…]
3. Yes, during standby period it can lose some energy.
4. They have a tendency to overestimate battery lifetime. But this does not explain 25% shorter battery lifetime.”
Hi Peter. It works for me well for different sports, too. I use it standalone and battery life is about 9-10 hours, which is a bit disappointing. My sports sessions are never longer than two hours, so after the fourth, I charge to not destroy the next session record because of lack of battery like it happened at the beginning to me.
How accurate is it swimming by just using the armband? I have the regular version and it didn’t come with the goggle clip. Hard time finding just the clip for sale. I am swimming with just the arm band alone, wondering if the reading is accurate or am I just wasting my time?
I bought Polar OH1 band and noticed that it indicates detected heart rate (by green led blinking) even when band was taken off my arm. It will come to white blinking led only when I connect it to any device – beat app, Forerunner watches … Is device faulty or does is just work in a way, that whn using it as standalone device I cannot know if heart rate is detected (band might be worn too loosely …)?
I ran with the OH1+ all summer and loved it. I got pretty much perfect data tracks every time. Although longer battery life would be nice, it isn’t a big issue for me. Recently, with the cooler weather, I’ve done a few runs in long sleeves and I’ve already had several problems with the sensor flipping over. This leaves big gaps in the data track until it gets noticed. My previous good feelings about this sensor are evaporating fast! I’m trying to think of ways to keep it from turning over with some sort of clip on the strap or some such. Anybody with a creative solution, please let me know. Ironically, if Polar just made the sensor a little wider, they could keep it from turning over and use the extra space for longer battery life. Two for one, solves both problems with the sensor. Polar, are you listening?
I’m not experiencing this issue but i just tried cutting down a terry cloth headband and placing around the OH1, it holds it in place with no problems.
Good idea. I’ll give it a try.
Are you wearing it on your upper arm (above the biceps)? If not, give that a shot. I’ve used it many times with long sleeves and have never had an issue with flipping (aside from when I’m first putting on the shirt—just have to be mindful that it’s in the right spot initially).
It flipped over to me once or twice, but not while running, it happen to me when putting long sleeve base layer and jacket on. Now, I am more careful and make sure that its not flipped before start to run. Firstly, I was surprised, that it was showing hr even when flipped over, so I had no chance to find out, that i looked at fake hr. I am new with optical hr sensors, I have been using only chest straps for ages and when it looses contact with a skin, it stops to transmit, unlike optical sensor. I wear oh1, as Jan mentioned, on upper arm, found it more comfortable and easier to take it off.
Thanks for the reply. That’s interesting. I was wearing it on my upper arm above the biceps and that’s when I had the problems with it flipping over with long sleeves. Generally, this would happen mid-run, even though I had checked it prior to starting. I now am wearing it on my inner forearm, just inside and below the elbow. So far, this is working for me and I’ve had no more instances of it flipping over. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.
It might be normal functionality, but when compared with cheststrap, there is hr delay with oh1+, which is still behind chest strap. When doing steady pace, oh1 lags always 3seconds behind garmin cheststrap and when doing interval, when hr changes rapidly, oh1+ is 7-10seconds behind chest strap. Is such behaviour normal, or is my new oh1+ faulty?
Sadly, it’s normal, and that prevents optical from being the perfect solution for everything imo. It’s great for general use but not super useful when trying to keep HR at or under a target zone. So, I still use my chest strap for that type of workout.
I m using my GARMIN watches 24 x 7 always running. Still unhappy with it, since they cannot be used during charging. So I have to wear two devices alternatively. Is there an optical heart rate device in the same quality range of a GARMIN watch which can be used during charging?
Picked up an OH1+ from Amazon’s holiday sale (20% off).
A few quick observations I’d not seen noted:
– The OH1 is much more comfortable to wear than my Rhythm+ I suspect just due to the much smaller size.
– The wrist band clip has a quick reference guide embossed into it, maybe an update based on Ray’s feedback?
– The orange looks just plain orange in the pictures but is a weave of orange, pink, and yellow.
I would like to be able to monitor my HR while I swim. This device seems to be able to measure it while swimming, not sure about other HRMs. Unless I am missing something, I don’t think it can transmit to anything I wear? Is there anything that does this, where I can see my HR on a watch (which has a HRM function, just not accurate while swimming). I thought maybe the FORM swim googles would be a great combo, HR could be an added field? I know it is almost impossible to transmit thru the water, but this device is not always in the water, neither is watch or head. If I got one update per lap, it would be enough.
If there is a solution to viewing HR while swimming, I’d appreciate someone chiming in.
Thanks again for the awesome detailed info.
Hey, I placed some comments on kofuzi recent review on the swimming with the armband. You can scroll to the bottom and read em below. I have a Fenix 5 and I swim with oh1. It does show your HR on the watch instantly, but doesn’t record it on Garmin connect. For that I record it on the device and upload it to polar beat to review afterwards.
link to youtu.be
Follow your recommend to buy the oh1 plus. Now have a question: Once turn on the oh1,then press long to turn off the oh1 ,will aways lead to firmware updating status that Blue continuously on. I now press long which go through power on status and finally the led is off, that mean it is power off.
Does my oh1 is defect?
And how downgrade the firmware of the oh1?
I bought one a month and a bit ago when my rhythm+ died from ingesting water through a crack in the rubber after 3 years of daily use.
I hate it. It takes forever to react to HR changes. It completely misses intervals. I tried both forearms and biceps inside and out.
If you need it to monitor your effort/pacing then don’t buy it. I am pale skin not to hairy (not where I wear it) not super lean or fat.
If your muscles flex under it it just misses any changes.
I’ll take any tips but for me this product gets 2 out of 5
It would probably help if you specified what activity you’re using the OH1 for? I’d guess running but you can also do intervals cycling on a trainer.
I use the OH1 on my inner forearm approx 1 inch below the elbow crease. HR data is within 1-2 bps as my H7 strap however the OH1 does lag by approx. 4-5 seconds during intervals when HR increases rapidly.
So for interval training I think the consensus is that a strap is still necessary.
I’m using it predominantly for cycling with some running. And I’ll use it for swimming and surfing. My old rhythm+ worked brilliantly.
For cycling I always wear on my left forearm as it is used less for gear shifting/braking.
Are you using BLTE or ANT+ as ANT+ dropouts are common if the devices are too far apart.
Otherwise it may be the head unit that is not placing nicely with the OH1?
I use an ambit3S which I never had a problem with (until the awful Suunto app replaced movescount)
I think I may have had it too tight. Although it’s still really slow for the first 5 minutes
It seems to work better on the aforementioned inch below the elbow crease. It still leaves a mark though
According to this review:
link to the5krunner.com
the OH1 is the most accurate optical heart rate sensor tested by the reviewer and the accuracy of the OH1 is comparable to a chest strap. Battery life is between 11.5 – 12 h for a new battery.
I miss a battery life which is comparable to a GARMIN watch which is reliable more than 24 for protocols with GPS off, and a miss the option that the OH1 can be used during charging. To make the OH1 the most suitable optical heart rate sensor for a high quality 24 * 7 heart rate recording.
So I got an Ambit3 Sport, it’s still going so I rather not update it with no reason. The HR Strap is rather dogshit though and can not be synched with my Garmin 530 or anything else really that I could use to monitor my HR on my Trainer.
Would you guys still recommend it in 2020 ? The price seems fair.
If I can not use it with my Ambit3 Sport, that’s alright. I just want some HR Monitor I can use when using my Elite Suito.
Hi Ray,
We use a Kiosk with ANT+ installed which talks to a WASP and broadcast result for each HRM’s (Polar HO1’s), but the issue we have is all HRM’s registers and members details shows up on display but the HR data is stuck at 0%
The kiosk is situated in a basement level but it is hardwired via LAN same with WAP on site.
Does this have something to do with “privacy control for activities” on the Poalr APP perhaps?
Cheers
Matty
That’s odd. Any chance someone toggle ANT+ off on them (via the app)? Do remember with the OH1 you do have to activate it once with the app in order for it to broadcast anything.
Our OH1 has stopped turning on. I charged it normally (LED was green) but then it will not turn on when I push the button. I’ve been using it without an issue for a couple of months (got it new at the DC Rainmaker paincave event in Nov.). After this problem developed I downloaded the FlowSync app, updated the firmware, and also did a factory reset. Still can’t get it to turn on after it’s ejected from the computer. The LED lights seem to function normally when I was doing the reset (blinking purple), then went back to green, but it won’t turn on when out of the charger.
Any suggestions?
I have the same issue with the one I got my wife. I sent it to Polar under warranty, and they said it works fine and sent it back…. Not sure what to do with it…
Hi,
Does the OH1 + Worls like the Garmin HRM Swim, Collecting the HR data and transmitindo it to the Garmin Unit when you Complete your workout? I’m looking for a better option to measure my HR while i swim.
Tks a lot
Hi Gustavo,
Unfortunately (to my knowledge), only Garmin’s own chest straps work for getting HR data when swimming. No other HRM will be able to cache and after swim transmit the data. I think this is the same for most brands, they require the own brand’s chest strap for this.
I’ve just got the Polar OH1 and used it for a run with the Garmin Fenix 5S, but some odd thing shows up on garmin connect. When I look at the HR graph on garmin connect, the resolution of the Polar OH1 looks terrible (recording interval). The other graphs of the same run (pace, elevation) have much higher resolution. Previous runs with the Fenix’ built-in wrist HR also have high resolution HR graphs.
Left part is Polar OH1, right is Fenix wrist HR.
I’m not an authority on this but I think the 2 devices work differently. The HRM is monitoring the electrical signals from the heart and these have micro variations which if taken literally will look like fine grain spikeyness… whereas the optical devices are measuring something equivalent to a “pulse” which they will smooth out into something that looks more “rampy”.
I’ve been told that the micro variations detected by HRMs are used by Suunto watches to calculate “Performance Difference” metrics. So on one level that is a tick in the box for HRMs. However from a consumer point of view, I don’t use this feature. I personally find about 40% of my runs with an HRM have garbage data for the first 10 mins. I know there are work arounds for some of this, but its all very dull. Based on a few weeks use I’ve become a bit of a groupee for optical. You can just put it on, run and get a clean meaningful line. I think if the devices had been invented the other way around that HRMs would be a difficulty sell and you’ve be asking “why is my HRM so high res (noisy)”
I sent this message to the Polar Support. They answered me to contact the repair departement. This is not a repair, this needs an update:
Subject:
Polar OH1 flips around and looses data
Request:
I use the POLAR OH1 24 * 7 now, and I love it for it s accuracy.
Unfortunately, I regularly have the problem that the POLAR OH1 flips around
and looses data. I use a textile plaster to fix it. But I miss a more
professional solution for the POLAR OH1.
I had a few issues with flipping over i the past so I’ve changed my approach. Now I just use one of swimming plastic “cages” and connect it to watch wrist strap (much like you would do to your swimming goggles). It sits perfect between the bone and the watch bucket will no/minimal movement. I’ve not had any issues with cadence lock or inaccurate reading (when compared to chest strap).
I’ve also connected to my (Sun)glasses and ran with the OH1+ at my temple but was too afraid of losing it, again it worked great for running when comparing to a chest strap.
You had problems too with flipping? Ray described this problem also in his video:
link to youtube.com
I sent once more a e-mail to the cosumer service. They said they send it to the developer. I fix it now with textile plasters, but it’s not so comfortable. I thought about a broader band for the OH1.
I had problems with it flipping over also, especially when wearing long sleeves in colder weather. It would actually be better if the device was a little wider. They could use the extra room for more battery too. Anyway, I stopped wearing it on my bicep and started wearing it on my inner forearm just about an inch below the elbow. I’ve had much better success with it in that position.
I wear 24 * 7 a POLAR OH1 using two devices alternatively. To change the device, it is more comfortable to wear it on the lower arm. But the problem is, when I remove my coat, the Polar OH1 gets lost in my coat. So I have to put it on the upper arm when wearing a coat. But I think a broader band could solve the problem.
Polar OH1 supports Bluetooth Low Energy. Bluetooth Low Energy sensors can now be connected to Matlab. There is an example in the Matlab community for Bluetooth Low Energy heart rate sensors.
Is there an example how to connect to Polar OH1 Bluetooth Low Energy heart rate sensor to the example model BLE in Matlab?
link to mathworks.com
Matlab support would make out of the Polar OH1 a research grade device.
For low-cost research grade devices like the Bitalino Biomedical Toolkit:
link to bitalino.com
Matlab and Python support is standard:
link to bitalino.com
I miss Matlab and Python support for the Polar OH1.
Polar has no forum anymore. So, I post it here. For a live-stream to a PC application, is it not easier to use Bluetooth smart sensors than ANT+ sensors?
link to eevblog.com
Bluetooth smart is much more often used with desktop applications than ANT+. There are examples there for a live stream of Bluetooth smart devices to desktop applications, for instance camera live streams.
Matlab supports bluetooth smart.
link to mathworks.com
For instance for Polar OH1
link to mathworks.com
and Polar Bluetooth smart foot pod
link to mathworks.com
there is a ble SDK available. But can this SDK also being used for desktop applications? And is it hard to program a bridge program for instance in Matlab between Polar OH1 and the Polar Bluetooth smart foot pod and the Matlab Bluetooth smart example?
APIS for desktop applications should be standard for Garmin, Polar, Amazfit, etc. watches. Guiding star is Bitalino
link to bitalino.com
Contacted Polar for the swimming clips. Cost is 14.99$+10$ for shipping. I’m in Toronto and this is CAD. Just in case someone thought you may be getting them for free.
It would be very interesting if Polar could give the option to the user to switch to 24/7 hr monitor with sleep tracking and recovery tracking like oura ring. Al they need to do is to find a way to switch in and out training mode and thus in a battery saving mode, develop the metrics with the help of firstbeat and display them in their app like garmin does.
Would you recommend the OH1+ or the Mio Pod ? Pod looks like it would be less prone to flipping over, but I only see it for sale on their site, and not many reviews.
I have never had a problem with my OH1+ flipping over. I’ve used it for lots of runs, hikes, indoor and outdoor cycles, skis, golf rounds, in all sorts of weather / clothing conditions. I always check the orientation before I head out and have never had it flip. So I wouldn’t be concerned about it flipping. I think it’s the best / most convenient heart rate monitor that I have ever owned.
I depend on the purpose. I wear the polar OH1 24 h 7 d. And I experience a lot of flips. Especially when take off a coat. I did not find a comfortable way to solve this problem.
Ah, I don’t wear mine 24/7 – just when I’m doing an activity and it is easy to be careful when putting on a jacket to ensure I don’t flip it. I can imagine though, that if you are wearing it 24/7, as in your case, it would be easy to forget you’ve got it on and then inadvertently cause it to flip.
So, Zach I guess it depends on how you plan to use the OH1+.
I’d recommend the OH1+.
There are elements of the Mio unit I like (and yes, I badly need to write it up, got nearly 6 months of data on the darn thing). But I think the OH1 is just a more polished experience that seems more consistent.
There were things that I was hoping Mio would take care of, but 6 months on…doesn’t seem like it.
Thanks for the replies. I’ll mostly be using this for biking, mostly outdoors, ranging from low single digits (f) up to high 90s (mid-west weather). I might try using it for indoor workouts at some point, maybe plyometrics or weights, and spin intervals. I realize this might “lag” a little, but it’s not more than a few seconds, correct? -Meaning it would still be “good enough” to use for interval training matched up with a power meter? I do assume it’d be more accurate for biking in the cold when my skin is dry.
I don’t mind chest straps so I’m between the OH1, H10, or H9. Assuming the OH1 is okay for intervals, and you can ‘set it and forget it’ for broadcasting under multiple winter layers, I’m interested in going that route. I’ve had the Garmin HRM, and Wahoo Tickr. Both were great for about a year each until they turned into random number generators…I can’t really explain it. Even with a new strap, the Garmin is stuck in the 45bpm area with constant disconnects, and the Wahoo sticks in the 135bpm area…when I know I’m far from it.
On my TICKR, when it stays at a reading, I usually unsnap, re wet, and maybe reposition and it USUALLY fixes it. When this happens frequently, I try replacing battery. If not, I spend another small amount and get a new strap or new TICKR/strap. I think the straps go before the hardware does.
As a science guy, the above solutions bother me as they are more guessing and trial and error, but I get at least a year from it but I am only bike riding.
I am thinking of the OH1 since I swim and I like both that I wear it for biking AND swimming. YMMV. If anyone has better info, pls post!
Hi scott jay and also Zach,
scott, OH1 cannot be used for swimming as it doesn’t support caching of data and signals can’t go through water. Ok so if you have …say an old Suunto Ambit3 model that supports real time HR for swimming then it works fairly well since your arm is above water often enough (for crawl at least), but – and feel free to correct me here – this is not the case for any new sports watch out there. You CAN record HR with Polar Beat app but that’s totally separate from the swimming itself, so it will be HR data only, nothing more.
Zach a friend of mine said OH1 can lag as much as 30s in intervals. I truly think and hope that is not right but I don’t run intervals often enough to tell. Also I’m not 100% sure of my HR during intervals so I can’t say for that reason either. I know it does lag but I would guess a few seconds, but would like some expert in this area if possible.
I have not noticed any delay/lag when doing intervals on my BikeErg indoors with The Sufferfest using my OH1+. It has worked fine for me. I’ve not done any intervals outside but don’t imagine it would perform any differently.
Interesting. I see Ray’s results showing it can delay a few seconds behind a chest strap. Has anyone with multiple HRM noticed it go beyond that during high intensity workouts? I see comments here saying 7-10 seconds during high intensity, then I’d just go with a chest strap at that point. However the graphs in this post showing a couple seconds are the only thing concrete that I’ve seen, which doesn’t seem that bad.
OH1 straps onto your goggles and takes measurement from the side of your forehead, at least that is what is stated in the review above. Stays above water. Would hope it would send data to my watch so I can see my HR each time my arm comes out of the water? Don’t have an OH1 so this is conjecture, which is why I am asking…
Ok scott jay that is true. However swim mode in watches don’t allow real time data to be shown/stored (except older ones). Garmin, Polar and Suuntos all download data after swim today. Actually Polars latest models don’t even allow external HR for swimming period! (Horrible decision IMO. Vantage M, V and Grit X)
You CAN however use a custom sports mode like “indoor training” that does allow realtime HR data. That would work, but it won’t track swimming metrics.
There should be details about this in the review somewhere 🙂
OK, so people claiming 10 second lags….is this compared to where you think your HR is by feel? Or is this actually compared to a chest strap? I’m wondering if everyone claiming bigger delays (including the amazon reviews) have actually compared this to a chest strap, and if not, if it means the OH1 is in reality still only lagging 2-3 seconds behind a chest strap.
“OH1 cannot be used for swimming as it doesn’t support caching of data”
This is not true. The OH1 works great for swimming. With the swim goggle clip that’s now included with the OH1+ (and can be ordered separately for the older OH1), it outperforms all others. Wrist-based optical sensors work poorly for swimming, and chest straps have a tendency to flip over during turns unless they’re worn super tight. The OH1 just needs to be resting loosely against your temple and it can record perfectly.
What is true is that Polar doesn’t have a way to sync the heart rate data recorded by an OH1 with swim data recorded by a watch such as the Vantage. Instead, you end up with two separate workouts on Flow. You can download and merge them manually if that’s important, but it’s quite the bother.
Unless you’re swimming breast stroke, the goggle clip will not stay above water. The Form goggles can show heart rate from an OH1 via their heads-up display, but I don’t know of any other way to see real-time data from the OH1 while swimming.
Ok yeah by “does not support” I mean the way most people use HR straps for swimming, by connecting them to the watch and have watch send HR after swim to be included in the session on the watch 🙂 I know OH1 works in water, just not the way a chest strap by the respective brand watch does. Even if you see HR in the goggles, it’s not stored with the swim session in watch, which is what I think most people want!?
I mean have the HRM send HR to watch after swim of course lol
The Polar OH1 is currently potentially most accurate optical heart rate sensor. There is a paper in PLOS, which confirms, that a Polar OH1 can be used instead of an ECG device, which is the most accurate heart rate measurement device available.
The problem is with the words “can be used instead of an ECG device”.
It can be used instead of ECG, but is its accuracy quantified? No.
5kRunner compared the accuracy the Polar OH1 during one year to a chest strap, and was convinced the Polar OH1 to be a very accurate optical heart rate sensor.
But is data analysis in Garmin Connect the best way to analyse sensor accuracy? No. Without having hard figures, it s controversial.
I suggest the following procedure to quantify accuracy of a heart rate sensor.
Use a Bitalino Biomecial Toolkit ECG devise as a reference device. There are data available for it s accuracy. Bitalino data can be aquired by Matlab, OpenSignals or OpenSignalsMobile.
Chest straps have the reputation to be highly accurate. But is this quantified?
The group of Milind Y. Desai wrote a paper about Accuracy of commercially available heart rate monitors in athletes. There you can find figures.
The android application a training tracker from Rainer Blind can record sensor data directly to csv format. So you have a second device for quantifying sensor accuracy next to Bitalino.
As a 3.th option I suggest the Python scripts from the Data Scientist Max Candocia. It can transcode fit to csv files, with a very clear data structure, which can then be analysed further with data analysis software. So you have a third device for testing and analysing sensor accuracy.
The accuracy of the Polar OH1 compared to the accuracy of a chest strap or to a ECG has not yet been quantified yet. I invite everybody to to it yourself with the above setup.
My hypothesis is that the Polar OH1 is as accurate as a chest strap or a ECG device. There is no need to use a more accurate device, for nobody.
“The accuracy of the Polar OH1 compared to the accuracy of a chest strap or to a ECG has not yet been quantified yet. I invite everybody to to it yourself with the above setup.”
I don’t follow. Both myself and 5K Runner have compared it to chest straps extensively. Almost every review I’ve written since has included piles of data against numerous chest straps with the OH1. In fact, in most cases I’m showing numerous test devices.
The .FIT file standard is perfectly suited for this, and is what I and everyone else use.
Finally, you can’t always assume a given device (even an ECG or chest strap) is correct. That’s specifically why you have to look at the data and understand/know when they go wrong.
To be precise, I meant quantified by a scientifically accepted method published in a scientific journal, as for instance was done by the group of Milind Y. Desai.
How can .fit file data be analysed for data processing outside from Garmin Connect, with standard data analysing software? For this purpose, .csv data are better.
.FIT files are the standard used by hundreds of fitness companies for fitness data. It records the resolution at 1-second interval, which is perfectly sufficient for HR data.
No need for Garmin Connect at all. In fact, for that very cited study, that’s how the data files would have been likely exported initially (Garmin would have been .FIT, Fitbit .TCX, Apple export could have used .FIT via a 3rd party app, and TomTom would have likely been .FIT.
CSV is fine for analyzing later on outside the fitness world, but it doesn’t change the underlying data. There’s still only one numeric value per second. Within the fitness world, .FIT is a million times better, because the data is normalized and standardized. No such concept exists for .CSV directly (it’s simply a file format type, it doesn’t define how precisely to order the data within it).
The companies and tools you mentioned are for sporting activities from companies who sell such products. Are all of those products scientifically validated? For scientific purposes for scientists who use for instance Matlab, csv is better.
There’s nothing to scientifically validate about a standalone numerical value. Seriously. It’s a value given, you’re heart rate is at:
150bpm
151bpm
150bpm
…and so on.
It’s recorded at one second intervals, in whole numbers.
Matlab is great for what it’s for, but it’s horrible for working with complex sports data from numerous vendors (as your recent posts have shown). That’s why .FIT files are used across the board by every company in the industry today, because the file structure is defined and agreed upon for exactly how to transmit that data (including how to transmit/record heart rate extras like RR intervals). That’s something that .CSV doesn’t do (a header defines the structures for that one file, but not how multiple devices/companies talk together).
There are countless tools to convert .FIT to .CSV, if you want to move into other platforms. Heck, Garmin’s own site can even export in .CSV files too if you want.
But honestly, I’m not sure what the question is anymore?
csv is just a file format … the underlying data still needs to come from somewhere. As Ray noted, for a variety of reasons, the fitness industry has chosen to place the underlying data into a .FIT file. I’ve not looked or tried it myself but I’m sure there is a way to import a .FIT file into excel and then generate a .csv file if that’s what you want to input into Matlab. The fundamental data won’t change, just the file format.
I agree that the .fit file standard is well established in the sports industry. But for instance for a scientist who wants to find out which heart rate sensor is the most accurate, wants to make statistics, and a database which is transparent and company independent, it is better to choose .csv. For Matlab for instance there are no algorithms to process fit files, but thousands algorithms to process .csv files.
Dr. Ing. Rainer Blind who developed a training tracker for instance did not use the fit file format atl all. And data scientist Max Candocia developed a python script to convert .fit files to csv. Why does a data scientist who loves data develop such a converter script? Because it is much easier to process acquired data in .csv, when you are not a company who stores their data in the .fit files and pulls them out again by their own algorithms.
Which is good. But that doesn’t change the underlying data. It just puts it in a different file format.
The data, and the accuracy of it, remains the same – no matter the file format.
Yes, there is no change of data. But data processing in MATLAB currently requires csv. And for instance to use MATLAB, it s easier to directly record data to csv e.g. with a training tracker. There is no need to convert data, you can access it directly in MATLAB.
.
There is one paper available about the accuracy of the Polar OH1 sensor
link to journals.plos.org
which tested the accuracy of the Polar OH1 as compaired to an ECG device with multiple subjects at different treadmill speeds.
They came to the conclusion that the accuracy of the Polar OH1 is near to an ECG device, which is the most accurate HR measurement device available.
In a similar scientific study Milind Y. Desai s group compaired the accuracy of several commercially available heart rate monitors in athletes. Milind Y. Desai s group did not test the Polar OH1. But they found that the accuracy of the Polar H7 chest strap is also near to an ECG device
link to ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
For those of you who have the OH1, was there ‘any’ charge in it when it arrived? I just picked one up off amazon and the battery was 100% depleted when I got it…woudln’t turn on at all. It’s charging right now, but I’m concerned about how long it was sitting at 0% in storage. From past experience this can damage a battery to where it doesn’t last nearly as long – and this device already is limited to 12 hours. I’m debating exchanging it or just charge it and test it to see if it lasts 12 hours, tho I don’t really want to wear the strap if it gets returned.
Update to my comment above, the battery is good – gave it a full charge and ran it for 12 hours straight on my arm. It went 12 hours before giving the initial low-battery red / green led (not yet critical) – so I’m able to get at least more than the advertised 12 hours. AND it was comfortable enough to wear for 12 hours while going about my day without noticing it. I tried comparing it to a Wahoo Kickr ERG. Surprisingly the OH1 seemed to pick up on HR changes before the ticker did, but the Tickr would then beat the OH1 to the actual end of the spike. However the Tickr would take 30 seconds to get back down to my base line HR unless I’m sweating and hot. The OH1 seems to be more like 7 seconds back on real spikes (not 3), but more like 3 seconds on smaller changes. But the key is that it’s CONSISTENT, unlike either of my ERG or wrist monitors which are all just randomly wonky. The Polar OH1 will be my GO-TO HRM now. If I ever get back into high impact training or anything requiring Super well-timed HR based changes, I’ll throw the chest strap on for those particular workouts. Otherwise it’s the OH1.
There is a great example in Matlab for a heart rate device which supports Bluetooth 5.0. Polar OH1 support Bluetooth low energy.
link to mathworks.com
The example code in Matlab for the heart rate is great. It is an example of an excellent sports watch with all the features which are possible for such devices.
Does someone know whether the Polar BLE SKE can be used to connect the Polar OH1 to the Matlab example, or has someone already developed some code which could be used for it?
Unlike most on here I look to hrm ‘s for piece of mind although I don’t self diagnose as a heart failure patient it’s nice to see if my heart is spiking or dropping during a walk or ride. I have all types of wheat straps and watches and the idea of the arm band sounds fantastic and your review was fantastic and sold me on getting one my only question is the total battery life and is it replaceable??? As someone who where’s this stuff daily, 8 hours a day I see that this thing has a useful life of less than a year for someone like me..I guess my question is, is the oh1+ like a bic lighter, use it and when the batteries useful life has expired and can no longer hold a charge throw it away? Of can the battery be replaced? All of my other hrm devices the rechargeable batteries can be replaced…
not replaceable
Thanks for the reply…do you know of any armband type hrm’s that utilize either a button cell battery or a replacement type rechargeable?
Great review: two questions: do you know how long it takes to charge the OH1 (in a wall outlet) and 2) do you know if a low battery would cause the cache memory not to work? (I’m having a problem getting the device to record and am charging it now, but am super frustrated because it doesn’t say anything about this in the manual.
Using just the OH1 and the Polar Flow app to “sync” sessions afterward –
While the app relates the “Training Benefit”, flow.polar.com always reports 100% sessions WITHOUT Training Benefit.
Also, there’s no option for specifying your own exercises – not even “Elliptical Trainer” is present? So instead you have to just pick whatever comes closest, for ex. “Indoor Cycling”.
From what I understand, it’s one of the best HR monitors with possibly the worst software?
Just hoping the gurus might address how bad the software is? Particularly the web service, flow.polar.com? What’s the use of collecting all the “data” if I can’t easily view it?
Also, the double-tap is ridiculous 😉 Basically, the folks at Polar who are responsible for creating this world class heart rate monitor really need to have a sit-down with the morons who make it so very difficult to use? It just seems a bit bizarre?
To continue the discussion about to use .fit file or .csv file. Fit files are difficult to access in data analysis software as for instance Matlab. I needs a converter software as for instance data scientists Max Candocia fit. to .csv Python script. But for scientific purposes, it is essential. I m becoming a fighter for a dual setup, for instance using a sports watch in parallel with an ECG device, and a sports watch foot pod together with a BeagleBone Blue step counter or Bitalino step counter. It is not satisfying not to be able to access sports watch data in a file format which is friendly for data analysis software. I m currently promoting a project to build your own foot pod, where access to raw data is easy. Everybody welcome to participate:
link to forum.bitalino.com
The accuracy of Bitalino has already been tested by a scientifically accepted method
link to forum.bitalino.com
Also the accuracy of the Polar H7 chest strap and other devices
link to ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
And also the accuracy of ther Polar OH1
link to ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
With recording from two devices simultaneously, it should be possible to test your own setup, and then testing for instance a new sensor by a scientifically accepted method.
That’s a good study of the OH1 – well documented and executed.
But again, I really struggle with why trying to get live sensor data into Matlab. It doesn’t scale to most non-heart rate straps devices that don’t transmit live data anyway (only Garmin watches do, no other watches do). And recording live data doesn’t change the underlying accuracy. The data recorded to the file is precisely the same data. It doesn’t make it any more or less scientifically accepted.
Also, I would note that while the format of that OH1 study is good – the treadmill part basically gave it a pass. So did the cycling. They also tested walking. Most HR sensors fail with running, because of cadence-lock, which means that the sensor mixes up the beats of your foot with that of your heart. Same goes with the indoor cycling – they tested merely at a set cadence, not an intensity.
That’s demonstrated by the fact that the mean HR for those levels was a mere 110bpm and 120bpm – in other words, they weren’t working out.
This is what frustrates me about so-called ‘Scientifically accepted methods’: They suck at actually testing real-world scenarios. And thus suck at giving anything other than a pile of numbers that have no meaning or value.
Why? Because testing real-world scenarios is hard. It requires going out into the real-world and collecting data where athletes use it.
Sorry if I’m frustrating – but year after year I see studies that suck at actually testing wearables. They focus waaaaay too much on spewing data, and not enough time at actually looking at the data as a human and analyzing it as a human ,and how a human uses it.
You are right. But as a human you can be doubted about, and to make an error is human. When you do statistics with multiple subjects, you have proofen data which can be reproduced. It is difficult to make a reference in a Journal and say “DC Rainmaker tested the accuracy of the Polar OH1”. Maybe the reviewers does not know you and doubt about you.
Sure, there’s no doubt that a scientific study, if done correctly with multiple participants is better than just one participent.
But a study like that one where they don’t run, nor even workout on the bike is not useful to purchasers of the device.
Unfortunately, as shown – merely having something ‘published in a journal’ incorrectly implies to people that the scientific study knows what they’re doing. Very rarely do I find that to be the case in the sports tech field. It’s unfortunate, but very true.
You a right. A publication in a scientific journal is limited to a specific setup. But the advantage of data analysis is, that you have a quantification, you can do a ranking of sensors by numbers. The studies I m mentioned conclude for instance, that the accuracy of the Polar OH1 is near to an ECG device which is the most accurate, and also the accuracy of the Polar H7 chest strap is near to an ECG, an the deviation is in the range of 1 percent for both sensors. Whereas the deviation for instance for a Forerunner 235 from a ECG device is about 5 Percent, if I remember right.
The group of Milind Y. concludes, that the Apple watch is nearest to an ECG device, next to the Polar H7. He did not test the Polar OH1 yet. The group of Milind Y. wrote already two papers with a large number of subjects who tested sensors, and the ranking they obtained is really worth looking at.
I wrote to Milind Y. to include the Polar OH1 in a future study as currently potentially the most accurate optcial heart rate sensor. I direct comparison between the Apple watch and the Polar OH1 is needed , done by the same group to be sure about this 🙂
link to ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Milind Y. Desais group tested the accuracy of commercially availble heart rate sensors in athtletes. He used different sensors, different subject and different threadmill speeds. It is good to critisize an experimental setup, for instance it is not a „real life“ setup, and suggest how to make it better. But for me personnally, papers like the papers of Milind Desay s group are very helpful.
Milind Y. Desai is Cardiologist, and he demonstrates, that sports sensors can also be used for scientific purposes, with higher standarts as for commerical heart rate sensors. For a sports watch reviewer, it might be difficult to take over such standards, multiple subjects, different thread mill speads, something which needs a whole team to test it.
In my view, companies like Garmin or Polar should also adapt to scientific standards, test their sensors themselvels which they anyway do and publish the results. For this purpose, there should be standard tests which are accepted by all parties.
That’s a better test protocol, as the speeds range into the sport realm (versus just the ‘walking’/sitting realm of the others).
Ultimately, I haven’t seen any real-world benefit to using an ECG for sport testing/reviews. The challenge here is that I can’t take that outside and run/ride with it – which is where the *vast* majority of things go wrong.
Since my main sports are meditation and indoor walking, wearing ecg sensors is not a big problem for me personally 🙂
Still I have a problem with Garmin for not allowing easier access of raw data. The android application a training tracker records directly to .csv, Bitalino stores data in .csv. Garmin could add .csv raw data next to .fit files with already processed data easily. I won t buy from Garmin anymore, soon.
And I won t buy from Polar anymore, soon. I m building my own system, which fits for my needs 🙂 .
I disagree. There’s no good reason to generate multiple files on a device itself at this point. That just adds consumer confusion. Nobody uses those file types anymore in fitness data for platforms/devices, and there’s no common schema for fitness .CSV data anyway. From Garmin Connect you can also download less high fidelity versions than .FIT, such as .TCX and .GPX. .TCX is simply a XML based schema that was used previously (about a decade ago), and is easy to read by any app.
Not to mention that Garmin is pretty much the only wearable company left that allows you to download files straight off the device without any phone app or website. Technically speaking you never have to use Garmin Connect with almost any Garmin product. Virtually nobody else does that.
There’s plenty of reasons to be upset with Garmin about all sorts of things. Pick any other topic. But frankly, the *last one* to be upset with Garmin about is file standards and file support. Seriously, there’s no company on this planet that does file standards and file access of sports/fitness data more properly, more openly, and more accessibly than Garmin. And I’m happy to argue that point any day of the week.
We can blame them for almost anything else one wants, but even any of their competitors will privately (and sometimes publicly) agree that Garmin leads the way when it comes to adoption, and consumer access to file standards here.
Good to know. I have to check this.
Even though Garmin is the best in that respect, as you say, it could be better. I miss completely open system which is user programmable, for instance based on the new Linux Pinephone.
For instance migrating the Pyloton Open Source Bike computer to the Linux Pinephone, and I would be happy with it. Integrating foot pod support and other features, this should be possible.
The selection of the watches the group of Milind Desai tested looks like a group of students tested together their sports watches with a standard accuracy test. The selection of the watches they tested looks arbitrary, there are low cost heart rate sensors among them which might not be interesting for people who are looking for the most accurate device. Still the accuarcy ranking with figures is interesting, and I hope this list will be more complete in the future if Milind Desai s group is writing more papers.
The more data are available in the accuracy discussion, the better the situation is. The advantage of the papers Milind Desai and the Australian Group who studied the Polar OH1 is the quantification by numeric values, so that the results of the two papers can be compaired.
These papers confirm the findings of DC Rainmaker and 5kRunner. I could not find any disagrement. Real life studies by DC Rainmaker and 5kRunner are very helpful. Such aplied studies would be difficult to perfom with ECG, but a certain chest strap, for instance the Polar H7 which was studied before by other research groups would also be a good reference device. Quantification by numeric values of real life studies still would be desirable.
I cannot see a reason why there should not be more data files with the same info (for instance .fit file and .csv and gpx). at the same time. Adult users can decide themselves what is good for them, they don t need any guardianship by anybody.
In a training tracker for instance, the user can decide themselves, which file format they want. It can be chosen by the user.
Who is happy with a .fit file format, which needs a special converter software from a data scientist, before it has a transparent and clear data structure of raw data which can be processed further in standard applications like Matlab, Excel, etc.
For all poor souls who suffer like me from intransparent file structures, discuss a training tracker
link to thisisant.com
in the THIS IS ANT forum.
And discuss Max Candocias (Data Scientist) .fit to csv Python script in the THIS IS ANT forum
link to thisisant.com
My posts concerning Max Candocia where deleted in the Garmin Forum. Concerning my posts about a training tracker, a moderator (Trux) in the Garmin forum threatened to delete my posts about a training tracker.
I m for freedom of expression. Do it in the THIS IS ANT forum.
> Do it in the THIS IS ANT forum.
Yes. Please!
Peter, you’ve beaten your dead horse to a bloody pulp in these comments. There’s no need to say anything more. And look, I think it’s cool that you want to use MATLAB (or Python or R or Julia or whatever) to analyze your heart rate data. And I’m sorry for you that those tools don’t make it easy to import data in the industry standard file formats such as TCX or FIT. (Whether you like it or not, those *are* the standards in the fitness industry.) But I think you could also benefit from a little self-awareness. I’m going to ease out just a little bit on a very firm limb and suggest that neither Polar nor Garmin nor Fitbit etc is all that worried about losing market share among customers that prefer the Linux Pinephone. Again, it’s really cool that you think highly of it. But please recognize that you’re an extreme outlier. It’s simply not realistic to expect a mass market company to make products that target your wishes.
Users have to answer whether they want a feature or not, and companies have to answer whether they want a feature or not.
Scientists are often extreme outsiders, but they are also guiding stars, since the goal of science is to find out about the truth, and what is right on the long therm, and after a deeper look at things. And scientists will win against short sighted money makers. And which world champion, which are also extreme outsiders, but also guiding stars, does not want to know which sports sensor is the most accurate on a scientific basis, and which world champion does not want a generally accepted quality standard? You can read about how to establish such a standard and with which tools in my posts in the THIS IS ANT forum.
Hi Ray,
How do I know if my Polar OH1+ is connected to my Fenix 6X Sapphire? Thank you for all you do!
Keep calm and practise Kundalini Yoga. As Yogi Bhajan, Master of Kundalini Yoga said: “We have got all the the tools not to be fools”.
HI Jerome-
No issues at all using a OH1+ with the Fenix 6X. You can connect on ANT+ or Bluetooth Smart. I’d recommend using the ANT+ side of the house in this situation.
Cheers!
Thank you, Ray. I am new to Garmin and Polar. So I am sorry for all the questions. When the OH1+ is turned on and connected to my Fenix 6, does that turn into the primary HR Monitor or do I need to change a setting on my watch to turn off the watches HR Monitor to use only the OH1? Also, how do I make sure it is connected VIA ANT+ and not Bluetooth? I looked to see if you had a video on this, but i couldn’t find any accept your accuracy videos. Thanks again, Jerome
Hi Jerome,
As far as I know, connecting an external HR monitor makes it primary. Personally I have disabled OHR (in Garmins) so it’s not a problem/question for me. However I can’t say exactly how you know it’s connected before and during activity. There is a popup “OH1 connected” (well OH1 if you named it that) ONCE but it’s hard knowing (Polar Vantage V for instance shows a certain color of a circle to indicate external HRM), during the time after this popup.
The difference between ANT+ and BLE is that Garmin by default searches ANT+ unless you specifically use “search all external monitors” then I think it might show BLE too. After found, the OH1 will have a 5(or 6?) digit number as ID if ANT+ with Garmin. The BLE ID looks like a MAC address of a PC and is very different name wise. You CAN choose “search BLE” after OH1 is found via ANT+, but ANT+ is preferrable.
Hope that answers some questions 🙂
Thank you!
Rainmaker,
Thank you for your great work as always. I am curious, when you stated “Sometimes, like above, you’ll get slight 1-2 second latency difference between ANT+ and Bluetooth Smart signals. That’s normal for all sensors.”
Did you mean that ANT+ lags behind Bluetooth? Or did you mean Bluetooth lags behind ANT+?
Which is more responsive? On a related note, are optical or chest sensors more responsive?
I’m trying to figure out the most responsive combination. Thhanks!
The android app HR & HRV Logger for Polar H6, H7, H10 and OH1 delivers raw ECG or PPG data which is necessary for HRV calculations. Also respiratory rate estimation in Matlab needs raw ECG or PPG data to calculate respiratory rate:
link to mathworks.com
When I use the Polar OH1 sensor in connection with a device as for instance the the Peloton open source bike computer wih BLE heart rate profile, do I get raw PPG sensor data from the BLE heart rate profile?
Important when you use this HRM with a Garmin watch and you want VO2Max & Lactate threshold measurements, use MUST use ANT+ to connect with the Polar OH1. When a bluetooth connection is used, it will NOT update your VO2MAX estimate and Lactate threshold pace.
Tested with Garmin Fenix 5S, don’t know about any of the other models
Battery life of 12 hrs for the Polar OH1 is optimistic. I use two Polar OH1 alternatively, 24h 7d, and change it every 8 hours, one charging, one running. A Polar OH24 with a bigger battery would be better. With an attactive data aquisition software, as for instance running on a Linux Pinephone:
link to thisisant.com
the Polar OH1 could be used not only for sporting activities, but also for scientific and biomedical purposes.
My new OH1 lasts 12.5 hours for me if I run it from full to dead during endurance sporting events, or over multiple events through the week. If you want something that lasts longer, that means a bigger battery, and a bigger device.
If you are running 3 of these, every single day I would (reasonably) expect the battery life to go down within a year and not last a full 12 hours. In that case I wouldn’t expect 2-per-day to work for a long time.
There are similar options from Scosche and Wahoo…the Scosche lasts quite a long time (24hr for one model). But – it is BIG, and I prefer the size of the OH1, which is why I bought it, knowing it has a shorter battery life and requires charging. If the OH1 were thicker and not larger surface-wise it would flip over far too easily.
The size to me is a very important point, because I FIRST tried both the Wahoo and Schosche options. I truly wanted the battery life of the Rhythm 24. Ultimately both of those options (to me) were VERY uncomfortable due to the size of the arm-bands. I couldn’t imagine wearing either of them during workouts…to the point where I’d use a chest strap instead. I hardly notice the OH1 on my upper arm.
Mine do run 12 hours, form the beginning, with 8 hours I never had problems. I agree, the Polar OH1 is very comfortable to wear, I wear it all the time. There are 24 h solutions from other manufacturers, but they are not accurately enough for my purpose. I miss a Polar OH24.
By the way:
Since my escape from the Garmin forum to the EEV Blog etc. due to Garmin moderators which where not open to criticism, the Garmin forum has reached it s lowest level. Arbitary deletion of my posts and arbitrary inactivation of my account:
link to forums.garmin.com
Time to escape permanently from the Garmin forum to somewhere else.
so…maybe a dumb question but how can you determine whether the oh-1+ is connected by BT or ant+ to a fr945?
Hi Steve,
That is not a dumb question!! If it’s connected with ANT+, the device ID is a 5 digit number (or is it 6, I forget), but when BT it looks like a MAC address, long with colons between pairs of numbers. By default it will be connected by ANT+, only if that fails, or if you want BT it will go there after specific BT search.
Thanks Jens!
I’ve recently switched from Garmin to Polar this week and have a grit x paired with OH1+ and Stryd.
Has anyone had experience of the OH1+ providing intermittent HR on the watch display?
Got this on today’s early run, first time with the OH1+ but previously used the grit x with a Scoshe without issue.
I unpaired the Scoshe wore the OH1+ in two positions forearm and bicep on same side as watch?
At first I thought it was in some power save mode and only showed HR when I looked at my wrist but that turned out not to be the case. It did record HR but the HR graph on the polar app showed the dropouts.
Any ideas? I’m totally new to this ecosystem having been a Garmin user for over a decade…
On a side note I did not have a phone with me so no issues with maybe phone interference, oh1 not paired with phone anyway as I noted when I did my grit x failed to sync ?♂️
Cheers
The 5krunner does not want me to answer questions in his blog, and suggested to start my own blog. I don t have one. So I answer questions here. Someone ask in the 5krunner blog how to use the Polar OH1 24*7. I use the Polar OH1 24*7 and it works just fine, although a Polar OH24 would be better. I use a training tracker. All posts about a training tracker and my identity as Peter Gamma where deleted in the Garmin Forum, for reasons I could no follow. I already complained several times at the Garmin support and wrote a letter to Garmin Switzerland. In the meantime you can find a description how to use the Polar OH1 24*7 in the THIS IS ANT forum:
link to thisisant.com
I use two Polar OH1s alternatively, one is acquiring sensor data, the other is charging, and I change them after 8 hours. One is paired over BLE, the other over ANT+. Remove all unnecessary paired sensors in the a training tracker settings, and restart the phone after each new pairing. It is working.
Is this still the best OHR monitor to get in August, 2020? Any new/interesting tech on the horizon that I should wait for?
Yup, I think so, and use it constantly as a testing/baseline comparison.
Interestingly my new OH1 has synced during swimming to my garmin 735xt on my last 2 OW wetsuit swims (OH1 on upper arm – same arm as watch).
I only noticed this during a Tri which is the first time I’d bothered to wear it in a swim due to previous comments about this feature not being available.
On the second swim I could see my HR on the watch during the swim and afterwards, comparing the internal OH1 recording (using Polar) with the heart rate on Garmin connect, they’re identical.
Haven’t testing it in the pool or with the OH1 on the goggle strap yet
(first time poster – great articles Ray!)
Hi there, just one question. Has anybody tried to connect the oh1+ with the mi band 4 or 5?Does it display the heart rate? Thanks in advance.
The Polar OH1 sensor can now directly connected to a PC with Matlab to collect sensor data:
link to ch.mathworks.com
Matlab Home version is about USD 100, as far as I know, no additional Toolboxes are necessary. Alternatively, the EventHubApp can be installed and sensor data can be streamed over the Azure Cloud to Microsoft Power PI. Microsoft Azure Cloud is USD 20 per month and Microsoft Power BI is 10 USD per month.
I wondered if this could be used for sleep tracking either as a stand alone or having my V800 in range (on a nightstand but not on my wrist). Would the 1 file it holds be incorporated into flow data from the V800 when downloaded ? Not sure if I am asking the right question. I don’t want to wear a watch at night (especially the v800), don’t need daily activity tracking, but would find sleep data useful. Thanks in advance!
sleep tracking needs an accelerometer, as far as I know, and the Polar OH1 does not have one. I found an interesting device for sleep tracking on Aliexpress, very sensiitve with an Android app:
link to de.aliexpress.com
unfortunately, the Android app does not allow to access the sensor data, not even .csv data is available. The only option is to build it yourself by reading out the sensor data from a Respiratory Heart Rate Piezoelectric Sensor Nursing Home Hospital Smart Mattress Breathing Belt Sleep Belt wich can also be found on Aliexpress, which underlies the device with the Android app. This belt is currently the most interesting device for sleep tracking which I could find, since it is very sensitive.
this belt by a Bitalino, OpenBCI, or Scott Harden sound card device:
Sorry, I meant you can read out sleep data from this belt by a Bitalino board, OpenBCI solution, or Scott Harden sound card device.
link to de.aliexpress.com
For sleep tracking, it is the most interesting device I could find to this date, since it is low-cost an high sensitive, but there is no commercially available product there for this betl yet which is convincing to me personallyf, and it needs developement.
Thank you for your reply. Perhaps you could shed light on another question I have tried to get an answer to.
According to a German study, there is a prevalence of myocarditis shown in both symptomatic and asymptomatic cases of athletes with coved-19. Because lack of covid 19 testing, can the data from a heart monitor show any indication of possible symptoms? I am not suggesting diagnosis but rather a heads up.
I believe we will be seeing more and more cases of athletes with undiagnosed myocarditis especially the young ones that are not being tested for covid 19.
I don t know. Did you ask Dr. Heart to answer the question?
I found somewhere in the sleep tracking sensor belt instruction that it is called an ” under sheet sensor” which can be used at night to sleep on it. When will Garmin or Polar watches support under sheet sensors?
This is the worst heart rate sensor I have ever owned. Even the sensor on the 935 is better than the OH1. Here is a graph from today on a trainer. Constant Z1 watts, almost no movement and yet it ramped up more than my max heart rate!
There’s likely something defective, I’d reach out to Polar support to get it swapped out.
The OH1 is pretty universally regarded as one of the best optical HR sensors out there. I just finished a run 20 mins ago with it (and run/ride/etc with it virtually every day). Data is virtually always spot-on (and that’s the same feedback I get from the vast majority of people). Which means something seems askew.
Maybe you’re right. I have already return it to amazon but I won’t get a new one because I also found annoying the flipping tendency that you mentioned.
I used to have trouble with the OH1 flipping. But, since switching from wearing it on my bicep to my inner forearm (just below the elbow), I haven’t had the problem in dozens, maybe hundreds, of activities.
Short battery durability of Polar OH1 sensors?
I use two Polar OH1 sensors alternatively to record the HR 24*7, one charging, one acquiring sensor data. I changed the sensor every 8 hours. They where paired to the Android App a training tracker. Both sensors are out of warranty. This setup is running now for around half a year. Now, battery life of one sensor dropped to around 6 hours, and needs to be replaced. Before, I had the same setup with two Garmin watches for several years. I never had the problem that battery life of Garmin watches dropped.
Will the OH1+ sync with my Garmin 830 and my Coros Apex, which then automatically syncs with my Strava and TrainingPeaks?
The OH1 will *pair* with both, so you can use it to record heart rate while you’re using one of those devices.
In recording mode (e.g. using it without a device), the OH1 only *syncs* with the Polar Flow app.
Just got one of these as a gift. Thought it might be great until I went to use it. Not so much.
I never have a device with me when I’m running / swimming so the bluetooth streaming function is useless to me
Polar have told me that the only way I can use it (in stand alone mode) is with the polar flow app. After reading their terms and conditions I deleted the app.
Do you know of any apps that can retrieve data from an OH1 that simply let you store it on your phone or laptop rather than requiring access to all your data, including sensitive data, storing it on their cloud and having the right to pass it on to whoever they wish?
I don’t want a social media account for my heart rate (who would) I just want to simply have a look at the data when I’m finished.
I don’t want to share it, get tutorials about it or program workouts around it.
Both polar apps require this so I won’t be using them.
Is there any other way to get data from this device when used in stand alone mode.
If not it has no use for me and I’ll bin it and move on (polar have a returns policy that says if you open the box it can’t be returned. Wouldn’t surprise me if that contravenes Australian consumer law).
I hope you can help as I’ve had enough of trying to find a use for it and Polar have not been helpful.
Thanks to your reviews I’m interested in the OH1 (over the Scosche Rhythm). I haven’t been able to find out if it will connect to my Garmin 235 (which the Schosche will) – do you happen to know?
Hi Sarah,
Yes it will now that it has ANT+! It’s very good 🙂
thank you so much Jens, great to know, I’ve ordered one thank you!
I’ve just bought this to pair with my fenix 3 as I had issues with the chest strap monitors, but I can’t get it to pair. Any ideas? I’m going to sensors and adding heart rate monitor but it’s not finding. The device I have has the ANT stamp in the back.
Make sure ANT+ is enabled for the OH1 using the Polar Beat app on your phone
I am thinking of getting the polar OH1+, but I need to know if it will pair directly with my Garmin 645 and if so, will Garmin Connect incorporate the hr data from the polar device into my running stats in the same way my running pod does?
Hi Kris,
Yes you can incorporate the stats in Garmin connect in the same way your running pod does. You just need to pair the 645 with the Polar, before the run. When you lunch the run, the watch will establish the connection and it is done. Your HR will be from the Polar and it will appear on Garmin connect. I have a 945 and I often do it, in particular for indoor training.
I hope it does help.
ok… Nico G
I paired it and ran and it was on and the watch recognized the device… BUT, in my Garmin Connect it is showing not HR information. I am not sure what to do or how to rectify
Another question, I cannot find the size of the armband strap – width and length – and I am a bit small so it gets to be an issue.
The band is both adjustable & stretchable. It can be adjusted down to an unstretched circumference of about 8-1/2 inches (~22cm) including the sensor itself. It is about an inch wide.
Ray (or other owners)
Have you tried this with the Wahoo Headwind at all? I just had mine arrive today, paired to a Polar OH1, but it dropped out about 4 times in an hour ride which is very disappointing! Does anyone else use the same HR strap, or have suggestions now to stop the dropouts??
Hi I was wondering if this would work well for skinny people? I am asking this as I am a really skinny guy and my forearm/biceps are really skinny to the bone and was not sure if this would work out for me?
I would think so. The strap is very adjustable, just had a look at mine and could adjust it down to about 15 cms
hello, I have a brand new polar oh1+ bought 10/12/20
firmware 2.1.20
visibility turned off
connection ant+ with a garmin 530
battery life is 6h45min for 6 work outs in 8 days
is it OK???
That seems pretty low to me. I don’t tend to track mine super closely, mainly because I usually just plug it in afterwards to sync and leave it there to charge.
(I do sometimes sync via BT, but with so many devices to constantly deal with syncing, I actually prefer controlling some of my secondary source sensors more manually).
Thanks a lot, I’ll test it using it non stop until it shuts down…it should reach 12h…if it doesn’t it’s probably faulty and I’ll have it replaced by Amazon ?
So, I am having a similar experience – BTW finally got all the pairing and such done and working smoothly – my OH1+ is only really getting 2.5 runs in (like 2.5 hours total) and then I will be in the middle of that third run and get a low battery alert. Today I just left it on til it died and now it is charging. But for an $80 device that is supposed to have 12 hours of running time on it – this is low… do you think doing a reset would help.. Obviously, I need to contact Polar (but it took them 2 weeks to get back to me initially) and see what they say, so I am just asking from your professional and anecdotal experience…
Thanks
Hey, is there going to be any sort of firmware fix so that the PolarOH1+ can pair to more than one Bluetooth? I can’t have the Bluetooth on on my phone when I am wearing the strap and it is paired to my watch. Also it gets a little wacky if someone else has Bluetooth on and running fairly close to me. This means I cannot listen to music or podcasts etc… This seems to be a problem that should be resolved
Still only one concurrent connection.
However, if your watch supports ANT+, then you could connect your watch that way, and then your phone via Bluetooth Smart. Of course, if your watch is Polar or Suunto, then that’s not an option.
As for music interference – that’s honestly the first I’ve ever heard of that with this product or any other. That too me actually sounds like something on your phone is broken (specifically with the Bluetooth chipset, either in hardware or software). As that’s definitely 100% not normal.
Hello I would really appreciate if u could answer also to my question #318 thanks a lot
#309 ? ps I really appreciated your in depth review on this product…this is the reason I bought it!!!
oh, no, I didn’t mean the music wasn’t working, but if I have my airpods in, then my phone bluetooth is on, and the polar OH1 tries to connect to the phone when it is already connected to the watch… and it does that even when its someone elses phone (I carried a friends phone during a virtual marathon last weekend).
Also, what is your recommendation as to keeping the wrist HR on? Does this confuse things? I have been turning the wrist HR off for activities, turning it back on when done
Ahh, so in that case you’ll unfortunately kinda have to pick one or the other. Meaning, keeping it paired to the watch or not.
For the watch, it’ll depend on which watch you have in terms of whether the optical HR sensor is good or not.
Battery life of one of my Polar OH1 devices dropped to five hours. Warranty is gone. Is battery life durablility of the Polar OH1 weak? The battery is quiet small. What about your device?
how old is it, how many times have you recharged it? Rechargeable batteries have a finite set of recharge cycles. If you have used it every day for 2 years, time for another one. If you have used it 2x in 2 years, they should replace it.
I don t know how old it is. II have used it every day for about half a year. I’ ve used two Polar OH1 alternatively. Only one has a battery problem. Before I’ve used Garmin watches every day for several years. I never had the problem which Garmin watches that the batterry capacity dropped.
I am setting up a Polar 0H1+ optical heart rate sensor and have followed directions to pare the battery with the USB device and plugged it in. There’s an amber light blinking. Does that mean it is charging?
From the user manual
link to support.polar.com
LED Guide
During charging
Charging: Yellow LED blinks slowly
Battery full: Green LED continuously on
Thank you, Stephen.
Concerning Polar OH1 and heart rate variability: I know, this has been discussed before here. For HRV calculation, R-R peak data are required. The Polar Sensor Logger app says, only Polar 10 has R-R data, but not Polar OH1. DC Rainmaker said here in this blog before, HRV can measured from optical sensors, but only reliable at rest, but this was controversial. There is also the HR & HRV Logger per Polar H6, H7, H10 e OH1 in the Google Play store, but as far as I know, it is not possible to export R-R peak raw data with this app. Can someone confim an app, which can export R-R peak raw data from a Polar OH1 sensor, and can someone confirm, that HRV calculation from a Polar OH1 sensor is reliable?
Another contradiction: EliteHRV website says the Polar OH1 is unconfirmed or incompatible, but
confirmed by the manufacturer. But even though Polar Sensor Logger app does not have R-R peak data, which is necessary for HRV calculation.
Furthermore, the blog on towardsdatascience.com from computer scientist Pareeknikhil shows how to create an ECG Data Stream with a Polar device. He writes, the code and visualization showcased in this tutorial would work very well with the Polar OH1 as well. Polar OH1 has shown to have ECG accuracy in a PLOS paper. I suppose Polar OH1 can be used for HRV, and also for respiratory rate estimation (Peter Charlton, et. al.), which requires R-R peak data as well. But this needs be be confirmed.
This is confusing on the elitehrv website, I don t know whether I ve got it right. The Polar OH1 is listed as a «unconfirmed or incompatible heart rate monitor» by EliteHRV, with an asterix, which says «confirmed by the manufacturer». Does this mean that the Polar OH1 is confirmed by Polar not to be compatible with EliteHRV? And if so, on what facts is this statement based?
Jukka, developer of the Polar Sensor Logger app commented: «OH1 and Verity Sense have P-P-interval (Pulse to pulse) data, which is similar to R-R-interval. P-P-Interval has also quality indicator, which tells how accurate P-P-interval is.» I suppose P-P data should work for HRV and respiratory rate estimation. Peter Charlton uses for his respiratory rate estimation in Matlab PPG sensors and ECG sensors without any problems. P-P data only need a validation.
Kubios HRV mobile app. link to play.google.com
Since the app is built with Polar mobile SDK, it can read live data from Polar sensors, including electrocardiogram (ECG) and heart beat interval (RR) data from Polar H10 sensors and live photoplethysmogram (PPG) and inter-pulse interval (PPI) data from optical Polar OH1 sensors. Thus, when used together with Polar H10 or OH1 sensor, the custom measurement mode will provide an easy-to-use, light-weight, affordable way to obtain ECG, PPG and RR/PPI recordings.
There is another scientific paper available which validates the accuracy of the Polar OH1: Validation of a photoplethysmographic heart ratemonitor: Polar OH1 (Eric Hermand, Johan Cassirame, Gaël Ennequin, Olivier Hue, Int J Sports Med 2019). I could not find a scientific validation of the Verity Sense yet. Why not to choose the best validated device, if accuracy as well as comfort in wearing matters?
“Why not to choose the best validated device, if accuracy as well as comfort in wearing matters?”
Because the study was in 2019…and the Verity Sense came out in 2021.
Generally speaking, I rarely see scientific papers validate anything in the sports tech realm at the same time that product is currently on the market. Usually, it’s quite sometime later. This is true of watches (optical HR sensors), power meters, trainers, and more.
Yes, but is the Verity Sense a new hardware developement at all? Or did Polar only reduce the sampling rate of the Polar OH1 to make out of it the Verity Sense with longer battery life? The prize would be reduced accuracy. I could not find any (validated) accuracy data of the latest firmware update of the Verity Sense which prolonges battery life to up to 30 hrs yet. Therefore, I stay with the Polar OH1.
Battery optimizations doesn’t mean accuracy is less. It simply means that over time, companies optimize the battery by spending time on the underlying code. Almost every ‘smart’ battery device from every company goes through these iterations.
As for accuracy, I found it quite good and on-par with what I saw on the OH1:
link to dcrainmaker.com
For larger group studies, I’d assume you’ll have to wait another year or two – like we usually see for sports tech devices.
Oh, and yes, it’s a new device. We can easily seethis from the spec changes I outlined in that review, all of which are hardware focused changes:
– Increased storage from 4MB to 16MB (thus up to 600hrs of data)
– Increased water resistance from 30m to 50m
– Added secondary Bluetooth channel (2x Bluetooth Smart + unlimited ANT+ connections)
– Added dedicated swim mode (with specific LED light for it), which captures swim metrics
– Added three lights for the three main modes (transmission/standalone recording/swimming)
– Added gyro and magnetometer for SDK applications
This is new hardware, you are right. But what amazes me that Polar increases battery life of the Verity Sense with a firmware update recently. Did they find a miracle algorythm? Information about this would be helpful. Was the battery size encreased of the Verity Sense compared to the Polar OH1? And how did the manage to get longer battery time with only a firmware update?
Battery optimization by devices/companies is just a normal part of software development. There’s not much magic there, just hard word to understand the impact of everything from reducing the number of lines of code run, to cleaning up code with things no longer used, to improvements from the chipset vendors that in turn Polar (and any other vendor) can pass along. These can be things like signal (ANT+/BLE) tweaks to LED tweaks, etc…
Virtually every company in this space makes battery improvements over time. Most times just don’t bother to tell you about it.
Qualitative accuracy comparison data as you deliver them Ray, are of great value, I do not deny that. But they should be added by scientifically valdidated accuracy data, and by transparent data of the manufacturer which can be verified, for instance about changes in the sampling rate in new devices. I found a third scientific paper «Measurement of Heart Rate Using the Polar OH1 and Fitbit Charge 3 Wearable Devices in Healthy Adults During Light, Moderate, Vigorous, and Sprint-Based Exercise: Validation Study» which compared the accuracy of th Polar OH1 to the Polar H10 chest strap. Chest straps have been shown to have an accuracy which is close to an ECG device. I stay with the Polar OH1 and will not change to the Verity Sense, since the Polar OH1 is the better validated device as far as accuracy is concerned.
I trust Ray’s reviews to tell me how the product will perform in the real world by real users. I don’t need to waste my time on additional “scientific” studies.
What would be a good recommendation for someone who uses a basic stationary bike with the peleton app? Sounds like the SCOSCHE RHYTHM 24 because of the cadence sensor?
Does anyone know what is the best watch to pair with this so I can see heart rate and calories on the fly?
Should add:
Cheapest watch with long battery life that can pair with this and show calories and heart rate.
Hi
Just jumping onto this thread to see if there’s any update on the OH1+ sharing swim data with a 735xt?
Cheers
Garry