Scosche Rhythm Heart Rate Monitor Armband - Optical Heart Rate Armband Monitor with Dual Band Radio ANT+ and Bluetooth Smart

OK, I really like this Rhythm + band so why just 3 stars (initially)? As a heart rate monitor it works really well for me cycling or in gym classes. I wear it just below the elbow either on the inside or the side of the arm depending on what I'm doing. It is much more comfortable than chest straps which either feel like they are slipping off or are too tight. The band material doesn't have much give which allows me to have it comfortably loose on the arm but it doesn't slip down over the forearm. I'm not sure how long the strap will last , time will tell. The LEDs work better than the electrodes on chest strap HRMs, in my opinion, they don't need to be wet beforehand and give accurate reading from the outset. My Garmin chest strap gives silly high readings (230+ bpm) for the first 10 minutes at the start of a ride before settling down. The Rhythm+ works with both my Nexus 4 phone (via Bluetooth) and my Garmin 500 bike GPS (ANT+) and my Garmin FR60 sports watch (ANT+). Very useful to have the dual connectivity for say, gym or spin classes as well as with the Garmin bike GPS. Battery life is claimed at 8 hours and I charge after each long ride or two. Charging is via a custom cradle but if that's the price for water resistance fair enough. So far 5 stars. I brought this via amazon seller Mazel Wireless because it was advertised as 'Brand' New - rather than just boring old new ;-). However, the unit I received although 'new' turned out to be an old firmware revision (and not user upgrade-able). This firmware may or may not effect other users but with certain Garmin units the HRM underestimates calorie count significantly. eg 45 calories for a 2 hour ride when a figure between 1000 and 1400 would be expected. In my case the Garmin 500 gave the low calorie readings but the Garmin FR60 gave expected values. As I'd only just got the unit I decided to go straight to Scosche who, to their credit agreed to replace the Rhythm+ with a New firmware version. However, I still I had to incur the hassle and costs to send the unit to back to them and the whole exchange process meant I was without a unit for almost 4 weeks. Hence the lost stars. The replacement unit gives expected calorie readings with all my devices and the Scosche Rhythm+ has completely replaced the uncomfortable chest strap HRM. As I keep using it and forget about the initial hassle I may revisit this review and increase the rating. For background info on the firmware issue please search for DC Rainmaker's review. UPDATE: Nov 4 2015: Raised from 3 to 5 stars. So, does anyone read these reviews ? Well , Scosche does ! I was contacted by a Technical Manager who confirmed that the firmware update happened back in May 2014, so I guess I was pretty unlucky to find a vendor selling old stock. Also, he mentioned that anyone else experiencing this low calorie issue, won't face the delays/hassles I did and that the process is to advance replace these units. I was really impressed that a company cares enough to act pro-actively and reach out like this. I now feel confident your buying experience will be a good one and the 5 stars are deserved. Needless to say, since getting the replacement unit there have been no issues with calorie count, or anything else. Also, I've been using the heart rate arm band daily now and find it really easy and comfortable, to the point where I'll happily have it on pre and post work out, and can easily get recovery data and proper resting heart rate figures too.

This device is much more accurate than any other heart rate monitor on the market, to even include blood pressure cuffs and pulse ox monitors at the hospital. There are many other types of monitors, they typically take your pulse rate at your wrist or fingertips but this spot is nowhere as accurate as this device on your forearm. I don't know why or how, but it just is. Also, if you do not have a normal sinus rhythm then those other devices quicky become confused and give erroneous readings. I had to go to the cardiologist for a stress test with the O2 mask and 12 lead EKG. I asked the cardiologist and tech if I could wear this device and compare it to the pulse rate displayed by the ekg and other monitors. They were ok with it and very interested in how it would do. After 20 minutes it crushed this little test. It was spot on for my resting heart rate, max heart rate and only slightly lagged the EKG by a second or two. This is phenomenal and it is hard to relay how wonderful this is, as every other device I've used (to include fitbit and chest heart rate monitors) were unable to accurately measure my heartrate as it changed under different levels of cardiac stress. They did ok for my resting heart rate but could not give accurate and/or instantaneous readings of my actual heart rate while working out. The doctor was blown away, he stated that he had never seen a device on the market as accurate as the scosche, let alone a heart rate monitor that could accurately give instantaneous readings of people with arrhythmia's. I've been an athlete my entire life. I did crew and soccer in high school and college. I've done marathons, triathlons, 100 mile rides...etc. I've tried countless heartrate monitors, polar, suunto, Fitbit...etc and none could come close to me measuring my carotid pulse for 6 sec and multiplying by 10. (Or an entire minute) This device delivers, it's simple and accurate. It doesn't slide down like chest straps do when you do long runs, I don't have to apply any gel to leads. It just works and I know it's as accurate as a 12 lead EKG. It may not tell me that I have a t-wave abnormality or preventricular contraction but it continuously and accurately gives my pulse rate. The battery lasts about 5-7 one-hour workouts. After that, the pulse rate isn't as accurate. I know what a pulse rate of 140 feels like for me, so when my watch or phone displays a pulse rate of 90, I check my pulse and realize the device is not relaying correct data and I need to charge it. Once it's charged, it's good to go again. It syncs to most devices quickly as it uses standard ANT+ and Bluetooth. Bottom line-this works so well it surprised my cardiologist and I trust it with my life. I actually wouldn't workout without it anymore.

This is the best heart monitor I've had that wasn't a chest strap. I paired it with my iPhone 6 Plus, and was glad to see that it worked with the Apple Health app. I've mainly used it with IRunner on ios, and it displayed my heart rate changes as I started running and slowed down to walk, indicating that it was indeed closely tracking my heartrate. To get a good reading I've had to find the Rhythm Plus' sweet spot: with the sensor near my elbow, over a vein for the optical sensor. I also made sure the band was snug and tight, but not too constricting. Fortunately the band is very soft, comfortable to wear and easy to adjust. The battery life has been fine so far, my workouts have been around 1 to 2 hours, and the workout app has been registering solid readings throughout, no flakiness in the data. But I think all of that depends on how you position and tighten the monitor on your arm. Different apps (like myfitnesspal) use the heart rate data to calculate your calories expended automatically, which is really nice. I think this was definitely a great purchase because it's accurate, works well with many ios apps, and is easy to adjust and comfortable to wear. ** Update 10-18-2015 ** I verified the Scosche Rhythm Plus with the grip heart rate monitor on the Merit 725 T Plus treadmill. Throughout my 2.8 mile run, the differences between the readings were never off by more than 1 to 2 beats per minute - which is exceptional, considering they use 2 completely different methods to measure heart rate (Scosche uses optical measurement, the Merit treadmill uses skin electrical conduction). I now have complete confidence that the Scosche is accurate, and all the apps that use that data are getting accurate results. Very glad I can trust these results and don't have to use a chest strap heart rate monitor on my runs!!! I do recommend that you do use a second source (treadmill heart monitor, chest strap, Apple Watch, etc) to verify that you are positioning the Scosche sensor correctly, and that your heart rate numbers are very closely agreeing. ** Update 10-25-2015 ** I did intervals for the first time, pushing my heart rate to 90% and higher. The Rhythm Plus was able to keep up during all my interval running. And I checked my reading with the treadmill HR monitor every few minutes, and again they agreed within 1 to 2 bpm's. This was a critical test because I tend to over-train and burnout, and now I can see (via my training app) how hard I need to push, and when I need to rest, rather than going by how hard I "felt" I was working. I also found this out while doing intervals: when your bpm goes to 160 bpm or higher, the light on the sensor changes from blinking violet to blinking red, giving a visual indication that you're above the "target" heart zone. Very clever. Since I was running and pumping my arms quickly, I had to make sure that the band was a little bit tighter so that it wouldn't loosen up when my arm was flailing. The band being tight (not too tight mind you) didn't affect my circulation, and helped the sensor give readings that were consistent with my treadmill's heart rate monitor.

UPDATE: 5 weeks in I am now reducing this review to one star. I feel very lucky when this wristband actually syncs. It's becoming a rare event these days. This was a purchase I know deeply regret and the return period is over. Please pay attention to the negative reviews. This product really is garbage. UPDATE: A week after writing the review below, I am removing two stars. The Scosche continuously connects and disconnects during my Peloton ride. This is kind of alarming given the fact that the rider wearing the device is right on top of the Bluetooth connection. I have thrown away the packaging so I don't know if I can return this, but I don't think I can confidently recommend this anymore. Many Peloton users are recommending POLAR brand instead. ============== I advise anyone looking to get a Peloton to save some money and not buy the ESSENTIALS package with the mat and heartrate monitor. You can do better for less. I have already reviewed a great mat that you can look at if you click on my username. The Scosche Rhythm+ has been wildly recommended by Peloton users for its compatibility with the bikes. However, Amazon reviews are all over the place as far as the accuracy and long-term reliability of this device. You can imagine that I wasn't exactly comfortable with this purchasing choice. So far, the Scosche Rhythm has been working rather well for me. I do like the fact it's an armband and not some uncomfortable device that goes across the chest (as is with the Peloton heart monitor) I can't tell you if this thing is accurate or not as it has become my sole tool for determining my heart rate during spin class. I will say that it does connect without any hesitance every time I turn on my Peloton bike screen. This is a big sigh of relief for me because I don't need to be fiddling around with a connection every time I want to exercise. The heart rate shows up in a big indicator block on the Peloton screen. Connection is always solid. No dropouts. My only complaint would be the lack of any charging indicator on the device. You also need to learn how to do a long or short press to turn the Scosche device on or off. The first time I used it I forgot to turn it off and the battery was dead upon second use. I would have hoped the Rhtyhm+ would turn itself off automatically when not in use, but that does not seem to be the case. Charging the device is very simple. It snaps into a plastic charger. It only needs 2 hours of charging time. There are also extra arm bands included. In all, I am happy with this purchase but I am concerned by the negative reviews. If this thing konks out on me you can bet I will be back to update this review. In the meantime, based on my initial impressions, I would recommend this for Peloton users!

I bought this HRM as an alternative to chest straps, which are still considered the gold standard, but can be a little awkward at times(I wear an HRM at the gym as well as cardio, so the chest pod can get compressed during certain exercises) and can chafe even if you keep in clean, use gel, etc. Overall this a pretty strong device: It syncs well with my Garmin FR230. It is comfortable (I wear it fairly tight and still do not notice it during workouts), fairly flexible in wear (based on your size and which strap you choose you can wear it on a forearm, bicep, wrist, and probably even an ankle if that suits you), and pretty accurate. I have used it interchangeably with a Garmin chest HRM and an chest worn Accuro HRM304 and get about the same numbers on each device. Why don't I give it 5 stars?: It is not perfect. The light-based HRMs are getting better but still seem a bit slower and less accurate than chest-based ones. If you're mostly into steady state cardio, this could be the perfect device for you. If you do a lot of interval training, you may find it lagging in accuracy. I have used it for sprint intervals on a treadmill and it struggled to keep up with the changing pace. Another con: once in a while, it will be wildly inaccurate. I am not sure what triggers the flaw, but it will basically "bury the needle" on your HR regardless of your activity level. Example: I took it on a trip where I had access to a nice trail and didn't want to pack the chest strap and electrode gel. I did several early morning 4 mile runs with it and it was rock solid. One afternoon my wife suggested we walk the trail. I turned on the Rhythm+ so I could track my calorie burn and it started just fine, but a mile in, I looked down and it said my HR was 195. I was clearly not sprinting so that was about 2x of what it should have been. I stopped for a few minutes and it dropped as low as 190 but clearly was stuck. I tried to power cycle it, but still was not wanting to read (and yes I manually checked my HR just to make sure I was not having some issue). I gave up and finished the walk. The next morning's run it was working just fine. I have only experienced that about 5 times in a year, but still it is often enough that I tend to not trust the device for running anymore and tend to use it only at the gym. Bottom line- this is a good device, but if you want the best accuracy, stick to the chest strap. My suggestion for the best chest strap is the Accuro HRM304. It is a small company and I took a gamble on buying it, but it is the only device I know of that syncs with Ant+, Bluetooth, and Analog all in one, so I can use it with my Garmin watch while simultaneously sending a signal to the gym equipment or my AirDyne Pro at home.

I was a bit skeptical, I have had a couple of the chest bands, and had read bad reviews on the wrist wearables, so pardon me if I expected more of the same. This thing is amazing, it only does one job, but does it very well, and it was the only job I bought it for. I am 65 and have always had a tendency to push myself to hard when I work out, now at my age monitoring heart rate has become important, especially since I have devoloped arthritis in my spine and have knee problems. I have days sometimes weeks that I can not do much but when I feel good I really want to push. The first time I put this on, it synced up with my windows lumia 640 almost immediatly, no wetting the back for contact or wiggling it around it just worked. I started the only app I have that shows my heartrate and monitors it along with calorie burn, runtastic. By the way I really like what that program does, I can select walking, running, resistance, or my eliptical along with many I don't use, when finished it dumps all the data to My Fitness Pal so my calories are adjusted. I just wish runtastic had a screen that showed pulse larger, its a small little heart with your numbers in it. I had problems before with my chestband making a connection with my bluetooth but not transferring data to runtastic ???. I think the signal may have been weak or something, this thing, wow, almost instantly, I switch from bluetooth page on my phone to runtastic and in about 5 seconds my heartrate is being shown. The second thing I was concerned with was wearing this on my arm would it feel like it wanted to slide down all the time, I kind of got used to the feeling with my chestband, even though it was snug there was always the feeling it wanted to drob down, not this thing. This thing is so light in weight I don't feel any weight pulling down at all, and the band is a weird but good comination of cloth and rubber, it has a grabby feel like rubber does so it has no tendency to move, but it has a clothy feel and with all the holes it doesn't pinch, or make me uncomfortable at all. I have not run it down to check battery time or anything, I use it for about half an hour at a time, may be more as weather gets nice and I can take long walks with my dog, I like to walk fast just to burn some calories and I think I will be quiet comfortable wearing this while doing that. I have used it several times at half hour intervals but I don't want it to run out in the middle of a workout so I normally charge it after 4 or 5 uses, very easy to charge, the charger snaps right on, makes good contact and later I disconnect and put it away for next time. All in all I have been very impressed, no loss of signal, easy to turn on and off. light weight and comfortable. Beats the heck out of the chest straps that I had to pull my shirt up to put on, and always feel like they want to slip down. I highly recommend this product, and by the way, I paid full price, this was not a gift or free review or anything like that, and I do not work for the company or know anyone that does. This is all from just a plain old ordinary cutomer. :)

I was interested in a smaller, lighter heart rate monitor that supported both ANT (like my Garmin GPS) and Bluetooth like my Android phone and the Scosche Rhythm came up in the search. I did some research, read some reviews and decided to try one out and it's great. - It syncs quickly to both my phone and Garmin handlebar GPS - Hasn't lost power yet during a ride so it would appear that the battery is adequate for rides. (So far less than 2 hours) - I prefer to wear it with the sensor on my wrist with the module on the inside. Seemed out of place on my forearm and it doesn't seem to affect the performance of the device. - I haven't witnessed it losing connectivity to my devices so the Bluetooth range is adequate. - If you wear it on your forearm you don't need to un-velcro it to remove it so early wear-out is not a problem. Because I wear it on my wrist I must unfasten the velcro so it may wear out and fail at some point. (It comes with an additional strap yay!) - There are multiple flashing indicators indicating connectivity, heart activity. After a half-dozen rides, so far, I'm convinced it's a reliable, accurate and well-designed unit. Price could be better considering it's simple, commonly-available electronic components but the price may drop after the novelty wears off. Tschüß! !! 90 day update: - I'd advise not getting the black band b/c if you're like me and have a lot of black clothes like riding shorts, jersies etc. The velcro Scosche HRM sticks to such things and I currently have no idea where mine is b/c it's probably stuck to something : / - Also, after a few minutes of activating the Scosche HRM, check to be sure it's still operating. Sometimes mine turns itself off for some unknown reason and I have to turn it back on. Weird. # Six month review update: So far so good but the bands aren't intended to last very long and in my view need a design update. As an off road rider/racer, I pass through brush which occasionally causes it to become unstrapped and dangling. Haven't lost it yet but it takes a few seconds to reattach it properly which isn't easy in a race situation. You may be able to fashion one yourself but the replacements are the same. Maybe a watch band that fastens on the inside would work better.

After two weeks of daily use at the gym I returned this item. Than, I did what I should have done before buying. I read up on these types of devices at CNET. While they did not test the Scosche specifically, they tested a number of optical heart rate sensors and found most less than reliable under real-life situations. Optical sensing devices like this one send pulsating beams of light through the skin and illuminate capillaries in order to determine heart rate. Under ideal conditions they have been found quite accurate. In actual use problems often arise. Movement is said to interfere with accuracy, as can sweat, skin oil or other residue on the surface which diffuse the light being emitted. I've provided a reference to the article mentioned at the end of the review. On the positive side, the sensor synced easily with my IPad Mini. Unfortunately, the Scosche app no longer functions. When I called about this they directed me to download an app from Wahoo Fitness at I-Tunes. It worked with the Scosche sensor, but the heart rate readout appeared quite small and its grey color provided little screen contrast. Instead, I downloaded another app they had mentioned from I-Cardio. It worked just as well while providing a larger red readout. So far - so good. But actual heart rate readings told a different story. My daily 30-minute workouts on a treadmill include three 5-minute periods of running with cooling off periods in between. It was during the running sessions that the sensor began acting erratically. At the onset readings seemed normal and closely aligned to what the hand grip monitor on the treadmill indicated (about 150 BPM + -). However, the Scosche reading would often fall sharply during running and also tended to become progressively lower with each succeeding run. Near the end of the third run the reading was often no higher than at normal walking speeds. This made no sense to me and did not agree with the readings the pressure grip sensor on the treadmill was reporting. Their phone rep had instructed me to wash the device with soap and water after each use (which I did). Apparently, in my case, that wasn't enough. After reading up on CNET, the progressively lower and lower readings began to make sense. My guess is that it was sweat and skin oil building up on the sensor during running which caused the drop in BPM readings. (Remember that these work thru pulsating light.) Arm movement may also have contributed. And, possibly my age (68) or other physical characteristics made the capillaries harder for the light beams to identify. For whatever reason, it became clearer and clearer over time that the device wasn't providing accurate feedback. My next sensor will be the strap-on type which adhere to the chest and utilize an older proven technology. These may not be as comfortable as the arm/wrist types, but accuracy is top priority. I wouldn't discourage you from trying one of these, as many swear by them. However, I would suggest you do some reading on the Internet about different types of heart rate sensors before you buy any of them, as the various technologies employed work quite differently. http://www.cnet.com/news/how-accurate-are-wristband-heart-rate-monitors/

La pila dura bastante

Muy practico y facil de colocar en el brazo. Lo apago despues del ejercicio, cuando lo enciendo de nuevo, de inmediato conecta el GPS, cosa que no pasaba con mi reloj Huawey que constantemente se desconfiguraba el GPS

Love this! It's accurate and comfortable. My only gripe is that it slip down from time to time, might just be that I haven't got the strap just right as yet. Right on particular with my H7.

The best heart rate sensor in terms of accuracy. I wish this model had cadence as well for riders but that was added later in rhythm24. Overall, this is still my go to monitor for pairing with my Apple Watch

Seems to work really well. Tried connecting with Bluetooth for my phone with Strava and ANT+ with my Garmin. Much more comfortable than the chest strap for running and goes nicely under the slieve for cycling.