HR sensor accuracy

Frank Stefan

@Fabio-Vaccaro My first run outdoor was very bad with HR measurement, but my second was just fine. So i cannot say if it was an error from the HR Sensor/Watch or a little loose watch strap.

duffman19

The SW update on the Vertical seemed to improve the daily HR tracking for me. Still not great, but better. It now gives somewhat believable readings rather than showing 100-110 bpm all the time.

As @Dušan-Ković said, I only really want the WHR to work well for sleep and HRV tracking. I haven’t found a wrist-based sensor that works reliably for running. The Apple Watch is pretty close, but it almost always has errors after about 45 minutes into an activity. So I’m wearing a chest strap for most activities anyways.

I think Suunto is pretty limited with what they can do with the LifeQ sensor. With only one set of LEDs and two detectors, it’s way behind what most other companies are using. Perhaps it’s possible to bump up the light intensity (and maybe that’s what they’ve done with the update), but that will eat into battery life. And I’d guess Suunto chose/developed the sensor to be as efficient as possible.

So is HR an issue? Yes. Can they fix it? I’m sure Suunto is working on it, but I think we’ll need a new sensor package to see any real improvement.

Fabio Vaccaro

I also think that if we do not complain the sensor won’t be upgraded. I think we can all agree that the sensor is not modern and up to Suunto’s quality. Don’t you think so? @Dušan-Ković @Frank-Stefan @duffman19

tiago

@duffman19 out of activities works fine,I compared with my Fênix 7 solar during the night and the hr during the sleep and HRV readings match 66ms on Race 66 ms on Fênix 7, HR minimum during sleep 51 on both. My main issue is I’m a night shift worker and after my first night shift,I schedule my sleep on race between 8 am and 3 pm. The watch record the time I have slept as a nap and doesn’t mesure my HRV, with Garmin I don’t have that problem. I already contacted Suunto support to inform this issue, otherwise all night shift workers only have HRV readings recorded and time sleeping as real sleep on the days of, when we sleep during the night. I hope Suunto fix this. In activities I don’t know because I always use chest strap,no matter the brand. If someone wants to guide his progress based on heart rate, optical heart rate is not an option, because is an hit and miss.

duffman19

@Fabio-Vaccaro I think Suunto knows the sensor isn’t good. Nearly every review mentions it as a problem and Suunto is surely hearing it. At the very least, Suunto is listening to folks like Ray @dcrainmaker.

To their credit, it seems they are at least trying to work with what they have through software improvements, but are really hindered by the physical hardware. I’d be really surprised if we didn’t see an improved sensor on their next release. I guess it doesn’t hurt to keep mentioning the current one stinks, but we all kinda know that by now.

Dušan Ković

@Fabio-Vaccaro For me Suunto HR never worked well (not only Suunto, fitbit also), so I kinda don’t expect from any watch to work well. At one point I bought H10 and was amazed how bad S9B HR was compared to Polar. After a while, I switched to Verity sense just because of practical reasons. Of 5 or 6 Suunto watches that I had, only Race has solid to good daily HR and daily tracking (sleep has too many awake segments, resources not sure if work well), all of them before Race were useless. So I wouldn’t call Race HR sensor not modern, just not a priority for Suunto. I don’t mind that. I would just like to have proper daily data (sleep, hrv, min hr, rest hr, etc) from watch. I like to data nerd and follow how my body reacts to different stuff in life - training, stress, food, etc

Fabio Vaccaro

@duffman19 I really hope there will be a new Suunto Race 2 next year to fix this issue with a better hardware because I think this is an amazing product overall

Fabio Vaccaro

@Dušan-Ković yeah, but you are talking about only about suunto products (and fitbit), not garmin…

Dušan Ković

@Fabio-Vaccaro Yup, that is true. But I value Suunto on more things than just HR (design, app, UI, etc). That’s why I said that I am fine with bad HR readings in exercises, I just need it to work well for daily stuff, Polar will cover exercises. Ok, Garmin maybe has good HR, I don’t know. But it has a shitty watch design and the app is a disaster. I don’t need all the “features” and gimmicks. All these are my personal opinions.

DrSilverthorn

I’d like to see WHR work for at least steady state running workouts. Interestingly, it seems that WHR has improved for weightlifting with the new update (Vertical). So far I only have one sample, but it was giving me believable numbers (if a bit lagged). This is something that my F6x and Enduro were unable to do. But I’ll have to look at accuracy on a run. Before the update, it had been quite bad.

For interval type work, I’d expect to use a strap.

FWIW, I have a Vertical, but the sensor is essentially the same - not sure about the FW though.

Update: I still have the same issues when running, so no improvement AFAIK. I’ll continue to use a Verity Sense strap.

David l

I’m really struggling to see a big issue with the OHR on the Race. It’s a guide, unlikely to be 5bpm or more out and will always be behind the curve. We all just get used to it. If we want better Hat then surely a strap is the way to go? Or am I missing something?

leafs93

I read so much about inaccurate WHR for Race. I wear my Apple Ultra and COROS pace 3 during my long run, intervals. Frankly I find the heart rate to be spot on and the readings are very very similar to my Apple Watch, Garmin or COROS . The important point if you wish to get accurate reading is to wear it higher from your wrist (with more flesh) and bingo… even when I wear it for swimming, Hr is very similar to my other watches.

craigeggleton

Pretty similar exercise to compare OHR to Garmin Strap. Treadmill run yesterday using OHR was 6.5 mph @2% incline for 30 minutes. Today’s was 40 minutes with 35 min at 6.5 mph zero incline and finished with a 5 minute sprint at 9 mph with the chest strap. For this type of run OHR works as advertised.

Fabio Vaccaro

I really understand your considerations, but do you have realized that 42 against 20 persons voted for “HR accuracy as an issue”?

Shrek3k

@Fabio-Vaccaro it is now 42:22

I believe that neither the vote nor the whole forum is truly representative. It is a meeting point for critically interested people, which is great and really helpful, but most probably not the ‘reality’ nor the ‘majority’. Just my thoughts.

JANTIKAINEN

Has anybody heard that is there a difference in OHR accuracy between the stainless steel and titanium version, taking in consideration that the titanium version is lighter and maybe is not so prone to move?
I know this might be a bit bogues question since it’s very unlikely that anybody would have both versions of the watch. Field testers might have.

Off topic, I had the pleasure of meeting the CEO & Board member of Suunto Oy by accident today at a local major electronics shop. I went there to see if they’d have the Race as a display watch, which they didn’t. So I was just glancing the sportswatch section and started playing with a Garmin watch when this one guy asked me that am I looking for sportswatch. I said that yes I am and then he asked that is Suunto out of the picture since I’m holding a Garmin watch. I replied that I came to see the Race but they don’t have it so then he introduced himself as a Suunto Oy’s CEO, took his Race from his wrist and let me play with the watch while we had a discussion about Suunto. Very nice and down to earth guy.

Fabio Vaccaro

@Shrek3k ahaahhaahahah
I think you are right with the representativeness of this forum

Fabio Vaccaro

@JANTIKAINEN wonderfull and have you asked clarifications about HR issues to the CEO?

DrSilverthorn

@David-l I think the wrist OHR should work for steady state running workouts at least. I think Garmin and Polar (VV2, Grit, not VV3) work better in this regard. Wearing a strap all the time in the summer months can lead to chaffing issues, and sometimes one is traveling and it’s one less thing to think about.

If you’re putting a OHR sensor on the watch, then the person buying it might reasonably expect it to work at least sometimes. The problem is that for many people it simply doesn’t work under anything but the most ideal conditions.

IMO, if they could fix the heart rate sensor, they’d be addressing a major shortcoming that would make them more competitive in this space.

@JANTIKAINEN said in HR sensor accuracy:

took his Race from his wrist and let me play with the watch

At that point he could have left it to you as a gift