Coros Heart Rate Monitor (Arm Band Review)

I have boobs [are you now intrigued what this could be about?] and therefore to comfortably run I need to wear what equates to chest armor. This style of undergarment does not leave much space for a heart rate monitor on a chest strap and there is an increased chance of chafing (I have actual scars) from the bra and chest strap combo.

So I have been on the hunt for another option and discovered the Coros arm strap version. I have been using it for a few weeks now and have most definitely put it through its paces both cycling and running.

Design and Wearability

It sits on an elastic strap that has a small velcro fastener and can be made to fit most arm sizes. The small monitor is comfortable, in fact, you can barely feel it is there. It is lightweight and does not affect arm motion when running.

Comfort

I would say for the most part it is comfortable. I could feel the buckle part under my arm when running when the strap was not at optimal tension but not at all when cycling even on long rides. There is a sweet spot of being too tight or too loose which takes a bit of adjusting at the start.

Battery Life

Initially on taking it out of the box it needs to be put on charge to 100% before it will happily talk to any watch. I wore it for a full twelve hours while doing a long bike ride (a very long bike ride). It ran out of battery at some point during this day but it didn’t give any indication, or any indication that I could see, that it was about to give up the ghost. On the watch face there is a note of the percentage battery of the heart rate monitor but I for one was not going to be watching this intently when training.

Compatibility with Coros Pace

I have a 2022 version of the Coros Pace 2 and they seem to connect smoothly but only once you have connected it. There is no automatic connection, one must scroll to settings on the watch select it from accessories and then connect.

Once a workout is finished and completed then before the next one it has to be reconnected the same way. This is slightly inconvenient when doing a brick session and involves more admin than is necessary.

So it’s comfortable and looks good but does it actually work? In a word, yes. On a brief test to compare it to a chest strap the numbers were within 5-10 beats per minute difference.

Conclusion

This is a good alternative to the chest strap design currently on the market. Once the nuances of connection and the strap is comfortable and secure it is an easy piece of hardware to use during land-based activities.