Wahoo TICKR FIT Heart Rate Monitor Armband, Bluetooth/ANT+

This is certainly one of the more disappointing purchases I have made. I rarely write negative reviews preferring to find a reasonable balance between positives and negatives. This however is a short negative review. For me the monitor simply doesn’t work as intended and would thus be dangerous if I relied on it. It is fine for taking a resting pulse and seems pretty much spot on but I can do that with a watch and counting. As soon as I start fitness exercises it goes all over the place sometimes registering As low as 50 sometimes higher but rarely as high as my actual pulse. I think this can only be caused by muscle flexing and tensioning. I’ve tried it in different places on my arm but still no better. I am retired so no spring chicken and certainly not overdoing the exercises! I haven’t tried on my cycle perhaps it would work then. The other issue for me for something so costly is that the software that comes with it is very rudimentary. You have to start a workout to get a reading and the graph that it produces is very small scale. The software and website encourages you to buy into an expensive additional program. Poor deal and for me it is £68 down the drain.

Summary:Don\'t buy if you need to pair with a Windows 10 PC via bluetooth. Works well if you also buy an ANT+ dongle.Details:After going backwards and forwards with Wahoo Fitness support, and getting a replacement TICKR, the final result is that it won\'t pair with current Windows 10 devices using bluetooth (tested with two TICKR FITs, on two different machines), \"since a recent Windows 10 update\" (support didn\'t specify which), and they recommend using ANT+ instead. For a desktop PC, this means you\'ll have to also purchase an ANT+ dongle.In the same order, I also bought a CooSpo armband heart rate monitor, which DOES pair with both of my Windows 10 machines via bluetooth - unfortunately it frequently loses the connection and as such is not recommended.However, CooSpo also sell a USB ANT+ dongle, which works very well with the TICKR (my dongle is an older verison and much larger, but has the same ASIN). The caveat is that your software will have to explicitly support ANT+. In my case, I was using open source software called \"Cardia\" (available on Github), which cannot speak the ANT+ protocol; I have switched to the non-free \"Pulse Monitor\" which has so far worked perfectly with the TICKR - not a single disconnection.With both the CooSpo HRM and the Wahoo TICKR, over both bluetooth and ANT, there is a good five to ten second lag between what is shown as your heart rate and your actual heart rate. This may not be a problem for you, but it is quite annoying for me.The TICKR feels reasonably solid, easy to clean with an iso-wipe, and the strap has not degenerated yet (in other reviews Wahoo say they have fixed this), and even then there is a spare included in the box. The charging cable requires you to plug it in via USB, and is a magnetic disc that prevents you from mis-connecting it to the TICKR. The connection between the two is quite solid.I have only connected it to an Android device in order to run the Wahoo Utility and check for a firmware update - as of now, the current firmware is 1.0.13. Note that you NEED to grant the \"location\" permission in order for the app to function and be able to see the TICKR. I have not used the Wahoo Fitness Workout Tracker except as a troubleshooting step to verify the hardware wasn\'t broken.

I reluctantly purchased this TICKR FIT due to others reported issues with the quality of the strap. I\'ve use this for indoor turbo training 4 times per week for the past 2 months and the strap is showing no signs of wear. Other than that, the unit works as expected, it\'s accurate and it\'s rechargeable so no need to keep a stock of batteries as with the chest strap TICKR. The unit is not quite as quick to respond to changes in heart as the chest strap version, however that is because it uses an optical sensor as opposed to electrical signals that most chest strap heart rate monitors use to measure pulse, including the TICKR. Overall, I recommend this especially if you do not want to have to wash the strap as I have to do with the TICKR chest strap version, which starts to smell after a couple of vigorous workouts.

I own the Polar OH1 and prefer this one. The OH1 tends to flip over due to it\'s shape. It also locked onto a heart rate when i was spinning for no reason i could fathom several times.This one fits better and has excellent battery life, i\'ve not charged it since itv arrived and have used it dozens of times.My only criticism is that when you turn it on the light only comes on after you release the power button so it\'s guesswork how long you need to hold it down for it to power up. it would have been cool to have it show your heart rate zone by a coloured led which my old Mio heart rate monitor could do. I pair mine with a garmin 935 and it connects with no problems.

I really dislike wearing chest HRMs, but they have been a necessary evil for some time. The Wahoo TICKR Fit does away with most of the negatives:- Its not cold to put on - I hate really hate that with chest HRM\'s.- Slides onto you arm very easily. No more getting undressed because you forgot to put your chest HRM on!- The optical HR sensor works instantly & reliably. No need to \"wet\" the contact points like you sometimes have to do with chest HRM\'s.Yes this is expensive, but I think its a stand out piece of kit & has worked great so far whilst I\'m on the turbo.*UPDATE* Whilst I have not had the same level of strap deterioration as others, it is quite apparent that the strap is the week link here - I reckon 6 months before it will need replacing. Hopefully Wahoo will address.

The product works well, HOWEVER the arm band was completely destroyed after only one month of use - what is this quality wahoo??I would suggest wahoo to include like 10 bands of these in the box - am sure such cheap Chinese quality can be bough in dozens!