Take a journey with me, to a time before cell phones made for an able guide in even the harshest wilderness. For an explorer braving uncharted territory, one of their most prized possessions was a compass. A compass that rang true acted as a guiding light in even the darkest of times, a good reading leading them to their destination unscathed. Therefore, before they embarked on an expedition, it was of the utmost importance to travel with a credible and consistent compass.
Fast forward to the present, and to your own personal health and fitness journey. No matter where this long and winding road leads, it is undeniable you will need a reliable compass. When it comes to working out, your compass is a heart rate monitor. A heart rate monitor (combined with the Fitdigits app) will inform and instruct your workouts, allowing you to learn how your body responds and rejects certain workout types. You need a heart rate monitor that is comfortable, reliable, durable and distinctive. You need the Scosche Rhythm Plus.
At this point, we here at Fitdigits consider ourselves heart rate monitor experts. Fitdigits was the first app to track Heart Rate, and we were using watches and monitors before that. We have tried more heart rate monitors then we can count, and after countless hours and workouts with a monitor grooving to our own personal beat, we came to the conclusion that the Scosche Rhythm Plus is one of the best in the business. What makes the Scosche Rhythm Plus stand out? Glad you asked.
- Where You Wear It– The Scosche Rhythm Plus is worn around your forearm instead of on your chest. We can’t tell you how many times we gave the gym a free peep show when you had to adjust, take off or put on a traditional chest strap
- No Replacing Batteries– The Scosche Rhythm Plus is re-chargeable, meaning you never have to worry about going to the store and figuring out which tiny battery belongs in your monitor. Just charge it after each workout and you never have to worry about it dying right in the middle of a killer sweat session.
- Bluetooth Low Energy– The Scosche Rhythm Plus uses state-of-the-art technology in Bluetooth Low Energy. This allows you to be over 100 feet away from your phone, allowing you to have a worry-free workout without a bulky cell phone on your person.
- Sleek, Modern Design– While not necessarily quantifiable, the Rhythm Plus just looks cool! It brings to mind a fancy gadget from Sci-Fi or James Bond. No, Q did not cook this bad boy up in his lab at MI6, but it certainly feels that way, using integrated dual LED/optical sensors to produce real time pulse monitoring.
- Lightweight and Travel Friendly– The Rhythm Plus can fold up to about the size of a Ping Pong ball, allowing you to just plop it into your pocket.
Let the Scosche Rhythm Plus be your guide to a better you! At only $79.95, it is the ideal companion to the advanced heart rate functionality that the Fitdigits app offers.
Interesting product with 'mixed' reviews on places like Amazon. What concerns me is not things like pairing issue, dropped connections, not turning off, short charge time, etc. When I see a review like this, it always seems to assume the market are people who are looking for a heartrate monitor for the first time. However, many of us already have heart rate monitors but could be interested in changing. Over the years I have gone through various monitors and about 2 years ago finally decided I had enough with my watch and went bluetooth with Digitfit. The thing is I do cardio exclusively – I do not run. I have multiple club quality cardio machines in my house, but the issue is the same whether I cardio at home or in a club. My heartrate monitor not only reports results to Digitfit but it also must communicate with the machine I am doing my workout on which uses my heartrate to control the workout. If the monitor I have can not communicate with my machine, it is a non-starter and the standard out there seems to be Polar communication.
I have the same issue. The treadmill I use talks with polar so if the heart rate monitor doesn't use that it's a non starter.
Works great for the most part. However, it does not work when on a rowing machine. Skin stretches enough so that it cannot read heart rate most of the time.
Clearly it's different than a chest strap, but is it better? Is it more reliable during vigorous, high motion workouts, like jumping rope? Where do you place it on your arm and will it stay there? How tight does it need to be? I've used the Polar H7 with DigiFit for 2.5 years with very few complaints and just two battery changes. Can you do a follow up post that goes into some depth and leverages Digifit's considerable expertise? Thanks!
I have the monitor paired with my iPhone 5 and the iBiker app by iTMP Technology, Inc. Initial pairing through the app was a bit tricky, but after that, the monitor has worked flawlessly. My iPhone has never lost connection with the monitor. Charge time via USB is rather quick although I've never drained the monitor completely. My only complaint is with the band holding it to my arm. The velcro tip came off of one end (it appears to be glued to the band). According to a Scosche Technical Support Rep, a replacement band is $4.99, but shipping is a whopping $9.47 via UPS ground. When I emailed the rep and asked if they can just drop the band in a padded envelope and mail it cheaper via USPS, I never got a response back. Additionally, the band replacement Web page <http://www.scosche.com/rhythm-plus-replacement-strap> says, "California Proposition 65 WARNING: This product contains chemical(s) known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects and other reproductive harm." I don't think I want that tight around my arm so I didn't order the replacement band. I found another solution at my local hardware store that costs only $2 (plus tax) and no cancer warning.
I have used both the Polar H7 and the Rhythm+. I was finding with the H7 that it was digging into my chest and I was going to get a scar if I didn't do something different. That's when I switched. I love the forearm placement. When I'm doing just steady state cardio, it seems to stay put. I find that when I'm lifting weights it will sometimes slide a little and I have to reposition it. All in all, I'm glad I made the switch.
I have been using it for a while, 99% satisfied, only issue is while running long runs it does slip down a bit due to heavy sweating, so the strap must be re-positioned.
You didn't mention accuracy. I have found the Scosche to be the most reliable and accurate sensor.