Scosche Rhythm+

Rest day today, so no training for me. I thought I might use the break as a chance to do another review of some kit. The bit of kit I was going to look at today is the Scosche Rhythm+, which is an optical heart rate monitor. This one was lent to me by fellow Swim Smoother Dave Glass who suggested I might want to have a play with it. So thanks for that Dave.

So to start out, I should say that I have previously been sceptical of optical heart rate monitors. Opinions I have read online tend to point to them as the way of the future, and I agree with that. They are pretty handy. But at the same time most of the reivews I have read for most of the products don't come out particularly shiny and adoring. Accuracy issues being the main complaint. Way of the future, but not there yet has been the impression I have had. 

Given the above, I had my doubts when I cracked out the Rhythm+.

Scosche Rhythm+

Where the magic happens

I have to say I have come out very pleasantly surprised. 

Now, as I often say at the beginning of any review I do for a piece of technology, I am not DC Rainmaker. So this review isn't going to be as indepth as his is. This review is more a documentation of my experiences with the Rhythm+ and my thoughts on it. If you would like to know more about the techincal side of this device I would recommend having a read of the DC Rainmaker review, which is very good and can be found here:

DC Rainmaker Rhythm+ Review

Okay so first up, how does an optical heart rate monitor work. Well for that I am going to shamelessly steal some text from the interwebs (www.digitaltrends.com if you are interested). 

An LED shines through the skin, and an optical sensor examines the light that bounces back. Since blood absorbs more light, fluctuations in light level can be translated into heart rate – a process called photoplethysmography.

Basically it flashes a light at your skin really quickly. This is where a lot of optical heart rate monitors have problems, because if any stray light gets to the optical sensor, then it is going to lead to accuracy issues. Not a problem with the Rhythm+ as I found out.

Flashing lights

So anyway, into the review proper.

This unit is intended to sit on your lower arm like so:

Aimed at Brachial artery I guess

The band is an adjustable velcro type affair, which I initially found a bit tight, but very quickly stopped noticing. 

Operation of the heart rate monitor is very simple. There is a big button on top, which you hold down to turn on and hold down to turn off. The light you can see in the above picture flashes to tell you it  is working. It flashes different colours to tell you other things too, such as connecting to device, charging etc. That is about it. Put it on, and turn it on. Done.

The Rhythm+ is rechargable via USB. It comes with a little cradle type arrangement, like a lot of other fitness devices out there. The band clicks in and charges away, simple and works very well. Connection seems solid. Takes about two hours to charge. 

One feature of the Rhythm+ is that is transmits by both ANT+ and Bluetooth. This basically means that it connects to anything you can think of. Watches, fitness trackers, phones, whatever you usually use to record fitness information, this will transmit to. I tested it with my Garmin 920XT, my Garmin 510, my wifes Vivosmart, my iPhonse, her Android phone. Each one it connect to easily, simply and reliably. That counts for a lot with devices like this in my book. 

Once you have it connected it works with your device just like any other heart rate monitor, including any phone based fitness app you care to think of. 

After you get it set up you are good to go off and do some exercise. I have used this one for a few sessions, plus a bunch of sitting around, although I must admit I haven't run in it yet. The longest session I used it for was a three hour ride on Saturday. For most of the sessions I have done I have benchmarked the Rhythm+ against either my Garmin Heart Rate strap or my Magellan Heart Rate strap. 

So how did it go? Remarkably well. In terms of accuracy I really found nothing to split this between either of my two more traditional chest heart rate straps. Perhaps a beat or two here and there on average heart rate, but essentially no difference. The accuracy was spot on even at elevated heart rate levels (post publish edit: I had cause to re-read this post after using the Scosche for quite some time and I thought it warranted a small update re accuracy. After much use I have to say that the Scosche is unerringly accurate, in fact it is probably the most accurate and reliable monitor I have used bar none. When I want to ensure I get an accurate HR read out it is the strap I go too. Very impressive).

So that is the answer to the big question that people probably have. Other than that, what else did I like/dislike about the Rhythm+?

Well in the like column, I love that you can turn this thing on and off and it has a light to tell you which it is. Sounds simple right, but why has it taken until now to put an on switch on a heart rate monitor. There is something nice about knowing that the device is definitely on and definitely still working. Yes I realise that you know a heart rate monitor is working once you connect your device, but it is good to be able to get that confirmation before you are about to start running.

I like that you can charge this thing. Why aren't other heart rate monitors rechargable? Changing over batteries has always been a hassle with straps. Plus that whole thing of when it starts playing up (looking at you Garmin) you never know if it is because the battery is dying or not. This way, just charge it up again. Very handy. The on switch and the charging removes a little of the 'mysterious little black box' element of heart rate monitors, which I often find frustrating. Is it working, is the battery going, is it going to die mid race? The Rhythm+ puts all those concerns to rest.

It is quite comfortable. As I said before, my first impression was that this needed to be a bit tight to be secure. Plus I had concerns that it sits almost exactly where my arm rests on the armpad of my aerobars. All those concerns were for naught though. After a while I really don't tend to notice it. Certainly as comfortable as the usual chest strap, in some situations I could see it being more comfortable.

It is convinient. Putting on a chest strap is no big hassle, I agree. Although I would also say that during winter wetting the strap and then putting it against my bare skin is one of the worst part of any session I do. Strapping this thing to my arm is just more convinient. For somebody like my wife, that conviniece is increased 10 fold. My wife isn't an athlete and so putting on a chest stap just looks like a hassle to her. A cold, slightly damp hassle. This strap doesn't have that problem. For that reason she is just that much more likely to use it when she goes out walking. Helping her improve the quality of her session.

Now for a couple of the negatives, there aren't many, but one of them is fundamental enough that it means I won't be throwing away my chest staps anytime soon. The big one is that the Rhythm+ isn't water proof (it is sweat proof). That means I can't race in it. For that reason alone, I will be holding onto the chest straps. I guess I could just pop this on after the swim leg before I jump on the bike, but that takes time and so, lets be honest, that isn't going to happen. (Another post publish edit: After quite a bit of use I now know that while the Scosche isn't officially water proof, it certainly seems sealed well enough to cope with a swim, I have worn mine in water several times without any ill effect. I have never raced in it, and I am still not sure it would be be first choice for a racing HR monitor, but it can certainly cope with water). 

The only other real issue I have is that if you use a Garmin run heart rate monitor (which I do sometimes) then there are a number running dynamics metrics that you will now miss out on. Depending on what you use those metrics for, that could be a deal breaker. 

So on balance, I would say a lot more positives than negatives and that certainly reflects my experience, which was generally a good one.

In fact I would say the Rhythm+ is now my favourite way to track my resting heart rate. It is so good for simply popping on, connecting to my phone and letting it record for an hour or so while I am sitting around. Easy. 

On top of that, as I mentioned above, the Rhythm+ is great for more casual exercisers. To be honest, I have no great problem with chest strap heart rate monitors, and for a lot of my sessions (particualrly running) I can see myself sticking with them for the running dynamics metrics. However, for my wife the convinience of this strap is the difference between wearing a heart rate monitor and not. For this sort of product that has to count as a win.