Polar H9 heart rate sensor

The Polar H9 heart rate monitor is super comfortable to wear and gives consistently reliable data. It has many of the same features as its big brother, the H10, but comes in a more affordable package.

For more options, check out our guide to the best heart rate monitors.

Polar is known to be at the forefront of wearable heart rate technology, but this often comes at a price. Its H9 is a more budget-friendly option that competes against the likes of the Garmin HRM-Dual and Wahoo Tickr.

> Buy now: Polar H9 for £51.50 from Polar

The H9 can use ANT+ or Bluetooth to connect to your devices, which will cover modern GPS bike computers. And with Zwift racing becoming more and more popular, the H9 also allows you to connect to Zwift and your bike computer, if you need to dual-record your data.

Connecting the sensor to your bike computer is easy. I use a Wahoo Elemnt Bolt (as tested by Mat in 2021) and it picked up the signal instantly; just double-check that your sensor ID matches, as other signals can be picked up if there are other monitors nearby.

The Polar H9 doesn't have any onboard memory like the 4iiii Viiiiva or the Wahoo Tickr X, which means you will always have to provide it with a connection. But who uses a heart rate monitor without a GPS bike computer or GPS watch these days?

There is no need to turn the Polar H9 on – and there is no way of checking if it is on either... If the monitor senses a heart rate then it will start providing data, as long as there is a connection. (The LED indicators on the Wahoo Tickr are a handy feature for checking if your sensor is broadcasting a signal.) Still, it uses a CR2025 coin battery and battery life is claimed to be a year.

I have no way of reporting the accuracy of the unit on test, but based on my current training phase, the values produced track similarly to my Wahoo Tickr. (DC Rainmaker has compared the H9 against other heart rate monitors, and those results also suggest it tracks very accurately.)

Polar uses what it calls its 'Soft strap' on the H9, which is made from 38% polyamide, 29% polyurethane, 20% elastane, and 13% polyester.

The sensor pad is a strip of soft plastic that doesn't irritate against the skin, and Polar uses a hook and loop method to attach the two ends of the strap. I found this much more comfortable than Wahoo's 'poppers', which are covered in a hard plastic and can cause some discomfort.

Initially, I adjusted the strap to fit around my chest quite snug, but during my first ride with the Polar H9 it became loose and slipped down my chest a bit. A few rides later, and a bit of adjustment, and the strap now sits snug around my chest and hasn't come loose again.

Once you've got the strap all sweaty and dirty, the sensor unit just unclips from the two poppers and you can wash the strap along with your usual sports kit.

Value

The Polar H9 is at the higher end of the market for basic heart rate monitors, but does boast many of the same baseline features as the more expensive (£76.50) Polar H10. The H10 does, however, have an internal memory store and longer battery life which can last between one and two years, as opposed to one year for the H9.

You can get the Wahoo Tickr, which has similar features as the H9, for £39.99, but I do find the strap a lot less comfortable and the unit doesn't always turn off, which can drain the battery.

The Garmin HRM-Dual is a few quid more than the H9, £59.99, as is the 4iiii Viiiiva, which has internal memory in case you exercise without your devices. Liam was impressed with the 4iiii and gave it 8/10, although he deemed it to be a bit pricey.

Likewise, the Wahoo Tickr X also has built-in memory to store data, and is currently priced at £64.99 – expensive if you are not going to use the extra features.

Conclusion

I have found the Polar H9 to be a super comfortable heart rate monitor that has consistently given me reliable data. It is on the more expensive side of the market for a heart rate monitor with only the basic features, but given it has the same tech as the Polar H10, I think it's worth the price.

Verdict

Comfortable and easy to use, providing reliable heart rate data