Polar H9 Review
A well-priced, accurate heart rate monitor
Verdict
The Polar H9 is a well-priced, accurate heart rate monitor that might lack some of the extras included on Polar’s H10 monitor, but delivers where it matters for less money.
Pros
- Accurate heart rate data across activities
- Comfortable to wear
- Good battery life
Cons
- No onboard memory
- Can’t connect two Bluetooth devices at once
- Lacks the H10’s grippy silicon dot strap design
Key Features
- Epic enduranceUp to 400 hours battery (approximately)
- Can be used underwaterWaterproof up to 30 metres
Introduction
The Polar H9 is a chest strap-style heart rate monitor that aims to offer accurate heart rate tracking for your workouts, for less than it costs to pick up Polar’s higher-end H10 monitor.
Polar has kept the price down by ditching some of the extras you get on the H10, all while housing the same ECG sensor technology for the same great level of accuracy, even for high intensity workouts.
That lower price puts it below other affordable monitors like the new Wahoo Trackr Heart Rate and sits at around the same price as the Garmin HRM-Dual and the 4iiii Viiiiva monitor.
The Polar H10 is one of the best heart rate monitors available, so is that matched by the H9? I’ve been wearing the Polar H9 long-term to find out if it’s fit for exercise.
Design and Comfort
- Available in two strap sizes
- One colour option only
- Waterproof up to 30 metres
The Polar H9 largely follows the same design format as the H10 chest strap. You’ve got the sensor module with a grey front, which measures exactly the same as the one on the H10 monitor and clips onto the front of the strap. That strap comes in just one black colour option in either M-XXL or XS-S strap sizes.
The strap clasp differs as it is more of a hook-style one that can be a little more fiddly to get in place. Once you do, it’s not going to budge.
Unlike the strap included with the H10, the one here lacks the small silicon dots that add extra grip for exercise that’s more frenetic and sweaty which might cause the strap to slip around. I can’t say that fit or even the secureness of fit has been an issue for me and it’s been comfortable to wear for long runs and general gym and home workouts.
You can also pick up the strap that comes with the H10 separately and use it with the H9 sensor if you like the idea of those extra grippy dots.
Behind the sensor module lies the compartment where the CR2025 coin cell battery lives and is pretty straightforward to get to by using the clasp on the strap to loosen it first.
When that compartment is closed and the battery is out of sight the H9 has a waterproof rating that makes it safe to be submerged in water up to 30 metres depth.
Like the H10, this is one that’s more about slipping on underneath a wetsuit for open water swims than wearing it on your chest in a pool. That’s when the secureness of the strap will become more of a problem.
Features and Performance
- Strong heart rate accuracy across intensities
- Connectivity support over Bluetooth and ANT+
- No onboard memory
Polar uses the same ECG sensor technology as the H10 monitor here, and places electrodes on the inside of the strap to deliver heart rate.
It can pair to devices over Bluetooth and ANT+, though it doesn’t support the ability to pair to two Bluetooth devices simultaneously. You additionally can pair to Polar training computers using the supported GymLink (5 kHz) technology support, which is primarily designed for water-based activities. If you want to store sessions on the H9, that’s not something Polar offers here.
I focused my time pairing it to smartphones and apps including Polar’s Beat and Flow. I’ve paired it with non-Polar sports watches and smartwatches and connected gym equipment like treadmills and indoor rowers, too. The connectivity on the whole has been pretty spotless and I didn’t suffer any sort of dropouts with the connections during workouts.
On the accuracy front, I was very pleased with how the H9 performed for a range of activities including runs, indoor rides, indoor rowing sessions and HIIT-style workouts.
It’s the latter where you really get to see the benefits of an ECG-style monitor over an optical one when heart rate is rapidly dropping and spiking – the H9 keeps up with that more frenetic heart rate activity. Whether it was steady, long runs or more interval-style training, the data accuracy on the whole was very strong and pretty much the same as what I experienced on Polar’s H10 monitor.
There are more similarities in terms of the battery life you enjoy. The CR2025 coin cell battery should deliver around 400 hours of training time and if you remember to disconnect the sensor module after a workout, it will go longer than that.
Paired devices can indicate when the health of the battery is good or low, but if you like the idea of a monitor that can last months (maybe even a year depending on how regularly you train with heart rate) the H9 can certainly deliver that.
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Should you buy it?
You want an accurate heart rate monitor at a good price
Polar’s H9 monitor matches its pricier H10 for performance and does it for less money.
You want a heart rate monitor with the best connectivity support
If you want a heart rate monitor that can pair to multiple Bluetooth devices at once, the H9 unfortunately lacks that.
Final Thoughts
The Polar H9 might be the cheapest heart rate monitor in Polar’s collection of monitors, but if you can live with a no-frills chest strap that’s accurate, pretty comfortable and secure to wear and connects easily to a host of different devices, the H9 is going to be enough monitor for most.
If you want more in the connectivity department then the Wahoo Trackr is a good pick while others will give you the ability to store workout data on the monitor. If you can live without those things, this is a solid heart rate monitor to strap on.
How we test
We thoroughly test every heart rate monitor we review. We use industry standard testing to compare features properly and we use the HRM in question as our main device over the review period. We’ll always tell you what we find and we never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Worn as our main HRM during the testing period
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FAQs
No, this product lacks Bluetooth in order to keep the price down.
Full specs
Jargon buster
ECG
An abbreviation for ‘electrocardiogram’. This is a test which can now be performed on some smartwatches to determine if there are any signs of arrhythmia in a person’s heartbeat – fluctuations that can result in severe health issues.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
