Form + OH1 – Is the Heart Rate Accurate?

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I’ve used the FORM goggles with the Polar OH1+ heart rate sensor a couple of times already, however, events conspired on those days to frustrate my data collection and hence the delay in writing this update. Today, I managed to get some data on the FORM Goggles AND some comparison data.

The results were excellent with Polar OH1+ and the FORM Swim Goggles. Here are some more details

What I used

• Polar OH1+ – caching its own data
• Form Goggles paired to the same Polar OH1+
• Garmin Forerunner 945 and an HRM-TRI chest strap

Why I used that, what I did and what I hoped to achieve

The Polar OH1 cached the HR data it produced in the usual way and that same data was also recorded on the FORM swim goggles – it SHOULD be identical. However, the method used by FORM to get the HR data from the OH1 involves a Bluetooth signal travelling through water, admittedly only for an inch or two at most. Nevertheless, the possibility of data loss still exists and we will see that if the HR curves are different.

I also used the HRM-TRI assuming it to be correct.

I swam comfortably for 45 minutes or so with a few faster lengths in a 36m outdoor pool. There were 3-5 other people in the lane but we were all swimming at pretty much the same speed

I thus hoped to get 3 identical HR curves which would indicate that the FORM goggles are DISPLAYING and storing the correct HR data.

I was reasonably hopeful that the data would be correct but it certainly would not have surprised me if there were dropouts.

What I Found

Previous swims with the OH1 beaming my HR data straight into my goggles SEEMED to be showing correct data.

This time we will know for sure and here is the curve.

The curves are as identical as they need to be, so job well done.

Note the workout times and average HR data in the table above the chart ‘prove’ that I didn’t inadvertently use the same data file twice (there are other ways that I can tell I didn’t do that as well but you can’t see them!)

My understanding is that this functionality is now live. If you already have the goggles you will need to update to the latest firmware and pair your Polar OH1 sensor (I’ve not attached the clip to my goggles strap as FORM recommend but it worked).

Want a pair?

They are only available at amazon.com and amazon.ca.

Get it here: FORM Goggles at Amazon

If you are in the UK/Europe then you can try the code SWIM20 on the manufacturer’s site but i think that’s expired now.

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