[Jordan Writes]

I’ve been wearing the Herz P1 Smart Ring for a couple weeks now and it’s been pretty solid for daily stuff like sleep and stress. But I’m curious about how it handles heart rate during actual workouts. I do a lot of running and cycling, and I’m not sure if the ring is picking up my heart rate accurately when I’m moving around a lot. It seems fine when I’m sitting still, but during a run it sometimes looks a bit off compared to what I’d expect. Anyone else use it for exercise and have thoughts? I’m not expecting it to replace a chest strap, just wondering if it’s normal for it to lag a bit when your hands are moving.

[Cora Finch]

Mine tracks during runs but the numbers drift when my hands get sweaty. I just tighten it a notch and it settles down. Good enough for casual use, wouldn’t trust it for intervals though.

[Riley Ash]

Mine does track during runs, but I’ve noticed the numbers look more believable on the app afterward than mid-workout. The live reading kinda jumps around. For a ring I’m not expecting chest strap accuracy anyway so it doesn’t bug me much.

[Emma Mirren]

I mostly use mine for walking and some light cardio, and the live heart rate on the ring is definitely slower to catch up than my old watch was. It’s not really that the reading is wrong, more that it takes a bit to settle into the new number once my pace changes. So for steady stuff it’s fine but when I’m going up a hill or something it can look weird for a minute or two. I still check the app after and the overall picture makes more sense than the live view. Rings just aren’t great at fast changes compared to something strapped tighter to your chest. If you’re mainly curious about your average and not watching it mid run then it does the job.

[Dave the Curious]

I’ve had mine about a month and I mostly row, so my hands are moving but not pounding like running. The live number on the ring is definitely behind, but the graph in the app once it syncs looks reasonable. I still throw on a chest strap for anything interval based and just let the ring handle the everyday stuff. For steady cardio it’s fine, for anything where I care about the number in the moment it isn’t.

[Kevin Rogers]

Mine keeps up fine on easy runs.

[d4niel]

Mine reads heart rate fine during runs but the lag comes from the ring sliding around, not the sensor itself. Fingers swell and shrink depending on the weather and time of day, so what fits at your desk might be loose on a run. I just swap it to a different finger mid-workout and it’s close enough to my old watch. Not chest strap accurate, but I don’t need that.

[Tom911]

Mine seems to pick up my heart rate fine during runs but I mostly glance at the app after, not mid workout. The live number is a bit jumpy but the average looks about right.

[Maya Rose]

Mine actually read pretty steady during my runs, so the lag might not be a universal thing. I’ve had mine about three weeks and my numbers matched my old watch closely enough. It does slip a bit if my hands get sweaty though.

[EnderWizard]

I mainly care about my heart rate during zone stuff, so I just glance at the app after my rides instead of watching it live. The numbers usually line up pretty well with how hard I felt like I was going. Sitting there staring at it mid-workout just isn’t my thing.

[Kevin C]

I only really use mine for walking and light cardio, not running. For that it’s been close enough to my watch. Haven’t tried anything where my hands swing a lot though, so your mileage may vary.

[MeryVip]

Mine has actually been surprisingly okay during workouts, and I was ready to be disappointed. I wear it on my index finger and tighten it one size down for anything active, because that finger tends to be the most stable for me. During spin sessions and brisk walks, the numbers have lined up closely enough with my old chest strap that I stopped bothering to wear both. I do notice a little delay at the very start when my heart rate is climbing quickly, but it catches up within a minute or so. It is not instant like a strap, but for seeing the general trend after a session, it has been reliable enough for me. I would not stare at it mid workout anyway, since that is when the readings look jumpiest. Checking the graph afterward has been the better experience in my case.

[DonnaD]

Mine doesn’t really lag during runs, but I also don’t trust it for interval stuff. The thing that bugs me more is it seems to miss the first minute or two when my heart rate jumps up quickly, like it catches up eventually but the peak is usually lower than what my chest strap shows. For easy runs it’s close enough and I like not having to wear a watch. But if I’m actually trying to stay in a specific zone I’d rather use something else. So it’s fine for general fitness, just not something I’d rely on for anything precise.

[Matt__]

I mostly use mine for hotel gym stuff and the odd run when I’m traveling, and the HR is fine for the overall picture but not something I’d stare at mid workout. When I’m on a treadmill it seems to keep up okay, but if I’m moving around a lot or gripping handles or whatever, it kind of drifts. Not in a crazy way, just enough that I’d notice. I usually just let it record and check the app after, then compare the average to how the run actually felt. For that it’s been good enough. I’m not doing intervals or anything serious though, so if you’re chasing exact numbers the ring probably isn’t the thing. Mine’s been solid for everything else so I just live with it.

[Ben Kerr]

I went from curious to kind of over it after watching a friend deal with this exact thing on her ring. She runs five or six times a week and the heart rate during actual movement was the part that never really settled for her. Resting numbers were fine, sleep was fine, but once she picked up the pace the ring would either trail behind or jump around. She tried it on a couple different fingers and it helped a little, not a lot.

What changed her mind wasn’t the lag, it was that she stopped trusting the workout numbers over time. First few weeks she was checking the app after every run, then she just stopped looking at that section. She still wears it for everything else and likes it for that. But for the moving-around part she went back to her old watch and doesn’t really think about the ring during exercise anymore.

So if workout heart rate is the main reason you’d buy it, I’d set expectations low there. If it’s more of a daily wear thing with exercise as a bonus, that’s a different story. For me that’s the line I’d draw before buying one.

[Riley1]

Movement is the main issue with any ring, not the software. I wore a different ring for a few months and it was fine on the bike since my hand stays put, but running was hit or miss until I switched fingers. Pinky gave me way more stable readings than my index finger for whatever reason.

[EthanFree]

Mine lags during runs, fine on the bike though.

[Mike in NYC]

I’ve had mine for about two months and the workout heart rate has been more reliable than I expected. Not perfect, but better than a lot of people here seem to be saying. I run three or four times a week, usually 30 to 45 minutes, and I’ve compared it against my old watch a bunch of times out of curiosity. The numbers are usually within a few beats of each other, which is close enough for me.

The one thing I noticed early on is that it matters a lot where you wear it. I started with it on my ring finger and it was all over the place during runs. Switched to my index finger and it got noticeably more consistent. Not saying that fixes it for everyone, but for me the finger made a bigger difference than anything else.

I also don’t expect it to be spot on during sprint intervals. Nobody’s ring is going to keep up with that, and I don’t really need it to. For steady runs and just getting a general read on how hard I’m working, it does the job. I’m not training for anything serious though, so maybe that’s why I’m not bothered by the occasional weird reading. If I were doing structured workouts I’d probably want something else, but for everyday running it’s fine.

[Kuzela]

I mostly notice it during cooler weather runs, my hands get cold and the reading goes weird until I warm up. Summer runs track fine. Could just be a circulation thing with the finger.

[Chris Reed]

Mine reads a little slow to catch up when I’m actually moving, but it usually settles into the right range after a couple minutes. I just glance at the app afterward instead of watching it mid-run. For casual stuff that’s good enough for me.

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