One of the best heart rate monitors on the market, with added features, and compatibility for a full triathlon too.
Pros
+
Excellent sweat resistance
+
Lots of data insights across multiple sports
+
Swimmer friendly
+
Long battery life
+
Easily adjustable
Cons
-
Unnecessary features for pure cyclists
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You'd be forgiven for thinking of a well-known caffeine tablet which was big when I was a university student, but despite the name this Garmin heart rate monitor has nothing to do with the stimulant.
The Garmin HRM-Pro Plus is, instead, a heart rate chest strap monitor with a ton of fancy features all wrapped up in a simple, sleek design, and one well worthy of a place in our guide to the best heart rate monitors.
Garmin says the HRM-Pro Plus fits chest sizes 60–106 cm and can also be used with Garmin's strap extender. It currently retails for £119.99/$129.99.
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The Garmin HRM-Pro Plus is a sleeker design than its other options. (Image credit: Emma Cole)
The strap can be extended with an aftermarket extender. (Image credit: Emma Cole)
Washing instructions are simple, and as it's waterproof you don't even need to disassemble anything. (Image credit: Emma Cole)
Design and specifications
The Garmin HRM-Pro Plus transmits heart rate data through ANT+ and Bluetooth technology. Using electrocardiogram technology (ECG), which measures heartbeats via electrical detection, Garmin says the HRM-Pro Plus gives highly accurate heart rate data readings.
The HRM-Fit supports three concurrent Bluetooth connections, and unlimited ANT+ connections, which is standard amongst Garmin's highest performing heart rate monitors and matches the Garmin HRM-Fit I also reviewed recently.
It also features one year of battery life and 5ATM water resistance which brings us on to one of its more stand out features.
If you are into your cross training or pool swimming (or if you're a triathlete), this could appeal as Garmin says the Pro Plus is designed to stay in place during swimming and also offers swim interval heart rate data.
The strap will also transmit heart rate variability data and store calories burned, intensity minutes, and all-day heart rate during training or games for the user.
What's more, as has become a new standard with Garmin's top level heart rate monitors, the HRM-Pro Plus also captures running dynamics like stride length, which the brand says can help improve running form. It can also track your pace and distance when running indoors. All very impressive, but of note is that these aforementioned features are only applicable if you have a compatible Garmin watch like those from our guide to the best cycling watches.
Performance
The HRM-Pro Plus is very easy to use and wear and I found it connected easily to my various devices, including the Garmin Instinct 2S and Garmin 1040S as well as my Wahoo Kickr Smart. Connectivity was seamless and I did not experience any data dropouts when testing. In terms of data output, the Pro Plus was consistently accurate across the board.
I wore the monitor cycling, swimming, and running, and was impressed with how comfortable it was. The chest strap material is silky smooth and soft which feels kind against skin, a marked improvement over the more basic Garmin HRM-Dual.
A neat little addition is the soft material label where the chest strap closes, a minute detail but limits any chance for rubbing. Plus, the label hosts some key cleaning instructions, which for the HRM-Pro Plus is to simply dunk the whole thing in water and swish it about. Given its waterproof rating there is no need to remove anything, which is a nice time saver.
Another note is that my previous gripes with chest straps have been the potential for irritation, conflict with my sports bra and how they can protrude through clothing. The Pro Plus is actually pretty small, and I found its appearance against my clothing hardly noticeable. I did not experience any chaffing or rubbing.
Of note is that I haven't tried the Pro Plus in hot weather conditions, thus cannot test how it fares in comfort once the sweat levels go up higher than my indoor training, though indoor riding is always a bit of a sweat fest and it handled it absolutely fine.
While many of the features of the Pro Plus are not necessarily relevant to cyclists, getting your running data or swim heart rate is seriously cool. I'm partial to a run and a swim, so for me this heart rate monitor is far more useful than the likes of the Polar H10.
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The comfort of the HRM-Pro Plus is superior to the cheaper HRM-Dual(Image credit: Emma Cole)
The pod is rated for swimming, and feeds running and swim metrics to a compatible device as well as just measuring heart rate. (Image credit: Emma Cole)
Verdict
At £119.99$129.99 the Pro Plus is a top of the range heart rate monitor which offers much more than just heart rate data.
The additional features like running dynamics or swim interval data are a huge plus if that's something you integrate into your training, and would make the Pro Plus a worthwhile investment.
However, if accurate heart rate data is all you need, you'd be better off going for monitor which costs less like the Polar H10 which comes in over £30 less.
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Testing scorecard and notes
Design
Clean design, adjustable and very comfortable strap
9/10
Performance
Excellent accuracy using ECG technology, long battery life, additional sport data features
9/10
Value
Expensive if just used for cycling but additional sport features make this a strong choice for multi-sport performance data fanatics
Emma Cole is a gold-standard NCTJ journalist who loves anything to do with adventure, sport and sustainability. Alongside writing about these passions for Cyclingnews, her work has also featured in Cycling Weekly, Outdoors Magic and Cyclist Magazine - where she previously held the role of Features Writer for over two years. Emma hosts her own podcast, The Passion Stories Podcast and has a first-class degree in French and Politics.
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