I'm not using a Zephyr strap type HRM. I bought because of it being rechargeable, my cheap one was going through a battery a month. I do use electrode gel on the pads, started doing it with the cheap one and just do it as a matter of habit now. The biggest compaint I have about the Zephyr is it's only BT 2.0 and requires an older version of Strava (Strava no longer supports older BT standards).