if HRM's have a best and worst and we rule out those and just use an average, say price / function / reliability and a chest strap is best and a arm strap is 2nd best but is actually worn by the user but may only be a few beats less accurate and a EKG is the most accurate? my question is this i think.
is using any HRM a good tool (what ever brand or type) as the more you use it the better your base info would be? maybe not in 100% accuracy per heart beat but in overall consistency of day to day HR data? i hope that makes sense. i for one would like to know if the tiredness fatigue i feel is from over training or stressing my heart. since i've had a stroke i wonder about my heart and oxygen intake since the MRI showed a period of time before my stoke that indicates a lack of oxygen to my brain.
as a novice cyclist it wouldn't much matter if the chest strap showed 140 max beats while a arm strap showed 138 beats i'm still close to max and working hard.
thanks for all the info on this thread as I'm learning a lot here from you guys
rob