Variation in device measurements, what is acceptable?

[ScotFinn65]

Hi. I have a gear question that l am hoping someone in this group could help clarify for me.

Yes, l am a "stato" and keep all my records 😄. I recently got myself a nice lockdown present of a Garmin Instinct Solar. I've always wanted to try a Garmin watch and l was attracted by the incredible battery life the Solar gives.

I have been using a Suunto Ambit2 for about 7 years and very happy with it. I pretty much trust the accuracy. The main difference is that the Suunto has a chest strap and the Garmin has a wrist monitor.

I understand there will always be variation in the measurements due to various factors but the average heart rate variation looks too high to me...... what is your opinion, do l trust the Garmin HR from the wrist?

[AyrshireAlps]

Optical hr work on some folks, not on others, and they're not consistent, sometimes mine (on all 3 of the garmin's I've had) works when exercising, but most of the time it reads too high.

But, they work perfectly well for non exercise use, day to day, and resting hr data, so they have use IMO.

I only ever use chest strap when I want accurate training data.