Heart rate monitor/weight loss expert puts NuMetrex Cardio Shirt to the test

Inspired by his success story of weight loss using heart rate training (112 pounds in 17 months), we asked Michel Jasic of Montreal to try our Men’s Cardio Shirt and give us his feedback. Like other NuMetrex garments, the Cardio Shirt features sensing fibers that are knit directly into the fabric to monitor heart rate. After nearly two weeks of workouts wearing the Cardio Shirt, here’s what Michel had to say:

Ease of use: Just snap the transmitter, put on the Cardio Shirt and Go! A little bit tight at first, but it seems to be normal in order to maintain the contact with the skin. Once on, no excessive pressure felt. When removed, there were no traces on my skin like when using a plastic strap.

Feeling: After few minutes, I completely forgot it.

Inside workouts (gym): Moisture-wicking material does its job tremendously. As I am already used to the technical materials, I can say it is up to the ones I wear during my workouts (New Balance, Adidas, Patagonia, Craft). The transmitter communicates with the treadmill so I prefer looking at the heart rate display on treadmill, rather than using the watch. There were occasional discrepancies between the heart rate on treadmill and the one on the watch, probably caused by the time delay in signal transmission. I moistened the electrodes before the workout so the signal was immediately captured by a treadmill. After that, it was “sweat-driven”. Never noticed any abnormal values caused by a crosstalk or static.

Outside workouts: I put the Cardio Shirt on as a first layer. During the first 7-8 minutes the numbers were strange. Probably caused by skin dryness. After that, everything was OK and the displayed values were between 127 (steady easy run) and 140 (strides), which was consistent with the effort. During my subsequent outside workouts, I moistened the electrodes before I started to run and there were no strange numbers.

Compared to chest straps: The Cardio Shirt doesn’t cause the same kind of trouble I have with my plastic strap that sometimes goes down. The electrodes stay where they are.

Care: Washing of the Cardio Shirt is easy and drying is fast – overnight, if hanged. Its durability (especially in machine washing) should be tested over a longer period of time, but I suppose it can last for several dozens of machine washing cycles.

After almost two weeks of use, I am completely adapted to a Cardio Shirt. I feel like a “bionic man” – my body, Cardio Shirt and a treadmill as one.