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Myzone MZ-Switch

7
£139.50

VERDICT:

7
10
Precise and comfortable HR monitor with optical and EGR sensors, but pricier than two separate devices
Various mounting options
Works in water
Good accuracy
Pricey for just a HR monitor
Weight: 
17g
Contact: 

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The Myzone MZ-Switch Heart Rate Monitor gives you the best of all worlds by being wearable in three places – on your wrist, arm or chest. Accuracy is good, it's light and it's comfortable to wear for long periods – however, the price is similar to some full smartwatches.

At £139.50 the MZ-Switch is up there with some well-equipped smart watches, such as the Garmin Forerunner 45 at £129.99. That comes with full GPS for exercise tracking and recording, as well as the watch function and many more features besides. The MZ-Switch is purely a heart rate (HR) monitor, though, and requires a smartphone or bike computer to show its data either live or post-exercise. That makes it look pricey.

> Buy this online here

If you aren't interested in GPS, you can pick up a fitness tracker that shows heart rates on its own screen – such as the Fitbit Inspire 2 – for far less. The Inspire 2 £89.99, though at the time of writing Fitbit was selling it for £59.99.

From a purely cycling point of view, where you are likely to already be using your phone or bike computer to record your rides, the MZ-Switch makes more sense if you want to add HR data... but then, you could get a Wahoo TICKR HR Monitor with chest strap for £39.99 instead. Alternatively, if you want optical HR at the wrist, the TICKR FIT strap is £64.99.

Obviously, the main selling point of the MZ-Switch is its versatility in switching between wrist and chest, but it's still cheaper to buy both Wahoos (around £105) than the Myzone.

Also, Polar's H10 HR sensor has similar capabilities to the MZ-Switch – such as memory for training without a phone app connection, and Bluetooth plus ANT+ connectivity – and that's significantly less at £76.50.

Performance

Price aside though, the Myzone monitor works well, is easy to set up and you do get an app to run alongside. The MZ-Switch also feels well-made, and I had no issues with durability or reliability throughout the test period.

In the box you get the HR monitor itself, a wrist strap, an arm strap, a chest strap, a USB charger cable and a storage pouch. The monitor snaps into the holder on each strap and sits there securely. The straps are all good quality and fit comfortably, and offer a decent amount of adjustability to suit various sizes.

2021 MyZone MZ-Switch - box.jpg

The setup is just like any other Bluetooth or ANT+ device; turn it on and then, from the device you'll be sending the data too, search for it and connect. For most people that device will be your phone, after you've downloaded the Myzone app. It will also work with things like Strava.

The app itself doesn't bring a whole lot to the party. It's basic, but you can bring up data on past workouts such as average/peak HR and calories burned, with the latter being calculated from the details you give the app: age, weight and height.

2021 MyZone MZ-Switch - back and sensor.jpg

As for HR range, like resting and maximum figures, they cannot be set manually. The app uses data from workouts and fills these in itself, and from that it works out your HR ranges.

2021 MyZone MZ-Switch - velcro strap.jpg

Personally, I carry out max heart rate tests reasonably regularly and would like to be able to set my zones and fill in my maximum numbers myself. The more you wear the MZ-Switch though, the better the overall data will be.

The five zones (50-59%, 60-69%, 70-79%, 80-89% and 90-100%) are represented by different colours shown by the LED, so you can see how hard (or not) you are working without having to look at the app.

Connectivity

Connection to other devices is simple enough too. It linked straight away to a Bryton computer and a Mio, plus a Garmin Edge 530 after a little bit of faffing. I find the Garmin a bit picky when it comes to pairing, though.

When using the wrist or arm positions the MZ-Switch uses optical measurement, which Myzone says gives 95% accuracy. I found it in line with the figures I was getting using my Garmin Fenix 6 Pro. When switching to the chest strap the EGR sensor improves on that with 99.4% accuracy.

> 15 best heart rate monitors for cycling – get useful fitness data

Wearing my Garmin on my wrist alongside the MZ-Switch on the chest strap, I found they tracked virtually identically up to about 170bpm. Above that the chest mount data was more stable, while the optical sensor sometimes read a few beats higher or lower. It's not enough to massively affect averages over a decent-length workout, though.

2021 MyZone MZ-Switch - charging cable.jpg

Battery life is decent, too. I got 15-16 hours out of a full charge, and you can keep an eye on battery level on the app. It only takes a couple of hours or so to charge as well. The MZ-Swift is also waterproof down to 10m.

Overall

The MZ-Switch performs well and is easy to use. When you consider the app though, it doesn't really bring a whole lot more than other heart rate monitors on the market, especially from a cycling point of view.

Verdict

Precise and comfortable HR monitor with optical and EGR sensors, but pricier than two separate devices

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road.cc test report

Make and model: MyZone MZ-Switch

Size tested: One size

Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Myzone says, "The world's first interchangeable exercise tracker for the gym, outdoors or in water. Monitor your heart rate on your chest, arm or wrist. Three times the motivation and three times the fun, with a light indicator and built-in memory so you can see your zone without a phone, and up to six months battery life on one charge."

It's a good idea and versatile, and it's comfortable to wear too.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Connects via Bluetooth (BLE with dual-channel capability) and ANT+.

99.4% accuracy using the ECG sensor on the chest, equal to equipment used by health professionals.

95% accuracy using the PPG sensor on the wrist and arm.

Waterproof to a depth of 10m.

Stores up to 36 hours of exercise data.

Battery life of three to six months between charges, depending on use (USB charging cable included).

Tracks physical activity in water when worn on the wrist.

App compatible with IOS 12.0 and above.

App compatible with Android 5.0 and above.

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
7/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
7/10
Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
8/10
Rate the product for comfort (if applicable)
 
8/10
Rate the product for value:
 
4/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Its heart rate monitoring seems accurate.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Comfortable to wear.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

The app isn't that great.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

You are almost getting two HR monitors here thanks to the straps and various positions it works in, but it still works out pricey against to the options in the review.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Not really – too expensive for my needs

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes, depending on their goals

Use this box to explain your overall score

The MZ-Switch performs well enough and is easy to use, although I'd say it is more general fitness-based than cycling specific. For adding HR data to your ride recording – either through your phone or cycling computer – there are much cheaper options.

Overall rating: 7/10

About the tester

Age: 42  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: This month's test bike  My best bike is: B'Twin Ultra CF draped in the latest bling test components

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed,

As part of the tech team here at F-At Digital, senior product reviewer Stu spends the majority of his time writing in-depth reviews for road.cc, off-road.cc and ebiketips using the knowledge gained from testing over 1,500 pieces of kit (plus 100's of bikes) since starting out as a freelancer back in 2009. After first throwing his leg over a race bike back in 2000, Stu's ridden more than 170,000 miles on road, time-trial, track, and gravel bikes, and while he's put his racing days behind him, he still likes to smash the pedals rather than take things easy. With a background in design and engineering, he has an obsession with how things are developed and manufactured, has a borderline fetish for handbuilt metal frames and finds a rim braked road bike very aesthetically pleasing!

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