I returned this monitor to SwimOutlet.   If you want to try your luck with this, I suggest keeping your receipts and original packaging for a possible return.   Here''s my experience:

On land, tested against a manual heartrate count and a Timex Run Trainer, the Aquapulse registered a rate that was commonly 20-30 beats per minute different.  There was no such discrepancy between the manual count and the Timex count.

In the water, during a workout when my manual pulse rate (counting for 6 seconds and multiplying by 10) repeatedly registered in the 150 bpm range,  the Aquapulse wouldn''t budge above 110 bpm, even after adjusting the ear contact.

Even when not locked into that strange 110 bpm ceiling, the Aquapulse count  tended to be erratic, frequently swinging widely up and down.  And the ear clip comes off sometimes.

I wish it worked, but mine certainly didn''t.

I have been using the monitor for a couple of weeks now and I love it. Combined with my heart rate work out, it is indispensable for staying in the HR zone. Sometimes it is a little difficult to hear the heart rate, but I set the reading for every 10 seconds so if I miss one occasionally it doesn''t matter. I find that it makes my workouts much more enjoyable by enabling me to do intervals and keep my HR in the correct zone.
Anything that helps my workouts is a real plus. I have no trouble with the instrument reading accurately. I have checked it''s accurately a couple of times and always found it correct.

When I got this, I thought maybe I was silly for ordering it.  Once I started using it, I'm really glad I bought it.  I've been using it for a couple of weeks now, an it's helped me increase the intensity of my workouts.  As I got bored or distracted, I tended to slow down without realizing it.  With this monitor set at 10 seconds, I know almost immediately when I'm slacking off.  I also figured out I was normally resting too long during sprints and my heart rate was getting too low.  Now I rest until my heart rate is back in the right zone instead of off of time.  I really like it.  

I have not noticed any stray (incorrect) heart rates as a previous reviewer.  Sometimes when I first start it, it can't find a pulse, but as soon as I start swimming it finds it and it's very accurate.

I thought it was a little "gee whiz" at first.  Now I think it's invaluable for helping me burn maximum calories during my workout.

Ordered it as a late Christmas present from my family..after reading specs about it compared to more traditional chest band monitors..It is great! Been using for a month now for my daily lap swimming. Im setting it for 20 sec intervals to read out my pulse/heart rate. It fits nicely to the goggles, the attachment to the ear lobe stays on, even with flip turns. The technology is great and I like the way it says Hello! when you push the button. I think I like it!

Since the HRM doesn't perform accurately it is basically useless. No stars!

I swim a couple of miles in the pool 5 days a week.  AquaPulse has improved my training significantly. First of all, it taught me that I am was not swimming hard enough to improve fitness (~50% Maximum Heart Rate). I've learned that  most of the time and that I can swim harder even on long distances. Now I can stay within a given effort zone (say, 60-75% or 75-85%) for the whole workout according to my schedule.


Swimming with AquaPulse is also a lot of fun. Just staying in the zone may be a challenge at first. Learning to control the effort level by moving from the bottom of the zone to the top is entertaining as well. Constant reminders also keep me going if I lose focus and slow down.


There are a few minor problems that I have with my AquaPulse. First, attaching it under goggles without having them leak water on turns is tricky. I plan to try a second strap, but I have not tried it yet. Anyway, even without the strap and with some tweaking I usually find a position where googles don't leak.


The other minor problem is that measurements aren't perfect. If the ear clip is misplaced or loose, you can get erroneous readings (133, 132, 189!, 133), but this does not happen very often and usually it is easy to notice these.


Overall, I am very happy with the purchase: with AquaPulse I am training harder without overreaching. It feels great to walk that line. In addition to this product, I highly recommend taking a swim maximum heart rate test and reading about training with a heart rate monitor.