You seem to be unfortunate enough not to be in its target demographic but that doesn’t make it flawed.

As electrical conductivity is essential for the proper function of this hrm strap as much as it is with any other model or brand, it hardly makes it the problem of this specific device. Hair, dry skin, it’s the same problem and has to do with how the technology works on these kinds of straps.

Furthermore none of the features you mention, from a physical power button to a battery indicator exist in any hrm strap I’ve seen. In other words you would regard a similar strap from any other brand equally as bad.

Why should it rely on electric current then? Because compared to measuring heart rate optically, it’s far more accurate. They also work much more reliably under water.

As to the cut outs you mention, that is simply anecdotal and in this instance third hand information. Not to say it’s not true, just saying it’s impossible to put something like that into perspective. There are faults with all devices and without reliable statistics of return rates or failures it’s not particularly fruitful to form a view based on that kind of evidence.

In all fairness, perhaps using the in-built optical hrm on your watch just is the best option for you.

There’s also armband hrms which are optical but iirc somewhat more reliable than wrist based ones. For instance the Polar Verity Sense and OH 1. They even have rechargeable batteries and a physical button.