Fitness Watches Questions

MonaRaeHill

Hi.

Just dug out my HR watch and found out it died. It was only 5 years old, and only $12.00, so I can't really see putting in a new battery (even if I knew how, which I don't).

What are some watches people have had success with? I know there's a lot out there.

I would also like to hear from Apple Watch owners, are they really worth the hype?

I am an Apple user, so am familiar enough with both the hardware and the apps, Nike+ too, not impressed with it.
Don't swim, so the waterproof-ness isn't a carrot for me.
I have an iphone 5, and don't really need a phone on my wrist as I never answer while exercising (or any other time, either). Hate talking on the phone, especially when trying to exercise.
It seems like overkill for the likes of me, a hardline luddite. In line with that, even the $12.00 one had a LOT of complexity for me.

Are there any simple ones out there, that aren't too expensive and are easily understood and easy to use?

Spam me! lol.

I apologize if this isn't the right thread, there's SO many places on here to post, so I just picked one at random. I did do a search for HR watches and Apps, but was told I wasn't authorized to post in the results that popped up.

Meelisv

For "serious" training more expensive "serious" sports watches are best. Farmini, Polar or Suunto dedicated models.

For your use however, something simpler and cheaper like Fitbit Charge 2, Alta HR, Polar A370 or Garmin Vivosport will do fine.

For amething in between both price and functions wise: Garmin Vivoactive 3 and Vivomove HR are nice. Normal watch style and small ,so won't be too big on woman's wrist. Vivomove HR also looks like normal analogue watch.

Apple watch is perfectly fine as sports watch, specially new Series 3, and you get other smartwatch features too. Downside is needing to charge it about every day, and AMOLED display can be hard to read in direct sunlight.

Just be aware that to use newer Apple each with Watch OS 4 you probably need new phone too, since iPhone 5 doesn't support iOS 11, which s needed for it. But since iPhone 5 is really old by now, it's probably time to upgrade anyway.

That last Apple watch compatibility part is though not from what I have read, not from personal experience, since I won't give Apple voluntarily my hard-earned money unless they are the only thing in the world

MonaRaeHill

THANK YOU. I will look into these.........one will surely work..........yea, that whole proprietary APPLE thing. Annoying.

Tophers_Motivation

I love Garmin products. Had a VivoFit in the past and loved it. It's your basic activity tracker and links up to myfitnesspal and some other apps. I just got a VivoSmart HR yesterday. It's pretty much the VivoFit PLUS some smart technology things like telling you the weather, letting you control the music on your phone, etc. My one complaint so far is that you have to have bluetooth enabled on your phone for it to do all those nifty new things, but that drains the battery of the phone really fast.

jjpptt2

IMO, the first thing you should decide is if you want an activity tracker (fitbit, garmin band, etc), or a training tool (suunto, garmin watches). You'll generally get more data from Garmin, but ultimately you should look at something designed to do what you want to use it for.

Secondly, size/style matter. The device can be incredible, but if you aren't going to wear it because it's the size of dinner plate or it's ugly or whatever else, then does it really matter how good it is?

If you want a tracker, I think they are all fairly similar. Garmin bands will probably give you more data than the others, but that's only useful if you want it all. If you want a watch/training tool... then it's really garmin and everyone else. Suunto stuff is as good as it gets, but their product line isn't very broad, and their online tools are second rate (or at least always used to be... maybe that's changed). I don't think I'd even consider anyone else if I was serious about training.

steveko89

Apple watch user here. I was able to get mine through a points-redemption program for a beta test I was part of, so I don't have any money in it over the additional bands I've purchased through amazon. Overall, I really like it, though my TL;DR summary for the following is go ahead and get one if you're an applephile and like the totality of the features of the watch, however you can probably find something better and/or cheaper as either lifestyle/activity trackers or fitness monitors.

I've worn a watch daily since I was 6 or 7 so integrating the features of an activity tracker to an accessory I already wear is a plus. Since I have a desk job the stand reminders are nice, but I know they're not an exclusive feature or anything. I owned a Pebble previously and prefer the apple watch integration to iOS better than the third party, can't speak to any others. As for the fitness-type functions I occasionally check my resting heart rate and will use the UA Record watch app to keep track of timing when on a run, which I prefer to the audible cues, and can easily swipe to the Pandora or Spotify app if I need to change songs but I don't really bother with any of the other fitness functions. I don't really bother tracking steps but the data is nice to look at out of curiosity and any HR monitor I've tried (UA39, Apple Watch, Polar H7) significantly overestimates my exercise calorie burn compared to what I've observed my IRL TDEE to be so I just don't bother using them any more.

epicurean0229

Can anyone answer this?
If the total steps for the day from my synced Vivofit 2 includes a specific walk (distance and time measured) and I log it as an exercise on MFP, am I double- counting the same steps

MonaRaeHill

epicurean0229.........If you have the appliance linked to MFP, then yes. If not, then no. At least, I think that's how it works! Any veteran MFP user on here, feel free to jump in..........

I have my current fitbit one, set up to sync to MFP, so it takes care of any steps I do.

The Fitbit one doesn't seem great at monitoring HR, OR How many minutes of sustained cardio I do, and not even how much stretching I do, so I add the stretching manually.

Have an Alta coming, thanks to Meelisv, (above), because I really want to know if I am on track for cardio.....and I found a decently priced one on Ebay...........I THINK I am meeting my goals with cardio, but maybe not..........I need better records.........

My long-term goal is to award my efforts with an Apple watch, but I gotta' see if I will actually use a watch, first, like steveko89 says. If I won't wear it dedicatedly, then there's no point in spending all that money. I used to also have problems with watches, I have too much zinc in my blood and it tends to kill them dead. I like the fact that the APPLE has GPS, a LOT, as I can get baffled on a city street, if my sugar levels are too low. lol.

Tophers_Motivation & jjpptt2 :

I LOVE Garmin products, too. I have GPS on my phone, but still use the big box on my dash........it has a name: Gerty Garmin, I call her. My partner and I LOVE to mess with it..........just to hear her say: "Tern awand" or "Nawth Waynooski" .......(North Winooski Street, for those not in Vermont)....I have no idea how to change the voice, and I've gotten used to the southern accent, so probably won't bother, as it Cracks me up, every time! I wonder if at the factory, workers play around with the settings........I sure would..........Simple amusements for simple minds, hey?

AnvilHead

I wore an Apple Watch every day for 2 years. It's a fantastic smart watch with some fitness features built in, and Apple's fitness tracking software sucks.

I switched to a Garmin 935 last September. It's a fantastic fitness watch with some smart watch features built in, and Garmin's fitness tracking software, while not perfect, is worlds better than Apple's.

I had to charge the Apple Watch every night. I wear the Garmin 24/7 and charge it once every week or two (depending on how many activities I do that use GPS).

The Garmin has enough smart watch features that I don't miss the Apple Watch. I can receive/read texts and other notifications, but not reply to them like you can on the AW. I can see my calendar, get reminders, etc. The whole phone on the wrist thing never turned me on - I tried it a couple times when I first got the AW just for the novelty of it, but I felt like a dweeb talking to my wrist.

The Garmin doesn't have the capability to store/play music like the AW does, but that's not a 'must have' feature for me either - I carry my phone with me in a running belt anyway, and connect my Bluetooth headphones to it for my music.

I really wanted to like the Apple Watch better - I'm a big fan of Apple products and basically my whole electronic ecosystem is Apple (iPods, phone, laptop/desktop computers, iPads, etc.) - but after using the Garmin and comparing it, I just couldn't bring myself to go back to the AW. It's a great smart watch, but an inferior activity/fitness tracker in many regards.

janesmith1

I love my Apple watch! Besides the fact that I have a serious nickel allergy I was able to get the rose watch & cloth band, I can’t wear any other fitness tracker. I just wrote on my page what my stats are from my watch & phone, perhaps this will help you decide? Everything below is from my watch, my watch & phone are also hooked up to my weight scale

Apple Heath: 1689 - active cals 197 mins 10 hrs stand 8952 steps 4.4 mi - walking + running distance 3hr 17 min - workout time today 2168 - resting energy k cal 1 flight stairs 1 min mindfulness 67 resting bpm 115 walking bpm 260.9 - weight 89 bpm - current HR (after exercise)

stanmann571

Garmin Vivoactive 1(No HR) here and yes. It falls into the just smart enough watch category. It's a watch that cooperates with my phone, but it doesn't try to be a phone or a computer, it's just a GPS watch. It syncs with an HRM for running(I use a Wahoo Tickr Strap)

kimhski1

For those that are Garmin wearers - do you find the calories burned feature to be accurate? Or are you also wearing an HRM and using that data for calories burned? I'm following along here as I have an ancient iPod that needs to be retired and I'd like something that will do everything and feel good about the data its tracking.

stanmann571

kimhski1 wrote: »

For those that are Garmin wearers - do you find the calories burned feature to be accurate? Or are you also wearing an HRM and using that data for calories burned? I'm following along here as I have an ancient iPod that needs to be retired and I'd like something that will do everything and feel good about the data its tracking.

For running or even walk/run it's really close in my experience for activities. I know that the algorithms for some of the always on HRM optical trackers are hit and miss.

urloved33

my daughter had a great one - they are all made out of metal - she fell and when she went to brace herself the watch broke her wrist. no more watches for us.

apullum

Depending on the exercise you're doing and the data you want, you may not need to buy a separate device at all. There are a lot of free apps that work well for tracking exercise. I use Runkeeper for running, although you can also set it to track walking, hiking, and other activities. There is MapMyWalk for walking, and various cycling apps if you're a cyclist. (I'm not, so I don't know what those are.) If you're looking for a step tracker, I like Moves, though it doesn't sync directly with MFP.

stanmann571

apullum wrote: »

Depending on the exercise you're doing and the data you want, you may not need to buy a separate device at all. There are a lot of free apps that work well for tracking exercise. I use Runkeeper for running, although you can also set it to track walking, hiking, and other activities. There is MapMyWalk for walking, and various cycling apps if you're a cyclist. (I'm not, so I don't know what those are.) If you're looking for a step tracker, I like Moves, though it doesn't sync directly with MFP.

Both Runkeeper and Mapmywalk wildly inflate caloric estimation making them almost entirely worthless when compared to a Garmin.

jjpptt2

kimhski1 wrote: »

For those that are Garmin wearers - do you find the calories burned feature to be accurate? Or are you also wearing an HRM and using that data for calories burned? I'm following along here as I have an ancient iPod that needs to be retired and I'd like something that will do everything and feel good about the data its tracking.

My current garmin has wrist-based HR monitoring, and I find that activities that aren't well suited to HR-based calorie estimates (i.e. stuff that isn't done at a steady and consistent effort/hr) the wrist-based monitoring tends to be more inflated than my old garmin that used a chest strap.

That said, I do think they are as good as pretty much anything is going to be. Every device, formula, website, etc simply gives you an estimate of calories burned. You'll have to monitor things over time to know if/how accurate those estimates are.

MonaRaeHill

I may change my mind, after reading all this. I like Garmin products and it sounds like it'll do everything I need it to.......I am not a big fan of listening to anything while hiking, I like the sounds of the forest. I might have to find a cloth band of some kind......plastic irritates the crap out of my skin........are the garmin watches bands, easy to change out? The price is certainly better then Apple. I have a LOT of Apple products, already, too. But, it really bugs me that every time they come out with something, all the hardware needs to be upgraded to use it! Insidious!

jjpptt2

Yes, the bands are easy to change. Garmin's quick release system is really convenient (and surprisingly secure), but I'm not sure if they make fabric/nylon straps with the quick release mechanism. Even if they don't, there is tool you need to use to remove the strap, but aside from that, it's really easy (just unscrewing a couple of screws to hold the pins in place).

If you're interested in hiking, just make sure the GPS battery life is long enough for you.

abirdintherain

I love my Charge 2. Having the heart rate monitor built in has been a life changer for me. The calories are always accurate enough for me to eat back most or all of them and still lose weight, and it keeps me motivated to be active (most of the time - I have had to take mental health breaks from tracking). I have a bunch of bands I bought on Amazon for cheap to switch out and match outfits, plus Fitbit has super customer service from my experience. I've always debated back and forth whether I want a smart watch, but I just don't think I would get enough use out of it to justify the price, and I don't want something too bulky that I'll be wearing all the time.

Secretnotes

I like my Charge 2, too! The sleep tracking was the primary feature I wanted. Like abirintherain, I change out the bands to match outfits. The most comfortable one I've found is a metal mesh with a magnet closure so it is very easy to adjust or take off.