Fitness Trackers?

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  • yogsothoth
    yogsothoth Posts: 7
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    I was very interested in the Microsoft band because it had so many sensors, especially the HR monitor which apparently can replace a chest band. Three things kept me away from it. It's not shower-proof, it has a very short battery life, and reviews unanimously criticized its comfort. Hopefully the manufacturers who have licensed Microsoft's band technology will make us some new versions to choose from.

    For now my plan is to wait a few weeks for the Jawbone Up 3. Its sensor technology is very interesting. However, I am not holding my breath for them to release new features through software. It will be great if they do, but I have been burned by promises like that before. A gadget is only worth buying if it does what you need out of the box.
  • rburgess7
    rburgess7 Posts: 53 Member
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    Do these thing count calories as well as heart rate and whatever else they do?
  • jennilsf
    jennilsf Posts: 57 Member
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    SnuggleSmacks wrote: »
    I'm waiting for the Jawbone Up3 out next month. It's the result of their BodyMedia acquisition, and will have BodyMedia sensors plus additional functionality. Apparently not all of the functionality will be operational out of the box, but more, like 24 hour heart rate monitoring, will be coming through firmware updates.

    Be careful of wrist-worn heart rate monitoring which uses light pulse technology (like .the new Fitbits) .. If you have dark skin, or you aren't comfortable wearing the band tight enough to exclude ambient light, then it won't be remotely accurate.

    The Up3 uses bioimpedence instead, which hopefully won't have the same problems. Also, it's waterproof up to 10 meters.

    Nice- could be worn swimming?

  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,732 Member
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    jennilsf wrote: »
    SnuggleSmacks wrote: »
    I'm waiting for the Jawbone Up3 out next month. It's the result of their BodyMedia acquisition, and will have BodyMedia sensors plus additional functionality. Apparently not all of the functionality will be operational out of the box, but more, like 24 hour heart rate monitoring, will be coming through firmware updates.

    Be careful of wrist-worn heart rate monitoring which uses light pulse technology (like .the new Fitbits) .. If you have dark skin, or you aren't comfortable wearing the band tight enough to exclude ambient light, then it won't be remotely accurate.

    The Up3 uses bioimpedence instead, which hopefully won't have the same problems. Also, it's waterproof up to 10 meters.

    Nice- could be worn swimming?

    The Up3 is good up to 10 meters, so it can even be worn for some light diving.
  • kCalCrusher
    kCalCrusher Posts: 54 Member
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    donnysoule wrote: »
    captjac97 wrote: »
    I am also looking for a good fitness tracker. I would like to sync it with MFP. I am looking specifically for one that counts steps, monitors HR (to at least give me a good idea), and works to help me as I am in the gym to more accurately count my calories. I am seeing some great information. When does the new Fitbit Charge HR coming out?

    The Microsoft Band does all of those things and more. I couldn't be happier with it

    I've got the Microsoft Band, too. A fan so far =)

  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,732 Member
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    AMTirpak wrote: »
    donnysoule wrote: »
    captjac97 wrote: »
    I am also looking for a good fitness tracker. I would like to sync it with MFP. I am looking specifically for one that counts steps, monitors HR (to at least give me a good idea), and works to help me as I am in the gym to more accurately count my calories. I am seeing some great information. When does the new Fitbit Charge HR coming out?

    The Microsoft Band does all of those things and more. I couldn't be happier with it

    I've got the Microsoft Band, too. A fan so far =)

    How accurate are you finding the Band? Have you tried comparing the HR with an actual HRM?
  • Kasuad
    Kasuad Posts: 30 Member
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    I was reading about the Basis Peak and MS Band. I think the Peak samples your heart rate 34 times a second and the Band samples it 1 time a second in workout mode. Not sure on this, but for the 24 hour sampling, I think the Band only samples your hr for 9 minutes out of an hour unless you force it or are in workout mode.

    Anyway, the blog I read that compared them both against a chest strap hr monitor showed both to lag behind for peak efforts, with the Band being so far off that it was worthless for that purpose. However, using it to adjust estimating your calorie burn is probably going to give you a more accurate picture.

    Honestly though, these trackers are so you know how much food you can eat. Most of us are probably not so fine tuned that it really matters, even if these trackers were accurate. You'll serve yourself just as well assuming a baseline amount of calories used for your daily activity outside of working out and then add in your workouts on top of that. I mean, all these things do is poorly count your steps and no doubt even with adjustments from the hr monitor, you're still just guessing. That's even assuming you count your calories accurately for any of it to matter anyway.

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