Halp me! Up3, Surge or MS Band?

SnuggleSmacks

The next wave of fitness bands coming out far surpass the first gen, and I'm a bit stumped on which one to get. As usual, there are no clear and obvious winners. Part of being stumped is simply that two of the three I'm considering aren't out yet, so I cannot get an objective review. I don't really want to wait, since I had to send my Bodymedia back recently and am currently without a tracker (SAD FACE!!!)

So far, I'm leaning toward the Jawbone Up3. . It tracks heart rate through bioimpedence rather than light pulses, so it doesn't have the problem that some others are having with needing to wear the band super tight in order to block out ambient light. It's attractive and not clunky. It's waterproof. And it has sensors for things like ambient temperature and skin temp to help it determine the intensity of your workouts (essentially, a lot of the Bodymedia guts). However, it does not have GPS and you have to set it to sleep mode.

The Fitbit Surge has continuous heart rate monitoring, includes GPS, and acts as a smart watch with texts, caller ID and music control for the phone. I'm not sure I would use all that. Plus, it's ugly. And it's "splash proof" so showering should be ok, but no swimming.

The Microsoft Band is already out, and I've heard both very positive and very negative things about it. Apparently the light pulse tech used for heart rate monitoring is tricky, as it can be fooled by ambient light if the band isn't tight enough, or even dark skin (I'm pretty darned white, but I find it disappointing that this could be a problem for people). This can make it wildly inaccurate, depending on skin tone, the shape of your wrist, the time of day, etc. It's also apparently affected by ambient temperature and doesn't work as well in the cold. It's also not waterproof, but it does have GPS. It also detects sleep automatically instead of having to be put into sleep mode.

I loved my Bodymedia, and was sad to send it back (syncing issues, as the band itself was impressively accurate), so I would love to get an upgraded version of that, which the Up3 seems to be (the best of both worlds between Jawbone and Bodymedia...I hope.) But I'm disappointed that GPS is not included, and I'm not impressed with what I've seen of the software/app.

What do you guys think? For those of you who have already gotten the Microsoft Band, how do you like it? For those of you with older Fitbit or Jawbone bands, are you having sync issues either with the band itself, or between the app and MFP? What about customer service? Do any of you have positive or negative experiences with the service with any of the three companies?

For your trouble, here is a dance in your honor.

dakotababy

I would like to hear some as well. I have started my research on these new gadgets. There is also the Fitbit HR Charge? coming out as well which is supposed to be right up there. I really love the look of the new jawbone Up

I currently wear a body media armband, which I purchased due to the accuracy claim. I find if its not accurate - whats the point. I am liking the idea that the Jawbone Up3 you can also swim with…which I will admit I do not swim a whole lot anyway - but when I do, it always crosses my mind regarding how much I have burned.

SnuggleSmacks

I looked at the HR Charge, but I think the fact that it has neither GPS nor waterproofing puts it out of the running for me. If I can't have both, I at least want one or the other.

SnuggleSmacks

Bump

SnuggleSmacks

I'm surprised at the lack of shared opinions on this question, but that's fine. I did my own research and lots of thinking. With the issues that optical pulse technology has, and the limitation with swimming or even showering, I decided against the Band or Surge. I've pre-ordered my Up3 and it should ship by Dec. 22, so I should have it before Christmas. A gift for myself!

gshifrin

I've been using MS Band for about 3 weeks. I got it to replace my Pebble watch and my Fitbit (which died after the second time I accidently left it in my pants during the wash cycle). So after using it a while, I'm pretty happy. I'm surprised that one of my least favorite companies could do such a good job. I wear it at night to track my sleep and keep it on most of the day to count steps and pay attention to my HR. I've tested it by comparing it to my own mental step counts and the elliptical machine's stride counts and it's maybe 98% accurate. I found that it's not accurate when doing cardio at the gym unless I put it in my pants pocket.

I compared the HR against the count from my doctor's helper and it was close.

The sleep analysis has been interesting, showing how much light sleep vs. restful sleep I'm getting. I assume this is based on some combination of HR and movement but have not been able to find the details on that.

It includes a GPS for tracking distances and a UV sensor (no idea why). It can also guide you through some number of pre-selected workout routines.

Of course, I like getting the same notifications (text, phone, email) and weather I was used to on my Pebble and the Band's screen is a lot more readable. It can even send one of my canned responses to text messages.

Only complaint is that the battery only lasts a day or so and if I forget to charge it before heading out (only takes 1/2 hour) I lose most of my step counts that day.

MS was smart to enable it to work with Androids and iPhones but they're still evil at heart in only allowing the voice recognition to work with Windows phones.

Anyway, it's a very cool device, works well, looks good, and feels comfortable .

JessRose64

I'm in the same boat. I love my BodyFit Media, but the syncing issues are getting worse and paying the monthly fee is stupid considering I put it all into MFP anyways. I was set on the Band until I figured out that the voice stuff doesn't work with my Note 3. I kinda like the idea of having a screen, but do I really need it? I'd like to look at my phone less... would this help? My must is that it has a HR monitor and it works I like the idea of a GPS, but I don't run outside (even though I hope to one day). I like the idea of being waterproof, but I don't have a pool. It's like I'm thinking of stuff I don't even use now lol. So many to choose from doesn't help. I would go for the Samsung Gear Fit, but it doesn't sync with MFP and that just isn't nice.

Ryokat

I am also looking for a new one. I've had my BodyMedia for about 2 years and love it, but it looks like it's on its last legs (the button has caved in) and I don't want to buy a new one off of eBay if it's going to have all these syncing issues. I bought a Jawbone24; it's a piece of crap compared to the BodyMedia. I'm still trying to decide between all of the new fitness trackers mentioned, as well as the Basis Peak, or some form of Suunto. What I REALLY want is the Angel Sensor, but who knows how long until that will be out, lol.

SnuggleSmacks

Well, if you can hold on til after Christmas, I can give a review of the Up3. It should ship in 3 weeks or so. I did read that it will not have continuous heart rate monitoring out of the box, but that's supposed to be on the agenda for future updates. The hardware is in the band, but the software for that aspect is not, but that will be corrected with a firmware update at some future time. Out of the box, it should give resting heart rate (a measure of general fitness), and it should track that daily to track changes. This nearly turned me off of the Up3, but then I thought that if the calorie burns are as accurate as my BodyMedia was, then what do I really need HR for on top of that?

shadow2soul

The surge is actually rated 5ATM so it's much more than "splash proof". It has the same rating as VivoFit and Basis Peak. The Flex is "splash proof" with a rating of 1ATM.
Just thought I'd point that out.

Pulled this from Garmin.

SnuggleSmacks

shadow2soul wrote: »

The surge is actually rated 5ATM so it's much more than "splash proof". It has the same rating as VivoFit and Basis Peak. The Flex is "splash proof" with a rating of 1ATM.
Just thought I'd point that out.

Pulled this from Garmin.

Good to know! If for some reason the Up3 sucks, I can send it back, and I think the Surge would be my next choice.

BigAl_2

I'm dying to get my hands on the Up3. Wish they would release it soon!

BigAl_2

Also, if you forget to put it into sleep mode, when you wake up you can add it based off of times that it guessed you were sleeping.

hede0n

Yeah, I am too waiting till UP3 reviews will show up to help me with a choice of my next fitness tracker.

@Snuggle Smacks, I am very interested in your thoughts after few days of using it.