Fitbit vs. Others

orchid8384

Hi everyone, I'm noticing that there are a lot of people wearing the fitbit a lot lately and would like to look into something similar for myself.

What are everyone's views on the fitbit or others. Any suggestions for a decent one without paying an arm and a leg? What should I look for when thinking of buying one?

Thanks!

shadow2soul

I love fitbit. However, after having a defective flex (was replaced for free by customer service) and 2 defective chargers I decided to go a different route. I bought a Garmin Vivofit last night on Walmart.com (with free store pick up today) for $75 (82 with tax....oh and Vivofit's typically run around $130 before tax from Garmin's site).

I haven't had it long and I'm missing some things like the Activity Records I could create with my Flex. However, bonus' are:
-Display (time, distance, calories, steps, date, step goal...all available at the touch of a button)
-Can Sync with Garmin HRM (if in the future I get one, when I enter HRM mode it will create an activity record)
-Has a calendar that I can use to plan my workouts on it's dashboard
-Requires batteries....however packaging says they should last about 1yr
-If I log exercise on Garmin Connect...it actually transfers the log over here (something Fitbit does not do)....I can post some picture examples if you don't understand what I mean by this
-It has a better water resistance rating then the Fitbit Flex
-It has the same method of clipping to your wrist as the Flex, but Garmin included a little belt like thing to keep them from separating. (which is a known problem with the Flex that causes people to lose it)

SnuggleSmacks

The first gen Fitbits, Vivofit, and Jawbone's Up and Up24 are about to get crazy cheap because they're all coming out with next gen products. If you just wait a few weeks, you can select from 2 different Fitbits that do constant heart rate monitoring, one of those with GPS, or Jawbone's Up3 which has the Bodymedia tech, making it far more accurate (and it also monitors heartrate, but not 24/7 out of the box. That will come later with an update.) Also, Vivosmart is already out to replace Vivofit.

orchid8384

@shadow2soul: I'm not quite sure what you mean. I've never had anything like this so I'm completely new to this technology. If it's not too much trouble, would you be able to post pics? I'm a little confused on what all these technologies all entails. So it measures when you're resting, being active, calorie intake, etc? Thanks for helping!

@SnuggleSmacks: Thanks for the info! Do you know about when the new ones will be released so that the old ones can be cheaper? What about an estimation of how much they are now, compare to how much they will be when the new ones come out? In your opinion, which one is better than the others? Thank you!!

SnuggleSmacks

I ordered the Up3 and it will ship Dec. 22. The new Fitbits should be out in January. As to how much the first gens drop in price, no idea, but I've already seen some of the original Ups for under $50.

shadow2soul

orchid8384 wrote: »

@shadow2soul: I'm not quite sure what you mean. I've never had anything like this so I'm completely new to this technology. If it's not too much trouble, would you be able to post pics? I'm a little confused on what all these technologies all entails. So it measures when you're resting, being active, calorie intake, etc? Thanks for helping!

With Fitbit, I always logged exercise on Fitbit.com. When the two sites would sync, Fitbit would transfer my total burn data to MFP for an adjustment. My exercise calories where always included in that adjustment, but the exercise itself didn't show as logged in the Exercise diary portion of MFP.
Example: Dec 8
Fitbit Activity Log-


MFP Exercise Diary-



Now, I got the garmin VivoFit. I did a workout and logged it on Garmin Connect. I assumed it would do the same thing as Fitbit did. Instead however, it not only transferred my total calories burned but also the exercise log (although with a name change).

Example: Dec 12
What I logged on Garmin Connect's Activity Log-


What showed up in MFP Exercise Diary-


So this time, everyone on my friends list got the message that I worked out in their Newsfeed. Where as with Fitbit, my workouts were never announced in newsfeeds.

____________________________________________________________

Both devices -

- Calculate calories burned including BMR (so yes even your resting calories)
- When they sync with MFP the math is:
Device Estimated Calorie Burn - MFP estimated calorie burn (with logged exercise) = adjustment (can be negative if negative adjustments are enabled)
- Track Sleep if put into sleep mode (with the exception of the Fitbit Zip)
- Track Steps/Distance
- Both devices will need none step based activites to be manually logged (I think the exception to this is if you have the HRM that pairs with the Garmin)

Fitbit's old dashboard used to tell you what % of the time you were Sedentary/Lightly Active/Active, but so far I haven't been able to find that information since they changed it. Garmin does show this information, it's just not on the dashboard.

Garmin has an Auto Step Goal setting, which uses your trends to set a goal for you to achieve. Fitbit has something similar to this, but it is part of their optional pay program.

Fitbit allows you to set custom calorie "Food Plan" goals on their site. In fact, you actually don't even need to use MFP (MFP has a better database though) to log food. Garmin however, seems to just pull the information from MFP.

Kasuad

Amazon already sold out on the Fitbit Surges they had, unless they get more. Wasn't expecting them to ship till Monday, but they already started shipping and I should have my Fitbit Surge by Monday. Pretty sure many retailers now have the new Fitbits in their distribution wharehouse.

WalkingAlong

I don't expect any drop in Fitbit prices anytime soon. They do sometimes 'sunset' a product but for the most part they seem to just be adding new, pricier models, not getting rid of the old options.

Misfit has a tracker on sale for $25 right now. I'd get that if I was in the market for a bargain.

orchid8384

@Shadow2soul: Thank you soooo much for taking all that time to post your pics and examples. I really appreciate it!! Base on your pics, it does seem like fitbit doesn't synch all the time and/or has problems synchronizing with mfp. That would just irritate me. Fitbit out! I will keep Garmin on my list. I did hear that fitbit tracks bmr and not just what you eat but I didn't know that Garmin does that also! I actually prefer bmr tracking because I think it's more accurate.

@WalkingAlong: Misfit has the shine, too, right? I saw the shine in an ad and was really impressed by it but you know how ads are...not really a good review on the product. I will look into the tracker. What's it called? Thanks!

orchid8384

So on my list currently:
Garmin Vivofit
Misfit Shine
Up...not sure if I want old gen or new gen...

WalkingAlong

orchid8384 wrote: »

@Shadow2soul: Thank you soooo much for taking all that time to post your pics and examples. I really appreciate it!! Base on your pics, it does seem like fitbit doesn't synch all the time and/or has problems synchronizing with mfp. That would just irritate me. Fitbit out! I will keep Garmin on my list. I did hear that fitbit tracks bmr and not just what you eat but I didn't know that Garmin does that also! I actually prefer bmr tracking because I think it's more accurate.

@WalkingAlong: Misfit has the shine, too, right? I saw the shine in an ad and was really impressed by it but you know how ads are...not really a good review on the product. I will look into the tracker. What's it called? Thanks!

It was the Misfit Flash but it's back up to $50 everywhere now. Still might be a decent option.

orchid8384

Ok, so I just got the Garmin Vivofit. One of my requirements was that the tracker have a timer since I time myself when running. I was promised by BestBuy that the Vivofit has a timer but looking through the manual, the website, and the tracker itself I cannot find the timer. Does anyone know if the Vivofit has a timer or not?

shadow2soul

orchid8384 wrote: »

Ok, so I just got the Garmin Vivofit. One of my requirements was that the tracker have a timer since I time myself when running. I was promised by BestBuy that the Vivofit has a timer but looking through the manual, the website, and the tracker itself I cannot find the timer. Does anyone know if the Vivofit has a timer or not?

VivoFit no.

Garmins Forerunner 15 does however.
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/into-sports/running/forerunner-15/prod145621.html



It's a lot like the vivofit with some added features for runners.

edit: Oh and my screenshot cut part out, but the forerunner has GPS.

lauriegm84

I have a Fitbit Charge, and I love it... My only problem is that it's really lite on my wrist, and I have to catch myself before bathing or washing dishes... I was considering returning it and getting a Garmin Vivofit since it's waterproof. But, I'm still on the fence about that.