Fit Bit flex Vs Garmin Viofit

scribb

What do people like and why

editorgrrl

You can learn more about Fitbits in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users

I love my Flex. I only ever take it off to charge. It tracks my sleep and calculates my TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). Then MFP compares my Fitbit burn to my activity level and adjusts my calories accordingly.

And the challenges with friends are super motivating.

TriLaura

I have both, I wear both. It's been a 6 month experiment. The short answer is that I prefer the Fitbit Flex. Even though it does not have a digital display, it is reliable and has never failed me once.

The Garmin.... well, if you've never dealt with Garmin, let me assure you it can be frustrating. It often loses the ability to sync with my phone & laptop. The Garmin Connect website is down so often it's ridiculous (just check out their facebook page for comments). I've had days where it just hasn't picked up my steps after 4pm - no one can give me a straight answer on that at all.

Oh, and that "motivational" red bar on the Garmin - which tells you you've been idle too long??? Pain. In. The. *kitten* I can be moving about, cooking in the kitchen, splitting wood even and nope, red bar refuses to go away. Drives me insane. It's not motivational at all, in my opinion. Downright rude that I can be on my feet and physically moving (chopping firewood with an axe no less) and it hangs around. So I see it like red pen on an essay - yelling at me for not doing the right thing!

Fitbit: website rarely down for maintenance; website graphics better. Has silent vibrating alarms if you need them. I only ever need to charge it once a week - I get 7 days out of its battery and I exercise every day. So it's a workhorse.

Sleep: Garmin's sleep feature only tracks total sleep (from the moment you put it into sleep mode until you take it out of that mode) and while it graphs your movement, it does not give you any other data about it. The Fitbit tracks sleep time (you tap it to put it into/take it out of sleep mode) but then subtracts time awake (ie. vertical) and restlessness (how much you move about in your sleep). So it gives you a time in sleep that is pure sleep. Very helpful to know how restless/disrupted your sleep is.

Steps: both are relatively equal here.

Calories: Garmin consistently tracks lower calories, by up to 400 per day. The only time they come close is if you wear a Garmin HR chest strap, then it calculates calories a little better, but it's not sensible nor advisable to wear the chest strap all day. (Under 100 bpm they are pretty useless) I feel like Fitbit is much more accurate here.

Display: if you really want a digital display, then there is the new range of Fitbits coming - the Charge (which is available now - it has a display), the HR (it has an in-built HR sensor so no chest strap) and the Surge (which has HR sensor and GPS tracking). Not sure about the release dates for the HR & Surge.

My verdict - Fitbit Flex wins hands down.

PS - I deal a lot with Garmin, as I use a 910XT for my triathlon training, and trust me, even the 910XT beats the Vivofit by a mile. Granted, it doesn't measure steps, but it's just a more reliable unit. Uploading via the Garmin express plugin is a breeze with the 910XT - no troubles - and yet, the Vivofit throws a tantrum if I happen to move my laptop (ie work vs home).

To say I was disappointed with the Vivofit is an understatement. I'm ready to smash it with a hammer.

acmanna

I had the same question since I'm on the fence about the two. Thanks TriLaura for the review!

jerber160

well this is depressing since i just got a vivifit

scribb

I think it is a choice. All bands have pros and cons. I have only had the Garmin sync not work a few times. I like the option of always seeing my steps and really like the HRM option.

With the Viofit, you can also use it as your watch and the battery lasts up to a year. It will also take getting wet a lot better as you can wear it while swimming.

bostonboxermom

I bought my mom a Vivofit for Christmas. I have it synched to her laptop (no smartphone), but she really doesn't even 'need' that. I just wanted her to be able to track her steps. It may be off a bit, but it is still motivating her to go from walking prob 2,000 steps a day to walk 7,900. Tho if I had more $, I prob would get her a Charge HR. I didn't want to get her the Flex because she needs to be able to see the display on her wrist - since she doesn't have a smartphone. So far so good. But she does have the same issue with the red line not going away - I told her to just ignore the line.

jerber160

it's only been two days, but my redline is still working OK. I hoped on the ebike today to get rid of it. about 5 minutes did it.. I'm wondering if this little activity will help