Which FitBit?

6502programmer

I can only share my own take, but I have a Charge HR and I love it. The continuous HR monitor is important to me with hypertension, and it's useful because it's able to better analyze calorie burn rate by incorporating heart rate information with the step data. PurePulse, Fitbit's name for continuous monitoring, should give a more accurate calorie burn than basic activity trackers. This put it between the Surge and the Charge HR for me. The Surge is cool and all, but I'm not a runner, and even if I were, I'd have my phone to play music anyway, so the GPS gets me nothing. It was a $100 upcharge for a bulkier device that doesn't have any features that had me interested.

Protranser

I've been using the Charge HR since April. I can't imagine doing any physical activity without it! I love that it also monitors heart rate so I can push myself to pick up the pace during my walks. I try to keep my heart rate at "Fat burn" which burns a little more calories per minute than being in the "out of zone (heart rate too low to be considered exercise)"range.

xLola

I have been looking at getting the charge hr and with all the positive posts I'm excited to get it

Tahlia68

I've got the fitbit charge. Love it

ariamythe

I'm seeing some comments about the Flex fitting poorly and not staying on, but I personally don't see it. I wore a Flex nearly every day for the last two years and it rarely fell off (and usually only if I caught that band edge on the corner of the desk or something).

When it did die recently, I considered the Charge, but for me personally all the extra tracking wasn't something I was interested in. The Flex did enough for me, so I bought another one. Got the Target-exclusive Violet color, which I couldn't resist. Even the lights glow violet .

Sued0nim

I don't like the HRM versions, I think they don't do what people think they do ...an HRM is only of use for steady state cardio and not as a TDEE measure, so I'm pretty certain the basic pedometer programming takes over more often than not. I think it's expensive and misleading...if you want to track steady state cardio you can use a separate HRM (I use a polar ft4)

I have owned a flex and a zip...I don't need to track sleep and like wearing bracelets so I'm happiest with my zip which I wear in my pocket or bra

Over time they get more accurate...I've been using mine since last July and I don't leave the house without it and eat back every calorie it gives me

Sued0nim

The only reason to have a 24 hour HRM that I can see is if you have heart issues and need to track your heartbeat

The caloric estimate cannot, and will not, be accurate

I'd love to know what the formulae and programming of the charge and surge actually do...What happens when you're hot, or lifting weights, or stressed and your HR increases...do you get a higher burn rate? If so then it's a major inaccuracy

Don't get me wrong, I love fitness toys and am a datageek ...I just have yet to be convinced on the basic efficacy and usefulness of any of these 24 hour monitors

MirandaD0313

I started with the flex but now I have the surge. It's the largest one but definitely worth all the features.

rjan91

Love my Charge HR. Used to have the Force but traded up with the voluntary recall.

Cocoa1020

i love the charge HR. I love the heart rate monitor i can see how hard of a work out i got and how long I stayed in the different heart rate zones and because it can detect your heart rate you also get a more accurate reading of the amount of calories you burned

Sued0nim

Cocoa1020 wrote: »

i love the charge HR. I love the heart rate monitor i can see how hard of a work out i got and how long I stayed in the different heart rate zones and because it can detect your heart rate you also get a more accurate reading of the amount of calories you burned

Again only if you're doing steady state cardio ..otherwise it's not even close to accurate...not for spin, HIIT, weights, aerobic class, zumba, circuits etc ...only for steady state cardio

I don't want to be a downer but please be careful how many calories you eat back ...judge against your body over 6-8 week cycles

jenniejoy07

I don't like the wrist ones as I feel they are inaccurate. I prefer the ONE; which I wear on my hip so I track only walking and not my hand movement.

cld111

jenniejoy07 wrote: »

I don't like the wrist ones as I feel they are inaccurate. I prefer the ONE; which I wear on my hip so I track only walking and not my hand movement.

I have the Charge (wrist one) and it seems to be very accurate. I haven't had any issues with accuracy at all. I did change my setting to dominant hand (even though it's on my non-dominant hand) to reduce extra step counts from hand movement.

goldensam2

I have the ChargeHR and love it.

wekayim94

The Ultra and Flex were both great, but I think the Charge HR is the best of all, a wonderful combination of features, comfort, and price. Best wishes!

jcarouth

I have the One. I really like it. I've been thinking about getting a Charge HR but I'm a little worried I'll be annoyed with it being on my wrist. My wife also has a One and she loves hers. We've had them for a couple years now.

Someone else mentioned the sleep band problem for the Fitbit One. I agree it's kind of terrible. My One used to fall out almost every night. Then I started wearing it inside out and that problem is resolved.

karahm78

I have the One and LOVE it.... I clip it on my bra and no one even knows that I have it on. It has been very accurate for me syncing with MFP, I eat back most of my calories from the Fitbit adjustment and I still lose at a steady rate.

btkennett

I had a Microsoft Band and HATED it. I bought a Surge and absolutely love it. Battery life is great. Its comfortable. GPS is accurate enough for all but the insanely competitive (as is the heart rate tracking)

LuckyMunky

I like my flex most of the time, but I find that it does fall off more often than I'd like, especially if I'm doing a lot of lifting and it catches on something. I've lost it before, and was lucky enough that it was returned to the lost and found where I could reclaim it (several weeks later.) The band also broke after just a few months. Thankfully, it usually comes with an extra so I just use that now.

shadowfax_c11

I have a Flex. I did have issues with the battery after a few months but the company was great about sending a replacement right away. I have also had issues with bands popping off and breaking. Just bought a new band off of Amazon that is super comfortable, not as bulky as the original bands or the cheap off label replacements like ismile and it has a regular buckle instead of the clasp. Only thing is that the band runs small so won't fit a wrists larger than 7.25 inches which is exactly my measurement. It's a bit snug, but the material is soft and comfortable so I don't find that I mind it.
http://www.amazon.com/Fitbit-Flex-Band-French-Bull/dp/B00NVRQ53A/ref=sr_1_29?rps=1&ie=UTF8&qid=1437972770&sr=8-29&keywords=fitbit+band

I don't wear my tracker in the shower even though it is supposed to be able to. Have ready to many experiences of people whose trackers died after their wearing them to swim or otherwise getting them wet.

I never wore anything on my wrist before I got the Fitbit. I don't wear jewelry because I work with my hands and don't like things getting in my way and have not found it to be that bothersome to wear the tracker.

MysticRealm

I had the One before. I quite liked it, it sometimes encouraged me to do more than I had planned to. I washed it by accident once (forgot it was on my bra when I put it in the wash) and it survived. It didn't survive the second time I washed it (it popped off my bra with the armful load of laundry I was putting in the wash. I didn't buy another one, and at some point I fell off track and gained weight back and stopped exercising (did not coincide with losing the fitbit). I've been back exercising and losing weight since January. Most of my exercise has been running on the treadmill or outside (using mapmyrun to track), and strength training, but I'm hoping to add in more things like outdoor sports (soccer, ultimate frisbee) and hiking where I would like to have something that would track that a bit better, mostly out of curiosity. So I ordered another Fitbit.
I again ordered the One. I never wear bracelets of any kind so I didn't think that I would like a bracelet one. And I quite liked the One, just going to try to be more careful when doing laundry with it!
I wish I had known that a store near me sold fitbits for the same price as amazon as I would have bought it for this weekend (did a 16km run, an afternoon full of fast paced ultimate frisbee and soccer, and a 3 hour hike), but now I will likely get it this coming thursday (in time for my camping trip which is nice, especially since my phone probably won't hold it's charge for the whole weekend so I won't be able to use mapmyrun).

Christine_72

The only exercise I do is walking, so the fitbit zip suits me. I just don't trust those HR monitor devices. It seems the activities they actually track accurately are very few...

snowflake930

I have had a fit bit for 2-1/2 years. It is the single best motivator to get me to move more. I have had a One, a Force, and now a Charge HR (have had the Charge HR for 7 weeks now) They all had the same features, except the HR has the heart rate monitor, which I really like. Personal preference on which to choose. It challenges me to push myself to move more. I love it, and will have a fitbit from now on.

The Force is no longer available. Some people were having reactions (breaking out on their wrists) from the metal on the Force. I was one of the people who broke out from it. I kept it in my pocket until it was replaced by Fitbit. Their customer service is outstanding!

One thing to keep in mind, they do not pick up all of the steps when using a machine (like an elliptical), but for actual step counts, they are great (walking, running). It has more than paid for itself as a motivational device for me, and for me, that is a huge plus.

PAV8888

ANY Fitbit device from the $59 Zip, all the way to the Surge will give you a fairly accurate picture of your caloric expenditure (TDEE).

The HR function is NOT needed in order for your Fitbit to calculate your TDEE accurately.

The most accurate step counting units are probably the ZIP and the ONE because their step counts are not confounded by arm movement.

Beyond that buy based on budget, looks, and features:

Zip: cheap and does the trick.
One: adds sleep and floors
Flex: is the only waterproof one and has fashion goodies (I think)
Charge: Not sure what it offers compared to the Force other than maybe a more secure clasp
Charge HR: offers HR monitoring for steady state activities.
Surge HR: adds GPS

Fitbit HR is still version 1 and will occasionally not function properly.

If you want GPS tracks for all your activities you will have to buy a Surge HR. You will NOT be able to manage this by using a Charge HR+ the Fitbit Phone app as you can EITHER put the band in activity mode to record an activity OR start a recording with GPS from the phone app with the band NOT being in activity mode.

Sued0nim

Good list and I will add that zip and one clip to your pocket or bra which can be important when you like to wear shiny things like bracelets

joshuapowell1989

I started off with a Charge, but after a couple of weeks after realising the motivation it gave me wanted the Charge HR, I then upgraded to the Surge for the additional exercise tracking and GPS for when i decide to go for a walk outside. I haven't really used the GPS part too much as I joined a gym, but now i'm back to walking i'll probably use the functionality more.
I do love the surge though, Whilst people do see it as bulky, i barely notice it's there.

LemonMarmalade

I have the Charge hr and I really love it. I had a glitch in mine and after they tried the reset (didnt fix it) Fitbit sent me a brand new one. I paid nothing. They are a very customer oriented company and I appreciate that so much. Anyway...I have had no problems with it since the replacement. I love it.