Fitness Trackers - what's yours?

andyluvv

Hey guys I've started with fitness Trackers with the Fitbit Flex which I loved bit hated the charging every week. It seemed pretty decent and accurate and the buzz got me addicted.

I then went to a misfit flash that gave me no end of headaches and then a shine. I find that the misfit tends to underestimate steps as it'll vary on a day to day a lot. Other than that it's a beautiful device.

I just purchased a fitbit charge HR as I really wanted a heart rate monitor and was wondering what is everyone's experiences with trackers? Is the HR accurate?
It seems like a cheaper solution to buying a polar.

Thanks!

KittensMaster

I have had a Polar HRM, and have a Garnin Vivo Smart

At this time I use an app to calculate my calorie burns for cycling. Weight lifting is not a good activity for any of those little monitors to record.

I don't count steps. It is just part of my day and not a true exercise beyond daily activity level

So the answer is...

None

I think they are over hyped toys. I know when I am panting and at full exertion! When I'm feeling muscle burn from 20 seconds of full effort sprint, the HRM does not capture that anyway

It is for long term steady state cardio

They were helpful when I started out since it got me involved and owning the whole workout thing. They were great for getting it as part of my daily thought process. For actual monitoring value what I do for exercise....? Meh.

Tape measure, scale, how sweat drenched my shirt is. Those are better indicators

Kellyymcd

I just got the charge hr and I love it. It pushes me to work harder and burn more. Not sure about accuracy yet, I haven't had it long enough

jennifer_417

I have a FitBit One and I really like it. I liked the idea of an HRM, but didn't want to have to wear something on my wrist all the time. The One seems pretty accurate, though.

ckfox95

I have a fitbit zip at the moment. It's pretty basic but does what it's supposed to. I'll be looking to upgrade to something with more options soon.

threadmad

Withings Pulse Ox. It measures steps, distance, calories burned, sleep - all accurately. It measure elevation sometimes. It also measures heart rate but you have to pop the unit off the wristband to do it. I bought it because it syncs with my Withings scale and both sync with MFP.

jbuzzed

Garmin vivofit for me. It made me want to start tracking everything!

grwrn

Fitbit Charge HR. This was an upgrade from the Flex. At first, I wanted only due to the watch band type but now I enjoy the HR monitor and feel it it accurate. Accurate or not, having a fitness tracker has helped keeping me accountable and motivated.

hamelle2

I just tried mine out this morning. Very disappointed that I couldn't set it for a continuous HR reading on the screen during exercising. About killed myself reaching over to push the damn button on the band to get a reading.
Am I missing something or is there no way to keep HR on the screen?

shadow2soul

I have the Fitbit Surge (model above the ChargeHR) and it so far has been fairly accurate with the calories burned. Now I weight lift with it on and that hasn't affected it's accuracy. Is it possible that it's overestimating calories during a weightlifting session and underestimating at some other point in the day? Totally. However, minor details like that don't bother me. My loss lines up with what I should expect when I compare the Fitbit calories out to my tracked intake. If it didn't, then I would make adjustments where needed.

hamelle2

PS.... Fitbit recommends moving the watch up to 3 finger widths from the wrist during workouts. This makes a big difference in HR reading. Much more accurate.

andyluvv

Thanks for the input guys I hope I won't regret the Fitbit! The reviews online are quite mixed!

ktmcqueen18

I had a fitbit and it quit working for no reason. I chatted with someone on the fitbit website and they said you have 45 days to return or exchange for issues but I was past my 45 days. I've also heard mixed reviews about the fitbit. If I purchase another tracker it will be a vivofit for the screen and the good reviews that I have seen/heard.

shadow2soul

ktmcqueen18 wrote: »

I had a fitbit and it quit working for no reason. I chatted with someone on the fitbit website and they said you have 45 days to return or exchange for issues but I was past my 45 days. I've also heard mixed reviews about the fitbit. If I purchase another tracker it will be a vivofit for the screen and the good reviews that I have seen/heard.

@ktmcqueen18
They give you 45 days to request a refund. This is actually better than most. Garmin gives you 30 days. Polar gives you 30 days. Mio (the activity trackers not the drink mix) gives you 30 days. Jawbone gives the longest with their policy being 60 days.

Your defective Fitbit is still covered under a 1 year warranty where they will either repair it or send you a new (or refurbished their choice) device that is the same model as the one you have.

Here's the full policy if you want to read it:
https://www.fitbit.com/returns

Edit:
I had a Fitbit Flex that was malfunctioning. It was about 5 or 6 months old when I contacted them about it. They sent me a new one and didn't even request the defective one back (told me to dispose of it).

ScubaSteve1962

I have a Polar V800 with H7 sensor. My heart rate shows on the cardio equipment, and I've used it several different places with different equipment. It controls the level/incline to keep my heart rate at the set rate of the machine. I can also set up the screen to show what I want to during exercise mode so no buttons to push. Since it's a chest strap I only wear it when I work out, the only time I need to know my heart rate. I only have to charge my watch about every 3 weeks.

ladytwilight72

I got a Garmin vivofit...I like that I don't have to recharge it

k2mexox

ktmcqueen18 wrote: »

I had a fitbit and it quit working for no reason. I chatted with someone on the fitbit website and they said you have 45 days to return or exchange for issues but I was past my 45 days. I've also heard mixed reviews about the fitbit. If I purchase another tracker it will be a vivofit for the screen and the good reviews that I have seen/heard.

I've had mine since February and called Monday to get it replaced (my dog chewed the wrist band) and they replaced it overnight shipping. You have a one year warrantee with Fitbit.

Leslierussell4134

I use the Polar M400 and the H7 HR monitor. I've been a loyal polar customer for some time, I love the accuracy of the GPS and HR calculations and steps, I wear it everyday. I bought mine for about the same price as the fitbit charge, $150 on amazon about 6 months ago, I believe it's more on the polar site.

zichab

I have a Garmin Vivofit with HRM and I it!! I track miles each day, because steps are really meaningless to me, and I custom set my pace in my Vivofit to make sure my miles are accurate. The HRM seems accurate for me when I do my outdoor walks or indoor steady cardio. The Vivofit also tracks my sleep which has been very helpful. It also does not need charging - just a new battery once a year. I got it last Christmas and I have no idea how I ever lived without it!

mwyvr

@andyluvv What do you intend to do with the heart rate monitoring feature?

tiffanyfoundit

I run, and I know these aren't always accurate for calories burned, but I just want something to give me some sort of estimate for me better than having to hold my phone with a fitness app on it. Any ideas for that?

mbaker566

My vivosmart is nice. I got it packaged with a hrm. I like it a lot. I lie the fluid goal setting. I love the waterproof.

Inspiredtwentytwelve

I have a fitbit charge HR and a Polar. If your are seriously into sports you may want to consider a Polar or a Garmin which are more accurate for HR. But, the charge is fine for simply motivating yourself to get up and out more - even if it is just steps - everything helps. The best benefit is the sleep tracker which has, if you'll excuse the pun, "opened my eyes" to my poor sleep quality, which has a knock on effect to my dietary habits! Good to see the full picture.

bababs89

I have a fitbit charge hr and love it! I'm also not sure how accurate the hr part is, but it does keep me moving more!

fletwock

I have a PolarFlow. I found a strange 'activity tracker' device at our local big box retailer for a paltry $35. I bought it without knowing what it was really for or what it really did. But it had something to do with fitness and I needed something to get me back on track. Went home, Googled it, and was pleasantly surprised to find that I'd bought something that would track how active I was, count how many calories I burn, how many steps I take, and tell me the time. I don't believe it's 100% accurate and it took me a month to actually wear it but I love it! It's definitely got me back on track and I'll be very eager to see these last 20 pounds come off.

The only catch with this device is that you have to size the band yourself which means you run the risk of cutting it too short. (I once read online that if you mess up Polar will send you a new band for free BUT I do not know if this is true or not.)
Also, it only comes in black.

tiffanyfoundit

fletwock wrote: »

I have a PolarFlow. I found a strange 'activity tracker' device at our local big box retailer for a paltry $35. I bought it without knowing what it was really for or what it really did. But it had something to do with fitness and I needed something to get me back on track. Went home, Googled it, and was pleasantly surprised to find that I'd bought something that would track how active I was, count how many calories I burn, how many steps I take, and tell me the time. I don't believe it's 100% accurate and it took me a month to actually wear it but I love it! It's definitely got me back on track and I'll be very eager to see these last 20 pounds come off.

The only catch with this device is that you have to size the band yourself which means you run the risk of cutting it too short. (I once read online that if you mess up Polar will send you a new band for free BUT I do not know if this is true or not.)
Also, it only comes in black.

Which one? There seems to be a million versions of them. And that seems to be a popular one.

fletwock

tiffanyfoundit wrote: »

fletwock wrote: »

I have a PolarFlow. I found a strange 'activity tracker' device at our local big box retailer for a paltry $35. I bought it without knowing what it was really for or what it really did. But it had something to do with fitness and I needed something to get me back on track. Went home, Googled it, and was pleasantly surprised to find that I'd bought something that would track how active I was, count how many calories I burn, how many steps I take, and tell me the time. I don't believe it's 100% accurate and it took me a month to actually wear it but I love it! It's definitely got me back on track and I'll be very eager to see these last 20 pounds come off.

The only catch with this device is that you have to size the band yourself which means you run the risk of cutting it too short. (I once read online that if you mess up Polar will send you a new band for free BUT I do not know if this is true or not.)
Also, it only comes in black.

Which one? There seems to be a million versions of them. And that seems to be a popular one.

I have the Polar Loop. Actually had to Google it to be certain. Lol.

SLLRunner

Mine is a Polar Ft7, which I've had for about two years. I love it.

SLLRunner

tiffanyfoundit wrote: »

I run, and I know these aren't always accurate for calories burned, but I just want something to give me some sort of estimate for me better than having to hold my phone with a fitness app on it. Any ideas for that?

I run as well, and thus far my Polar has been accurate enough. I say this because of my results. I weigh my food, log everything.

andres0691

I use polar FT7. I started using mine 2-3 years ago and it is still going.

andyluvv

mwyvr wrote: »

@andyluvv What do you intend to do with the heart rate monitoring feature?

Mostly for a more accurate calorie count and to know my own heart rate.

So far it seems pretty good - it states my resting bpm at 47-50 bpm. It also helps with the calorie count when weight lifting as it bases it loosely around your heart rate at the time of activity. That does mean it's not 100% accurate but I'm not sure anything is. A friend said in some reviews online, people claim that the hr function is similar to other devices.

tiffanyfoundit wrote: »

I run, and I know these aren't always accurate for calories burned, but I just want something to give me some sort of estimate for me better than having to hold my phone with a fitness app on it. Any ideas for that?

I found my old fitbit flex quite good and accurate when it came to tracking my intake. I love the new stuff with the HR but I'd say the flex is a great device for anyone starting with the trackers