Battle of the Fitbits (and other such devices)

ghouli

Hi folks! I don't have any kind of activity tracker thing and am looking to invest in one when I have the money. I've mainly been looking at Fitbits, but eyeing over some of the cheaper alternatives as well.

Right now I'm heavily considering the Fitbit Charge HR because I do want something that monitors heart rate and I like the other features it has.

So basically I'm wondering what device you have, how well you like it, if you wish you would have gotten a different one/are looking to get a different one sometime, etc. All input is appreciated! I'm so indecisive with stuff like this so I like hearing everyone's opinions on the different things out there.

Thank you!

VegasFit

I have the Garmin Vivosmart and I really like it. I bought my boyfriend the Charge HR and he has no complaints about it. I wanted a chest strap option which is why I chose the Vivosmart versus the Fitbit.

janejellyroll

I have a Fitbit Charge HR and have been using it since July. I love it. One thing about Fitbit: their customer service is awesome. My first one developed a crack, I sent them an email, and they sent me a new one within a couple of days. I hadn't even bought it directly from them, but I couldn't have asked for better service.

You will hear different things about the accuracy of the tracking. I will say that I have been maintaining eating the calories calculated by the Fitbit and it has gone exactly as I expected it to.

idioblast

I've used a fitbit for the last three years. Started with the One, then the Flex, back to the One and now have a Zip. The Flex was my least favorite model, it just didn't seem as accurate as the One or Zip. I've also tried out the Misfit Shine and the Garmin VivoSmart. The Misfit was pretty, but doesn't have the social aspect of Fitbit and I think Fitbit and MFP work really well together. I still wear my Garmin, but it's mostly for notifications from my phone and GPS during runs/hikes.

I guess the bottom line is it will take a pretty special device to part me from my Fitbit.

laurrpratt

I love my FitBit! I have the Zip, and my mom has the Charge HR. She loves that, I would have gotten that one but I already wear a Polar HR watch and chest strap when I work out so I only wanted the step aspect. I like FitBit the most because you can also download the app to track, and compete in step challenges with other people that have it, such as friends, family, etc. It's motivating, especially if you're the least bit competitive! I don't use it for the calorie tracking, but it does have other options and you can set it for # of steps you would like to hit per day, or miles, etc. I will also second the comment on the great customer service. I accidentally put my Zip through the washer and it started malfunctioning even after replacing the battery, and they sent me a brand new one! They are definitely the best.

Mrsrobinsoncl

I also have the Garmin Vivosmart!! I really like it, I love having the display and leave it on "time" most of the day and use it like a watch, then I can check my steps whenever I want. I got the chest strap heart rate monitor, since I believe they are more accurate than the writst HR monitor. I have the app on my phone and its really easy to sync, it also syncs with MFP so I can track everything in one place !

brb2008

I have had my Charge HR for a little less than a year. My only wish is that I had waited to buy it, because now there's a ton of color options! I find the numbers to be a little high (for calorie burn) but honestly I think I just forget how big I am sometimes. I love it, love using it. Just having it on makes me move more!

peleroja

I've read that the heartrate function is pretty much only useful for steady-state cardio so that wasn't a big draw for me - I can figure that out in other ways on my runs and it won't be useful for any other gym activity for me. I ended up getting the Fitbit One because I can clip it to my bra and don't have to wear it on my wrist for everyone to see/ruin my work outfits, lol.

MeanderingMammal

peleroja wrote: »

I've read that the heartrate function is pretty much only useful for steady-state cardio so that wasn't a big draw for me

Indeed, all day heart rat tracking is a bit of a gimmick, meaningless for most people, most of the time. But hey it means they sell more units so that's a good thing isn't it...

Marketeers, third up against the wall come the time of the glorious revolution

Anyway, I don't see a huge utility in a tracker myself, but then I run and cycle a lot so it's of limited value for those.

I use a Garmin Forerunner to track my running and cycling, and a Vivosmart for all day tracking. I'm not convinced that the Vivosmart tells me anything I didn't know already. If anything it gives me more cals per day than I'd been working on anyway.

sheermomentum

What do you want it to do? Do you want to mainly track steps? Cardio exercise? Indoor? Outdoor? The functionality you want will determine the best choice....

jeepinshawn

Fitbit charge here, non HR, and I really like it. It keeps me motivated and honest about my activity level, and I just switched to maintenance mode a few weeks ago and have been using the TDEE it calculates as my calorie goal. Seems to be working great and it syncs up with MFP perfectly. I basically use MFP for the food data base and to track my weight and daily calorie input and ocmpare those numbers to my fitbit burn.

darcus_kirby

I love my Fitbit flex! I'd be lost without it

ebouchie

Apple Watch Sport since June. Very happy with all of the functionality including the heart rate monitor, Activity and Workout apps. And it keeps pretty good time too.

OldAssDude

I started with the Jawbone UP24 and Now have the Garmin fenix3. The fenix3 is the top of the line device for fitness. I needed something that I could create custom activities on, in stead of having a limited number of activities like the other devices do.

In between the Jawbone and the Garmin I have had several other devices...

Garmin vivoactive, Fitbit Charge HR, Fitbit Surge, Polar M400, Polar V800, and Basis Peak.

I think the Garmin, Polar, and Fitbit devices are good, but as I expanded the types of activities I do, I needed something that was more customizable than just a handful of preset activities.

my advice is to think exactly what you want to use it for, do some research on all the devices that have those features you want, and find videos. You can also download the users guides from the website's which can be helpful.

If heart rate is important to you, the chest strap monitors are by far the most accurate.

RetroPolkaDot

I got a Misfit Flash last month. I didn't want to spend a lot of money in case the novelty of it wore off. I figured if I used it a lot I could upgrade to something else later. I've been really pleased with it. I only need something that would track steps and general activity.

Kimegatron

I have heard that the wrist wearing Fitbits calculate arm movements as steps. Is that true? I wanted to ask for one for Xmas or my birthday, but I don't want something that will be really inaccurate

Protranser

I am a fitbit charge hr cult member :-) one of the things i do now, in maintenance, is make sure I'm getting a certain amount of cardio done in a week. The charge hr has the ability to track when your heart rate is elevated from exercise.

So, each week i try to get around 2-3 hours total of cardio heart rate exercise, and upwards of 3.5 hours of "fat burn" heart rate exercise a week.

jeepinshawn

Kimegatron wrote: »

I have heard that the wrist wearing Fitbits calculate arm movements as steps. Is that true? I wanted to ask for one for Xmas or my birthday, but I don't want something that will be really inaccurate

I haven't found that to be accurate with the exception of very fast, hard movements like in exercise. All of the non HR models figure your burn out as if you are sleeping, if you aren't moving of course, so they have a tendency to rate your burn low, after all sitting up and typing or simply standing still burns more calories then laying down right? So I have found that the few "false" steps I have gotten credit for simply make up the difference for the times Im standing still...

juliebowman4

ghouli wrote: »

Hi folks! I don't have any kind of activity tracker thing and am looking to invest in one when I have the money. I've mainly been looking at Fitbits, but eyeing over some of the cheaper alternatives as well.

Right now I'm heavily considering the Fitbit Charge HR because I do want something that monitors heart rate and I like the other features it has.

So basically I'm wondering what device you have, how well you like it, if you wish you would have gotten a different one/are looking to get a different one sometime, etc. All input is appreciated! I'm so indecisive with stuff like this so I like hearing everyone's opinions on the different things out there.

Thank you!

I just got the charge hr.
I love it!
I used to have the little clip on Fitbit (the cheapest one that takes a watch battery) but I finally upgraded last week.
I love all the app features and so many of my friends and family have Fitbit......so we can compete and encourage each other.

thunder1982

As a runner, I love my surge. I had a flex and a force (and burn marks to prove it from the force). I use the GPS functionality with the surge. If you dont want/need GPS the I would get a HR. I bought my step mom one. You still get call/text notifications (which is a big plus for me as my phone is always on silent and or stolen by my kids so I still know when someone is calling).

Kimegatron

jeepinshawn wrote: »

Kimegatron wrote: »

I have heard that the wrist wearing Fitbits calculate arm movements as steps. Is that true? I wanted to ask for one for Xmas or my birthday, but I don't want something that will be really inaccurate

I haven't found that to be accurate with the exception of very fast, hard movements like in exercise. All of the non HR models figure your burn out as if you are sleeping, if you aren't moving of course, so they have a tendency to rate your burn low, after all sitting up and typing or simply standing still burns more calories then laying down right? So I have found that the few "false" steps I have gotten credit for simply make up the difference for the times Im standing still...

Ah, good to know, because I was wanting the HR for Xmas

ghouli

sheermomentum wrote: »

What do you want it to do? Do you want to mainly track steps? Cardio exercise? Indoor? Outdoor? The functionality you want will determine the best choice....

Whoops, I probably should have talked about that. Mainly for things like steps, calories, distance, and intensity. I would like something that monitors heart rate, but if a chest strap is more accurate then I may look into getting one of those for that purpose. Basically I don't really care about stuff like GPS, caller ID, sleep tracking and those kinds of things.

Thank you to everyone for your replies so far!

shadow4478

I like this topic..

I have ever owned a few of them.
- fitbit is good in the cheaper and simple range. The HR MODEL is cool but overall not that impressive. Works well with others and has its own scale (2nd best WiFi scale on market) best support team. Works with apple and Android.

Garmin vivoactive for sports and activity tracking all the way! Beware of garmin not playing well with others. It works with MFP. Things get frustrating very fast.

Withings activite pop most elegant and best looking plays well with others. Works with many partners.No battery charging for 8 months.
Works with withings scale probably best WiFi scale on the market. Works woth android and apple. There is also a $500 swiss made version available. (To much for me)

Any android user can download the withings app and use Google fit to record all daily steps, the app will upload all steps to MFP at least until Google fit starts talking to MFP directly.


- Fitbit best on price point.
- - Garmin best for sparts
- - best looking (overall my favorite) must try.


BTW I have owned all of the above except the fitbit aria scale..

BurnWithBarn2015

Have a Polar FT7 and totally happy with it. Doesn't count steps but is waterproof
And i have a Misfit Flash and for only $29.99 i was very pleased with the performance and the app. Simple and works always No problems with syncing and easy to set up. And also waterproof.

MeanderingMammal

Kimegatron wrote: »

I have heard that the wrist wearing Fitbits calculate arm movements as steps. Is that true? I wanted to ask for one for Xmas or my birthday, but I don't want something that will be really inaccurate

Any method of measurement is going to have some inaccuracy. A torso mounted device like the Zip or One has to be more sensitive as the body moves less in movement, so may miss steps. A wrist mounted may measure arm movement as steps, or may miss steps if you're pushing a shopping trolley or the like.

You need to balance how the device measures with your lifestyle.

haydiz70

I'd recommend the Vivoactive! I've compared it to Fitbit and the Gear Fit and it is very accurate on steps. It doesn't miss many or add more. GPS tracking is also very accurate. It's also compatible with chest heart rate monitors, which again are more accurate. I like that it looks like a watch instead of a bulky fitness band. Only thing I've had issues with is the Garmin Connect app. It's quirky at times. But the watch makes up for it.

sheermomentum

ghouli wrote: »

sheermomentum wrote: »

What do you want it to do? Do you want to mainly track steps? Cardio exercise? Indoor? Outdoor? The functionality you want will determine the best choice....

Whoops, I probably should have talked about that. Mainly for things like steps, calories, distance, and intensity. I would like something that monitors heart rate, but if a chest strap is more accurate then I may look into getting one of those for that purpose. Basically I don't really care about stuff like GPS, caller ID, sleep tracking and those kinds of things.

Thank you to everyone for your replies so far!

The heart rate monitor won't be useful unless you are doing some sort of cardio exercise that raises your heart rate. That might or might not include walking, but you might want to look into whether the model you buy counts steps or uses a HR-based calorie calculation while you're walking. The HR feature costs money, so why pay for what you won't use? GPS would be used to accurately calculate distance, if that's of interest to you. (It also costs money ). But it would only work if you are walking outdoors, not on a treadmill. Otherwise stride length is used to calculate distance, but you have to actually know your stride length and enter it into your device profile. (I haven't figured out how people accurately figure that out, but I guess they do.) Also, I have found that using arm movements to count steps is very inaccurate for me. I guess I move my arms alot while sitting down, or something. If you think that might be a concern, then device that you wear on your body instead of your wrist might be more accurate.

Cymricdragon

I originally bought a Misfit Flash. Nice and inexpensive. The band broke within a week and a half but customer support was good and they sent me two new bands. My major problems with it were inaccuracy (it registered time on my motorcycle as steps) and the watch function being a total PITA. I finally got a Garmin Vivofit2. I love it. I call it my nag because it has the move bar which lets you know when you've been inactive for too long and a beep that goes with it. It looks like a watch and is water resistant, which was a major consideration. I did have one problem but customer support was excellent in resolving it. I did not go for the more expensive Vivosmart as I don't need to know about every text/phone call.

lucyleigh4

I love my Charge HR. That being said, I've never used another brand to compare.

mbaker566

I have the vivosmart with a chest strap and I'm a fan. it motivates me to move more and gives me an accurate count of calories
the new vivosmart coming out will have a HRM built into the wristband. It is supposed to be pretty accurate as far as wrist mounted HRMs
if you aren't looking at all the smart phone alerts, consider a vivofit.

i chose the garmin products because they are waterproof instead of splash proof. and I think they look better too

miztessbert

There are several good videos on YouTube that go through the pros and cons of different activity trackers. I found looking at these to be helpful when deciding which one to buy back in July. Since I was just starting to get active and wasn't sure how useful a tracker was going to be, I didn't want to spend a lot of money so I decided on the Jawbone UP Move. Coupled with MFP it's really helped me with my quest to become more active and lose weight. I may decide to invest in a higher grade tracker in the future when I start getting into some type of training. But for where I am now, the UP Move works for me. Here's a link to one video that provides a good review:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ7Lt7hlvAs