Who has smart fitness watch?

nicnoahshaun

I am looking to get me and my mother a fitness watch but there are so many out there that I don't know which one to get for a good price. Would like some suggestions. Thanks in advance!

MeanderingMammal

What sort of activities do you do, and what are you hoping to gain from it?

I could just randomly recommend either what I have, or what I'd want, but without knowing your context that's meaningless.

You will get lots of people recommending what they currently have in this thread, as in every thread asking the question, but it's worth putting some thought into working out what your need is.

orange_hoodie

I strongly recommend first thinking about what you want to track and why. What sort of information do you want and will be most helpful to you? Then research: use search terms like "compare activity trackers" to get an idea of what's out there. Once you have an idea of your options you can use Amazon to read reviews and get a better idea of actual function vs. advertising.
I've been using a Withings Activite Pop watch for about 4 months. It's incredibly basic, but I needed a watch and I liked that a pedometer was built into a fairly attractive watch. It has its short comings, but it's met my needs. Unfortunately, determining what will work best for you will require a little research. Best of luck!

terrie_k

I have a samsung, great if you have a samsung phone but would be useless i think if not. they recently updated too that you can track a variety of activities (like weights) that are more than just steps. i like the screen, alarms and being able to see my messages and play with my music.
I don't find the running program that good, the pedometer seemed to be off but maybe it has been updated since. The HRM is fairly accurate from my counts but can be finicky with sweating.

ScubaSteve1962

Here's a site where you can compare the different Activity monitors. You can chose one by which activities that your mother does. Also keep in mind that some need chest straps to monitor heart rate.

http://www.heartratemonitorsusa.com/

nicnoahshaun

Ok I will check it out. Sorry I had know Idea that there were so many different ones! I manly want to get one for my mother. She is not good with computer but she has a smart phone and if I need to I will set it up for her. I would like for her to get one that tracks calories, heart rate, sleep, something that will help motivate her. I think it will help her if she sees what she is doing.

ScubaSteve1962

nicnoahshaun wrote: »

Ok I will check it out. Sorry I had know Idea that there were so many different ones! I manly want to get one for my mother. She is not good with computer but she has a smart phone and if I need to I will set it up for her. I would like for her to get one that tracks calories, heart rate, sleep, something that will help motivate her. I think it will help her if she sees what she is doing.

sounds like a fitbit charge HR would be better suited for her. it would sync automatically with her phone.

Psychgrrl

I had a horrible customer service experience with heartratemonitirsusa. Their 30 day warranty started when the product shipped and it took a little over two weeks to get to me with the "standard shipping." I live in a major metropolitan area, btw. When my HRM malfunctioned two weeks in and I tried to use the 30 warranty they said it was over and I had to go to the company. The company said the place I bought it should fix it. Only after tweeting a ton did I get some resolution.

I'm at the gym now, I sue the boards to make sure I get my rest between sets. But if you google pc mag and fitness trackers 2015, you'll get some good, comprehensive reviews. I have a Garmin Vivoactive and love it, but it's important to know what mom wants to get out of it.

eliza8897

Fitbit Charge HR is best in that price range

MeanderingMammal

nicnoahshaun wrote: »

Ok I will check it out. Sorry I had know Idea that there were so many different ones! I manly want to get one for my mother. She is not good with computer but she has a smart phone and if I need to I will set it up for her. I would like for her to get one that tracks calories, heart rate, sleep, something that will help motivate her. I think it will help her if she sees what she is doing.

So I'm assuming that she doesn't do any specific fitness training, you're looking at calories day to day rather than during an activity. In that case a basic step counter like a Fitbit, VivoFit or similar would do the job. Sleep tracking is interesting, but not particularly insightful so is probably very much of secondary importance. Notwithstanding that it's not much of a differentiator at the bottom end of the market.

As far as HR tracking is concerned, for someone who doesn't train this is of novelty value only. Knowledge of changes in Resting Heart Rate can provide some indication of fitness improvement, but that's about it. For directed training you're really looking at something higher end.

With all that in mind, and your comment about motivation, the online platform comes into play. Do any friends already use anything, in which case you'd be wanting to join their community rather than buy into a new platform. Fitbit has huge market penetration, and people do say good things about the community aspect.

Garmin community tools are far more limited, but that's not the market they're interested in.

Trust that's useful.

BigGuy47

DCrainmaker has a blog with in depth reviews of fitness gadgets. It appears to be open minded and unbiased.
http://www.dcrainmaker.com/blog