Fitbit or Garmin?

sandy674

I'm interested in buying one of these and I'm not sure which is best. I do want one that records heart rate and sleeping patterns. Thank you.

PiperGirl08

Garmin. As I've posted before, my FitBit HR gave me nothing but bad data, on every possible front. I wound up abandoning it for a Garmin (and that for a Polar w/ chest strap for EKG accurate HR during training), which I use in conjunction with a Band 2 for continuous Heart Heart otherwise.

Somebody, I think Garmin, is introducing a watch with optical hr, that can also be paired with a chest strap during exercise since most, if not all, of the optical devices lose their HR minds with increased exercise intensity.

ROBOTFOOD

Garmin

dcrainmaker.com has very detailed reviews.

pomegranatecloud

Garmin. Fitbits seem kind of pointless to me.

queenliz99

Fitbit! They have great customer service!

libby0907

I had a fitbit for all of a week. It wouldn't stay synced to my phone and became pointless. Like others have said it didn't track my activity accurately

RobertCotton

The new Garmin that is being released on May 2nd has an optical HR but will also allow you to sync it with a chest band for more accurate data. I actually dont like the feel of the chest band, so I am going to pair it with the scosche armband hrm. The new Garmin also has a builtin stand alone gps, great for cycling.

wally2183

So may 2ND is around the corner. I need one too

sarahkanzalone

I like my Garmin the big selling points for me were 1) I don't have to take it off to charge it 2)I can wear it in pools/showers no problem 3) (vanity reason) lots of different bands to swap in and out. I recently got HRM that I'm going to sync with it......Only down side so far is occasional issues sinking steps with MFP

tiffanylacourse

I have the Fitbit Charge HR and love it! The only downside is taking it off to charge it, but I just do that while I'm in the shower, since I don't wear it in the shower anyway. With my Fitbit and MFP synced, I don't have to record exercise into MFP and don't have to record food into Fitbit. It is so easy and seamless. I have no complaints.

NorthCascades

Garmin is best if you do any type of exercise beyond walking; Fitbit is best for people who pretty much only walk and benefit from a big social network for walking.

rakowskidp

RobertCotton wrote: »

I actually dont like the feel of the chest band, so I am going to pair it with the scosche armband hrm.

I LOVE my Scosche arm band! I wear it just above my elbow and it gives very accurate and consistent readings.

ojoman

I use a Garmin for running and cycling, paired with a HRM. When walking about, I use the phone version of Fitibt. However, I could be tempted by a Garmin activity monitor as I do like gadgets.

Although Garmin Connect is now decent, and imports data from MFP and Fitbit, I use Sporttracks for the athletics stuff.

blues4miles

I have a Jawbone UP3. It tracks steps, and I REALLY like it for sleep tracking. The app is also neat and has something called a "smart coach" that will look for trends in your behavior and make suggestions to improve sleep/activity etc.

But I use a Garmin GPS watch (with chest strap) when I run. Most of the wrist based sensors are not good at picking up your HR during activity. But for walking, you don't really need it.

serenity1097

I have a fitbit one which has been great for my walking activity but is horrible lately at syncing with my phone. As I become more active with the warmer spring weather, I am finding it harder to find the correct mfp exercise entries to log my activities... so am on the lookout for an alternative with an hr monitor. A co-worker has a Garmin and loves it, so I am watching this thread to see if I can get a few more opinions as well