Fitness Watches

In an effort to help motivate me and track my journey..... I'm looking at investing in a fitness-smart watch. I'm looking for advice.
FitBit - Blaze, Surge etc
Garmin - VivoActive etc.

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Replies

  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    I love my Garmin Fenix 3. :smile:
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    What advice do you want?
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
    I love my Garmin Fenix 3. :smile:

    :+1: but get the HR model and love, love it.

    Of course it's $600 so the OP needs to be specific on his budget and what activities he/she plans on doing with the watch.
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    Happy with my Blaze but there are many new one that are tailored to specific types of activities. I always run, ride or walk with my phone so I didn't need the GPS. I also noticed that when I was in a city with tall building my phone GPS worked but my sisters fitness watch GPS couldn't get a lock.
  • buddymeadows5
    buddymeadows5 Posts: 1 Member
    The Samsung Gear Fit 2 was just released on June 10th. So far i have no complaints on mine. Very useful, comfortable and stylish. It also has GPS on it to be able to track distance instead of just steps. A lot of the others require you to be linked to a phone for distance. Not as expensive as others either! Which is always a plus! Good luck on your search!
  • vanessa40
    vanessa40 Posts: 328 Member
    I have a Garmin Vivoactive in white with an extra white leather band. I love it but i am having to sell it because it bothers my wrist. Sad because it's great and does everything..
  • carolgrn
    carolgrn Posts: 657 Member
    Polar A360 if you want to use it in the water
  • mommazach
    mommazach Posts: 384 Member
    I love my fitbits! I've had 2 now, and love that I can work on daily or weekly challenges with others who are on my list. They keep me motivated. I have had both the flex and the Charge HR, Caveat here is that the Charge HR is not very accurate on HR levels, but does track other items I love like sleep patterns and stairs. I can use both of them in water also.
  • JenNoel
    JenNoel Posts: 8 Member
    I love my Garmin VivoActive. I call it the poor man's iWatch. I customized it with different colored bands and skin. The charge lasts a long time, 1-2 weeks. I love that it's waterproof.
  • Mamii912
    Mamii912 Posts: 6 Member
    I have the blaze and love it. I like that you can change the look with different bands and frames. It's water resistant but not waterproof. That's okay with me since I don't swim. I also really like that you can view your incoming calls and text.
  • TMercy
    TMercy Posts: 4 Member
    I have the surge and I love it. It's very addictive but motivating mostly.
  • ntw25
    ntw25 Posts: 149 Member
    I am now lost without my Apple watch
  • niblue
    niblue Posts: 339 Member
    I love my Garmin 220. I have a Microsoft Band as well, which I also like, however the display is better on the Garmin and the Garmin HRM is more useful as it shows and tracks HR at 1 second intervals where the Band seems to average it out each minute. I like the workouts on the Band though.
  • CincyNeid
    CincyNeid Posts: 1,249 Member
    edited June 2016
    Top Choice:
    Garmin VivoActive HR.
    It's a Ant+ GPS, activity tracker, Sleep tracker, and has an internal HR monitor for all day HR readings.... Swimming, Runing and Cycling Watch. IT's ANT+ connected so you can pair external Sensors and it's Bluetooth connected so you can livetrack and use Garmins ConnectIQ.

    Second Choice:
    VivoActive HR+
    It's a GPS Activity Tracker. Sleep Tracker and has an Internal HR monitor for all day readings. However this one is much smaller and slimmer than the VivoActive HR.

    Third Choice
    Forerunner 15
    I bought my wife a Garmin Forerunner 15 and she LOVES it. Everything a basic running watch needs. with Activity Tracker and Sleep monitoring. But this one is a Running Watch first, and an activity tracker second.

    I personally use the VivoSmart HR, I bought it before the above two came out.
  • capaul42
    capaul42 Posts: 1,390 Member
    I have a Charge HR and love it. Despite what many people have said, every time I've checked it, my heart rate is no less/more than 5 beats off. Most times its spot on. Even during heavy cardio.more than I can say for my exercise bike lol. That's usually off by 30 or more.
  • hoteyes1
    hoteyes1 Posts: 7 Member
    I have the Garmin vivoactive hr, it doesn't dissapoint at all. You should check out some YouTube videos make some comparisons
  • cnbbnc
    cnbbnc Posts: 1,267 Member
    I have a charge hr. I bought this model thinking I would get use out of the heart rate monitor, but since I primarily strength train I don't. It depends on what you do as far as workouts, but for me...I really could've gone with a cheaper Fitbit. It's great and I absolutely love it, but it was overkill for what I do.
  • racheljonel
    racheljonel Posts: 400 Member
    ntw25 wrote: »
    I am now lost without my Apple watch

    Same!!
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    I started off with the fitbit zip and now have the Alta which I'm sticking with, i love it! The only exercise I do is walking, so it'd be a waste of time for me to get a HR monitor.
  • pebble4321
    pebble4321 Posts: 1,132 Member
    ntw25 wrote: »
    I am now lost without my Apple watch

    Same!!

    Yup me too, love my Apple watch. The workout tracking is not super sophisticated but the general activity tracking is great and I combine it with Runkeeper (phone) if I need intervals etc for runs.
    I always carry my phone when I run (for music/books/safety) so the combo works well for me.
  • charlesfit1
    charlesfit1 Posts: 10 Member
    If you're serious about fitness and don't want an inaccurate HR count like FitBit's with multiple lawsuits (google it), it's Polar, Garmin or Mio. The others I tried many and ForBit is the worst/most inaccurate. Best pricing, see Amazon prior to buying.
  • gymrat04mf
    gymrat04mf Posts: 51 Member
    Microsoft Band 2. I used to have Garmin Vivosmart before I bought the Microsoft Band 2 and it's been amazing. It's a smart watch so you get your texts, calls, emails, etc (although you can turn it off if you don't want that), and it's a great activity tracker. It tracks steps, calories, stairs, HR, multiple types of exercise and you can also use it for your own unique workouts! This is especially great for weightlifting since a lot of watches don't offer things like this. You can design your own workout and sync it to the watch, and it'll guide you through it with the exercises you need to do, how many sets, reps, what weight, etc.
  • girlinahat
    girlinahat Posts: 2,956 Member
    Depends what you want it for. I don't wear a watch all the time, and use a Tom Tom multisport (with separate HRm). It is waterproof, has swim settings, run, bike, treadmill (no GPS) and a freestyle mode I use for walking. The GPS fix is speedy, and I sync it to Strata and from there to MFP. You can set various different training sessions, intervals etc via it.

    It doesn't take phone calls, but then again, it's a watch....

    Priority for me would be - is it waterPROOF?, Can I set training goals?, Does it record my route and distance? Does it tell the time?is it easy to use on the move?
  • wendypark811
    wendypark811 Posts: 65 Member
    I'am interested in buying a tracker for the treadmill/ spinning/cross trainer so basically cardio work. I live in the uk and people suggest chest straps while others trackers/watches.
    Will keep an eye on this post.
  • supersimonesquirrel
    supersimonesquirrel Posts: 74 Member
    I have a charge hr and so far it has really exceeded my expectations! I find it very accurate for cardio and hiit workouts. Great for tracking steps and sleep, it's best gadget I have ever bought :smile:
  • Emzy1079
    Emzy1079 Posts: 27 Member
    I just up dated to a Garmin vivoactive hr from a Fitbit charge hr and have to say it's 100% better and more accurate than the Fitbit and its waterproof not just splash/ sweat proof!
  • palmtang
    palmtang Posts: 22 Member
    I'm lost without my Microsoft band 2
  • Vicxie86
    Vicxie86 Posts: 181 Member
    edited June 2016
    I have the fitbit one and fitbit blaze. I noticed that the calories burned the fitbit one was reporting back to mfp after exercising on the elliptical for 60mins was ridiculous (last 2days, I got 54kcals and something like 166kcals). So I bought the fitbit blaze which was delivered yesterday and I quickly snuck in a 20mins workout this morning just to give it a trial run.

    It reported my calories burned to mfp way better than the fitbit one BUT my steps were inaccurate by over 200 steps, something fitbit one is great at. Also, I found that if i just swing my hand while standing still, the fitbit blaze was counting steps and if I wasn't swinging my arms while walking, it did not count the steps (again, this is something I never experienced on the fitbit one).

    So, I have realised that wrist based activity trackers might not be so great if you're not running. This is just my opinion anyway. I will be wearing my fitbit one when im just walking out 'n' about & will wear my fitbit blaze while exercising on my elliptical as this gives a better kcal burn report to mfp even if the steps are inaccurate.
  • scorpio516
    scorpio516 Posts: 955 Member
    Without more guidance: Garmin Forerunner 735. Take a FR 235 (very nice running watch with integral HR) and add multisports mode and add true cycling tracking and add good swim tracking, including swim workouts.
  • FitPhillygirl
    FitPhillygirl Posts: 7,124 Member
    ntw25 wrote: »
    I am now lost without my Apple watch

    I've had my Apple Watch for a few months now and absolutely love it for fitness tracking and everything else that it does. I would be lost without it as well. :)