Debating on Fitbit purchase...

P0tterMrs

Hi all, Iv spent weeks searching the net and I think I'm settled on a Fitbit Charge HR. Can anybody give advice on these if they have one? Or anybody got anything similar? I want a fitness tracker that will track my steps as accurately as possible (currently using my iPhone in pocket method!) but I also want one that does heart rate, that way I will get a more accurate calorie burn. I do a lot of walking both alone and with family & also do a trampoline fitness class (boogie bounce) both of which I just estimate my burns based on what MFP gives for my weight & the workout duration. I'm not that fussed about it being able to access my phone or calls/texts like some top of the range watches do - if people want me they can wait! Any advise on this model will be great, or other watches of same specs but much cheaper a bonus! Thanks

Osiris275

I have the Flex which I have been using since November last year. It doesn't do as much as the more expensive models but it does everything I want it to! It counts steps which I find to be very accurate. It also tells me active minutes, sleep, distance covered, cals burned and how many hours in the day I was active. It certainly works for me and its small and comfy!

However I don't think you can really go wrong with any of the fitbits, they've all got good reports.

capaul42

I have the Charge HR, as does my partner. I love it. And despite all the people who say the hr isn't accurate, I have not found that to be the case at all. As long as it's worn correctly, I find it accurate to less than 5 beats per minute.

Battery life isn't great, but I find if I charge it during my shower daily, I never have to worry about it dying on me as it never drops below medium.

genpopadopolous

I have the ChargeHR. I love it. I want the Blaze because it looks more like a watch but my Charge works so well I can't justify it.

I know people complain about its accuracy- but even if mine isn't accurate, it's consistent. I don't care if it's wrong as long as it's wrong the same way every time. That said- I wore it with a chest strap HRM a few times and they were very similar, so I think it's pretty good!

When I'm good about my eating I loose exactly like it says I should. I love it!

P0tterMrs

Brilliant! Thank you all for the info! I was going to purchase the flex at first but I want the heart rate part too. When do you put them on charge? Also, I can't wear watches for work, if I was to keep it in my pocket during work hours would it still work, minus the HR side? X

capaul42

P0tterMrs wrote: »

Brilliant! Thank you all for the info! I was going to purchase the flex at first but I want the heart rate part too. When do you put them on charge? Also, I can't wear watches for work, if I was to keep it in my pocket during work hours would it still work, minus the HR side? X

I charge mine while I'm in the shower since they aren't water proof. Usually never get below half a battery because of this.

As for pockets. It will actually count steps better in your pocket due to the fact that it can count steps from hand movements if you "hand talk" a lot or work with your hands. I actually put mine in my pocket whenever I'm pushing a cart (shopping) as my hands are on the cart so I'm not getting steps if I'm wearing it.

therese100SF

I had a BLACK FitBit Charge HR but broke the band...I learned the band is not replaceable like other HR wrist products. I climb stairflights & got upto 50 daily (too high to keep count) and this model of FItBit tracks STAIR FLIGHTS climbed AND sleep data. I considered another FItBit product or other HR wrist productd out on the market which also tracked heart rate. I didn't REALLY want to learn another gadget and really loved usuage of info captured & stored. Although I researched alternatives, I chose to get another FitBit Charge HR--this time in NAVY BLUE! I have noticed outside in sunlight I can read this one with a blue print on black screen, whereas I could NOT read the white print on black screen of the BLACK model out in sunlight.

Good luck with YOUR selection & purchase!

Suspended_User

I'd look at a different brand. FitBit may have been a first, but many companies out there are making similar devices. From what I have seen, the FitBit software is some of the least user friendly. Keep in mind that any tracking device is only useful with the paired software (on your phone or PC) that lets you track and see your data. Of all the software I have seen, I am least impressed with FitBit's.

letlovegrow89

My husband and I both have the Charge HR we love them! I almost feel naked without it anymore. He insisted that he didn't want one but I got him one for an early father's day gift and he's hooked now! It's a fun little tool! We're even going to get my girls each a flex so we can have competitions seeing who gets the most steps lol.

shadowfax_c11

I started out with the Fitbit Flex and had it for a little over a year. I liked it just fine. I upgraded last week to the Charge HR. So far am very happy with the new one and really glad I decided to buy it.

Justifier

I recommend getting a FitBit that isn't a Charge. The bands aren't replaceable, but come apart easily. I went through four of them (always replaced for free by the company) before switching to the FitBit Alta. The Alta doesn't track flights of stairs or heart rate, but it's perfect for what I need.

V_Keto_V

I've used the surge for about 6 months now; it's a good way motivation-wise to make improvements by examining the statistics of one's activity. However, you might want to research into other brand model HR monitors to customize to yourself (garmin, polar, etc.). Like others have said, Fitbit appears most popular due to excellent marketing, not necessarily performance.

The main cons from using the surge would be the uncertainty in HR accuracy, sleep mode inconsistencies (sometimes fails to track & reporting is problematic for myself because I am nocturnal), lack of water resistance, & altitude/flight of stairs inaccuracies (mine don't seem to register easily). From monitoring the steps feature, the surge doesn't register small movements for me (walking around apartment) & is supposedly less accurate when running high speeds on treadmills. Hope this helps

P0tterMrs

Thanks for the info everyone! X

Suspended_User wrote: »

I'd look at a different brand. FitBit may have been a first, but many companies out there are making similar devices. From what I have seen, the FitBit software is some of the least user friendly. Keep in mind that any tracking device is only useful with the paired software (on your phone or PC) that lets you track and see your data. Of all the software I have seen, I am least impressed with FitBit's.

Reading a few straps have broken has now got me concerned! Especially as I don't consider the device to be cheap! I want the device to be able to pair with my iPhone, many seem to be android only. I aren't that fussed about wearing it to monitor my sleep but I definitely want a HR on it instead of wearing a chest strap. I will keep researching, as it's not something I'm just going to buy on a whim, it's got to be something that does everything I want and makes the cost worth while. Is there anything you could recommend that match up to the HR? Thanks x

StacyChrz

I bought the Fitbit Charge last year around this time. I loved it. The band actually seperated from the tracker and Fitbit replaced it without question (Fitbit customer service is terrific). I decided to upgrade to the Charge HR and my hubby is using the Charge. I like having the HR option and have found when I compare it to the HR monitor on the treadmill or elliptical it is within 2-5 bpm, that's close enough for me. They will tell you that for regular wear it should be about 1 finger width above your wristbone and for exercise you should move it up to about 2-3 fingers above the wrist bone. I sweat a lot, as do many people, and find that it slips. I am going to pick up a terry wrist sweat band to put on to keep the Fitbit in place above it. I think that will help without being too restrictive.

Rawr619

My husband and i both just got the Samsung Gear 2 and we both are loving them. They track your heart rate, estimate your calories based off of your entered height and weight along with your activity level that it tracks. I love it because it holds music and tracks my runs via gps, pace, and distance. I just take my watch and my wireless headphones and I am good to go run! It tracks a ton of different workouts, and seems really accurate. I can also get text messages, calls, emails, and notifications on the watch.

The S Health platform is awesome as well.

I would decide what is most important to you in a activity tracker and then decide which type of product will work best for you.

CLAkeeno

the wife and i recently got the fitbit blaze and we have loved it so far. great workout watch that comes with a built in HR monitor (though don't know how accurate as of yet). Very user friendly and battery has been great. You can also read texts, receive or decline incoming calls and control the music to your iphone

supersimonesquirrel

I bought a fitbit charge hr 3 weeks ago. It has far exceeded my expectations - it is great. Accurate heart rate, tracking steps. Buying one has made me realize that I am much more active than I thought, therefore I needed to actually eat more to lose weight. And its working! It comes into its own for step counting and cardio workouts.

izabera47

All depends on what type of exercise you are going to track with the charge hr as the heart monitor is poor when doing intensive work outs .
The charge is great tracking steps even whilst sat down reading the numbers keep going up-). Have to say I'm disappointed with my purchase . I bought it specifically to track my hr during my training days so I do not have to wear a chest strap .
Back to my Polar !

Timshel_

I've had several Fitbit devices as well as a slew of other Garmin, Polar and Motorola. The last round with Fitbit wasn't so positive. I was an early adopter of the Surge and long story short I was one of the people that it did not work for. HR was completely inaccurate and that was the one feature I really wanted. The biggest thing was the daily calorie burns were way off for me, sometimes up to 4000 calories in a day. Now, as mentioned above, if it was inaccurate in repeatable ways I could have made it work, but again, for me it didn't work.

Anyway, my wife and I both had the Force and it worked perfectly for the tracking it did and the calorie tracking was dang near spot on. Wish i would have kept it during the recall, but I selfishly took the guaranteed upgrade to the Surge.

I will say, in all the work I did with Fitbit and their customer service, they were good about trying to address my issues and finally doing a return when things did not work out.

Anyway, any questions drop me a PM.

RoxieDawn

Justifier wrote: »

I recommend getting a FitBit that isn't a Charge. The bands aren't replaceable, but come apart easily. I went through four of them (always replaced for free by the company) before switching to the FitBit Alta. The Alta doesn't track flights of stairs or heart rate, but it's perfect for what I need.

Yep +2 .. me and my husband both! I ditched Fitbit and went to Garmin, he got the Alta.. Pretty good so far.

KassiesJourney

DO IT

ChelzFit

I have the Charge HR and I am happy with it but not in love with it. I have worn my Polar Heart Rate F60 along with my Charge HR during several workouts to compare. My Charge was always a couple beats lower compared to my Polar and the calorie burn would be about 30 cals lower than my Polar, so not a real big difference. The one thing I don't like about my Charge is that the heartrate tends to flat line throughout my workouts. Pretty sure that it is because I am not wearing it tight enough on my wrist, who knows. I basically wanted a heartrate monitor to wear during workouts so I didn't have to wear my strap with my polar. I impulse bought my Charge without really reading any reviews. I have learned that if I really want an accurate heartrate during my workouts, I use my Polar because the chest straps are going to be more accurate. As for my daily calorie burn, steps, etc. it works well

zezelryck

I started with a fitbit flex but after a year upgraded to a fitbit blaze. It does everything I need and looks pretty good to. One thing that I have to say that I dislike about all fitbits, and this could also be true for many of their competitors products is that you have to have a data connection in order for them to sync to the app. The memory will hold up to 30 days worth of data if you have no connection I still thinks that it sucks. It should be able to sync locally to your phone and then upload and sync to the servers when you have an available data connection. That said I still wouldn't be without it. Just something to bare in mind :-)

MiyazakiChick

Thanks- my Basis Peak has been recalled and I am considering replacing it with a Blaze

V_Keto_V

https://youtube.com/user/OnwardAthletic
This guy has done lots of product reviews on various HRMs...he goes over both the hardware & software of each. I would recommend going through some of these to make your decision.

emmie130

Love my Apple Watch! ❤️ switched from Fitbit and never looked back

glitterrainn

I recommend getting a Blaze over the HR. Maybe I'm biased but my Charge HR crapped out on me not even having it a month in. I've also read that the HR has the most issues. My Blaze has been nothing but awesome and I've had it for almost 4 months now!

Ramlupa

I recently got the HR and I love it. I got it to monitor my sleep and I like that it turns on automatically. Haven't been able to get the HR to go on my fitnesspal though.

TehLaughingDog

I don't have one but I'm looking at the blaze. The bands are replaceable which also means different materials (surge can get itchy or cause irritation some reviews say due to the unchangeable band). I also wanted the HR monitor and I hear it's fairly accurate when put to the test against HR monitors. It's not waterproof but my Polar t7 will fit the bill for that when I eventually start swimming. I really had wanted he surge for the independent GPS without a phone since I'm a hiker but it's very glitchy while the blaze GPS with your phone tagging along is much more reliable from reviews. However I'm often in areas where I have no service let alone 4g so I figure this is a feature I'll need a better GPS tracker for. Blaze also offers a nice color screen despite being referred to as "clunky" in reviews. I wanted a watch that would display what going on with easy color visuals (I like fun graphics and colors). I looked at Apple Watch but without sleep monitoring and at nearly double it just worth it to me despite all the do-dads since sleep monitoring is important as I suffer from frequent bouts of insomnia.

Good luck on finding your match!

P0tterMrs

Iv done some more research and I'm impressed with the runtastic watch, only downside being it doesn't have a HR, but it can be worn as a watch or on a clip elsewhere and it's waterproof which is ideal for swimming - I'm just not 100% as I had my heart on a HR watch.

Rawr619 wrote: »

My husband and i both just got the Samsung Gear 2 and we both are loving them.

Is this just for Samsung/android devices? As I have iPhone? Thanks

emmie130 wrote: »

Love my Apple Watch! ❤️ switched from Fitbit and never looked back

An Apple Watch has also been in the line up, but it's the cost, is it really worth it? I love apple, I always have but I need more info about their watch before I make the step. Is it waterproof? Thanks