Fitbit blaze or other watch reviews? Owner opinions too...

TalQureshi

Hi guys,

I've currently got a Moto 360 sport smart watch and although I like it, it's really annoying that they call it 'sport' yet it only works well for running. It doesn't capture my sleep or workouts well and the calories burned are based on walking/running/cycling.

I need a watch that:

Has GPS for mapping runs
Heart rate monitor for accurate calorie counts
Works for calculating burn through workouts
Has phone notifications

Oh yeah and tells the time, but that's not too important lol....

So I've come across the new fitbit and wanted your thoughts please.. or any other recommendations...

Much appreciated

Tal

MelanieCN77

Is the Apple Watch outside your budget? I went from Fitbit to AW and really like it, but I know the price point is a bit steep if you're not into Apple stuff. It has all those things you want.

TalQureshi

Thanks MelanieCN77,

It's not out of budget but my only issue with Apple is "I HATE APPLE!" Lol

I've always been an android freak... Does the Apple watch work well with android?
If so... I might consider it

MelanieCN77

Ha, I doubt it!

TalQureshi

AnvilHead

TalQureshi wrote: »

Thanks MelanieCN77,

It's not out of budget but my only issue with Apple is "I HATE APPLE!" Lol

I've always been an android freak... Does the Apple watch work well with android?
If so... I might consider it

It doesn't work at all with Android, so not even worth consideration if that's your platform of choice. It certainly is a great watch, though - I've used mine for well over a year and am very pleased with it. I've considered switching to a Garmin, they're great devices, but the features they offer don't make it worth it (to me) to give up all the other functionality of the Apple Watch.

pattib1029

I have the blaze and it's pretty cool. You would have to have your phone with you for GPS though.

TalQureshi

Hi pattib1029,

Oops I thought the blaze had gps but they call it 'connected gps' which is a posh way of saying... "You have to use your phone".

Gemwolf110 which Garmin would you recommend that meets my needs?

Thanks again guys

TalQureshi

There's too many variations of wearable Garmin's... Just checked there website and I'm confused... ?

singletrackmtbr

Check out DC Rainmaker. He does honest and thorough reviews of all things Garmin.

I have a Fenix 3 HR and love it.

greghenley1

If Android is your thing you might consider the Polar M600. It has all the features you are looking for and the software is based Android based.

Tacklewasher

TalQureshi wrote: »

There's too many variations of wearable Garmin's... Just checked there website and I'm confused... ?

VivoActive HR. AVOID the Vivosmart HR.

I've had both and they are night and day for functionality, with the Vivoactive being far better.

It's not as good as a dedicated running watch for running, but the list of activities is pretty long, you can wear it 24/7 to track your sleep, has HR and GPS and works well with Garmin Connect to integrate to MFP. Plus it is waterproof if that matters.

If you golf you can download your course before heading out. I have not tried it yet as I got mine US thanksgiving and it's too cold up here in Canada to golf then.

Only thing it doesn't do is show you a map of your walk/run on the watch itself. But it will show the map on your phone or computer.

kimberlyb6682

have you tried a different app with your moto360? UP Smart Coach is what I use on my Huawei watch, it's not perfect but it pairs with MFP. you have to enter your workouts and sleep manually. but sometime it notices something changed and will ask me if I was active or if I was sleeping. might be worth a look until you find your perfect smartwatch.

AnvilHead

TalQureshi wrote: »

There's too many variations of wearable Garmin's... Just checked there website and I'm confused... ?

Garmin FR235 is a popular one: https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/529988

Here's DCRainmaker's review of it: https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2015/11/garmin-fr230-fr235-review.html

TalQureshi

kimberlyb6682 wrote: »

have you tried a different app with your moto360? UP Smart Coach is what I use on my Huawei watch, it's not perfect but it pairs with MFP. you have to enter your workouts and sleep manually. but sometime it notices something changed and will ask me if I was active or if I was sleeping. might be worth a look until you find your perfect smartwatch.

I'll try this out in the meantime, thanks Kimberly

TalQureshi

greghenley1 wrote: »

If Android is your thing you might consider the Polar M600. It has all the features you are looking for and the software is based Android based.

I'll have a look at this one, thanks Greg

MeanderingMammal

TalQureshi wrote: »

... or any other recommendations...

Anything except FitBit. I'd agree the recommendation to read DC Rainmaker for reviews and recommendations. Personally I prefer Garmin, but Suunto are generally pretty capable as well.

successgal1

I use Fitbit Charge HR when cycling, it detects cycling on its own, or you can put it in "workout" mode when it will just track your time, heart rate and burn no matter what you're doing. (useful for yard work and strength training, for example). It doesn't have GPS, but when I cycle I carry my samsung and use the Endomondo app. Its really good with mapping the entire ride, elevation, MPH etc. It can sync with MFP and with the Fitbit, but I haven't tried that in a long time, I think I was getting double burns synced to MFP and decided to unsync it, I just have the fitbit synced to MFP now.

My cycling route is always the same, mainly I just like hearing endomondo tell me which mile I'm on and it also speaks out the time one the ride, and avg lap pace for that particular mile.

You can manually add other types for workouts to endomondo, but I expect you'd only do that if you're using endomondo as your primary activity tracker. I'm not, I'm using fitbit as my main activity tracker and MFP for food.

Good luck in your choice.

MiniMansell1964

Fitbit, much like GoPro did a great job with marketting and are the first name on most peoples lips.
before you buy a fitbit though google for the failure rate, i had 4 surges, and a charge HR, all had faulty straps.
i now use the tomtom Adventurer. a far better fitness watch in every way

successgal1

shredcamps wrote: »

Fitbit, much like GoPro did a great job with marketting and are the first name on most peoples lips.
before you buy a fitbit though google for the failure rate, i had 4 surges, and a charge HR, all had faulty straps.
i now use the tomtom Adventurer. a far better fitness watch in every way

I can't even imagine what a "faulty strap" is, though you're not the first person to mention it. Where exactly did it fail? Been wearing mine for over a year.

MiniMansell1964

if you enter the three words fitbit faulty and strap into google you get

https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=fitbit faulty strap


pages and pages of details.

CarlydogsMom

The Samsung Gear Fit 2 does everything you want on your list, including having its own GPS. What really kicked it over for me is it has its own 4GB memory, you can put about 500 songs on it and you don't need your phone nearby to listen to your own music. It also has a Spotify app built in, so no phone needed for that either.

So, with its own GPS and ability to house music, I went with that.

Only negative is that it won't synch with MFP... Neither will its associated S-health phone app. I think there are some work arounds, but I haven't figured that out. I don't really need it to, though, so that wasn't a fatal flaw in my needs list.

TalQureshi

Thanks a lot everyone! Really given me something to work with.

I'm considering the recommendations and checking reviews from YouTube by DCrainmaker.. once I've decided I'll give you all a shout before the purchase

TalQureshi

gemwolf110 wrote: »

TalQureshi wrote: »

Hi pattib1029,

Oops I thought the blaze had gps but they call it 'connected gps' which is a posh way of saying... "You have to use your phone".

Gemwolf110 which Garmin would you recommend that meets my needs?

Thanks again guys

If you want GPS I'd look into the Garmin Forerunner 35 or the Garmin vivoactive smartwatch. FitBit and Garmin vivosmart HR are compatible with MFP I assume the forerunner 35 and vivoactive are too. I just got the FitBit Charge HR 2 and so far so good.

Do these work well for an indoor cardio workout or circuit training?

WalkingDeadFrank

TalQureshi wrote: »

Hi pattib1029,

Oops I thought the blaze had gps but they call it 'connected gps' which is a posh way of saying... "You have to use your phone".

Gemwolf110 which Garmin would you recommend that meets my needs?

Thanks again guys

I have the Garmin Vivoactive HR and it's great. It has GPS and an active HRM 24/7. The HRM works great for running, working out and cross fit, there's a slight delay. However this watch has an option to wear a chest strap, most don't with an active HRM.

I had the Blaze and took it back after a week. HRM isn't that accurate and the watch isn't waterproof.

Frank

successgal1

shredcamps wrote: »

if you enter the three words fitbit faulty and strap into google you get

https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=fitbit faulty strap


pages and pages of details.

I guess it was too much for you to tell me your personal experience?

MiniMansell1964

in total i had 5 fitbit devices ALL 5 had some form of fault with the straps. bubbling, peeling etc.

TalQureshi

successgal1 wrote: »

shredcamps wrote: »

if you enter the three words fitbit faulty and strap into google you get

https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=fitbit faulty strap


pages and pages of details.

I guess it was too much for you to tell me your personal experience?

Okay so I'm officially 'put off' fit bit....
But that's a good thing and was the point of this post.

Now I think I've narrowed it down guys, to the following three:

Polar m600 vs Vivoactive HR vs forerunner 235

Please tell me what you think, as I'm really unsure which one to go for...

What's really important for me is that it accurately works out calorie burn and HR for indoor style workouts like insanity, p90x or boxing.

I've also checked the review dude on YouTube you recommended and he rate each of these pretty well.

MeanderingMammal

TalQureshi wrote: »

Polar m600 vs Vivoactive HR vs forerunner 235

Personally I'd go for the 235. In general Garmin GPS is better than Polar and Garmin has more interoperability. Polar HR monitoring is slightly better than Garmin. Of the two it's more important to have good GPS and interoperability than HR, as HR is of much less importance. In practice whilst Polar does do HR slightly better, for most people the difference is meaningless anyway.

Of the two Garmins, they're in different ranges, the VivoActive HR is low end multi-application, the 235 is a mid range device largely aimed at runners. As a marathoner I'd go for the 235 from that selection.

What's really important for me is that it accurately works out calorie burn and HR for indoor style workouts like insanity, p90x or boxing.

Calorie expenditure is best estimated in different ways for different activities, your problem is those that HR is most useful for, are also those that other methods are reliable for as well. For something like running, GPS is probably as meaningful as anything else, and tat's where HR is most meaningful. Similarly cycling, rowing etc. For walking HR is meaningless.

Similarly for something like Insanity etc HR is a meaningless metric to measure, so it really doesn't matter what device you use, if you're interested in calorie expenditure.

The advantage that the 235 has is that you don't need to wear a chest strap, which is probably most relevant for boxing, I'd be surprised if you're allowed to wear one in the ring. That said, in that situation I'd be going for a Schoche Rhythm and leaving the head end on the edge of the ring.

TalQureshi

MeanderingMammal wrote: »

TalQureshi wrote: »

Polar m600 vs Vivoactive HR vs forerunner 235

Personally I'd go for the 235. In general Garmin GPS is better than Polar and Garmin has more interoperability. Polar HR monitoring is slightly better than Garmin. Of the two it's more important to have good GPS and interoperability than HR, as HR is of much less importance. In practice whilst Polar does do HR slightly better, for most people the difference is meaningless anyway.

Of the two Garmins, they're in different ranges, the VivoActive HR is low end multi-application, the 235 is a mid range device largely aimed at runners. As a marathoner I'd go for the 235 from that selection.

What's really important for me is that it accurately works out calorie burn and HR for indoor style workouts like insanity, p90x or boxing.

Calorie expenditure is best estimated in different ways for different activities, your problem is those that HR is most useful for, are also those that other methods are reliable for as well. For something like running, GPS is probably as meaningful as anything else, and tat's where HR is most meaningful. Similarly cycling, rowing etc. For walking HR is meaningless.

Similarly for something like Insanity etc HR is a meaningless metric to measure, so it really doesn't matter what device you use, if you're interested in calorie expenditure.

The advantage that the 235 has is that you don't need to wear a chest strap, which is probably most relevant for boxing, I'd be surprised if you're allowed to wear one in the ring. That said, in that situation I'd be going for a Schoche Rhythm and leaving the head end on the edge of the ring.

Thanks for such detailed advice.

In terms of when you mentioned each is fine, if it's too work out calories burned, doesn't a good HR monitor improve the accuracy? Or can any activity tracker do that well?

My worry is that the Moto 360 sport currently underestimates my calorie burn and I know this because I compared it for the same workout with a chest strap polar HR monitor.

The 360 sort currently uses the Moto app to start a workout and it only lets me choose running as the workout type. It's the same for apps like strava... I'm thinking that's why it under values my calories burned, as it thinks I should be running in a forward motion as opposed to the various motions forced by insanity workouts.

Can the issue be cured by a better android app?

MeanderingMammal

TalQureshi wrote: »

... doesn't a good HR monitor improve the accuracy? Or can any activity tracker do that well?

No. Using HR as a proxy for calorie expenditure assumes that there is a relationship between HR and calorie expenditure. That's true when one is discussing steady state exercise in the aerobic range, but not where you're talking about non steady state or non-aerobic range. Both of those will cause the relationship to break down and overestimate.

Other factors contribute to a loss of accuracy as well, hydration levels, other stimuli etc.

So essentially if I'm going for a 10km steady state run I'd accept an HR based calorie estimation as not particularly inaccurate. If I did much more than 10km I'd assume that the calorie estimate was probably over, and if I'd done sprint intervals in that session then the same thing, it's probably too high.

My worry is that the Moto 360 sport currently underestimates my calorie burn and I know this because I compared it for the same workout with a chest strap polar HR monitor.

You'remaking the assumption that the HR based estimate is better than your Moto. If you're using a Polar HR based estimate for something like Insanity I'd assume it's at least 50% over.

Roll two 10 sided dice and see how it compares to that as well... That's about as meaningful as using an HR strap.