best fitness watches/trackers?

madis0nliz

i’ve had two fit bits - most recently a versa, which worked great the first couple months and then just pretty much stopped working in every way possible. so i really want to get a new fitness tracker. the question is, what’s the best brand? i’ve only ever used fitbit, but i’m wondering what you guys have had the best/worst experiences with. fitbit? apple? garmin? any other brands (and preferably name the models too, please!)

Duck_Puddle

Garmin has lots of fans here. They build devices that tend to hold up over time and some models have considerably more features than Fitbits (although many also cost more).

As for which models? That really depends on what you’re looking for the device to do. You can get a simple device with minimal features for $100 all the way up to one that costs $1000 or more and tracks every breath you take and can send out homing beacons if you’re lost while climbing Mt Everest (I don’t know if that’s true) and a whole lot in between.

NorthCascades

Garmin.

NorthCascades

Duck_Puddle wrote: »

... up to one that costs $1000 or more and tracks every breath you take and can send out homing beacons if you’re lost while climbing Mt Everest (I don’t know if that’s true) and a whole lot in between.

It can pair with your satellite communication device and send an SOS from the watch if you're lost on Everest or anywhere else on Earth. You have to buy the satcoms separately and pay at least $12/mo to keep it active. That feature started with the Fenix 5 line which I'm told is happy price now.

Duck_Puddle

NorthCascades wrote: »

Duck_Puddle wrote: »

... up to one that costs $1000 or more and tracks every breath you take and can send out homing beacons if you’re lost while climbing Mt Everest (I don’t know if that’s true) and a whole lot in between.

It can pair with your satellite communication device and send an SOS from the watch if you're lost on Everest or anywhere else on Earth. You have to buy the satcoms separately and pay at least $12/mo to keep it active. That feature started with the Fenix 5 line which I'm told is happy price now.

Your (and my) happy price is probably not universally happy. I swapped my 5S for a 5S plus and then the 6 came out. So I will lament my icky battery life until my credit card stops crying. I can still track all my insanity and adventures (unless they last more than 8 hours).

tarjema

I'm a big fan of Garmin devices, too. My current (and my favorite so far!) is the Garmin Insight. It has lots of options for exercise and activity tracking and receives smartphone notifications. It doesn't have all of the features of the Fenix, but it outstrips the Vivoactive and Vivofit lines and (to me) is competitive with the lower-end Forerunner models. It also has a 'simple' LED-style screen - no color or flash animations - but that means the battery has been lasting me about two weeks, including 4-6 workout sessions both indoors and out.
If you have time and inclination, check out DC Rainmaker's reviews - he has written reviews and a YouTube channel.

cheryldumais

I have a Garmin vivofit 2. It's been awesome. It's from the cheap end of the scale and I bought it about 4 years ago. They are up to Vivofit 4 now. I love that the battery is good for a year or more and tracks steps and sleep. Those are my main interests. If you want heart rate monitoring etc. you can find that as well in the Garmin line as others have noted.

cwolfman13

I would start with just doing some research on what you want out of your device. For my money, Garmin is the best actual fitness tracker both in terms of durability and features. They range quite a bit in price, so again, it just depends on what you want it to do.

Things like the Apple Watch or Samsung are first and foremost smart watches with some fitness/activity tracking capabilities...that would be the route to go if you namely want an abundance of smart watch features with some activity/fitness tracking capability...while Garmin products will offer some reasonably good smart watch capabilities, but they are fitness devices first and foremost.

BrianSharpe

Another big fan of Garmin products. My second choice would probably be Suunto only because I used their dive computers for years.

hvsounds1985

I really like my galaxy s3 watch, it tracks all my steps and can tell when I'm actually doing something that makes me sweat like heavy lifting or active movements.

jwoolman5

Does the Garmin track sleep 24/7?

I just have a Misfit Shine 2, and it only tracks between 8pm and 4am, which is ridiculous for someone who works mainly at night. It also only includes the first installment of sleep if you have to get up after a few hours and then go back to bed to get more sleep, which is likewise ridiculous for many of us. So annoying because obviously it's a software problem and could be fixed.

NorthCascades

Garmin doesn't recognize naps, but you can set the hours to look for sleep. Maybe if you tell it you could be asleep from 12:00 to 12:00 it would catch naps? I've never seen any value in this feature personally.

cflaate

I have a Garmin vivosmart HR+ with the Garmin connect app and I couldnt be happier. It's supposed to be one of the best and most expensive. I bought mine "barely used" for 1/3 of the price. It connects to MFP so I don't have to manually put in the data.

I used to have a Galaxy Watch, but it looked better than it felt, and the batterylife on my Garmin is 4x better.

TrueGrit732

Garmin...don't matter which model. I have a Fitbit but it syncs when it wants to.

Bari_Tone

I never thought I would say this but I really like my Apple Watch (5). Got it in May. Although it is clunky with no auto-pause/auto-start when cycling/running/swimming. But I guess it just depends how "sciency" you want to get with your data. I do think the calorie tracking is about spot on as compared to when I wore a HRM. No haters please :-)

cwolfman13

Bari_Tone wrote: »

I never thought I would say this but I really like my Apple Watch (5). Got it in May. Although it is clunky with no auto-pause/auto-start when cycling/running/swimming. But I guess it just depends how "sciency" you want to get with your data. I do think the calorie tracking is about spot on as compared to when I wore a HRM. No haters please :-)

That would make sense given that a HRM isn't designed for all day calorie tracking. The algorithms used in a HRM assume a steady state aerobic event to estimate calories when performing exercise...but they were never designed to be an all day wearable device to give you calorie estimates. The algorithms used in an all day tracker are completely different than those used in a stand alone HRM. They both have there place.

OTFaddicted

Just switched from an Apple Watch to a Garmin Vivoactive 4s and love it!

rodnichols69

I had the Fitbit Versa. I went to the Garmin Fenix and think it is 50 times better.

NJF74

My vote polar. I have used a polar m430 past two years and still going strong. I havent experienced any other fitness watches so cant comment on other makes or models. Just enjoy that its durable and reliable.

MaintainInTheMembrane

I’m in love with my Apple Watch.