Another Step Tracker Thread
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hawkeye45_
Posts: 812 Member
Hi, y'all. My wife and I are looking to "graduate" from our Xiaomi Mi Band 4's (that aren't reliably working anymore) and pick up new step trackers. We're looking for devices that will:
There are also a couple features that we call "nice to haves":
This is starting to sound like "Smart Watch" territory to me, but if there's a good option out there that'll save us some dollars, we'll be glad to give it a try. Also we're using Androids if that matters.
- Accurately count steps
- Monitor our heart rate (either at intervals or during workouts)
- Track our sleep
- Survive a shower
There are also a couple features that we call "nice to haves":
- Battery life in excess of a couple days
- The ability to read texts (including WhatsApp)
- See an incoming caller's phone number
- Link to MapMyFitness or MyFitnessPal
This is starting to sound like "Smart Watch" territory to me, but if there's a good option out there that'll save us some dollars, we'll be glad to give it a try. Also we're using Androids if that matters.
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Replies
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I believe there are Fitbit models that do most or all of the things that you want. I have a slightly older one (the Charge 2) and it counts my steps, monitors my heart rate, tracks my sleep, and only has to be charged 1-2 times a week. It also syncs with MFP. I have never worn it in the shower, but it's been rained on several times during long runs and handled it fine.
I was told that it has the ability to display texts, but I wasn't interested in this and never tried to hook it up.
I think some of the newer ones are even more sophisticated than mine and the prices are pretty reasonable. This is my second Fitbit and I'm overall pleased with the quality and customer service.1 -
You described a Garmin perfectly. I like being able to get texts in the shower; before covid, I would carpool to hikes, whoever was driving would send a text saying they're leaving home, if I was still in the shower it meant hurry up.
I took a week long ski vacation this past winter and while I brought the charging cable for my Garmin watch, I didn't need to use it.3 -
Thank you both. The wife has singled out a Fitbit Versa 2 and a Garmin Vivoactive 3 as the top contenders for "smart watch but not really but kinda," and we'll have a pro-con list soon.0
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Late to the game but my Moto 360 (2nd gen) fits all your criteria and it doesn't look like an "excercise watch."
It's just that I don't think they even make them anymore. This one's going on 5 years old.0 -
I have a Garmin Instinct and I think it checks all the boxes (Unsure about WhatsApp). Without heavy GPS use I can got a week and a half on one charge! Lots of bells and whistles if you want them as well.0
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hawkeye45_ wrote: »Thank you both. The wife has singled out a Fitbit Versa 2 and a Garmin Vivoactive 3 as the top contenders for "smart watch but not really but kinda," and we'll have a pro-con list soon.
For what it's worth, the smart features in Garmins are enough to be useful without having your phone in hand, but not enough to complicate using the watches. I think they struck the right balance. Can't say about Fitbit, I had an older model before they had smart features. It died, they replaced it, it died, they replaced it, it died again and I moved on.0 -
hawkeye45_ wrote: »Thank you both. The wife has singled out a Fitbit Versa 2 and a Garmin Vivoactive 3 as the top contenders for "smart watch but not really but kinda," and we'll have a pro-con list soon.
I like my Garmin VA3 (I thought the VA4 had supplanted it now, though?).
The sleep tracking function is an idiot, IMO, but from what I read they all are. I think people who sleep through the night wouldn't have a way to know. As someone with sleep interruption insomnia, what it thinks I slept just amuses the heck out of me. (After one recent overnight at the sleep clinic, I showed the sleep report on Garmin Connect to the tech who'd been watching my sleep data all the previous night . . . we both laughed and laughed.) Perhaps the problem is more that I'm atypical, than that the device is inaccurate, though.
I like the Garmin Connect app, and appreciate having the data in the cloud and accessible multiplatform, without having to have the phone with me all the time (I row, and don't usually take it in the boat). I assume Fitbit also does that.
One does have to be in Bluetooth range of the phone to get texts and incoming phone numbers, though.
One thing that matters to me is that I can set my own max heart rate, and the device will use it (this seems to vary by model and brand). I know what my max is, approximately, and it's quite different from the age-based estimates, so it letting me set it results in getting better guidance on exercise intensity.
I find I really need a chest belt for rowing (boat or machine), but I think that would be true with any wrist-based tracker: There's just too much arm flexion going on, and it loses contact. It's reliable at tracking HR for me across a wide range of other activities, though.
A plus for me is the larger face on the VA3. I've always wear a wristwatch (always have), and appreciate that I can set this to a large, clear watch display for daily use (helps my aging eyes), and customize the display for different activities.
The one thing I don't like is that it has a custom charging cord, and it's a little bit fiddly about making a connection. Gotta get it juuusssst riiiight, maybe clean the contacts sometimes. (I assume it's special for water resistance reasons, but don't know). I'd suggest getting an extra cord or two (cheap) because the little buggers do tend to wander off sometimes, and you can't just use any ol' USB charger.2 -
hawkeye45_ wrote: »Thank you both. The wife has singled out a Fitbit Versa 2 and a Garmin Vivoactive 3 as the top contenders for "smart watch but not really but kinda," and we'll have a pro-con list soon.
I like my Garmin VA3 (I thought the VA4 had supplanted it now, though?).
The sleep tracking function is an idiot, IMO, but from what I read they all are. I think people who sleep through the night wouldn't have a way to know. As someone with sleep interruption insomnia, what it thinks I slept just amuses the heck out of me. (After one recent overnight at the sleep clinic, I showed the sleep report on Garmin Connect to the tech who'd been watching my sleep data all the previous night . . . we both laughed and laughed.) Perhaps the problem is more that I'm atypical, than that the device is inaccurate, though.
I like the Garmin Connect app, and appreciate having the data in the cloud and accessible multiplatform, without having to have the phone with me all the time (I row, and don't usually take it in the boat). I assume Fitbit also does that.
One does have to be in Bluetooth range of the phone to get texts and incoming phone numbers, though.
One thing that matters to me is that I can set my own max heart rate, and the device will use it (this seems to vary by model and brand). I know what my max is, approximately, and it's quite different from the age-based estimates, so it letting me set it results in getting better guidance on exercise intensity.
I find I really need a chest belt for rowing (boat or machine), but I think that would be true with any wrist-based tracker: There's just too much arm flexion going on, and it loses contact. It's reliable at tracking HR for me across a wide range of other activities, though.
A plus for me is the larger face on the VA3. I've always wear a wristwatch (always have), and appreciate that I can set this to a large, clear watch display for daily use (helps my aging eyes), and customize the display for different activities.
The one thing I don't like is that it has a custom charging cord, and it's a little bit fiddly about making a connection. Gotta get it juuusssst riiiight, maybe clean the contacts sometimes. (I assume it's special for water resistance reasons, but don't know). I'd suggest getting an extra cord or two (cheap) because the little buggers do tend to wander off sometimes, and you can't just use any ol' USB charger.
Thank you for this insight. The VA4 is the latest and greatest, but Walmart has the VA3 for under $140 and that's attractive to us.
How's the exercise tracking feature for weightlifting, i.e. bench, deadlift, and squat?0 -
hawkeye45_ wrote: »hawkeye45_ wrote: »Thank you both. The wife has singled out a Fitbit Versa 2 and a Garmin Vivoactive 3 as the top contenders for "smart watch but not really but kinda," and we'll have a pro-con list soon.
I like my Garmin VA3 (I thought the VA4 had supplanted it now, though?).
The sleep tracking function is an idiot, IMO, but from what I read they all are. I think people who sleep through the night wouldn't have a way to know. As someone with sleep interruption insomnia, what it thinks I slept just amuses the heck out of me. (After one recent overnight at the sleep clinic, I showed the sleep report on Garmin Connect to the tech who'd been watching my sleep data all the previous night . . . we both laughed and laughed.) Perhaps the problem is more that I'm atypical, than that the device is inaccurate, though.
I like the Garmin Connect app, and appreciate having the data in the cloud and accessible multiplatform, without having to have the phone with me all the time (I row, and don't usually take it in the boat). I assume Fitbit also does that.
One does have to be in Bluetooth range of the phone to get texts and incoming phone numbers, though.
One thing that matters to me is that I can set my own max heart rate, and the device will use it (this seems to vary by model and brand). I know what my max is, approximately, and it's quite different from the age-based estimates, so it letting me set it results in getting better guidance on exercise intensity.
I find I really need a chest belt for rowing (boat or machine), but I think that would be true with any wrist-based tracker: There's just too much arm flexion going on, and it loses contact. It's reliable at tracking HR for me across a wide range of other activities, though.
A plus for me is the larger face on the VA3. I've always wear a wristwatch (always have), and appreciate that I can set this to a large, clear watch display for daily use (helps my aging eyes), and customize the display for different activities.
The one thing I don't like is that it has a custom charging cord, and it's a little bit fiddly about making a connection. Gotta get it juuusssst riiiight, maybe clean the contacts sometimes. (I assume it's special for water resistance reasons, but don't know). I'd suggest getting an extra cord or two (cheap) because the little buggers do tend to wander off sometimes, and you can't just use any ol' USB charger.
Thank you for this insight. The VA4 is the latest and greatest, but Walmart has the VA3 for under $140 and that's attractive to us.
How's the exercise tracking feature for weightlifting, i.e. bench, deadlift, and squat?
Welllllll . . . for me, both somewhat useful, and somewhat laughable? I'll explain:
When I strength train with it, it does an extremely variable job of counting reps. While the error magnitude is variable between days, it seems pretty consistent within a day. If it's undercounting overhead presses (say), it's usually undercounting all of the sets that day by about the same number. Sometimes it's crazy wrong (like 3 reps when I did 12 or something). I don't usually squat or deadlift**, so I can't comment on those. But this auto-rep-counting variability has been true of pretty much all of the other things I actually do (overhead press, bench, pullovers, accessory stuff like bicep curls and triceps extensions, pushups . . . .).
However:
Once I got in the swing of using it, it was easy and quick to set/fix the counts and add the weight value via the watch face, in the time between sets, and the rest timer was helpful. Usually, post-workout, I'd go to Garmin Connect and add some other tweaks and comments to the captured data, but it was a pretty quick/easy thing to do.
While trying to learn how to use those functions, it was a little fiddly, i.e., getting my reflexes down about when to hit the button vs. do something on the watch face touch-screen. At first, I stopped workouts when I didn't mean to, or set reps/weight wrong and had to fix it in Connect later, and that sort of thing. But it only took a small number of sessions to wire in the right things to do for particular cases, and then it was fine. (I guess I'm saying patience and persistence is rewarded, in using it efficiently?
).
** I struggle with recovery management for certain lower-body exercises in context of the rowing that's my priority activity, so sometimes do those things in off-season, but can't recall if I've ever used the Garmin to count them.1 -
Welllllll . . . for me, both somewhat useful, and somewhat laughable? I'll explain:
When I strength train with it, it does an extremely variable job of counting reps. While the error magnitude is variable between days, it seems pretty consistent within a day. If it's undercounting overhead presses (say), it's usually undercounting all of the sets that day by about the same number. Sometimes it's crazy wrong (like 3 reps when I did 12 or something). I don't usually squat or deadlift**, so I can't comment on those. But this auto-rep-counting variability has been true of pretty much all of the other things I actually do (overhead press, bench, pullovers, accessory stuff like bicep curls and triceps extensions, pushups . . . .).
However:
Once I got in the swing of using it, it was easy and quick to set/fix the counts and add the weight value via the watch face, in the time between sets, and the rest timer was helpful. Usually, post-workout, I'd go to Garmin Connect and add some other tweaks and comments to the captured data, but it was a pretty quick/easy thing to do.
While trying to learn how to use those functions, it was a little fiddly, i.e., getting my reflexes down about when to hit the button vs. do something on the watch face touch-screen. At first, I stopped workouts when I didn't mean to, or set reps/weight wrong and had to fix it in Connect later, and that sort of thing. But it only took a small number of sessions to wire in the right things to do for particular cases, and then it was fine. (I guess I'm saying patience and persistence is rewarded, in using it efficiently? ).
** I struggle with recovery management for certain lower-body exercises in context of the rowing that's my priority activity, so sometimes do those things in off-season, but can't recall if I've ever used the Garmin to count them.
Okay, none of that is a deal breaker for me. We're both enamored with the ability to see the screen when we're out walking the dog, and the sleep tracking can't be worse than my Xiaomi. I have Obstructive Sleep Apnea, so it's nice to see the deep sleep cycle. Thank you again, you've been a great help.0 -
hawkeye45_ wrote: »
Welllllll . . . for me, both somewhat useful, and somewhat laughable? I'll explain:
When I strength train with it, it does an extremely variable job of counting reps. While the error magnitude is variable between days, it seems pretty consistent within a day. If it's undercounting overhead presses (say), it's usually undercounting all of the sets that day by about the same number. Sometimes it's crazy wrong (like 3 reps when I did 12 or something). I don't usually squat or deadlift**, so I can't comment on those. But this auto-rep-counting variability has been true of pretty much all of the other things I actually do (overhead press, bench, pullovers, accessory stuff like bicep curls and triceps extensions, pushups . . . .).
However:
Once I got in the swing of using it, it was easy and quick to set/fix the counts and add the weight value via the watch face, in the time between sets, and the rest timer was helpful. Usually, post-workout, I'd go to Garmin Connect and add some other tweaks and comments to the captured data, but it was a pretty quick/easy thing to do.
While trying to learn how to use those functions, it was a little fiddly, i.e., getting my reflexes down about when to hit the button vs. do something on the watch face touch-screen. At first, I stopped workouts when I didn't mean to, or set reps/weight wrong and had to fix it in Connect later, and that sort of thing. But it only took a small number of sessions to wire in the right things to do for particular cases, and then it was fine. (I guess I'm saying patience and persistence is rewarded, in using it efficiently? ).
** I struggle with recovery management for certain lower-body exercises in context of the rowing that's my priority activity, so sometimes do those things in off-season, but can't recall if I've ever used the Garmin to count them.
Okay, none of that is a deal breaker for me. We're both enamored with the ability to see the screen when we're out walking the dog, and the sleep tracking can't be worse than my Xiaomi. I have Obstructive Sleep Apnea, so it's nice to see the deep sleep cycle. Thank you again, you've been a great help.
FWIW, I have OSA, too (use an APAP routinely). I don't have any particular reason to believe (or disbelieve ) that that affects the accuracy of sleep tracking.
I think two things might, in my case:
One is the sleep interruption insomnia. Even with proper OSA treatment, I commonly wake up multiple times per night, but go right back to sleep (maybe after checking my watch or bedside clock, but usually back asleep in a minute or two at most, often literally seconds). The device almost never sees these wake-ups. (This was the reason for my & sleep-tech's laughter: You probably know that sleep at the sleep center can be different from sleep at home. I'd had trouble there going back to sleep after the routine wake-ups, so was lying very still but awake for a good share of the 2nd half of the night - quite literally hours. She knew this, I knew this, Garmin had no clue.)
Second is that I have a fairly low resting heart rate (been active for 15+ years, including when obese). This might be part of the reason why the device will sometimes show me as asleep when I'm emphatically not. It has thought I was asleep (often showed REM) when I was actually reading, texting (have the timestamps to prove it ), etc. - typically times when fairly still, but very much awake.
Overall, I like the device.0 -
I don't trust the Garmin sleep tracker at all. Sometimes it nails when I fell asleep and woke up, but sometimes when I can't get to sleep and lie awake all night being insomniac, it thinks I got a full night's sleep.
I'm not sure what I'd do with the data anyway if it was reliably correct, so it's not a big deal. But the stress tracking is scary accurate, and it does a pretty good job of how restorative my sleep was.
I appreciate the rep counting and I have to correct it sometimes too which is easy enough. There's a report on the web site that shows your progression, which I find motivating and congratulatory.
I also like the radar that alerts me of cars behind me on my bike and changes its flash pattern depending on the car's speed. Not sure if the VA series is compatible ... but Garmin had a lot of tech and random stuff can be really nice sometimes.0 -
NorthCascades wrote: »I don't trust the Garmin sleep tracker at all. Sometimes it nails when I fell asleep and woke up, but sometimes when I can't get to sleep and lie awake all night being insomniac, it thinks I got a full night's sleep.
I'm not sure what I'd do with the data anyway if it was reliably correct, so it's not a big deal. But the stress tracking is scary accurate, and it does a pretty good job of how restorative my sleep was.
I appreciate the rep counting and I have to correct it sometimes too which is easy enough. There's a report on the web site that shows your progression, which I find motivating and congratulatory.
I also like the radar that alerts me of cars behind me on my bike and changes its flash pattern depending on the car's speed. Not sure if the VA series is compatible ... but Garmin had a lot of tech and random stuff can be really nice sometimes.
Y'know, I've seen you say the bolded a bunch of times, and I just can't relate. My stress score is a bizarre black box algorithym with I-dunno-what inputs, and outputs that seem to have no relationship to what goes on in my life. I don't get it. It seems like a random number generator.0
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