Best fitness tracker with pulse monitor?

claireychn074
claireychn074 Posts: 1,721 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I’m looking at the Garmin Vivofit 4 (want to track heart rate and steps) - what are you all using and what do you like / dislike? I don’t want a big watch face (I’m petite), don’t need a GPS and I don’t need to accurately track calorie expenditure as I’m in maintenance and know what my TDEE is . I know HRM aren’t as reliable on the wrist but I think the technology has improved a lot in the last couple of years. Only needs to sync with my phone as I don’t use technical cardio kit in the gym. Give me your thoughts!

Replies

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    My wife had a heart scare after Christmas (180bpm sitting down at total rest was a big worry....) and wanted to be able to monitor her pulse.
    Went for the Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6 as it seemed to be about half the price of similar big brand name trackers and functionality seemed better than its rivals. It's roughly £40 if I remember correctly.

    Wasn't sure if she would survive too long so didn't want to spend a fortune on a tracker.
    (I'm joking!)

    My wife also had no interest in calories or GPS.
    It works well, consistent HR pickup, comfortable, very good battery life, customisable colour display, links to her phone.
  • claireychn074
    claireychn074 Posts: 1,721 Member
    Ah thanks @sijomial 😀 not heard of that one but you seem to get a lot for the price! Awesome! Hope your wife’s heart issues have settled down?
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    claireychn074 wrote: »
    Ah thanks @sijomial 😀 not heard of that one but you seem to get a lot for the price! Awesome! Hope your wife’s heart issues have settled down?

    Much better thanks, Left Bundle Branch Block under control with meds and more checks to come.
  • claireychn074
    claireychn074 Posts: 1,721 Member
    Tachycardia is grim, feels horrible so she has my sympathy. Good that they’re sorting it and hope they find the origin of the issue quickly!
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,785 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    My wife had a heart scare after Christmas (180bpm sitting down at total rest was a big worry....) and wanted to be able to monitor her pulse.
    Went for the Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6 as it seemed to be about half the price of similar big brand name trackers and functionality seemed better than its rivals. It's roughly £40 if I remember correctly.

    Wasn't sure if she would survive too long so didn't want to spend a fortune on a tracker.
    (I'm joking!)

    My wife also had no interest in calories or GPS.
    It works well, consistent HR pickup, comfortable, very good battery life, customisable colour display, links to her phone.

    I looked into that one at one point. How's the display in the sunlight?

    @claireychn074 I have the garmin vivofit 4 and pretty much love it but, you've probably figured out it doesn't do heart rate? Or maybe it does but with a strap.

    Fitbits are pretty highly rated when it comes to their hrm but anything past the classic fitbit overestimated by calories (which I know you don't care about) by A LOT depending on the watch.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    @glassyo
    I looked into that one at one point. How's the display in the sunlight?

    It's an AMOLED display just like a good quality mobile phone, very clear. You can also use different themes if you like high contrast layouts.
  • claireychn074
    claireychn074 Posts: 1,721 Member
    I’ve ordered it! £37 seemed too good to pass up and all the reviews seem positive. Defo cheaper than the others and we’ll see what it does. I’ve had other activity trackers in the past and they either died or I got fed up (had a misfit shine and polar one) - the early ones wouldn’t turn off the movement alert, and I got really irritated when it kept buzzing during meetings 🤣
  • Bentforkx
    Bentforkx Posts: 69 Member
    Big fan of the Garmin Forerunner 245 with music.
    Especially suited for runners, but can handle swimming, cycling, weight training, etc.
    Although I do use a Chest HRM for laps in the pool, and a cycling computer for that data.
    Affordable, not enormous on my wrist, watch face is customizable by downloading from Garmin, so you can have as much or as little information presented on the dial, as well as specialty apps for anything out of the ordinary you might be doing.
    My watch face in this picture is white because it is 3am at the moment, normally I have it set to be red.
    5399needhck2.jpg

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