Garmin VivoFit

Timshel_

Posted this to my wall, but figured maybe others could use the feedback on the VivoFit:

Latest on the Garmin Vivofit.

After this week I am returning both units I bought. I should have done a bit more research before buying as there are some major components I want that are missing.

First is, there is no live data while you workout except heart rate with a monitor. You cannot see time, distance, calories, or anything else for your workout session. Just the totals of each for the day. The only way to see what you did is to pull it up after the workout on your phone or website. That is pretty bad.

Even worse though is, it has no backlight. Seriously, you cannot see it in the dark AT ALL. Finding that out was just weird! Anyway, like what it does do, but those are two major strikes, so back they go.

Will let ya know if I find anything else.

karenavey98

Hmmm, I just ordered it so I don't know how I will like it, but.... I am most interested in 10,000 steps. I cannot run, yet, so walking is all I am going to do for some time.

Anything more you can tell me?

Karen

nanook37

There is no backlight because the batter lasts a year instead of having to be recharged every week which I would prefer over my fitbit but it is a tradeoff -

The vivofit is currently the choice for best fitness tracker on wirecutter http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-fitness-tracker/

aswearingen22

I just bought a VivoFit today. I'm interested in seeing how active/inactive I am during the day and what it says my calorie count is. I'm a runner, so I'll still wear my Garmin 610 with chest strap when I run (I'll just move the VivoFit to my right wrist during the runs), so I don't need the VF to tell me the detailed workout information. The lack of back light doesn't bother me at all, I always have my phone on me and can use the light from it if I really need to see something on it. I'm loving the not needing to charge it part...I'm forever charging my iphone, kindle, and Garmin 610, let alone the kids tablets, ipads, 3ds, etc., so it's nice to have something that doesn't need charged.

Anyone have any experience with the VivoFit?

SJCon

I LOVE my Vivofit, and I have used a Fitbit Ultra, Polar Loop and still use a Body media Fit. As soon as the Vivofit syncs with Myfitnesspal I will drop the Body Media. Not having to recharge is turning out to be a much greater benefit than I imagined, and never having to take it off and then rember to put it back on is great. The original post says no live data during a workout other than heart rate, well I train in HR zones so that works fine for me. If I wanted distance etc I can use my phone but I don't, I also do not worry about calories during the exercise. It is true that it does not have a back-light but than I have never needed one. LOL. I guess if you were running in the dark it may be a concern or to tell the time when you are in bed. It has been very close to my BodyMedia for calorie burn and much more accurate than my Fitbit ever was. I highly recommend it if you like a wrist unit.

wintercast

I just got my vivofit. i know folks complain that it is not backlit. I must say, even in really dim lighting, i can still read the face. The numbers are realitvely large and have a high contrast. It has an e-ink display so if anyone is used to reading a kindle with i-ink, i think they will like the vivofit's display. As for not being able to tell the time in the dark, it would have be pitch black to not see the time. Even the small amount of light in my bedroom was enough to see the time on the band.

i am still getting used to it. I bought mine through amazon with the heart rate monitor bundled. I strapped on the monitor, my first time, and it paired up well and worked. It was kind of neat. I dont know if it is 100% real time or not with the heart rate, but it seemed liked it was and at least very close. i am really interested to see how it does when i work out. I will use an elliptical, but i lift weights and have always just guessed as to the calories i was burning. I also ride a horse, and have also guessed as to the calories i burn, i am interested to see if i get a better estimate with the heart rate monitor.

The step counter is a little behind in time. My guess is that it counts your movment and then applies some math to get steps taken. Otherwise every wrist movement would be a new step.

The lack of instructions is annoying. You can download instructions from garmin, but it still does not exactly explain how the device knows if i am just out walking, or actually working out. Perhaps connecting the heart rate monitor is what it views as a workout.

numsquat

I've had mine for about 7 weeks and have been happy with it so far. Hardware wise I like the battery life and the information on the read out. The lack of back light doesn't bother me as I rarely have needed it. Even running in the dark in the mornings there are enough street lights to be able to see the screen. I use it with my Timex Run Trainer GPS and it's HRM strap, which the Vivofit had no issue pairing with. I use the Vivofit to track my HR zones and the Run Tracker to track my other running information, which means on most runs I don't need to cycle through screens on the Run Keeper which is nice. As far as tracking your HR, the Vivofit capture rate is every 15 seconds while the Timex is every second. What I have found is that the Vivofit matches the Timex for max HR every time so far (27 runs) and has matched average HR most of the time, been 1 bpm under the Timex a few times and occasionally 2 bpm under (like twice), so with the time difference in capture rates, the results are pretty close.

The Garmin Connect software can be much better than it is. They are switching between version 1 and 2 and the integration with the Vivofit Health & Fitness data with the older fitness data has been a little rocky so far. This is more of an impact on those who have been using Garmin devices and version 1 Connect software before (I still use Training Peaks for my running/cycling data). But there is plenty of good tracking information there for your basic health and fitness needs. If you do use other Garmin devices, the data from the Vivofit and the other device do "double" up on the Connect software, supposedly a fix is also coming.

MFP integration is supposedly coming. I've set up a basic spreadsheet to track my food calories from MFP and the calories burned from the Vivofit and the results are positive. I'm set up for a 1.5lb/week weight loss and have been averaging 1.45lbs/week so far.