Activity trackers--your recommendations

randomtai

I have had the Vivofit since March, and I like it. I had the Bodymedia link....and I liked it a lot too. But, if you are one that doesn't do a lot of moving forward(running, walking) to get their exercise in, the bodymedia isn't going to calculate your exercise as well. I do more weight lifting and crossfit, so a tracker with HRM capabilities more suited me....along with not having something strapped to my upper arm that became uncomfortable throughout the day. Also, having the tracker on my wrist, and being water proof, I have never forgotten to wear it!

You have it backwards. A HRM is only good for steady state cardio. The BMF with its sensors tracks the adjustments you get from lifting.

Well, my BMF must have had it backwards also. As I stated, the BMF didn't calculate as well, and sometimes not at all UNLESS I was doing cardio such as running/walking. I get most of my "cardio" from mountain biking(BMF showed I virtually didn't do anything), beach volleyball(BMF tracked steps, but that was all), weight lifting(again, BMF hardly showed I got off the couch), and crossfit(virtually nothing)...but moving on, having the HRM capabilities will also be more accurate for steady and non-steady state cardio.

Yeah... ok.

pitapocket

Bump

WalkingAlong

I have had the Vivofit since March, and I like it. I had the Bodymedia link....and I liked it a lot too. But, if you are one that doesn't do a lot of moving forward(running, walking) to get their exercise in, the bodymedia isn't going to calculate your exercise as well. I do more weight lifting and crossfit, so a tracker with HRM capabilities more suited me....along with not having something strapped to my upper arm that became uncomfortable throughout the day. Also, having the tracker on my wrist, and being water proof, I have never forgotten to wear it!

You have it backwards. A HRM is only good for steady state cardio. The BMF with its sensors tracks the adjustments you get from lifting.

Well, my BMF must have had it backwards also. As I stated, the BMF didn't calculate as well, and sometimes not at all UNLESS I was doing cardio such as running/walking. I get most of my "cardio" from mountain biking(BMF showed I virtually didn't do anything), beach volleyball(BMF tracked steps, but that was all), weight lifting(again, BMF hardly showed I got off the couch), and crossfit(virtually nothing)...but moving on, having the HRM capabilities will also be more accurate for steady and non-steady state cardio.

Yeah... ok.

My BMF was the same. Maybe they've changed them since but I'm pretty sure the skin sensors added very little and it got most of its info from its accelerometer, just like the other trackers.

Jawbone has owned Body Media for a few years. I don't see them putting skin sensors in their UP trackers.

HelenWater

If all you want is accuracy, a bracelet, and a display then Polar Loop or Garmin Vivofit will do what you want. I use both and like different things about each. DCRainmaker writes very good reviews of the these kinds of products so it could be worth your while to check out what he has to say.

Regarding accuracy: I don't concern myself with the activity tracker counting each step, but I do look at trends over time and the interaction with my diet.

All the best with your health and fitness journey.

Miljos

I use the Withings Pulse (O2), mostly on my wrist but I put it on my hip or in my pocket sometimes (good point here for the Pulse: it's very adaptable that way, it's not wrist-only or hip-only). I used a Fitbit Flex for a while. The only feature I have felt the loss of, between these two, is the vibrating alarm (Flex). Otherwise I prefer the Pulse. Found it more slighty more accurate, screen display (Pulse) is handy, the battery life seems longer on the Pulse, I had a rash with the Flex band that I don't have with the Pulse one. Speaking of the band, they are really different. The Pulse has a more flexible one, the material has clearly more elasticity and the band itself is less thick than the Flex (but it's larger, the device itself is larger as well). Finally a big plus is the way the Pulse is connected to my phone. I had a lot of problems with the connection of my Flex to my phone, and that's what prompted me to change.

ahoier

I've seen these chinese fitness trackers over at dealsmachine.com and wow, the prices look mighty fine! LOL. I'm just curious how well they'd hold up......most all of these are made in China anyways right.....? So How bad can they really be? lol.

http://www.dealsmachine.com/best_185481.html even does sleep/pedometer trackering......

http://www.dealsmachine.com/best_186616.html does steps distance, energy (calories), sleep tracking, bluetooth

http://www.dealsmachine.com/best_187910.html a strange looking LED readout one lol with sleep monitoring

http://www.dealsmachine.com/best_187998.html

They gotta bunch of various versions......what's odd is none of them directly look similar in any way to the major brands we have here in the states lol.....

And anther neat one, http://www.dealsmachine.com/best_186499.html but no sleep monitoring.....and that's something I'd really be interested in.....I've tried the various sleep apps on my phone and they just dont cut it lol......

http://www.dealsmachine.com/best_183805.html is kinda neat cause theres no cable, it is a dongle that plugs directly into the USB port.....kinda nifty,,,,as I have a habit of losing USB cables lol

But yea, they are tempting.....the most expensive I think I seen was like 40 bucks......vs. 99$ (FitBit Flex) lol

Raynne413

I've seen these chinese fitness trackers over at dealsmachine.com and wow, the prices look mighty fine! LOL. I'm just curious how well they'd hold up......most all of these are made in China anyways right.....? So How bad can they really be? lol.

http://www.dealsmachine.com/best_185481.html even does sleep/pedometer trackering......

http://www.dealsmachine.com/best_186616.html does steps distance, energy (calories), sleep tracking, bluetooth

http://www.dealsmachine.com/best_187910.html a strange looking LED readout one lol with sleep monitoring

http://www.dealsmachine.com/best_187998.html

They gotta bunch of various versions......what's odd is none of them directly look similar in any way to the major brands we have here in the states lol.....

And anther neat one, http://www.dealsmachine.com/best_186499.html but no sleep monitoring.....and that's something I'd really be interested in.....I've tried the various sleep apps on my phone and they just dont cut it lol......

http://www.dealsmachine.com/best_183805.html is kinda neat cause theres no cable, it is a dongle that plugs directly into the USB port.....kinda nifty,,,,as I have a habit of losing USB cables lol

But yea, they are tempting.....the most expensive I think I seen was like 40 bucks......vs. 99$ (FitBit Flex) lol

I have to admit, they do look interesting. I like the design on some of them!

WalkingAlong

http://www.dealsmachine.com/best_187934.html

This one IS a Misfit Shine, with the brand name changed on the marketing pics. Weird. I know the Fitbits are manufactured in Asia and there are a LOT of defective ones. I wonder if the manufacturers have an ok to sell factory seconds or returns under different names? Or if they're doing so illegally?

I bought a no-name MP3 player from Hong Kong for a kid years ago and it never worked right and returns took months. I finally threw it out. I'm not sure I'd want to try this. Tempting, though, for that much savings! Then again, no manufacturer support would suck. From the English on that site, I'm pretty sure you'd be on your own for figuring the thing out, if you had problems.

KellyAJD

I also would like the Misfit Shine to connect to MyFitnessPal!!!

ahoier

http://www.dealsmachine.com/best_187934.html

This one IS a Misfit Shine

Thanks for the confirmation Never even heard of the "Misfit Shine" though.....lol.....seems even at my local stores everyone has the Fitbits, some SyncBurn gadget, and then the Jawbone one. Seem to be the most popular.

dunnodunno

Can you sync these devices to iPads?

Timshel_

I have had several over the last years and I really liked the Fitbit Force most of all. It was recalled, but Fitbit just came out with a few new ones that look like everything I liked about my Force, plus adding the features I thought were missing.

jen_2286

Raynne413 wrote: »

I've seen these chinese fitness trackers over at dealsmachine.com and wow, the prices look mighty fine! LOL. I'm just curious how well they'd hold up......most all of these are made in China anyways right.....? So How bad can they really be? lol.

http://www.dealsmachine.com/best_183805.html is kinda neat cause theres no cable, it is a dongle that plugs directly into the USB port.....kinda nifty,,,,as I have a habit of losing USB cables lol

But yea, they are tempting.....the most expensive I think I seen was like 40 bucks......vs. 99$ (FitBit Flex) lol

I've been using the one at http://www.dealsmachine.com/best_183805.html since the summer (I couldn't afford a Fitbit at the time) and I've found it to be pretty good! It seems to track steps accurately, it monitors my sleep and I can set several different vibrating alarms which is really useful. Mine is manufactured by Vidonn and syncs to an app on my phone, or you can put it directly into a USB port and upload your data that way. Even though I can afford a more fancy one now, I haven't opted to do that yet because I'm happy with the way this one works... I like that it has the little screen whereas the Fitbit Flex doesn't and I need to be constantly motivated by being able to check the number of steps I've done quickly!! Having said that, I looked online and some people have received faulty ones, so maybe I've just been lucky?

DaniWhis

Great thread! Thank you. I am shopping as well.