fit bit vs. polar, help!

I have had a Fitbit Ultra and a Polar Loop. I did not like how the Fitbit Ultra did not capture all of my steps and I did not like how it spread the calories over the day. I like the loop much better but the wrist style might be the reason it captures steps better but they visibility/website/app is poor and not up to today's standards. I got it to use with a HR chest strap but the H7 strap that works with it and works with gym machines has been problematic for me to put it mildly. I would not recommend the H7 strap to anyone, the H6 works fine but is difficult to pair with the Loop. Overall the Loop was not and is not ready for market, seems rushed.

I personally would go with the Jawbone 24Up now but the fitbit Force would be a contender but again I don't like its calories spread model and I think the Up can be showered with.

Just my opinion.

I got the FitBit Flex in August for my Birthday..
I LOVE IT !!!
It's great for calorie burn / steps tracker .. but the best part for me is the sleep tracker ..
Menopause & hot flashes keep me waking up every hour and it's great to have this as validation .. YIKES !
I can really see a difference in my motivation level as well .. competing with FitBit friends for steps and wanting to exercise just to SEE my burn .. lol ..
I had a HRM and i didn't like having to wear the strap - i find the flex is so easy to wear and i do think it's a pretty accurate burn ..
I'm not sure about the Jawbone .. you would have to find out from others that have it . .
I LOVE the Flex though .. My co-worker got the Force and she loves it for the digital display .. I find that i sync mine often enough i don't need the digital display .. it's only a $20 difference now in price I think ..
Good luck .. let us know what you decide on !

I have the Polar FT4 and LOVE it. It's my new favorite toy. The way I see it the fitbit is meant for tracking your everyday movement, and the HRM is great for tracking any intense workouts that you do. I am looking to get a fitbit soon here to add to what I already have going.

I too have been looking at the fit bit and have heard great and bad things! I have also looked at Jawbone... I hear that with both the fit bit and jawbone they can get a little off (or way off) with the counting! Anyone tried Jawbone? Or had the same counting issues?

I was on the fence for a while about this. I recently bought the Polar FT4 and I love it! It gives me exactly what I want, a more accurate count of calories burned while exercising. I don't feel the need to track my normal everyday movements.

I have the Fitbit Zip as does my husband. We wear them all day every day. This is to gauge activity not necessarily calorie burn all though using just steps we do get a count.
The polar I assume you mean heart rate monitor which will only calculate your cardio burn. You would not wear that all day
I have a heart rate monitor too which I wear during work outs only.
So it depends on what your looking for - want to count steps and basic daily burn. Get a fit bit. Want an estimated burn while you work out..get the Polar

Want both - get both lol The zip is only like $55 on Amazon

I have the Polar FT4 and LOVE it. It's my new favorite toy. The way I see it the fitbit is meant for tracking your everyday movement, and the HRM is great for tracking any intense workouts that you do. I am looking to get a fitbit soon here to add to what I already have going.

This. I use both a FB and an HRM for the same purposes. Fitbit give me a minimum goal to achieve daily; so many steps per day. Not terribly intensive for the most part, but it is a minimum. My Timex HRM gives me a more accurate reading of calories burned during strenuous activity, for which I find FitBit and the estimates on MFP lacking.

So, you are using a Fitbit for your daily activity and the HRM for your workouts? Do you just take the Fitbit off during exercise? This sounds like what I'd like to achieve but I haven't quite figured how they'd work together.

Sold my FitBit Ultra - not accutate enough and not a Heart Rate Monitor (HRM).

I have had several Polar items, many with issues & pluses - I CURRENTLY have a Polar Loop & H7 band. It works nicely as a HRM, tracks decently enough as a tracker (wristband), but I use my BodyMedia Link to track my daily movement and such.

I will state, baring that you understand "wrist band" trackers use movement of your hands, if you "plan" accordingly, they can be close to correct.

I remove the Loop while in the shower & dressing, plus for some things like washing dishes (little body movement, but alot of hand movement). Once I did this, the STEPS between the Loop & the BM Link where within 100-400 of each other.

You need to take into consideration what you are expecting from the device. Simple walking and running, strength &/heavy lifting, daily movement, heart rate tracking and WHAT you want them to sync with.

My BM Link talks to my Samsung Galaxy S3 & PC, the Loop doesn't have an ANDROID APP yet, so it only syncs to my PC. AND the H7 band isn't technically S3 capable (yet) - I have the new Jellybean update but no app to sync to it (NO ANDROID APP from Polar) but it does talk to the Loop & the machines @ the gym.

I have the Polar FT4 and LOVE it. It's my new favorite toy. The way I see it the fitbit is meant for tracking your everyday movement, and the HRM is great for tracking any intense workouts that you do. I am looking to get a fitbit soon here to add to what I already have going.

This. I use both a FB and an HRM for the same purposes. Fitbit give me a minimum goal to achieve daily; so many steps per day. Not terribly intensive for the most part, but it is a minimum. My Timex HRM gives me a more accurate reading of calories burned during strenuous activity, for which I find FitBit and the estimates on MFP lacking.

So, you are using a Fitbit for your daily activity and the HRM for your workouts? Do you just take the Fitbit off during exercise? This sounds like what I'd like to achieve but I haven't quite figured how they'd work together.

If you sync FitBit and MFP, as soon as your log a workout in MFP, say with the calorie burn the HRM told you, you give a time and duration of the workout.
Those stats then overwrite what FitBit estimated as calorie burn for that time and duration on their site.
Then another sync later will update MFP with how much more to eat based on your activity being more than planned.

I have the Polar FT4 and LOVE it. It's my new favorite toy. The way I see it the fitbit is meant for tracking your everyday movement, and the HRM is great for tracking any intense workouts that you do. I am looking to get a fitbit soon here to add to what I already have going.

This. I use both a FB and an HRM for the same purposes. Fitbit give me a minimum goal to achieve daily; so many steps per day. Not terribly intensive for the most part, but it is a minimum. My Timex HRM gives me a more accurate reading of calories burned during strenuous activity, for which I find FitBit and the estimates on MFP lacking.

So, you are using a Fitbit for your daily activity and the HRM for your workouts? Do you just take the Fitbit off during exercise? This sounds like what I'd like to achieve but I haven't quite figured how they'd work together.

If you sync FitBit and MFP, as soon as your log a workout in MFP, say with the calorie burn the HRM told you, you give a time and duration of the workout.
Those stats then overwrite what FitBit estimated as calorie burn for that time and duration on their site.
Then another sync later will update MFP with how much more to eat based on your activity being more than planned.

That is really good to know, thanks! Sounds like it takes a few extra syncs to get everything correct but it might be beneficial for what I'm trying to achieve. The other problem I have is that I'm in the gym at 1am, which is at the end of my day. I work from 3:30pm - 12:00am and then go to the gym after work... I wonder if that would screw up the Fibit or not.

I started with the FitBit One and then recently purchased a Polar FT4. I wear the FitBit all the time, and I find I walk and take the stairs more to meet my FitBit goals. For tracking workouts I like the HRM as it provides a more accurate calorie burn. I found out that MFP's calorie estimates for certain activities were much higher than the HRM was reading. Fortunately I wasn't eating all of my exercise calories....

I have compared the FitBit and HRM calorie burns for a walk (not a controlled treadmill test, but on around my hilly neighborhood) and the calorie burn from the FitBit was within 10% of the calories of the HRM on a 40 minute walk. I think it is probably more accurate than taking the standard MFP calories for walking/running types of activities.

The advantage of the HRM is that it can help me capture calories burned for activities like swimming, where the FitBit just sits in the locker.

Each has its purpose and I find I get useful information from both. The FitBit helps get me moving more just during my regular day, outside scheduled workouts. The HRM gives me more accurate information when I do a workout. You need to determine what you are looking for.

I log the workouts in MFP with the HRM calories, start time and duration. That then syncs to FitBit and updates the calories burned for the FitBit. FitBit will then automatically sync back to MFP with an update if there are any extra exercise calories because my activity level is higher than expected. The sync between FitBit and MFP is automatic. I walk in the house and the FitBit syncs wirelessly. Once the accounts are linked the calories fly between the apps automagically.

Excellent - thank you.

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2014/01/vivofit-activity-monitors.html

If the BodyMedia sensors are working well for you, you should see elevated burn for hours after the workout on lifting, because your temp should be higher.

I believe it's a pretty insignificant effect, and occurs after cardio, too.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/21/health/nutrition/21best.html?_r=0