fit bit vs. polar, help!

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healthymeg1214
healthymeg1214 Posts: 5 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I want to purchase one but I want to know what real people think! help!
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  • fougamou
    fougamou Posts: 200 Member
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    Since they are two different things, I would start by asking why you want to purchase something. What is your goal?

    I LOVE my Fitbit and the fact that it gives me an estimate of how many calories I have burned during the day. It is also a great incentive for me to get out and walk (and leave my office chair) . I wouldn't have this with a HRM,


    However, if I was looking for a good estimate of calories burned while exercising , I would go with the HRM.
  • SJCon
    SJCon Posts: 224
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    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.
  • janellepaquin11
    janellepaquin11 Posts: 1 Member
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    I've had the fitbit one for almost a year and I love it. I also got the fitbit Aria Scale and it makes tracking all my fitness goals so much easier. My bf has the fitbit force and he loves his too. Being able to track your sleep, calories, stairs, steps, weight, etc is awesome. I dont know much about the other fitness tools though but i'm a huge fan of fitbit now. I freak out if i forgot to wear my fitbit. It also really motivates me to keep active through out the day and I can compete against my friends to get more steps than them through the website or my app. It also works with with MyFitnessPal!
  • MelanieSpicegurl
    MelanieSpicegurl Posts: 239 Member
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    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 ! :)
  • FrnkLft
    FrnkLft Posts: 1,821 Member
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    I should note that FitBit exclusively makes step counters.

    Polar on the other hand makes heart rate monitors. They have recently made their own step counter, but according to this review it's not very good:

    http://gizmodo.com/polar-loop-activity-tracker-review-a-circle-behind-the-1476199684
  • thatjosiegirl
    thatjosiegirl Posts: 362 Member
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    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.
  • _Calypso_
    _Calypso_ Posts: 1,074 Member
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    I have a polar for my workouts and a fitbit to wear all day. I like them both, but if I had to choose only one...I'd go with the Polar to better gauge workouts.
  • henllan
    henllan Posts: 15
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    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?
  • phoenixgirl81
    phoenixgirl81 Posts: 309 Member
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    I have a polar ft7. I use it for my exercises and I find the heart rate and calorie burn I can see as I go really motivating. I wore it when I was only able to walk and now I wear it when I run 25km (15mile) races. I also wear it when I swim (the ft7 is waterproof, whereas the ft4 is not). I'm looking at upgrading to a Garmin for my long distance races (I like the idea of a gps for maps and splits all in one device) but I will still use the polar ft7 for every other cardio workout.

    I always set my activity level to sedentary so I can count all my exercise therefore I have no need for a fitbit. I also have had mfp and real life friends have bad experiences with the fitbit not working properly and giving highly inaccurate readings (including watching it rack up steps while it was sitting on a dresser). Each to their own.

    Good luck with whatever you choose.
  • healthymeg1214
    healthymeg1214 Posts: 5 Member
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    Thank you guys! it was all very helpful! i think i may go with a polar!
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
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    I have both a fitbit one and a polar ft7. My Polar just collects dust most of the time as I live off the fitbit calories it gives me.
  • TdaniT
    TdaniT Posts: 331 Member
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    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.
  • Rerun201
    Rerun201 Posts: 125 Member
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    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.
  • chasetwins
    chasetwins Posts: 702 Member
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    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
  • jaimrlx
    jaimrlx Posts: 426 Member
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    I have a Polar FT7 and it's amazing for the gym. I start it up before I work out, and can tell how many calories I've burned through the entire process.

    I am considering a Fitbit Force though. I need to to more research and see what it actually does. I'm not sure exactly how it syncs with MFP, because I don't know anybody who has one. I think it's a really neat gadget it just seems complicated.

    Good luck!
  • jaimrlx
    jaimrlx Posts: 426 Member
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    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.
  • Kara52217
    Kara52217 Posts: 353 Member
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    I have a fitbit...LOVE IT
    Great for daily activity and letting you know how much you have actually done in the day. I thought I was doing WAY more than I was

    I am getting a HRM to accurately log my more intense workouts as well. Better gauge than just the fit fit.

    So if you can only get one start with the fitbit then as you progress I would also get an HRM

    Good Luck!
  • sammniamii
    sammniamii Posts: 669 Member
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    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.
  • Margs975
    Margs975 Posts: 1
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    i think the Polars are better for those who do more strength training. I have a bodymedia band right now and the exercise burn during my weight sessions seems very low for the amount of effort i'm putting in. I'm planning to get a Polar as well. :)
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    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.

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