Which Fitness Tracker to choose?

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ell_v131
ell_v131 Posts: 349 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I would like to get a fitness tracker, but find it hard to make up my mind. Bearing in mind I want to have one to help me be more active during the day, I have now discovered the array of features that can come with one, and want to draw on the Community's experience/knowledge.

#1 criteria is it needs to sync with an Android phone.

After that, the list of what I expect is the following from the most important to least:

Calories burned
Steps taken
Activity/non-activity tracker
Sleep tracker (since I have a sleep disorder i find this helpful)
Steps (I love that Idea, my building has 9 floors I could use as exercise breaks during the day and having it tracked would keep me motivated better)
Waterproof
Long battery life

I was originally going to get Fitbit (Steps!), but I hear a lot about the Bodymedia accuracy.

Would any of you care to give me some insight on the accuracy and ease of use of the following?
Bodymedia Link
Fitbit Flex/Force (if you used both, please let me know what you thought in comparison)
Fitbug
Basis B1
Jawbone Up
Withings
polar
Sync Burn

I don't mind the initial cost, but would prefer not to pay monthly fees. Also I feel that something that tracks heart rate is going to be more accurate, but again we are talking about wild estimations here... So acknowledging I can't have it all unless I construct my own device, please chime in :)

Replies

  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
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    I have found the fitbit one to be ridiculously accurate. You can't fool it with non-step movements, like driving and fidgeting around in your desk chair. It syncs with androids, but only a select group that are LEBT. Make sure you check the list of supported phones before you get tooooo excited about it:
    http://www.fitbit.com/devices

    The only criteria on your list it doesn't meet is that it's not waterproof. You have to be careful to take it off your bra so it doesn't go through the wash. I hear the Flex/force models are a little better in that respect because you won't acidentally put it through the washer attached to your clothes, but the downside is they are more susceptible to tracking "noise" movements since they're on your arm. No monthly fees.

    Battery life on the one is 5-7 days and it recharges quickly- IIRC like 2 hours through a USB sync device.

    Worth noting is that fitbit has no computer sync available for chromebooks or linux just in case anyone needs that, and it sounds like they're not planning on developing for linux anytime soon.

    Can't comment on any of the other devices.
  • elyelyse
    elyelyse Posts: 1,454 Member
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    I have found the fitbit one to be ridiculously accurate. You can't fool it with non-step movements, like driving and fidgeting around in your desk chair.
    lol....except this one time that I went on a very bouncy off-road jeep tour and somehow came up 5000 steps ahead without having gotten out of the vehicle...so if you are busty and keep it on your bra, some situations may fool the device!!! (that was the only time though...and a pretty extreme situation. I can accept that)
    Otherwise, I'm also a huge fan of the fitbit one, though it doesn't satisfy your waterproof preference.
  • magtart
    magtart Posts: 161 Member
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    I just bought a Fitbit One on ebay yesterday. I did not want to wear a wrist band. It has better reviews than the Flex or Force on Amazon.
  • ancurtis
    ancurtis Posts: 68 Member
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    I have had my Fitbit Flex since August of last year. I simply love it. I wear it all the time, except for in the shower. I charge it once a week on Sunday nights, takes about 3 hours. It provides accuracy with my steps and miles. It is very motivating and I would recommend it.
  • DrWhoodles
    DrWhoodles Posts: 145 Member
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    I have an originally fit bit and that little guy is tough - it's been through the washer twice as well as a quick dip in a cup of coffee and it still works. I just find I don't use it much any more and am going to try giving the wii u fit tracker a go, if I can get it to work that is.
  • capnj1545
    capnj1545 Posts: 10
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    I got the Withings Pulse as a Christmas gift and it is wonderful. It monitors steps taken, calories burned, elevation (which is great for monitoring step climbing!) sleep and has a built in heart rate monitor. One of my favorite parts is it has onscreen data tracking results for the past 10 days. I always use that to try to beat what I did yesterday! I have to charge it less than once a week, and its charge time is very fast. It is not waterproof, although the design of the belt clip generally keeps it out of contact with sweat. I sync it with my iphone, so im not 100% sure of the user experience for Android. The ios app is very interactive and syncs with both MFP and Runkeeper.
  • Aes37850
    Aes37850 Posts: 48
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    My aunt uses Fitbit one or zip and likes it a lot. My mother and I have the Flex and love it. My brother had the flex and just upgraded to the Force and likes it a lot. I know that Fitbit has a training program that's a yearly thing for $50. It gives you reports based on others your age and a lot of other things too. (you get a free trial of each feature) They didn't quite motivate me, but I didn't really focus on it much! Haha. They are waterproof so you really only need to take it off to charge. I like the syncing with MFP because it helps me account for my calories burned more accurately. You can even do negative calories (which will only bring you down to 1200 calories on MFP, no further than that). And definitely not having to add in all of my exercises that i do is a MAJOR plus! Time saver! We just ordered our Aria scale yesterday too.

    As far as syncing to Android I know they're compatible with some of them. Just depends on how new it is (it's a certain Bluetooth version they go by).

    And the accuracy of the flex is probably a little less accurate than the others, because I know if I go over too many potholes in a row it will put my flex into sleep mode! Like, hello, I'm driving, not sleeping! Haha.
  • doubleclick_darling
    doubleclick_darling Posts: 101 Member
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    I recently bought a FitBit One (I'm on day 2 of using it), and so far, I'm very happy with the accuracy of it, especially the step counter. I have the Moves app on my phone, which tracks walking steps, running distance, and time spent driving, and my fitbit steps match up with my phone (give or take some, as I don't always carry my phone around, but I have my fitbit hooked to me either to the front of my bra or on my waistband).

    I don't have a supported phone, but I can check my progress through the day and sync it up when I'm at my computer (which at this time is quite often). And I have the app for my phone, so I can check up with portions that sync through MFP (calories burned and over/under/right at calories consumed).
  • Ctrum69
    Ctrum69 Posts: 308 Member
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    I have the Basis B1. I have been using it for several weeks now.

    Pros: At a glance readouts of: Pulse, steps, calories burned, time spent walking or running, Syncs with android and a web app. Has built in "habits" which you complete to unlock points that you can then buy more "habits" with, so it has a continual goal increase. Sleep analysis (new in the last release).
    Seems to accurately count steps.
    Very intuitive.
    Functions as an actual watch.

    Cons: The HRM is just an average.. it's NOT second by second heart rate monitoring, and it makes no bones about that. If you want to use it to track "calories burned during exercise, it's going to let you down)
    Sleep analysis is kinda hit or miss.. it reads lying in bed watching my kindle as "sleep", and has missed getting up in the night to hit the loo entirely, showing sleep that night as "uninterrupted".

    Overall, it's a nifty toy, that gives you some real insight into what you are actually doing. As far as providing hard metrics.. ehh.. I wouldn't bet on it being any more accurate than any other multi-plane tracker out there, but it's way more accurate than the little omron digital pedometer I have.

    So, I use the B1 for day to day metrics, and I use a Polar Bluetooth + endomondo to track actual exercise above and beyond my daily routine.

    Hope that's helpful.
  • JennyKCarty
    JennyKCarty Posts: 457 Member
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    I have the Fitbit One which I adore. Lately I've been thinking about adding a heartrate monitor for calorie burns, however I realize nothing is completely accurate. I would love if Fitbit had something in the works for a device with heart rate monitoring capability.
  • Ctrum69
    Ctrum69 Posts: 308 Member
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    I have the Fitbit One which I adore. Lately I've been thinking about adding a heartrate monitor for calorie burns, however I realize nothing is completely accurate. I would love if Fitbit had something in the works for a device with heart rate monitoring capability.

    Wrist based HRM's are flaky. If you are going to put up with a chest strap anyway, personally, I'd go with (and I do) something like the Polar Bluetooth and an app on the phone that can read it. (Endomondo, Runbuddy, whatever).
  • beccagable
    beccagable Posts: 8
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    I have the fitbit Flex and have used it since September. I have zero complaints. I find it accurate and easy to use. My one regret? The Fitbit Force came out a month after I got mine. For $30 more you get stairs climbed, plus a display that not only tells the time BUT can sync with your smartphone and tell you who is calling you. (Not a fitness plus, but I personally think it's a cool feature). Fitbit makes good products. And one thing I like about my Flex is that you can change the band if yours gets grimy or you just want a change.

    However...you should look into the Garmin Vivofit...it's new but it also has some amazing features, one being that the charge lasts up to a year. It also monitors your activity, as in, if you're being too lazy it'll fill up a red bar on the band and you have to move around/walk/run to get it to disappear. I like things that remind me to get off my butt, haha. It does monitor your sleep as well.

    So those are two bands to consider. From a personal experience, I'd recommend the Fitbit Flex or Force but the Vivofit is definitely something to consider, and after all, it costs the same as the flex.
  • misko555
    misko555 Posts: 12 Member
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    I would also suggest you buying Fitbit Flex, they're quite popular nowdays. It tracks steps taken, calories burnd, minutes spent being active, sleep quality, and it syncs data wirelessly with PCs and Macs automatically. You canset goals, track progress and more from your computer or mobile device. It's battery will last you an estimated five to seven days.
    You should also check: http://progressgear.com/activity-tracker-pick-top-2014/
  • ell_v131
    ell_v131 Posts: 349 Member
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    Thanks all,

    it seems Fitbit is the most popular out there so far!

    I am still considering and any additional input is welcome. I know I am not going to get 100% accuracy unless I lock myself into a lab. Thought the HRM inbuilt would help with accuracy though. Anyone out there with Bodymedia? My workouts are comprised of a cardio warm up of about 10 mins and strength training, which is very difficult to guesstimate/measure....

    Thought Vivofit wasn't out yet? That's why I didn't include it...

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