Fitbit vs. Others

I love fitbit. However, after having a defective flex (was replaced for free by customer service) and 2 defective chargers I decided to go a different route. I bought a Garmin Vivofit last night on Walmart.com (with free store pick up today) for $75 (82 with tax....oh and Vivofit's typically run around $130 before tax from Garmin's site).

I haven't had it long and I'm missing some things like the Activity Records I could create with my Flex. However, bonus' are:
-Display (time, distance, calories, steps, date, step goal...all available at the touch of a button)
-Can Sync with Garmin HRM (if in the future I get one, when I enter HRM mode it will create an activity record)
-Has a calendar that I can use to plan my workouts on it's dashboard
-Requires batteries....however packaging says they should last about 1yr
-If I log exercise on Garmin Connect...it actually transfers the log over here (something Fitbit does not do)....I can post some picture examples if you don't understand what I mean by this
-It has a better water resistance rating then the Fitbit Flex
-It has the same method of clipping to your wrist as the Flex, but Garmin included a little belt like thing to keep them from separating. (which is a known problem with the Flex that causes people to lose it)

orchid8384 wrote: »

@shadow2soul: I'm not quite sure what you mean. I've never had anything like this so I'm completely new to this technology. If it's not too much trouble, would you be able to post pics? I'm a little confused on what all these technologies all entails. So it measures when you're resting, being active, calorie intake, etc? Thanks for helping!

With Fitbit, I always logged exercise on Fitbit.com. When the two sites would sync, Fitbit would transfer my total burn data to MFP for an adjustment. My exercise calories where always included in that adjustment, but the exercise itself didn't show as logged in the Exercise diary portion of MFP.
Example: Dec 8
Fitbit Activity Log-


MFP Exercise Diary-



Now, I got the garmin VivoFit. I did a workout and logged it on Garmin Connect. I assumed it would do the same thing as Fitbit did. Instead however, it not only transferred my total calories burned but also the exercise log (although with a name change).

Example: Dec 12
What I logged on Garmin Connect's Activity Log-


What showed up in MFP Exercise Diary-


So this time, everyone on my friends list got the message that I worked out in their Newsfeed. Where as with Fitbit, my workouts were never announced in newsfeeds.

____________________________________________________________

Both devices -

- Calculate calories burned including BMR (so yes even your resting calories)
- When they sync with MFP the math is:
Device Estimated Calorie Burn - MFP estimated calorie burn (with logged exercise) = adjustment (can be negative if negative adjustments are enabled)
- Track Sleep if put into sleep mode (with the exception of the Fitbit Zip)
- Track Steps/Distance
- Both devices will need none step based activites to be manually logged (I think the exception to this is if you have the HRM that pairs with the Garmin)

Fitbit's old dashboard used to tell you what % of the time you were Sedentary/Lightly Active/Active, but so far I haven't been able to find that information since they changed it. Garmin does show this information, it's just not on the dashboard.

Garmin has an Auto Step Goal setting, which uses your trends to set a goal for you to achieve. Fitbit has something similar to this, but it is part of their optional pay program.

Fitbit allows you to set custom calorie "Food Plan" goals on their site. In fact, you actually don't even need to use MFP (MFP has a better database though) to log food. Garmin however, seems to just pull the information from MFP.

I don't expect any drop in Fitbit prices anytime soon. They do sometimes 'sunset' a product but for the most part they seem to just be adding new, pricier models, not getting rid of the old options.

Misfit has a tracker on sale for $25 right now. I'd get that if I was in the market for a bargain.

I have a Fitbit Charge, and I love it... My only problem is that it's really lite on my wrist, and I have to catch myself before bathing or washing dishes... I was considering returning it and getting a Garmin Vivofit since it's waterproof. But, I'm still on the fence about that.