Looking for the best HR monitor/wrist band...fitbit or wait for the apple watch?

Options
2»

Replies

  • Emilia777
    Emilia777 Posts: 978 Member
    Options
    VegasFit wrote: »
    I also have a first generation Ipad and it works fine. Lol. But as far as the trackers go I have the Polar Loop which I've never been 100 percent happy with. I'm not concernd with my steps per day or my sleep patterns so the Loop with the chest strap is really pointless to me. I thought I was upgrading and I should have just stayed with what I had. I've been wearing my old Polar HRM for the last month and I like it better because as another poster mentioned beyond being a tracker the Loop paired with the HRM just doesn't offer me the feedback I get with my stand alone HRM worn just for exercising. I've been considering the Garmin Vivofit and DC Rainmaker offers good reviews so I am going to check that out. Costco also has a couple varieties of the Fitbit and the Garmin. If I had purchased my Loop there I would take it back at this point.

    Those iPads are sturdy, eh? Ha :smile:

    Turns out a few reviews are out for the Apple Watch. The only one I could find that talks about its HR monitoring capabilities says: “The most interesting observation from my workouts so far is that the heart-rate readings I’m getting from the Apple Watch during indoor cycling are very close to the readings I’ve gotten from a chest monitor. I haven’t yet seen the kind of wildly-erratic readings that I’ve experienced with other health watches that measure heart rate through the wrist.” (http://recode.net/2015/04/08/a-week-on-the-wrist-the-apple-watch-review/). I do wish there was more info on this.

    I see the Fitbit has quite the following :smile:
  • Jwls23
    Jwls23 Posts: 37 Member
    Options
    I bought the polar loop which I use to track steps and then I can sync my chest strap hr to it during workouts. I loooove it
  • gotolam
    gotolam Posts: 262 Member
    Options
    tri_bob wrote: »
    An original iPad still doing its thing? Good on ya, Emilia777. As ever, YMMV, etc. Also, I'd completely forgotten about the Mio Fuse. This whole segment is moving very fast, and I'm really hoping that by the time I'm ready to replace the Fenix 3 that at least one device will exist with these attributes:
    • Activity monitoring (step tracking)
    • Continuous HR tracking (without chest strap)
    • Accurate HR tracking during vigorous exercise
    • Multi-sport capability with GPS
    • Automatic sleep tracking
    • Not hideous or huge (I like the look of the Fenix 3, but I look like a kid who stole his dad's watch.)
    While I'm at it, I guess I should also ask for a pony.

    Surge comes pretty close. Only missing the third bullet -- as all wrist-based hrm's are prone to do.

    Before going to far down the Apple iRoad, make sure you check and are okay with battery life. Apple is reporting 18 hours...which means 12-14. An all day activity tracker that can't last all day...

  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    edited April 2015
    Options
    I looked at the apple watch, but it's just so expensive. I think the cheapest was $350 for the Sport edition which I don't believe has all the features of the Apple Watch which is $550 and an iPhone 5 is the oldest iPhone it can be used with (not a problem I have a 6, but still something to consider).

    I went with a Fitbit Surge($250 from amazon + free 2 day shipping because I'm a prime member), but I did consider a few others like Garmin, Samsung, and Microsoft. I ended up going with Fitbit for a couple reasons:
    • I've had a good experience with customer service
    • I love their software.
    • I've had a good experience with other Fitbit models
    • I've tried Garmin and I didn't like the software. Yes the software killed it for me.
  • Emilia777
    Emilia777 Posts: 978 Member
    Options
    gotolam wrote: »
    tri_bob wrote: »
    An original iPad still doing its thing? Good on ya, Emilia777. As ever, YMMV, etc. Also, I'd completely forgotten about the Mio Fuse. This whole segment is moving very fast, and I'm really hoping that by the time I'm ready to replace the Fenix 3 that at least one device will exist with these attributes:
    • Activity monitoring (step tracking)
    • Continuous HR tracking (without chest strap)
    • Accurate HR tracking during vigorous exercise
    • Multi-sport capability with GPS
    • Automatic sleep tracking
    • Not hideous or huge (I like the look of the Fenix 3, but I look like a kid who stole his dad's watch.)
    While I'm at it, I guess I should also ask for a pony.

    Surge comes pretty close. Only missing the third bullet -- as all wrist-based hrm's are prone to do.

    Before going to far down the Apple iRoad, make sure you check and are okay with battery life. Apple is reporting 18 hours...which means 12-14. An all day activity tracker that can't last all day...

    I’d get the Surge in a second if it wasn’t so off on its HR readings during exercise. And, as I said, not all wrist-based HRMs are inaccurate - the Mio Fuse is pretty spot on.

    Anyway, the Surge is still a great option, especially for the money.
  • gotolam
    gotolam Posts: 262 Member
    Options
    I considered the fuse - I think it actually looks pretty cool - but per their website, HR can drain the battery down to 11-12 hours. Good for measuring exercise activity, but not for gathering resting heart rate info. Also, no GPS.
  • amarohl
    amarohl Posts: 1
    Options
    Anyone else using a Microsoft Band? I just picked one up to try something new. So far, I'm digging it, but I can't seem to get the data to merge between Microsoft Health and myfitnesspal.

    I previously had the original Fitbit, and that always synced beautifully. If this doesn't work out, I may go back to the Fitbit family, once the "new gadget fun" wears off!
  • Emilia777
    Emilia777 Posts: 978 Member
    Options
    gotolam wrote: »
    I considered the fuse - I think it actually looks pretty cool - but per their website, HR can drain the battery down to 11-12 hours. Good for measuring exercise activity, but not for gathering resting heart rate info. Also, no GPS.

    Yup. At this point, everything has limitations, which makes it come down to prioritizing goals. Maybe, in the not-so-distant future, something will do it all :smile:

    And sorry, I got nothing on the MS Band. Hope you can make it work!
  • scorpio516
    scorpio516 Posts: 955 Member
    Options
    Garmin VivoActive.
    Step counter, links to HRMs, tracks runs, tracks bikes, tracks golfing, tracks swims. And, unlike the Apple watch, its well waterproofed.
  • trina1049
    trina1049 Posts: 593 Member
    Options
    I've been using a Polar FT7 HRM for gym workouts and wear an old fashioned pedometer to track my steps/calories burned outside of the gym and both have worked great. The Polar FT7 HRM seems to be pretty accurate as I've lost 45+ pounds counting my calorie burns with it and the pedometer (an old Omron Walking Style).

    The HRMs seem to be most accurate when wearing a chest strap rather than the wrist type. I've researched the Fitbits, etc. and while they're mostly good as enhanced pedometers, none of them seem very accurate with steady state exercising according to the reviews I've read.

    I'm dying to get an Apple watch, but I believe that the first release out on April 24th does not include all of the health features which will be available with later releases/updates for the watch so you'd probably should check that out first before you purchase one. The Apple watch will probably be awesome once all the health add-ons are in place. I love Apple products so I'm biased in favor of them.

    I think I'll stick with my Polar FT7 and pedometer until one or both crash and burn then upgrade once the Apple watch is in fully operational for step counting/calories burned and another HRM with chest strap.

    It would be nice to have an all in one device, but I guess we'll have to wait for the technology to catch up for accurate HR readings.
  • annaskiski
    annaskiski Posts: 1,212 Member
    Options
    Ordered my watch this morning! It says delivered April 24-May 9, so I will update once I've had a chance to try it out.
    I have a Garmin with a chest strap, I'll compare the two...
  • scottb81
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
    Options
    I ordered one this morning too but yours is getting delivered faster.
  • annettehoyt
    annettehoyt Posts: 21 Member
    Options
    Thanks for all the input! I called Apple and asked how the Apple Watch gets a HR reading and as you all know, it measures the blood flow in the wrist, but the apple tech said it only takes this reading every 10 minutes. I am not leaning towards the apple watch because I sometimes only have time for a 20 minute HIT workout, so getting two readings doesn't seem like it would be worth the $450 that they are in Canada. Still doing some research based on what you all have said! Thanks!

Categories