Garmin vs. Fitbit
earlnabby
Posts: 8,171 Member
I have had a Fitbit Flex for a long time and am very happy with it. One thing it doesn't have that I would like is a watch function. I am thinking it will be time to replace it in the not too distant future and am looking at the Garmin Vivofit2. My question is, and hopefully this will be answered by someone who has used both, how accurate is the Vivofit compared to the Flex? My Flex is quite accurate and I know the longer you have it and the more back data it has, the more accurate it will be. Is this true for the Vivofit too? Also, how easy is the phone app and the website to navigate?
My needs:
Any suggestions besides the two I am looking at?
My needs:
- step counter
- daily burn estimator
- water resistant so I can swim with it
- sleep tracker (not really necessary but fun to have)
- sleek design (no big bulky watch thing)
- tells time (again, not a deal breaker but something I would like)
- I would love to have an HRM but the sleeker designs that have them either aren't getting great reviews (Jawbone Up3) or can't be worn in water (Fitbit Charge HR or Surge).
Any suggestions besides the two I am looking at?
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Replies
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I got my Garmin Vivofit 2 + HRM last week. The step count was off a little at first, however, after calibrating the steps in settings on Garmin connect, it is pretty much spot on with my step count and miles traveled throughout the day. Also, the chest strap was a little bit tough getting used to coming from my Polar HRM chest strap. However, after a few days using it for running and a few other activities I don't even know that it is on while I'm working out anymore.
I've read good and bad reviews for the Garmin connect App. After using the App for myself I feel that the Garmin connect app is ok for my needs since I only mainly use it to look at Steps taken, miles, Activities. I do look at the sleep time as well which I like better than Fitbit because it actually does record my sleep pattern every night. I don't need to know the exact times that I am restless or get up during the night. My Fitbit would only record my sleep half of the time and if I got up for more than 10 minutes, it didn't record the first 2 hours of sleep and started my counting from the time I went back to bed. My Vivofit 2 will stay in sleep mode longer unless I press the button on the side first telling it that I'm up and ready to start my day.
I don't count calories so that aspect of my device doesn't matter as much for my needs. However, for the first few days I did sync it with the MFP App and did a calorie count with it as a test. While synced with MFP the calorie intake was correct as was the number of calories burned doing other activities with it while wearing the HRM. As far as calories burned while going about my daily steps throughout the day, it doesn't seem too far off, but who knows. As I said, I don't normally count calories and was only using this feature as a test.
I love the fact that the battery lasts for a full year and that you can change out the bands for a different color if you want. In fact, this is the only time I ever remove the Vivofit 2 from my wrist since getting it, lol. Also, the Vivofit 2 is truly as waterproof as they say because I have gone swimming with it a few times now and shower with it as well and it still works great. These were 2 of the biggest reasons why I chose to get the Vivofit 2 over another Fitbit.
Overall, I really like my Vivofit 2 much better than the Fitbit's that I used before (Flex, Charge, Charge HR) and have decided to keep it.
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I have a fitbit and love it. The only thing it does not do which you have listed is swimming. I dont believe any of the FitBit HR models are water resistant. I find it as sleek as wearing any standard wrist watch. Its comfortable enough that I dont even know Im wearing it after about 3 months of use.0
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I have the vivofit2. You can but the hrm strap seperate or bundled on amazon.
It has all those features plus a back light. It vibrates when you are inactive too long. It haa a timer. It also tells miles for day and a goal!
It is water proof to 50 meters and can even be used in cycling:)
I love it!0 -
Oh and it still tracks steps with a stroller or cart!angelexperiment wrote: »I have the vivofit2. You can but the hrm strap seperate or bundled on amazon.
It has all those features plus a back light. It vibrates when you are inactive too long. It haa a timer. It also tells miles for day and a goal!
It is water proof to 50 meters and can even be used in cycling:)
I love it!
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I had a vivofit for a little bit. I didn't really have it long enough to judge the accuracy. I loved the device itself, but I was not happy with Garmin Connect. During the time I had the vivofit, Garmin was having a lot of issues. The sleep tracking wasn't as detailed as Fitbit's. I wish I had liked Garmin Connect as much as I liked the VivoFit, but after a month I had given up hope on it. If it had worked, I wouldn't have gone back to Fitbit.0
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angelexperiment wrote: »I have the vivofit2. You can but the hrm strap seperate or bundled on amazon.
It has all those features plus a back light. It vibrates when you are inactive too long. It haa a timer. It also tells miles for day and a goal!
It is water proof to 50 meters and can even be used in cycling:)
I love it!
How accurate is the burn estimate, in your opinion?
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I got my Garmin Vivofit 2 + HRM last week. The step count was off a little at first, however, after calibrating the steps in settings on Garmin connect, it is pretty much spot on with my step count and miles traveled throughout the day. Also, the chest strap was a little bit tough getting used to coming from my Polar HRM chest strap. However, after a few days using it for running and a few other activities I don't even know that it is on while I'm working out anymore.
I've read good and bad reviews for the Garmin connect App. After using the App for myself I feel that the Garmin connect app is ok for my needs since I only mainly use it to look at Steps taken, miles, Activities. I do look at the sleep time as well which I like better than Fitbit because it actually does record my sleep pattern every night. I don't need to know the exact times that I am restless or get up during the night. My Fitbit would only record my sleep half of the time and if I got up for more than 10 minutes, it didn't record the first 2 hours of sleep and started my counting from the time I went back to bed. My Vivofit 2 will stay in sleep mode longer unless I press the button on the side first telling it that I'm up and ready to start my day.
I don't count calories so that aspect of my device doesn't matter as much for my needs. However, for the first few days I did sync it with the MFP App and did a calorie count with it as a test. While synced with MFP the calorie intake was correct as was the number of calories burned doing other activities with it while wearing the HRM. As far as calories burned while going about my daily steps throughout the day, it doesn't seem too far off, but who knows. As I said, I don't normally count calories and was only using this feature as a test.
I love the fact that the battery lasts for a full year and that you can change out the bands for a different color if you want. In fact, this is the only time I ever remove the Vivofit 2 from my wrist since getting it, lol. Also, the Vivofit 2 is truly as waterproof as they say because I have gone swimming with it a few times now and shower with it as well and it still works great. These were 2 of the biggest reasons why I chose to get the Vivofit 2 over another Fitbit.
Overall, I really like my Vivofit 2 much better than the Fitbit's that I used before (Flex, Charge, Charge HR) and have decided to keep it.
I looked at the optional HRM but all of the reviews say that it doesn't work well in water because Bluetooth can't send/receive signals as well through water.
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I got my Garmin Vivofit 2 + HRM last week. The step count was off a little at first, however, after calibrating the steps in settings on Garmin connect, it is pretty much spot on with my step count and miles traveled throughout the day. Also, the chest strap was a little bit tough getting used to coming from my Polar HRM chest strap. However, after a few days using it for running and a few other activities I don't even know that it is on while I'm working out anymore.
I've read good and bad reviews for the Garmin connect App. After using the App for myself I feel that the Garmin connect app is ok for my needs since I only mainly use it to look at Steps taken, miles, Activities. I do look at the sleep time as well which I like better than Fitbit because it actually does record my sleep pattern every night. I don't need to know the exact times that I am restless or get up during the night. My Fitbit would only record my sleep half of the time and if I got up for more than 10 minutes, it didn't record the first 2 hours of sleep and started my counting from the time I went back to bed. My Vivofit 2 will stay in sleep mode longer unless I press the button on the side first telling it that I'm up and ready to start my day.
I don't count calories so that aspect of my device doesn't matter as much for my needs. However, for the first few days I did sync it with the MFP App and did a calorie count with it as a test. While synced with MFP the calorie intake was correct as was the number of calories burned doing other activities with it while wearing the HRM. As far as calories burned while going about my daily steps throughout the day, it doesn't seem too far off, but who knows. As I said, I don't normally count calories and was only using this feature as a test.
I love the fact that the battery lasts for a full year and that you can change out the bands for a different color if you want. In fact, this is the only time I ever remove the Vivofit 2 from my wrist since getting it, lol. Also, the Vivofit 2 is truly as waterproof as they say because I have gone swimming with it a few times now and shower with it as well and it still works great. These were 2 of the biggest reasons why I chose to get the Vivofit 2 over another Fitbit.
Overall, I really like my Vivofit 2 much better than the Fitbit's that I used before (Flex, Charge, Charge HR) and have decided to keep it.
I looked at the optional HRM but all of the reviews say that it doesn't work well in water because Bluetooth can't send/receive signals as well through water.
I don't use the HRM in water. If that is something you need, I believe Polar has one or two models where the tracker and HRM work in water.0 -
angelexperiment wrote: »I have the vivofit2. You can but the hrm strap seperate or bundled on amazon.
It has all those features plus a back light. It vibrates when you are inactive too long. It haa a timer. It also tells miles for day and a goal!
It is water proof to 50 meters and can even be used in cycling:)
I love it!
How accurate is the burn estimate, in your opinion?
The burn estimates are very accurate from my comparison with it. For the first few days with the Vivofit 2, I wore that and my Polar FT 7 together while doing all types of exercises that I do, which is a lot. Polar only gave me about 5 calories more than the Vivofit 2 as far as what I burned. On one of my 3.5 mile runs, both actually said I burned the same thing.0 -
I got my Garmin Vivofit 2 + HRM last week. The step count was off a little at first, however, after calibrating the steps in settings on Garmin connect, it is pretty much spot on with my step count and miles traveled throughout the day. Also, the chest strap was a little bit tough getting used to coming from my Polar HRM chest strap. However, after a few days using it for running and a few other activities I don't even know that it is on while I'm working out anymore.
I've read good and bad reviews for the Garmin connect App. After using the App for myself I feel that the Garmin connect app is ok for my needs since I only mainly use it to look at Steps taken, miles, Activities. I do look at the sleep time as well which I like better than Fitbit because it actually does record my sleep pattern every night. I don't need to know the exact times that I am restless or get up during the night. My Fitbit would only record my sleep half of the time and if I got up for more than 10 minutes, it didn't record the first 2 hours of sleep and started my counting from the time I went back to bed. My Vivofit 2 will stay in sleep mode longer unless I press the button on the side first telling it that I'm up and ready to start my day.
I don't count calories so that aspect of my device doesn't matter as much for my needs. However, for the first few days I did sync it with the MFP App and did a calorie count with it as a test. While synced with MFP the calorie intake was correct as was the number of calories burned doing other activities with it while wearing the HRM. As far as calories burned while going about my daily steps throughout the day, it doesn't seem too far off, but who knows. As I said, I don't normally count calories and was only using this feature as a test.
I love the fact that the battery lasts for a full year and that you can change out the bands for a different color if you want. In fact, this is the only time I ever remove the Vivofit 2 from my wrist since getting it, lol. Also, the Vivofit 2 is truly as waterproof as they say because I have gone swimming with it a few times now and shower with it as well and it still works great. These were 2 of the biggest reasons why I chose to get the Vivofit 2 over another Fitbit.
Overall, I really like my Vivofit 2 much better than the Fitbit's that I used before (Flex, Charge, Charge HR) and have decided to keep it.
I looked at the optional HRM but all of the reviews say that it doesn't work well in water because Bluetooth can't send/receive signals as well through water.
I don't use the HRM in water. If that is something you need, I believe Polar has one or two models where the tracker and HRM work in water.
I don't NEED an HRM but if I get a tracker with one, it has to work in the water since I swim laps. Polar is too big and does not qualify for my "sleek design" criterion.
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I don't NEED an HRM but if I get a tracker with one, it has to work in the water since I swim laps. Polar is too big and does not qualify for my "sleek design" criterion.
Polar has the only radio system that propagates through water.
The VivoActive has a swim mode that will assess pace and distance, which will give you a more meaningful energy expenditure estimation anyway.
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MeanderingMammal wrote: »I don't NEED an HRM but if I get a tracker with one, it has to work in the water since I swim laps. Polar is too big and does not qualify for my "sleek design" criterion.
Polar has the only radio system that propagates through water.
The VivoActive has a swim mode that will assess pace and distance, which will give you a more meaningful energy expenditure estimation anyway.
Thanks. I kind of figured that. I use a lap counter on my finger and the clock to assess my pace which is enough for now. I am a slow swimmer and can only swim breast stroke because of shoulder rotation issues so those two give me enough info. I just log my swimming as "leisurely, general" and eat back half of those calories. I eat back almost all of my walking calories because I have found my Fitbit to be very accurate. I'm hoping, if I switch to garmin, that I will get the same accuracy.
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