Fitness Trackers - what's yours?

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  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
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    My vivosmart is nice. I got it packaged with a hrm. I like it a lot. I lie the fluid goal setting. I love the waterproof.
  • Inspiredtwentytwelve
    Inspiredtwentytwelve Posts: 3 Member
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    I have a fitbit charge HR and a Polar. If your are seriously into sports you may want to consider a Polar or a Garmin which are more accurate for HR. But, the charge is fine for simply motivating yourself to get up and out more - even if it is just steps - everything helps. The best benefit is the sleep tracker which has, if you'll excuse the pun, "opened my eyes" to my poor sleep quality, which has a knock on effect to my dietary habits! Good to see the full picture.
  • bababs89
    bababs89 Posts: 307 Member
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    I have a fitbit charge hr and love it! I'm also not sure how accurate the hr part is, but it does keep me moving more!
  • fletwock
    fletwock Posts: 5 Member
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    I have a PolarFlow. I found a strange 'activity tracker' device at our local big box retailer for a paltry $35. I bought it without knowing what it was really for or what it really did. But it had something to do with fitness and I needed something to get me back on track. Went home, Googled it, and was pleasantly surprised to find that I'd bought something that would track how active I was, count how many calories I burn, how many steps I take, and tell me the time. I don't believe it's 100% accurate and it took me a month to actually wear it but I love it! It's definitely got me back on track and I'll be very eager to see these last 20 pounds come off.

    The only catch with this device is that you have to size the band yourself which means you run the risk of cutting it too short. (I once read online that if you mess up Polar will send you a new band for free BUT I do not know if this is true or not.)
    Also, it only comes in black.
  • tiffanyfoundit
    tiffanyfoundit Posts: 130 Member
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    fletwock wrote: »
    I have a PolarFlow. I found a strange 'activity tracker' device at our local big box retailer for a paltry $35. I bought it without knowing what it was really for or what it really did. But it had something to do with fitness and I needed something to get me back on track. Went home, Googled it, and was pleasantly surprised to find that I'd bought something that would track how active I was, count how many calories I burn, how many steps I take, and tell me the time. I don't believe it's 100% accurate and it took me a month to actually wear it but I love it! It's definitely got me back on track and I'll be very eager to see these last 20 pounds come off.

    The only catch with this device is that you have to size the band yourself which means you run the risk of cutting it too short. (I once read online that if you mess up Polar will send you a new band for free BUT I do not know if this is true or not.)
    Also, it only comes in black.

    Which one? There seems to be a million versions of them. And that seems to be a popular one.
  • fletwock
    fletwock Posts: 5 Member
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    tiffanyfoundit wrote: »
    fletwock wrote: »
    I have a PolarFlow. I found a strange 'activity tracker' device at our local big box retailer for a paltry $35. I bought it without knowing what it was really for or what it really did. But it had something to do with fitness and I needed something to get me back on track. Went home, Googled it, and was pleasantly surprised to find that I'd bought something that would track how active I was, count how many calories I burn, how many steps I take, and tell me the time. I don't believe it's 100% accurate and it took me a month to actually wear it but I love it! It's definitely got me back on track and I'll be very eager to see these last 20 pounds come off.

    The only catch with this device is that you have to size the band yourself which means you run the risk of cutting it too short. (I once read online that if you mess up Polar will send you a new band for free BUT I do not know if this is true or not.)
    Also, it only comes in black.

    Which one? There seems to be a million versions of them. And that seems to be a popular one.

    I have the Polar Loop. Actually had to Google it to be certain. Lol.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    Mine is a Polar Ft7, which I've had for about two years. I love it.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    tiffanyfoundit wrote: »
    I run, and I know these aren't always accurate for calories burned, but I just want something to give me some sort of estimate for me better than having to hold my phone with a fitness app on it. Any ideas for that?

    I run as well, and thus far my Polar has been accurate enough. I say this because of my results. I weigh my food, log everything.
  • andres0691
    andres0691 Posts: 26 Member
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    I use polar FT7. I started using mine 2-3 years ago and it is still going.
  • andyluvv
    andyluvv Posts: 281 Member
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    mwyvr wrote: »
    @andyluvv What do you intend to do with the heart rate monitoring feature?
    Mostly for a more accurate calorie count and to know my own heart rate.

    So far it seems pretty good - it states my resting bpm at 47-50 bpm. It also helps with the calorie count when weight lifting as it bases it loosely around your heart rate at the time of activity. That does mean it's not 100% accurate but I'm not sure anything is. A friend said in some reviews online, people claim that the hr function is similar to other devices.
    tiffanyfoundit wrote: »
    I run, and I know these aren't always accurate for calories burned, but I just want something to give me some sort of estimate for me better than having to hold my phone with a fitness app on it. Any ideas for that?

    I found my old fitbit flex quite good and accurate when it came to tracking my intake. I love the new stuff with the HR but I'd say the flex is a great device for anyone starting with the trackers :)
  • GillianLF
    GillianLF Posts: 410 Member
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    I have a Garmin Forerunner. I only used it when I was seriously running so its been in the box for 18 months, I'm just getting back into running since this Summer so must dust it off and put it to work.
  • jeffpettis
    jeffpettis Posts: 865 Member
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    I have a Garmin Vivosmart with a chest strap. I love it. I have found that the wrist based HR monitors are okay for normal day to day activities but the accuracy really isn't there during strenuous exercise. Some of them won't pick up a heart rate at all if you get it above a certain limit. Doesn't make much sense to me to pay that much for a band with a heart rate monitor that won't work for exercise.
  • cronus70
    cronus70 Posts: 189 Member
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    I've become a bit of a polar fan boy. I've been using a polar watch and HRM for a while now but now I'm using a Polar Loop 2 to track my activity through the day. When i work out at home I stick my H7 HRM on and link it to the polar beat app on my iPad mini and select the type of workout I'm doing. When I have finished I load up the polar flow app on my mini and it syncs everything from the Loop wrist strap and polar beat app over to MFP.
  • Matt200goal
    Matt200goal Posts: 481 Member
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    I bought a Fitbit ChargeHR three days ago. I like it. I used to have a Garmin 405. On day 1, I wore both during a run & a walk to try to compare. Distance - about the same, Instantaneous HR - about the same when I checked (4-5 times during the run/walk), Avg HR for the work out, Calories burned - the Fitbit said about 3.5 times as many as the Garmin (must use way different estimation methods ?!?).

    Either way, the Garmin is retired (it froze up again during the run test) and I've been wearing & using the Fitbit since Sunday afternoon. I really like not having to use a chest strap. The Fitbit Dashboard is cool.

    Overall, pleased with the purchase.

    My $0.02
  • tiffanyfoundit
    tiffanyfoundit Posts: 130 Member
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    Do all these have to have chest straps ?
    Sorry if this is a dumb question, just never used them before.
  • tiffanyfoundit
    tiffanyfoundit Posts: 130 Member
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    Also, does the fitbit have to be synced to a phone to fully work?
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    @tiffanyfoundit - The Fitbit ChargeHR and Fitbit Surge have HRM's on your wrist (no chest strap).

    Fitbit can be connected to some smart phones (iphone 4s or newer and well, it should work with phones that have bluetooth 4.0) and it can be synced to the PC. All Fitbit's come with a little usb dongle, so that you can sync with any computer if you don't have a smartphone (or if you don't want to use your phone).
  • tiffanyfoundit
    tiffanyfoundit Posts: 130 Member
    edited September 2015
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    @shadow2soul thank you!!! Looks like I may be getting a fitbit??
    I feel like it's kind of like joining a cult. :#:p
  • andyluvv
    andyluvv Posts: 281 Member
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    Matt200goal wrote: »
    I bought a Fitbit ChargeHR three days ago. I like it. I used to have a Garmin 405. On day 1, I wore both during a run & a walk to try to compare. Distance - about the same, Instantaneous HR - about the same when I checked (4-5 times during the run/walk), Avg HR for the work out, Calories burned - the Fitbit said about 3.5 times as many as the Garmin (must use way different estimation methods ?!?).

    Either way, the Garmin is retired (it froze up again during the run test) and I've been wearing & using the Fitbit since Sunday afternoon. I really like not having to use a chest strap. The Fitbit Dashboard is cool.

    Overall, pleased with the purchase.

    My $0.02

    I'm quite pleased with mine too though some of the comments here made me want the garmin. But then again, I'd hate the chest wrap I think - it'd be yet another thing to carry to the gym.
    tiffanyfoundit wrote: »
    @shadow2soul thank you!!! Looks like I may be getting a fitbit??
    I feel like it's kind of like joining a cult. :#:p

    I think you won't regret your decision. There's a group on mfp too for fitbit users so it kinda is a cult haha
    Welcome!
  • tiffanyfoundit
    tiffanyfoundit Posts: 130 Member
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    @andyluvv @shadow2soul
    Does the charge hr give you the ability to time runs and see calories burned in those runs?

    Like I typically breakdown my exercises with warm up,my real run, and cool down. Would I be able to Do that still? And also see my mile (or whatever I am running that day)time? Along with what's burned specifically in that time?

    Sorry to be obnoxious and ask so many questions, I'm just trying to figure it out before I drop that much cash.

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