Fitness Trackers

I also use (and love) a Fitbit one, as I prefer something that doesn't go on my wrist. I use a Polar H7 HRM/chest strap that I use with an app on my phone for my actual workouts, since many of them are more than step based. The combo works well for me and I feel is fairly accurate, especially the Fitbit after a couple years now is very accurate on my general activity level and calorie burns.

After a ton of research I bought a Misfit. I wanted one that ran on a battery because I didn't want to be constantly charging it. When it syncs (via bluetooth with my phone) it tells me battery life. I've had it a month on full time use and it's still got a full battery. I've actually been pretty happy with it. I bought the Shine model which is fairly basic. It tracks my sleep, activity, steps. It has other functions (like friending with other misfit users) that I do not use. It can be wrist based (which is what I use) or it comes with a small attachment to put on belt loops, shoes, etc. When I read reviews the older models all had issues with the tracker falling out of it's holder. Mine has a strap that holds it in place so they have apparently fixed whatever issue it had years ago with that. I've been happy with it! For $50, it was well worth it. It does say it's waterproof but I NEVER wear mine in the shower or swimming. I don't take it off for dishes unless my hands are actually going to be under water.

I have a fitbit one. I really love it. It does not go on the wrist which I like. I don't mind people seeing me with a fitness tracker if I'm working out, but at church or at the office I think they look kind of tacky (just My opinion - I think they look better with casual clothing than dressy stuff) and I don't really wear bracelets as they annoy me anyway. The one will sync through bluetooth and does flights and sleep tracking. It does have a wrist band for that. There isn't a hrm but I didn't feel that I needed that option plus it was about $80 which fit into my budget.

Sold my Fitbit Charge HR and upgraded to an Apple Watch. It's very nice and does quite a bit that I like but it is also a little trickier to navigate at first. Definitely doest more than my Fitbit, but I'm still figuring out some of the intricate details that makes it worth with its cost. The onscreen updates of the Apple Watch is by far better than having to log on to Fitbit site for updates.

I started with the Fitbit Ultra a long time ago. Moved on to the One when I killed it. Lost a One, then my replacement died (thank you washing machine). I love the One, but hate that it wasn't waterproof. Fitbit offered to replace it but I couldn't find my receipt. So I started testing a bunch of different trackers. I tried the Fitbit flex, Jawbone Up, and Misfit Flash. I ended up switching to the Misfit Shine. I liked that you could wear it multiple ways. The app took some getting used to coming from Fitbit but I thought it was better than the Jawbone app. I found the Jawbone app annoying and did not like the layout for looking back at your history.

The Shine started messing up after about 4 months (draining the battery in less than a month), and Misfit sent me a new one. In the interim, though, I resorted to wearing a Fitbit Zip that a friend gave me, and found that although I love the sleek profile and water proofness of the Shine, the Misfit app is really lacking and I like that I can track my water (very important to me), and also do challenges and cheer/jeer friends with Fitbit. With Misfit you can have friends but not interact with them for encouragement. I ended up wearing the Misfit on my wrist most of the time (my ankle when biking and my hip when running since I wear a Garmin HRM for those) so that got me over my aversion to wrist based devices as it was quite convenient to not have to switch it over when changing clothes.

After learning that Fitbit has made it effortless to switch between devices, I have an Alta on its way. This way I can have the convenience of a wrist based device that I can quickly check my progress on to wear most of the time, and my Zip to wear during my runs, bike rides, pushing a grocery cart, or when I don't want anything on my wrist. There are so many factors to consider and decide what's important: where it is worn; water resistance; charged v battery; display or just lights; HR (not really necessary in my opinion as believe it or not you can check your pulse and blood pressure with your smart phone easily and for free and for actual exercise a real HRM is the better way to go); and the quality of the app + whether it integrates with other apps you use if you'd like.

A bit long winded, but to sum it up I think I have found my optimal combo in the Alta + Zip + HRM. Seems a bit much, but I am a techy kind of person and like gadgets and data