Fitbit or Garmin?

EmmaCrosbie
EmmaCrosbie Posts: 12 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I'm looking to get either a Fitbit or Garmin watch of some sort but can't decide which one would be best and was hoping I could get your opinions?

I really just want it to count my steps and calories, however I would also like it to monitor my sleep and possibly tell me if I've been "resting" too long (to encourage me to get up and move about again haha). Ideally it needs to be waterproof because I work full time with fish so about 80% of the time my hands are in water.

Thanks in advance

Replies

  • godlikepoetyes
    godlikepoetyes Posts: 442 Member
    Polar Loop. Waterproof. Tracks calories, steps, sleep, activity goal. Sleek, plain, easy to wear. But will not sync with MFP unless you have an IPhone. I have a friend who went with Garmin and likes it okay. I had a Loop and now I have a Polar A360. Love it. It has a wrist heart monitor--tracks everything, does everything.
  • EmmaCrosbie
    EmmaCrosbie Posts: 12 Member
    godlikepoetyes wrote: »
    Polar Loop. Waterproof. Tracks calories, steps, sleep, activity goal. Sleek, plain, easy to wear. But will not sync with MFP unless you have an IPhone. I have a friend who went with Garmin and likes it okay. I had a Loop and now I have a Polar A360. Love it. It has a wrist heart monitor--tracks everything, does everything.

    Thank you! I've never even heard of that one but sounds great
  • godlikepoetyes
    godlikepoetyes Posts: 442 Member
    The Loop should do the trick and you can get it for $50 on Amazon. But, if you want an accurate calorie count, get the A360. Without a heart monitor it's hard to know what your calories are, and even then it's still an estimate. But the Loop was always pretty close to MFP's burn. Good luck!
  • ereckless82
    ereckless82 Posts: 85 Member
    I wear a Fitbit zip all day for steps and have my Garmin vivosmart with chest strap for workouts. Garmin sucks for counting steps. Fitbit is much much better.
  • gember85
    gember85 Posts: 114 Member
    I've got a fitbit charge Hr and love it x
  • godlikepoetyes
    godlikepoetyes Posts: 442 Member
    My friend hates her Garmin for steps, too.
  • sharonandwyatt
    sharonandwyatt Posts: 86 Member
    I have a Fitbit Charge HR I wear all day and night. Syncs easy with MFP. I have never tried any other to compare it to. Good luck in your decision
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,597 Member
    Strava.

    Well, not me, but my husband tracks our rides with Strava ... privately. We're not into competing with others.
  • RobertCotton
    RobertCotton Posts: 28 Member
    I ordered the new Garmin vivoactive hr, it is scheduled to arrive today. I will let you know how I like it.
  • mystgrl28
    mystgrl28 Posts: 43 Member
    I have the garmin vivosmart hr. Waterproof. Tracks steps, sleep, and calories burned (uses heart rate to track calories during exercise). Also tells you to move when you've been inactive for too long.

    I dunno about the new fitbits, but all fitbits up to the charge hr are not waterproof.
  • MeiannaLee
    MeiannaLee Posts: 338 Member
    Ive had the fitbit charge and now i have the fitbit hr and i love them both!
    They are super easy to understand and sync up to my phone.
    Also they beep when youve reached your step goal!
  • Colorscheme
    Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
    edited May 2016
    I think it depends on what you want to do. If you're doing mostly cardio, I think a Fitbit is good. If you're biking, swimming and doing non cardio activities, I think a Garmin would be better.
  • srecupid
    srecupid Posts: 660 Member
    I did the dishes with my vivofit 2 on the other day still works perfectly. I have no interest in sleep tracking and I have a separate polar hr monitor for intentional cardio sessions. I think i paid like $45 for it on ebay refurbished. I know there are more fancy ones out there but, honestly for the convenience of just replacing the battery once a year rather than charging every night unless something has an hr monitor it's not really worth more than what i paid for the vivofit.
  • critterbug15
    critterbug15 Posts: 55 Member
    I have a Garmin 630 and my husband has a Garmin Fenix 3. We both had Polar devices before and didn't really love them. The Polar loop has minimal information comparatively. And the Garmin step challenges are a lot of fun if you use them to motivate yourself. He did his 1st half marathon distance to win one week. Haha The running dynamics are cool, too. Not sure if you just want a good straightforward activity tracker or you would have fun with more data. I love data so the running dynamics, etc. are very satisfying. I have learned ways to reduce my energy output at the same pace by lowering my bounce/vertical oscillation. Garmin Connect is a little bit wonky, but not enough to throw me back to Polar.

    I haven't used a fitbit, but I won one and gave it to my sister who really likes it.
  • mer10s
    mer10s Posts: 2 Member
    I'm also looking at these.
    I want to know steps throughout my day and HR/calorie burn in workouts (mainly cardio, mostly SPIN type classes). I've been comparing the FitBit Charge HR and the Garmin Vivosmart HR. Can't really decide. I've been using a cheap watch/strap combo for years, and I've hated it the whole time. Really want something non obtrusive, yet tracks all the things I'm interested in. I'm not too worried about my SPIN "steps" not being counted as steps, I figure that's a workout and I want that counted separatly anyway.
  • GerardCornielje
    GerardCornielje Posts: 19 Member
    I love my Garmin Fenix 3 HR, works fab for basically everything from running over weight lifting & indoor rowing to swimming. HR measurements are surprisingly accurate when compared to a HR belt. Steps counting is accurate too. The sapphire glass makes it basically scratch proof. Only downside is that it is quite bulky.
  • Ob30470z
    Ob30470z Posts: 10 Member
    I absolutely adore my garmin vivoactive hr! Does everything you want it too. It you're not paying for the Fitbit brand. Plus Fitbit not waterproof. I did some heavy research and so glad I went with the garmin
  • snowflake930
    snowflake930 Posts: 2,188 Member
    edited May 2016
    I have had a fitbit for over 3 years. First a One, then a Force (discontinued), now a Charge HR.
    Love it! It is perfect for me, as most of my activity is step based. Single best motivator I have to get me to move more. I went from struggling to get 10,000/day to getting over 20,000/day, so it works for me.
    I am trying to justify buying their new Blaze.
  • critterbug15
    critterbug15 Posts: 55 Member
    snowflake930 wrote: »
    I have had a fitbit for over 3 years. First a One, then a Force (discontinued), now a Charge HR.
    Love it! It is perfect for me, as most of my activity is step based. Single best motivator I have to get me to move more. I went from struggling to get 10,000/day to getting over 20,000/day, so it works for me.
    I am trying to justify buying their new Blaze.

    20,000 a day is awesome!
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    Acutally I have had two fitbit charges, garmin vivosmart and now a forerunner.

    Garmin does not suck for counting steps. Fitbit was not so great for me on counting steps and running steps. As a matter of fact the better device you buy the better the product. You get what you pay for, so rather it is Garmin, Fitbit, Jawbone, etc..

    I will say this, fitbit has the better app, garmin has the better device. Fitbit has "hardware" issues some bad design issues with the charge and charge HR for example.

    Decide how much you want to pay for the device and what it must do and choose what type of investment you are willing to make.

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