Fitness & Activity Trackers - Help me pick one to buy TODAY! (Fitbit Charge HR or Garmin Vivosmart)?

helaurin
helaurin Posts: 157 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,

I'm looking for a tracker. It needs to do the basics: count steps, be able to report that to a friend (or in this case, a colleague for a month-long steps-walked challenge at work). As I often feel I do not sleep enough or sleep well enough, something that monitors sleep can be useful. It needs to be relatively simple to use. Ideally, it should sync up wirelessly with my work cellphone (iPhone); bonus if it also connects to my personal cellphone (Android).

Because I'm short, it needs to be able to have the stride length setting altered (my average stride length is 19", whereas the average woman is about 24"), especially if it is using distance to validate or determine steps taken.

I'm not a hard-core exercise person - I'm older, mid-50's, back in physical therapy again (this time for a rotator cuff injury on one shoulder AND problems with my left foot); cautious with most exercises due to previous injuries to my knees (destroyed cartilage, torn meniscus) and spine (bulging and herniated disks).

But that said, I like to walk, garden, and volunteer walking dogs at a shelter. So water-resistant is a plus, being scratch-resistant is also a huge plus.

I get that most trackers don't recognize steps taken if your arms are stationary (such as when pushing a grocery cart at the store, or pushing a walk-behind lawn mower) - so tips or suggestions so that those steps are recognized by the recommended tracker would be appreciated.

I'm strongly considering either the FitBit Charge HR or Garmin Vivosmart.

Thoughts?

Replies

  • lauraesh0384
    lauraesh0384 Posts: 463 Member
    I just upgraded to the Charge HR from a Zip a few days ago and I LOVE it. It also made me aware that I don't sleep all that well. I was under the impression that I slept straight through but my Fit Bit said I was restless about 15-20 times last night. I was a little leery with wrist worn trackers that it would over count my steps but based on a short trial last night my Zip over counted 300 steps. That was based on a 45 minute or so time span.
  • healthykaitlin
    healthykaitlin Posts: 91 Member
    I have the Charge HR, so I'll just give you the pros & cons.

    Heart rate, imo, is the most useful function... Regardless of the accuracy of steps/floors; I use HR to gauge whether I am pushing myself enough during workouts.

    I haven't found a way to make the step counter more accurate... I was on one of those elliptical gliders at the gym the other day & felt half dead & earned zero steps. That said, the previous day I was gardening & using hedge clippers & while my feet weren't moving more than a usual walk around, the step count was astronomical... so I figured it evens out.

    I love getting my weekly emails from FitBit that show my progress, it's an easy format to forward to a friend & im sure there's a way to see month over month progress.

    I've walked my dog in the rain, been soaked by a sprinkler, done yard work, washed my hands, cooked, painted, sanded, & cleaned without any issues to my charge HR... Heavy yard work & house renovations & i am by no means dainty with it & there are no scratches or stretching or damage whatsoever... One thing I will say is that it needs to be cleaned pretty frequently as it tends to get gunked up with debris & there are some very thin areas that need to be wiped out with a toothpick... Otherwise, no complaints.

    I'm interested to see if anyone has learned to adjust the stride. On their site I read they recommend 10k steps a day because it's about 5 miles, & I have a large stride for my short stature & it only comes to about 4.25 or something for me.

  • cabwj
    cabwj Posts: 843 Member
    I like my Garmin Vivosmart. The sleep tracking is good- shows me when my sleep is light and when it's deep. I've never checked the step counting for accuracy, just use it to gauge if I'm doing more or less than I normally do. It is waterproof- I swim with it on. The downside is no heart rate monitor without using a chest strap (sold separately, of course). It syncs well with my iPhone and my PC. I am not sure how it would work syncing to two phones.
  • MonkeyMel21
    MonkeyMel21 Posts: 2,396 Member
    I chose the Garmin Vivosmart HR over the Fitbit Charge HR. All the same things for the most part but I love the display on the Garmin and it's waterproof so I can wear it when I swim. If you go that route I suggest getting the screen protector (I got one off Amazon) because it is easily scratched (scratched mine during my first work out on a lane line, lol).
  • mrsloganlife
    mrsloganlife Posts: 158 Member
    I chose the Charge HR over the Vivosmart--but to be fair I had the early version of the Vivosmart and never found it useful. It more than likely has improved since then, but I am addicted to my Charge HR--a lot for the sleep tracking, heart rate, steps, etc., but a lot also for the community factor :)
  • LazSommer
    LazSommer Posts: 1,851 Member
    healthykaitlin wrote: »
    I have the Charge HR, so I'll just give you the pros & cons.

    Heart rate, imo, is the most useful function... Regardless of the accuracy of steps/floors; I use HR to gauge whether I am pushing myself enough during workouts.

    I haven't found a way to make the step counter more accurate... I was on one of those elliptical gliders at the gym the other day & felt half dead & earned zero steps. That said, the previous day I was gardening & using hedge clippers & while my feet weren't moving more than a usual walk around, the step count was astronomical... so I figured it evens out.

    I love getting my weekly emails from FitBit that show my progress, it's an easy format to forward to a friend & im sure there's a way to see month over month progress.

    I've walked my dog in the rain, been soaked by a sprinkler, done yard work, washed my hands, cooked, painted, sanded, & cleaned without any issues to my charge HR... Heavy yard work & house renovations & i am by no means dainty with it & there are no scratches or stretching or damage whatsoever... One thing I will say is that it needs to be cleaned pretty frequently as it tends to get gunked up with debris & there are some very thin areas that need to be wiped out with a toothpick... Otherwise, no complaints.

    I'm interested to see if anyone has learned to adjust the stride. On their site I read they recommend 10k steps a day because it's about 5 miles, & I have a large stride for my short stature & it only comes to about 4.25 or something for me.

    You can change it online.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    They're very similar. The HRM in the Fitbit is not accurate (or even close) for intense exercise but it sounds like that isn't something you're interested in anyway. So the main thing to set them apart is really the web site they work with. If you don't already know people in the Fitbit or Garmin universe (for the competition) then go with whichever one you can get a better deal on, or prefer the color of.
  • BeYouTiful94
    BeYouTiful94 Posts: 289 Member
    I've got the Charge HR and love it. The only thing I find mildly annoying is that the HRM gets weird with non-steady state cardio, but you said you don't do a lot of exercising so that probably won't be the biggest concern for you. Otherwise, the steps and HRM is accurate enough for everyday purposes, I've had mine for 6 months and it still looks quite nice. The band actually still looks perfect, the screen has minimal scratching, which is surprising for all the times I've hit it on something. It collects some pretty useful data and I feel like the app organizes it really well. They also have a new iOS update that allows you to change your stride length (also @healthykaitlin - in the iOS app, it's in account > advanced settings > stride length. You do have to update the app first, though. I'm not sure the path for Android, but I bet it's there also). As a tip for the lawn mower, etc, you could use a rubber band to extend the length of the tracker and put it around your ankle. I hear a lot of people do that. I don't know that it gets good HRM data, but it'll get your steps for the pushing activity that you're doing.

    As for steps and monthly reports and so on, the iOS app for sure lets you see that for the day, one week, one month, three months, and one year. The website gives a better graph if you wanted to share it IMO, just because it's bigger. It looks something like this

    dla954ho9dr8.png

    You can get that kind of data/charting for pretty much everything the Charge HR records

  • ilex70
    ilex70 Posts: 727 Member
    I like my vivofit. No idea about adjusting the stride length, but you should be good on the rest.

    I do agree though that if most of your friends use FitBit that may be a better choice for you.

    And, I'm cheap. Found my vivofit as a refurb and w/a coupon paid $15. That was a while back though...before Christmas.
  • helaurin
    helaurin Posts: 157 Member
    I ended up getting the Fitbit Charge HR late last night. Amazon had it for cheaper than Best Buy, but Best Buy matched the price, and I had a Best Buy reward credit, so I picked it up last night. For some reason, I can't get the Fitbit software to download and run on my laptop, so I used the iPhone to get things set up. I was able to adjust the stride length too.

    So far today, I've done just over 7,000 steps, which may not be a lot for some people, but it's huge for me.

    Is there a way to track water intake in ounces instead of ML?

    Thanks!
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    i love my vivosmart v1
    i love that i don't need to worry about the water and that it's not that obvious. Garmin has been in fitness for a while and decided to go with them
  • mrsloganlife
    mrsloganlife Posts: 158 Member
    helaurin wrote: »
    I ended up getting the Fitbit Charge HR late last night. Amazon had it for cheaper than Best Buy, but Best Buy matched the price, and I had a Best Buy reward credit, so I picked it up last night. For some reason, I can't get the Fitbit software to download and run on my laptop, so I used the iPhone to get things set up. I was able to adjust the stride length too.

    So far today, I've done just over 7,000 steps, which may not be a lot for some people, but it's huge for me.

    Is there a way to track water intake in ounces instead of ML?

    Thanks!

    On your laptop try going to Fitbit.com--the dashboard will be in there. Welcome to the Fitbit world!
  • Ree13x
    Ree13x Posts: 46 Member
    I'm a fitbit fan big-time although I use the Flex rather than the Charge HR. I know you've already make your purchase (congratz) but in reading some of the other responses it seems people are curious how they work. From the best I can tell, fitbits use impact to track steps rather than arm movement. Thus why the elliptical (being low impact) does not track while I've never had trouble tracking while my hands are full. In fact I will often get my steps in while holding a book in both hands reading! hope you enjoy your Charge and happy stepping.
  • Raptor2763
    Raptor2763 Posts: 387 Member
    big fit bit fan here. I use the flex, not the charge, but i've found the fit bit products well made, durable and fair value for money

Categories