I can't decide what Fitbit to buy!

@Pam_1965
Not a stupid question at all, a logical one. There are tons of places on the body to get a heart beat (I used to be an EMT) lol! You don't necessarily need a big vein for a heart beat, only for an injection Plus the more intense your exercise the stronger your heart beat. There are exceptions of course in terms of the positioning of the Fitbit. Some people where it further up on their forearm where there's a stronger heart beat reading. Also, if your spinning and your wrist is bent for a while that will make the numbers vary a bit. Consumer Reports had a good write-up about the accuracy of the Fitbit HR after someone tried to file a lawsuit stating that it was inaccurate. They ran dozens of tests against dozens of devices and found the Fitbit to be spot-on accurate about 99% of the time. If you're serious about your exercise and the # of calories your're burning a HR monitor device is an absolute must!

I have the charge HR and want to upgrade to the Blaze, But I kinda want to wait till black Friday because they may have good deals!

Pam_1965 wrote: »

I have the Flex and love it, but want to upgrade. I can't decide between the Alta and the Charge HR. Is the heart monitor really accurate and worth having? Is the Charge too big on the wrist? Dilemma. Dilemma. Dilemma.

It depends what you're doing. Walking doesn't get most peoples' heart rate elevated enough for it to matter. When I run, I try to keep my HR a few beats under 165 because that's my lactate threshold heart rate. When I ride a bike I don't look at my HR but I record it to analyze later.

Your heart rate is affected by a lot of things (caffeine, stress, heat, hydration status, etc) that have nothing to do with whether or how hard you're exercising.

I love my Alta. The only exercise I do is walking, so a HR monitor would be a waste of time for me.

newheavensearth wrote: »

I don't like my Alta!

It does not give me full time or caloric credit for most of my activities. For example, 1 hr of interval training or circuit training will read as a 20 minute or less "sport" and tell me I only burned less than 100 calories. Since when? The only time it works properly is if I'm doing continuous movement, like walking, running, or the elliptical. But anything stop and start, forget about it.

So if things like calorie burn, intensity level, and time matter, you might be better off with something with a HR monitor. I'm going to get a Blaze.

Have you tried logging your activity?

Pam_1965 wrote: »

I bought the Fitbit Charge HR. My only concern, so far, is that when I am out in the sun I can't see the display. I have searched for a way to make it brighter but no luck. Does anyone else have this problem?

I have the Charge HR.

I've seen somewhere you can edit the display to make it larger font, or show different data.

I've had mine since October 2015, and I love it. I find it really accurate at estimating calorie burns. I've reached goal weight and am maintaining weight now and eating all my exercise calories back.

Pam_1965 wrote: »

@cushman5279

One more dumb question...
Normally when we check our pulse it is on the underside of the wrist. The Charge HR must detect it from the top of the wrist, right? That's why I wonder about the accuracy because it doesn't sit on a nice big vein.

@Pam-1965 I actually wear my Charge HR with the monitor on the underside of my wrist. It's how it's most comfortable for me as that's how I always wore my watches too.

I don't find it all that large. My last watch was larger. I usually make the strap a bit looser when I go to bed as its more comfortable when I'm sleeping.

Salex579 wrote: »

capaul42 wrote: »

Pam_1965 wrote: »

@cushman5279

One more dumb question...
Normally when we check our pulse it is on the underside of the wrist. The Charge HR must detect it from the top of the wrist, right? That's why I wonder about the accuracy because it doesn't sit on a nice big vein.

@Pam-1965 I actually wear my Charge HR with the monitor on the underside of my wrist. It's how it's most comfortable for me as that's how I always wore my watches too.

I don't find it all that large. My last watch was larger. I usually make the strap a bit looser when I go to bed as its more comfortable when I'm sleeping.

Do you find that it's still pretty accurate when you flip the Fitbit over to the underside of your wrist? I hate how far the the charge hr sticks up on the top of my wrist. It just feels huge.

I've found it to be very accurate. I routinely check my HR manually (on neck) during my workouts as I have vaso-vagal syncope (along with low BP) and it can drop quite quickly in certain circumstances. I've found it to be off no more than 4 beats per minute (which my Dr says could just be that it's tracking my wrist and I'm tracking by neck). Now if they could make a fitbit that checks BP as well, I'd be happy

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I love my Alta because it is small so looks good at work. I don't mind that it doesn't have HR or steps, as really I just use it as an indicator and for motivation (contests!) have been wearing it daily for 4 months, lost 18lbs

Sued0nim wrote: »

Personally I dislike the 24 hour wearable HR monitors, I think they are irrelevant and a marketers dream

I started with a flex and actually downgraded to a zip because it's a clip which I can wear in my bra, waistband or pocket and allows me to wear bracelets

I have a polar Ft 4 heart rate monitor with chest strap which I wear when working out ...eg when it is appropriate to monitor my HR for training purposes

I actually believe that the HR monitor wearables are less accurate than the base pedometers

I totally agree with this.

I had a Charge HR but because my dog runs with me & I swap her leash in my hands the step count was wildly inaccurate.

Then when comparing the hr from the Charge HR to my chest strap Polar H7 the heart rate was off, so I got a Zip. Steps seem accurate with the Zip so I'm sticking with that for total step counts while using my H7 for heart rates.