Best Activity/Fitness Tracker/Smartwatch??

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  • garygse
    garygse Posts: 896 Member
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    mmteixeira wrote: »
    I use the Garmin Forerunner 235 for running/cycling - built in GPS and wrist based HR - I like it and it has served me quite well over the last 4 months. My wife uses the Vivoactive HR and she seems happy with that as well. She had a Vivosmart HR+ for about a week and that went back - over 3 minutes to get a GPS lock was horrendous.
    I second this opinion. I'm a big fan of the Forerunner 235...it has a reasonable battery life even with GPS (I charge it once a week to top it back up when it gets down to around 30%, and I use the GPS for about 6 hours in total through the week). The HRM is plenty decent enough for my purposes (running), although if I wanted to do any HIIT, then I'd probably invest in a chest strap for accuracy. My wife uses the Vivosmart HR+, and she hasn't experienced any issues with it so far; she likes it.
  • garygse
    garygse Posts: 896 Member
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    qwikstreet wrote: »
    It looks like if I drop the need of a built in GPS and utilize the phone, I open myself up to more options. Anyone use Pebble Time Steel or Sony Watch3?

    I have a Garmin Forerunner 10 but need something with more options for fitness and non fitness items.

    I used to use my phone's GPS with Map My Run, but the GPS was killing my battery life (admittedly, my phone is a few years old now, so its battery life isn't as perky as it once was). That's when I decided to go for a watch with built-in GPS, and it's a switch I'm glad I made.
  • pomegranatecloud
    pomegranatecloud Posts: 812 Member
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    garygse wrote: »
    mmteixeira wrote: »
    I use the Garmin Forerunner 235 for running/cycling - built in GPS and wrist based HR - I like it and it has served me quite well over the last 4 months. My wife uses the Vivoactive HR and she seems happy with that as well. She had a Vivosmart HR+ for about a week and that went back - over 3 minutes to get a GPS lock was horrendous.
    I second this opinion. I'm a big fan of the Forerunner 235...it has a reasonable battery life even with GPS (I charge it once a week to top it back up when it gets down to around 30%, and I use the GPS for about 6 hours in total through the week). The HRM is plenty decent enough for my purposes (running), although if I wanted to do any HIIT, then I'd probably invest in a chest strap for accuracy. My wife uses the Vivosmart HR+, and she hasn't experienced any issues with it so far; she likes it.

    I'm also happy with my Garmin 235. I had another Garmin previously for 4 years. I run and having a GPS watch is key for me. I also do some biking. The optical heart rate monitor is usually on par with my chest strap. I'm not super into tracking steps and that sort of stuff, but the 235 tracks steps and sleep too. Activity trackers like Fitbit don't appeal to me, and I feel like they're too causal for me to wear to work everyday. I almost got a Garmin Fenix, but I have super small wrists and it was just too big.

    DC Rainmaker's website is excellent for reviews. I highly recommend you check it out.
  • Skee_2802
    Skee_2802 Posts: 296 Member
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    Fitbit charge 2 has HRM, GPS, step counter, profiles to track different exercises, shows cals burned, stopwatch, timer and syncs with mfp.. Just brought one and haven't owned one before, does the job..
  • ChristyRunStarr
    ChristyRunStarr Posts: 1,600 Member
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    It's honestly a personal choice I think-I've had a Fitbit (multiple ones, latest one was the Fitbit Charge HR) as well as Garmin's.
    Fitbit-loved the ease of the app, customer service was great, never had issues with their products and I had different ones from 2012-2015.
    Garmin vivosmart and vivoactive-the smart is pretty much the fitbit but before fitbit added alerts. It's Garmin so that made me like it even more :) I ended up getting the vivoactive because I wanted one thing that counted steps as well as activity and tracked miles and since it's Garmin-I knew it'd be more spot on for the miles.

    I compared both Fitbit and Garmin when I first switched and they were spot on for steps. I miss Fitbit in the sense that more people have it so I had more friends and challenges but not enough to give up the fact that my Garmin gives me everything I want in 1 package :)

    You have to ask-what do you want from an activity tracker? I second going to DC Rainmaker's website and getting info so you can compare and see what works best for you.
  • qwikstreet
    qwikstreet Posts: 94 Member
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    Thanks. I have seen DC Rainmaker before when I bought my Forerunner 10. I'll check it out again. The vivoactive is starting to grow on me and will research it a bit more. As much as I like to buy stuff right away, I am leaning towards waiting to see what Black Friday deals pop up. Or wait and see when brands have heir refresh cycle come up. I would hate to buy a vivoactive to find out the next one launches 2 months later.

    The style still bugs me but its not like I wear a suit and tie to the office and I do not attend galas on the weekend. How durable is this? I do some light construction/HVAC/electrical work in the office.
  • CincyNeid
    CincyNeid Posts: 1,249 Member
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    MrSkee2016 wrote: »
    Fitbit charge 2 has HRM, GPS, step counter, profiles to track different exercises, shows cals burned, stopwatch, timer and syncs with mfp.. Just brought one and haven't owned one before, does the job..

    The Charge 2 has Connected GPS . The Charge 2 uses the GPS signal from the Cell phone to determine your GPS position. IF you want to leave the phone at home, you need one with a dedicated GPS.

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  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
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    So if you play basketball like in the photo in that ad, but you leave your phone with your other stuff on the side of the court, it means you just stood still the whole game?
  • JeepHair77
    JeepHair77 Posts: 1,291 Member
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    Just to add a quick note about fitbit - everyone I know who's used any of the standard tracker fitbits generally loves them. Most of the people I know who have used the blaze or surge are unimpressed. The devices lack longevity, and their customer service, while generally excellent within the warranty period, won't help you if the thing dies 2 days after the warranty expires, and $250 is a lot of money for a device that will bite the dust in one year. I suspect that fitbit overextended itself when it tried to move into the "smartwatch" category.

    DH loved his surge, loved fitbit when they replaced the first surge that died, but has had enough now that his second surge has died. He's getting ready to buy the garmin vivoactive HR.

    I was reading up about the Garmin FR 35 this morning, which also sounds really promising.
  • CincyNeid
    CincyNeid Posts: 1,249 Member
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    NorthCascades wrote: »
    So if you play basketball like in the photo in that ad, but you leave your phone with your other stuff on the side of the court, it means you just stood still the whole game?

    I assume it does.... I know nothing about Basketball. I would rather watch paint dry.
  • rmartin1437
    rmartin1437 Posts: 8 Member
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    I was finally able to read everyone's opinions and experiences. Thank you all so much for the input!!
  • girlinahat
    girlinahat Posts: 2,956 Member
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    I have a fitbit zip for day-to-day and a TomTom Multisport for activities.

    The Tomtom has GPS and fixes pretty quickly, and numerous activity settings and options within this. Can be set to cycle, with an optional cadence sensor, run setting with intervals, laps etc. freestyle for day-to-day hiking, swim settings counting strokes etc. It is water-resistant which is a bonus for me.

    I use a cheststrap HR monitor when I feel like it, and most wrist HR's seem to be somewhat off. It doesn't count steps but I wear my fitbit for that.

    I have it synced to Strava, and Strava synced to MFP. Information from the watch has to be uploaded to the TomTom connect site, but syncs immediately to Strava for me. I prefer the interface of Strava for looking at data (today I found out I am top of a leader board for a segment!!). I also think it is better for its GPS measurements (it recalculates time spent moving better if I have paused the watch and sat down for lunch!)

    I don't like to wear a watch on a day-to-day basis, I don't need any MORE notifications from my smartphone that someone has FB messaged me or suchlike, I just want something I can put on when I do an exercise and give me some data.

  • Michael190lbs
    Michael190lbs Posts: 1,510 Member
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    Just bought a FITBIT 2 its so comfortable I don't even know its there which is my biggest complaint about them. Climbing ropes this weekend will see if it breaks or not?
  • 2013allen
    2013allen Posts: 23 Member
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    I have a Garmin forerunner 735, and while it was pricey, it has been the best money I ever spent. It automatically yncs with myfitnesspal app, tracks my steps, tracks with both a chest strap and a wrist heart rate monitor, calculates my recovery time, and has activity settings for swimming, running, biking, cardio etc... it also tells me my exact calories burned in a day and tracks my running stats like vertical oscillation and stride length. Finally, it also notifies me when I get phone calls, texts, messages, and when my phone battery is dying.

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