Fitbit or Garmin?

If you want something basic, you're talking about an activity tracker versus something with more features like a Forerunner. (As far as fancy running watches go, Garmin is the gold standard).

For activity trackers, I have had both a fitbit and a Garmin vivosmart. I LOATHE the vivosmart. It has nicer features listed on the box (the idea that you can wear it in the swimming pool was a big selling point for me), but there are a number of fundamental design flaws in the device itself. The BT connection to many Android connections is fritzy AF for one thing, and on mine at least sometimes it drops out and I have to reboot my phone (MORE THAN ONCE) to get it to reconnect. The touchscreen dies after a few months and becomes unreadable. Their website where you view your stats is ... really not great. It bugs me that the way they collect, organize, and display the data makes it really hard to tie particular activities to a specific time. (The timeline reports for sleep or for calories or steps only shows 2 hour increments and you can't drill down to see it very clearly at all).

Garmin also has worse customer service policies in my opinion. I had to get them to replace mine. They told me on the phone that they'd ship me a new one along with a return shipping box to return my old one, but I would have to pay full price for the new device, and I'd get reimbursed after they received the old one in the shipping box they sent me. So I paid for a new device. I got the new device in the mail but no return shipping box as promised. I can't help but think they're hoping people will just pay 2x for the device rather than call to complain.

I will not be buying another garmin device, even if I decide to upgrade at some point to a running watch.

If you want to continue looking into it, I encourage you to browse their user forums for the particular device you're interested in. As I said, their Forerunner actually is best in class for running watches. But the vivo-series devices are not well regarded AT ALL.

https://forums.garmin.com/forumdisplay.php?7-Into-Sports

Why I suggested looking at the user forums for specific models.

Based on my experience, one thing I've learned is that with newer devices you don't get a very good read on how something performs after someone has had it a few months. Reviews tend to be based on someone having tried something for a week at best. The forums are a good place to go to see how something is holding up to use.

The Garmin Connect website is the same nonsense regardless of model, of course.

ETA The poor customer service I received also is a good indicator of how well Garmin stands behind their product.

It all depends on what you want to do. I like simples. My new job demands a classy look so I'm looking at.

https://www.swarovski.com/Mob_US/en/0405/category/Jewelry/Activity_Tracking_Jewelry_.html

I went from a VivoSmart HR (no better than a basic step counter IMHO) to a VivoActive HR and like it a whole lot more. More accurate and a lot more functions.

sympha01 wrote: »

I advise the OP to be cautious about drawing these kinds of negative conclusions from good corporate behavior.

The issue here is that we all come with our own experiences. The volume of replacement FitBits that I'm aware of, across their range, is high. I can't think of anyone that I know who has a FitBit who hasn't had it replaced at least once.

They're at different points in the market. FitBit entered the activity tracking market at the entry level end of the market and they're trying to work their way into the more serious exerciser end of the market. That's a crowded space. The acknowledged quality problems are an inevitable consequence of their market position.

FitBit is perfectly adequate if one wants an electronic pedometer and doesn't want to pay much for it. Once one is starting to compare different devices at the same price point, assuming they do the same thing, then FitBit aren't in the competition.

Compare the Blaze and the VivoActive, for example. The VivoActive is superior. Comparing the Flex and the VivoFit in contrast and I'd suggest the FitBit as the social platform is probably more relevant at that end of the spectrum.

Again, Garmin had a very widespread defect problem with their VivoSmart device and it did nothing to improve their return policies.

I know a number of people had the first generation replaced by second generation devices, but the underlying principle remains. The first generation had a class wide problem.

I'm not really convinced that Garmin will remain in the simple activity tracker space. Margins aren't great and it's a less tech focused end of the market. The VivoSmart problem was damaging to the market entry, but it doesn't seem to have affected market share in the sports and fitness area. The step tracking tchnology, and Elevate optical sensor have been exported into their higher end devices. Essentially the VivoSmart HR is now embedded in the VivoActiveHR and upwards without issue. The only observation I'd make, and this isn't unique to Garmin, is that 24/7 HR is really a waste of time and probably more hassle than it's worth.

I had the fitbit hr, but went to a garmin forerunner 630, a definate upgrade

I'm using Polar
A360 it's a very good choice if you ask me.
Good looking, durable and pretty accurate hart rate monitor.

I really love my Fitbit Charge HR. Tracks steps, HR, calories... and that's pretty much all I use it for. I love that it syncs up with MFP... and I love knowing what time it is always lol. I do wish it was waterproof, other than that I am super happy. Fitbit has AMAZING customer service too.

I personally hate to charge batteries, wanted a good display and water resistance. so i bought a garmin vivofit2. battery life should be nearly one year and there were just 2 days out of ~220 now where it went crazy so this is pretty good.

love my Garmin VivoSmart HR+ I use most of the bells and whistles and have found it very accurate. Love that it's waterproof and the computer interface is less condescending lol

I've had my garmin viviactive hr for a couple of months and have worn it continuously except for charging. I absolutely love it including the heart rate function. It has really helped me stay on track and start meeting my goals. The step counter is accurate for me and the calorie burns are much more realistic. The battery lasts a long time and I've been very happy with its ease of use. The stair counting doesn't really work but I don't pay attention to that.