Best fitness tracker for "other" (not just steps)

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  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
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    OK then so what "speedometer" should I get? I'm mainly looking for calorie burn info as steps are not really relevant.
  • CurvyPrincess66
    CurvyPrincess66 Posts: 84 Member
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    fitbits are on sale on the website till the 15th
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
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    The "Which?" review of fitbits said they over-estimate calorie burn by 80%!!! Scary how much I might end up eating :o
  • ButterflyJourney
    ButterflyJourney Posts: 46 Member
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    Go to www.fitbit.com answer the short survey and they will recommend best one for you!
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    mazdauk wrote: »
    OK then so what "speedometer" should I get? I'm mainly looking for calorie burn info as steps are not really relevant.

    Given that you're talking about essentially aerobic interval type activity, the only way to get a more accurate estimation than you're already getting is in a lab.

    Spend the money on trainers.
  • SkinnyGirlCarrie
    SkinnyGirlCarrie Posts: 259 Member
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    I have a Fitbit Flex (no issues yet with wristband) for my daily activities and then I wear the Bluetooth Polar H7 chest strap/heart rate monitor which I pair with the iCardio app for my actual workouts. Been using both for several years and find their estimation to be spot on for me. If you are looking to just tracking your workouts I would recommend the Polar H7 paired with an app (you can see what works with your phone) - the H7 is only about $70 and then the iCardio app for the upgraded app that can track sensors was a one time fee of like $5...good luck!
  • lemonychild
    lemonychild Posts: 654 Member
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    lemonychild wrote: »
    @vitagefeline is this the one you have? https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/150767/pn/010-01297-10 --- if so, do you wear the strap all day or only when exercising - i use the charge 2 but I have been wanting to see if there is a large discrepancy with chest strap vs wrist read technology

    @VintageFeline
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
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    I've been reading Garmin has longevity issues, with trackers failing after 2-4 months. The reviews of the Polar band (but not the band 2) were good for accuracy of calorie burn, but I did quite fancy being able to change/accesorise the strap.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    edited February 2017
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    lemonychild wrote: »
    lemonychild wrote: »
    @vitagefeline is this the one you have? https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/150767/pn/010-01297-10 --- if so, do you wear the strap all day or only when exercising - i use the charge 2 but I have been wanting to see if there is a large discrepancy with chest strap vs wrist read technology

    @VintageFeline

    Sorry @lemonychild didn't see this! Yes that's the one I have. I wear it all the time except when it's charging. I pair it with a chest strap for exercise. There is an HR version which has wrist read HR.

    Edit: Coming back because I didn't read the post fully apparently! No, I don't wear the chest strap all day, that's not what it's designed for. I only wear it when exercising. That's my reservation with wrist read and why I haven't made the leap to one. I have anxiety issues and I don't want my tracker thinking I'm, I dunno, doing some intense cleaning when I'm just sitting on the sofa borderline apnic attacky!
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
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    mazdauk wrote: »
    I've been reading Garmin has longevity issues, with trackers failing after 2-4 months. The reviews of the Polar band (but not the band 2) were good for accuracy of calorie burn, but I did quite fancy being able to change/accesorise the strap.

    I had my Vivofit for a year and have had my Vivoactive for over a year and no issues whatsoever thus far.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
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    MeanderingMammal wrote: »
    mazdauk wrote: »
    OK then so what "speedometer" should I get? I'm mainly looking for calorie burn info as steps are not really relevant.

    Given that you're talking about essentially aerobic interval type activity, the only way to get a more accurate estimation than you're already getting is in a lab.

    Spend the money on trainers.

    I use mine for bodyweight HIIT style training and superset style dumbbell strength training. I have always eaten most of the calories given and it hasn't affected my losses at all. In fact, when I don't eat them all I lose a little faster. I'm going to call that accurate enough to continue using a tracker.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
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    mazdauk wrote: »
    I've been reading Garmin has longevity issues, with trackers failing after 2-4 months. The reviews of the Polar band (but not the band 2) were good for accuracy of calorie burn, but I did quite fancy being able to change/accesorise the strap.

    I'm beyond the 4 month with my VivoActive and no issues. I really like it (don't like the VivoSmart) but I need waterproof so the FitBit's were out for me (and I don't do Apple).
  • lemonychild
    lemonychild Posts: 654 Member
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    @VintageFeline I get the part about wearing the strap when exercising, but if it collects only data for exercising why do you wear it all day? Or does it count regular walking as daily activity like say Fitbit and then gives you those cals back as well?
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
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    lemonychild wrote: »
    @VintageFeline I get the part about wearing the strap when exercising, but if it collects only data for exercising why do you wear it all day? Or does it count regular walking as daily activity like say Fitbit and then gives you those cals back as well?

    @lemonychild Yes it's like any other tracker, it also counts steps and syncs that data to MFP.
  • lemonychild
    lemonychild Posts: 654 Member
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    Got you. Can you tell me how much u walk approximately and what the garmin "gives back" on those steps? @VintageFeline thanks for all your help. I have been considering going back to a strap for exercise but wasn't sure if it was necessary
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
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    @lemonychild Like with any exercise it's going to be dependant on your weight. The larger you are the more calories you get. And I am very sedentary on the whole so take this with a grain of salt!

    But, last year on holiday, I was 172lbs and doing at least 20'000 steps most days. I would get about 400 calories back. I'm going to be doing similar when I go away again in April so I'm interested to see how big an impact being a lower weight will have!

    Garmins' calorie calculations (they use a different method/algorithm/forumal to MFP) can be a little funky so it's important to set it up correctly so the adjustments to MFP are correct (this is easy, just alarming if you don't realise you need to do it. They changed it sometime last year and I was thoroughly confused for a while!).
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    mazdauk wrote: »
    I've been reading Garmin has longevity issues, with trackers failing after 2-4 months. The reviews of the Polar band (but not the band 2) were good for accuracy of calorie burn, but I did quite fancy being able to change/accesorise the strap.

    The first generation VivoSmart had a class wide problem that led to Garmin replacing a lot. They've changed the design of the second and third generation significantly.

    Personally I'd recommend Garmin followed by Polar followed a long way behind by FitBit.
  • JHamilton6
    JHamilton6 Posts: 34 Member
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    mazdauk wrote: »
    Hi all. I'm thinking about investing (a small amount!) in a fitness tracker to get a more accurate idea of my calories expended, but most of the ones I've seen seem to only log steps - I know I burn more in a zumba class than I would in the same time walking round the shopping centre! I don't want to spend too much (under £100) and I need something not too big. Also I have a windows phone (android tablet) so not sure what would sync best, or if I should just manually transfer the burn to MFP?

    Thanks all! Got to spend that birthday money....... ;)

    I'm also a Windows Phone person and I use the Microsoft Band 2. It integrates very well with Windows Mobile 10. Some (many?) have had issues with the band tearing, but I'm several months in and no problems so far. They are no longer for sale but are readily available on Amazon and Ebay but may be a bit above your target price point.

    Also, without getting into the technical specifics, Microsoft has an update to Win Mobile 10 due this spring that is supposed to add a feature set to allow wearables like fitness trackers to integrate better with Windows. Fitbit has already announced they will roll the new tech into their software to allow notifications of calls, texts and such to your wrist.
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
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    Thanks all. Edging back to the vivoactive, although I also looked at the Mii band 2. I think I will sleep on it and decide tomirrow.
  • Fitgirllife72
    Fitgirllife72 Posts: 500 Member
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    I have a Fitbit surge and while I do like it I bought my son the Garmin vivoactive HR for Christmas and it is far superior to the surge for the same price point. Once my surge dies I am moving to Garmin as I think their products are far superior to Fitbit.

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