Best fitness trackers?

Hands down Misfit. I love that it runs on a battery (which I rarely have to replace). It's been pretty darn accurate for me. And it's very affordable. I got the Shine but they are out with the shine 2 now. But I'm cheap. I'd buy a new shine off eBay for half the cost of the shine 2.

I have the Garmin Forerunner 235. I previously owned a Fitbit Flex [for steps etc] teamed with a Polar FT40M [for my heart rate when working out]. I 100% prefer my Garmin seeing as it does both.

I find it's been more accurate than my Fitbit and my heart rate seems on par with what the Polar said it was, I sometimes take it with a pinch of salt seeing as it's on my wrist and my Polar required me to wear a strap around my chest which was a pain.

I guess the only downside to the Garmin is the price. Also, I have the teal version and the straps a little grubby from constant wear haha.

I use the Misfit Ray and like it. It's one of the only ones that is swim-proof, if that's an issue for you.

Saw a video that was done in a lab (wish I still had the link) that rated them as follows (from best to worst)
1. Microsoft Pulse
2. Apple Watch
3. Fitbit HR
4. Garmin

I'm not sure there is a best or most accurate... and most people are going to make recommendations based on what they've used/liked/disliked.

Decide what features you want, what style/size you prefer, and a budget... then go from there.

lucy_ac wrote: »

Hi,

I'm looking to buy a fitness tracker so that I can monitor my calorie burn more accurately. Does anyone have any suggestions on which one is best? I know a Fitbit seems to be the tried and tested favourite but was wondering if there is an alternative which is just as reliable for less money?

Also, those that do use Fitbit - any suggestions on which model is best?

The best way to know what is best is to decide what you want from a tracker.
Do you want a 24/7 HRM? Wrist worn ones aren't the most reliable, but many like them
Do you want a workout only HRM? Many have an optional chest worn HRM that you strap on for your workout
Do you want to charge it on a regular basis? Some run on watch batteries
What phone do you have? Not all trackers work with all phones if you want to sync that way.
Do you swim or participate regularly in water sports? Many are only "splash resistant" and chest worn HRM's do not work under water
Do you want something that also gives time so it takes the place of a watch?

I had a Fitbit Flex but they do tend to burn out in about 2 years when the battery would no longer hold a charge. I found the calorie burns to be reasonably accurate although I had to enter my swimming as a separate entry. Of the current models, only the Flex2 can be worn while swimming and that was not available when I needed to get a new tracker. I chose the Garmin Vivofit2 because it runs on a watch battery, is waterproof, and has a watch mode. I have found the calorie burn to be a little high so I eat back 50% of my exercise calories instead of the 75% I did with Fitbit. It also had an optional chest worn HRM. I chose to not get it because the only steady-state cardio I do is swimming and can't wear it in the water.

Flex and Vivofit were both about $90

Love my Garmin Vivoactive HR, only draw back was that the wrist HR was a little less reliable when I am weight lifting, purchased a chest strap HR monitor to match with my wrist unit and that problem is long gone.

I had the cheapest Misfit for a while (it eventually broke, and I haven't replaced it). I liked it because it did track cycling, which is a lot of my exercise in most of the year.

Now I'm just using Google Fit, which counts steps ok and uses GPS to track my cycling. I like it, and it's free.

enterdanger wrote: »

I bought my husband a garmin vivoactive hr thing for his birthday and I've kinda been drooling over it, but I'm not sure I'll remember to charge it or put back on after charging. I never take my garmin off. It's been in the ocean, the pool, I shower with it, wear it to bed. I took it off for a couple weeks at the end of my pregnancy. That's about it.

I take mine off when I sit down for breakfast, then I shower and then it goes back on. It's become habit and I've never had it die on me for lack of charging. Only issue is I sometimes get a rash so I've started sleeping with it on the other arm, and that has solved the problem.