Fitbit Alternative - suggestions?

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PrncssToadstool
PrncssToadstool Posts: 8 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm looking for an activity tracker but not interested in one that's $100+. I would love for it to be waterproof and easily be able to connect with my MFP account. Does anybody have any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

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  • GetFit0767
    GetFit0767 Posts: 31 Member
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    If you are just looking for basic tracking, the Fitbit Flex (wristband) or Zip (fob) retail for about $60. You can probably find a used one for even less. I see them listed on Facebook Marketplace all the time.

    Garmin, Polar, and others make similar fitness bands in this price range, too.

    Not sure if you are going to find anything much cheaper.

    I use a Fitbit Flex and am plenty happy with it. I don't need the bells and whistles of a more advanced tracker for what I use it for (tracking steps).
  • autumnblade75
    autumnblade75 Posts: 1,660 Member
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    I would suggest adjusting your expectations. If that inexpensive, waterproof, easy to use tracker existed, we'd all be singing it's praises instead of our Fitbits.

    Maybe a GoFundMe page to pay for a Fitbit? Or perhaps you might try Ebay or Facebook's Marketplace for a used Fitbit - that'll be a little less pricey.

    I get it. I'm pretty stingy with my money, too. I resisted the "glorified pedometer bandwagon" for a long time. Now, I want to tell you that it's good value for the money. Maybe not the high end ones that can answer phone calls and store music - those aren't features I want badly enough to pay for them. I value the HRM on my Charge2 and feel that I will get my $150 out of it.

    Good luck.
  • youngmomtaz
    youngmomtaz Posts: 1,075 Member
    edited March 2018
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    I bought a mio PAI on sale a while back for cdn $90. It focuses on heart rate over step tracking. I like that. My steps in a day could be as slow as a stubborn donkey(and often are with migraines and low thyroid symptoms helping me along). I don’t want a pat on the back for that. But, this one assesses my resting heart rate during the night and sets heart rate goals for me during the day. When I get my heart rate above its goals I get points for moderate and intense activity. For general health the goal is to keep your points to 100/revolving week. It tracks steps too, but I do not find step goals a good measure of fitness. I know someone will come in to tell me that heart rate on wrist worn devices is unreliable. But I don’t care. The few times I have tested it it was within 5 beats. Good enough for me and great motivation to move!!

    ETA: it is waterproof as well. I hated always worrying about rain with my previous tracker.
  • Thiswomanisonamission
    Thiswomanisonamission Posts: 11 Member
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    The polar loop is what I’ve used for years never lets me down, mainly because I got the strap on heart rate monitor to pair up with it, I actually know how much I burned in a session, my avg heart rate, my max and min and a line graph of my workout heart rate peaks and valleys. I sync it up with my app and readjust it here on MFP.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    There are a lot of very cheap fitness trackers (i.e., Chinese Fitbit knockoffs) on Amazon - just search "Fitness tracker" and they'll pop up. The problem is that sometimes you get what you pay for in terms of accuracy, durability and ability to interface with other apps (such as MFP). I don't know anything about any of them other than seeing what popped up from doing a search, but if you read through them you may find one that fits your budget and maybe works well enough for your purposes.

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