Fitbit vs Garmin
Replies
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stanmann571 wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »Tacklewasher wrote: »Yes, Garmin is not so good for any social/group stuff. For running & cycling, Strava's site (it will auto-pull from Garmin server) is really nice. (It will group together and show every other strava person who was on your route, along with flyby's that will show where everyone was when; also segments where you can compete on time).
And where the secret military bases are
I use Strava and it does seem to fill the "social" side of it fine for me.
It also allows you to trim the run from Garmin, If for example you forgot to tap stop before you drove home from your hike/race.
A feature Garmin still has not added.
i can edit time and such on the app and site with garmin
Yes. But what you can’t do is trim off the end of a run and delete that segment.
well, if you can edit the start time and the length of time, you are trimming off the end of the run.
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stanmann571 wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »Tacklewasher wrote: »Yes, Garmin is not so good for any social/group stuff. For running & cycling, Strava's site (it will auto-pull from Garmin server) is really nice. (It will group together and show every other strava person who was on your route, along with flyby's that will show where everyone was when; also segments where you can compete on time).
And where the secret military bases are
I use Strava and it does seem to fill the "social" side of it fine for me.
It also allows you to trim the run from Garmin, If for example you forgot to tap stop before you drove home from your hike/race.
A feature Garmin still has not added.
i can edit time and such on the app and site with garmin
Yes. But what you can’t do is trim off the end of a run and delete that segment.
well, if you can edit the start time and the length of time, you are trimming off the end of the run.
NO you're not. You're just changing the time. The calorie burn and distance stays the same. As do the speed calculations. Doesn't help my logging much if I've got a 2 minute mile in my run log.1 -
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4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »I would've recommended a FitBit, but they've discontinued the clip-on trackers that work and I'm uneasy about using a wrist tracker (skin issues). If you have $200-$300 to drop on a tracker, go with Garmin.yeah, I can't believe they discontinued the One
I specifically got the Vivofit 3 when I had to replace my tracker because I could also get a clip-on holder for it rather than use the wrist band. I compared a clip-on with a wrist tracker, and the numbers were so different, I just can't bring myself to trust wrist trackers. I don't see them as accurate for my personal use.
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4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »I would've recommended a FitBit, but they've discontinued the clip-on trackers that work and I'm uneasy about using a wrist tracker (skin issues). If you have $200-$300 to drop on a tracker, go with Garmin.yeah, I can't believe they discontinued the One
I specifically got the Vivofit 3 when I had to replace my tracker because I could also get a clip-on holder for it rather than use the wrist band. I compared a clip-on with a wrist tracker, and the numbers were so different, I just can't bring myself to trust wrist trackers. I don't see them as accurate for my personal use.
The biggest thing I have noticed (and I have seen a lot of reviews mentioning this as well) is when doing something where my arms cant really move it doesn't pick up on the activity. So pushing a shopping cart, stroller (this ones is a biggie for me at the moment!), or push mower doesn't count well. I never had that issue with my One.
What was your experience between the two styles?0 -
Do they track when you weight train too or are they mostly for cardio workouts?0
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TrinityR05 wrote: »Do they track when you weight train too or are they mostly for cardio workouts?
What do you mean by "track"? They will all track movement/activity, so in that sense, yes. Only some/few actually have a strength training activity mode, and who knows how accurate the calorie burn estimates are.0 -
4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »The biggest thing I have noticed (and I have seen a lot of reviews mentioning this as well) is when doing something where my arms cant really move it doesn't pick up on the activity. So pushing a shopping cart, stroller (this ones is a biggie for me at the moment!), or push mower doesn't count well. I never had that issue with my One.
What was your experience between the two styles?
I started with a clip-on and used it for well over two years, but it was dying (had to constantly reset the sync to my phone, battery changes were needed more frequently, etc) so I looked for a new one. By that time, all the clip-ons seemed to be off the market, but I found an aftermarket company that could convert the Vivofit 3 to a clip-on if I needed it, so I went with that. However, I did test the Vivofit as a wrist tracker while using my old tracker for comparison.
It was off. Like, more than 30% on some days off in the amount of steps (which is my main source of activity at this point). I work a desk job, true, but I'm moving my hands constantly. I drive a manual shift. I play video games. I use my arms--both of them--a LOT, and it showed in how my movement was tracked. Mind you, I can get anywhere from 7k to 20k in one day, so I like to have at least consistency in relative movement tracking. It didn't even seem to be a consistent difference between the two. As a test, I took the same walk twice at the same (or close to the same) pace and pumped my arms a bit more on the second one. Sure enough, the clip-on got almost identical steps, and the wrist tracker was off by several hundred steps from itself.
So, as another comparison, I converted the Vivofit to a clip-on and wore both clip-ons for a week. Much better. They weren't the same, but they were always within 100-200 steps of each other, and it was a reliable difference that I could just attribute to a different algorithmic calculation of my steps between the two units.
So I'm using the Vivofit as a clip-on now. I may use the wrist band for exercises that emphasize arm movement (like swimming and kayaking), but for walking and tracking general activity, clip-ons work better for me.
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i figure the noncaptured steps are a bonus for wrist trackers.
however it did capture some of my steps while i used my manual mower.
otherwise samsung health and vivosmart hr are about the same most days0 -
i figure the noncaptured steps are a bonus for wrist trackers.
however it did capture some of my steps while i used my manual mower.
otherwise samsung health and vivosmart hr are about the same most days
Except in my case, the wrist band reported an excess of steps, not noncaptured steps (though I can see that I didn't specify that. Oops). It was reporting far MORE steps than my clip-on, which made me not trust the data at all because I hadn't suddenly increased my activity. I value relative consistency over absolute accuracy, and switching from the clip-on to a wristband would have introduced inconsistent results to my system. So I stuck with the clip-on. FWIW, when I've done 'counts' of steps mentally (the longest was 400), the clip-ons are accurate, especially once I customized the stride. I admit, I didn't do that test with the wristband, but someday I might.0 -
TrinityR05 wrote: »Do they track when you weight train too or are they mostly for cardio workouts?
What do you mean by "track"? They will all track movement/activity, so in that sense, yes. Only some/few actually have a strength training activity mode, and who knows how accurate the calorie burn estimates are.
The calorie burns on my gamin are pretty outrageous. I decided last week to ignore that feature. I have a vivosmart hr. I may be able to change that somehow though. Everything else is pretty great!
Also when I compare my treadmill to the steps on my gamin it counts an extra lap so .75 mile on treadmill is 1 mIle on my garmin.0 -
Not sure if all Garmins offer it, but my 935 has an option for “Calibrate and save” when completing/saving a treadmill workout. You can enter the mileage from the treadmill and Garmin will compensate for it accordingly.WillingtoLose1001984 wrote: »TrinityR05 wrote: »Do they track when you weight train too or are they mostly for cardio workouts?
What do you mean by "track"? They will all track movement/activity, so in that sense, yes. Only some/few actually have a strength training activity mode, and who knows how accurate the calorie burn estimates are.
The calorie burns on my gamin are pretty outrageous. I decided last week to ignore that feature. I have a vivosmart hr. I may be able to change that somehow though. Everything else is pretty great!
Also when I compare my treadmill to the steps on my gamin it counts an extra lap so .75 mile on treadmill is 1 mIle on my garmin.
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Not sure if all Garmins offer it, but my 935 has an option for “Calibrate and save” when completing/saving a treadmill workout. You can enter the mileage from the treadmill and Garmin will compensate for it accordingly.WillingtoLose1001984 wrote: »TrinityR05 wrote: »Do they track when you weight train too or are they mostly for cardio workouts?
What do you mean by "track"? They will all track movement/activity, so in that sense, yes. Only some/few actually have a strength training activity mode, and who knows how accurate the calorie burn estimates are.
The calorie burns on my gamin are pretty outrageous. I decided last week to ignore that feature. I have a vivosmart hr. I may be able to change that somehow though. Everything else is pretty great!
Also when I compare my treadmill to the steps on my gamin it counts an extra lap so .75 mile on treadmill is 1 mIle on my garmin.
I'll look into that. Thanks for sharing!0 -
stanmann571 wrote: »Tacklewasher wrote: »Yes, Garmin is not so good for any social/group stuff. For running & cycling, Strava's site (it will auto-pull from Garmin server) is really nice. (It will group together and show every other strava person who was on your route, along with flyby's that will show where everyone was when; also segments where you can compete on time).
And where the secret military bases are
I use Strava and it does seem to fill the "social" side of it fine for me.
It also allows you to trim the run from Garmin, If for example you forgot to tap stop before you drove home from your hike/race.
A feature Garmin still has not added.
If you ever need to do this in Garmin land, you can export an activity as GPX or TCX, delete it from Connect, edit the file by hand or with a tool, and then upload it as a new activity.
A trim tool would be neat, but it's good to at least have a workaround vs not having it.0 -
I had four Fitbits over the years (one, flex, charge hr, blaze), but they all stopped working. Got a Garmin Vivoactive 3 for Christmas and I love it.0
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Interesting question and interesting replies - never knew Garmin was so highly thought of.
Would you also recommend over an apple watch ?0 -
gregholmes1974 wrote: »Interesting question and interesting replies - never knew Garmin was so highly thought of.
Would you also recommend over an apple watch ?
if you are an apple person, why not stick with apple?
i am not an apple person so i did not see a reason to add the apple world to my current technology0 -
gregholmes1974 wrote: »Interesting question and interesting replies - never knew Garmin was so highly thought of.
Would you also recommend over an apple watch ?
Having owned both (and being a fan of Apple products), my answer would be "it depends". I wore an Apple Watch every day for a year, switched to a Garmin 935 and have been wearing it every day for the past 8 months.
The Apple Watch is an outstanding smartwatch with decent fitness features; the Garmin is an outstanding fitness watch with decent smartwatch features. The Garmin has far better battery life and the software side of things is much more advanced than Apple's workout app (more/better data, cloud-based and can be accessed from watch, phone, iPad or computer).
If you lean heavily upon the Apple smartwatch/iPhone ecosystem (making phone calls from your watch, answering text messages/e-mails, accessing your calendar, etc.), you'd feel limited by a Garmin. If you favor fitness/activity features and can live with more limited smartwatch features, I think the Garmin is a better choice.1 -
^ What he said.0
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Never tried the vivosmart but I'm a long time Garmin user (Forerunner multi-sport models)0
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gregholmes1974 wrote: »Interesting question and interesting replies - never knew Garmin was so highly thought of.
Would you also recommend over an apple watch ?
Garmin a million times.
And that's before stating that I'm Android only. The first ones didn't even have GPS. I need much more advanced features that Apple doesn't offer and Garmin offers in cheaper watches.1 -
gregholmes1974 wrote: »Interesting question and interesting replies - never knew Garmin was so highly thought of.
Would you also recommend over an apple watch ?
I have been using an apple watch for over two years and it has been going well for me ask far as tracking running and HIIT workouts. I really like the ability to stream music from it and control my music from it while running or working or since its quicker or easier than using my iphone.
I think its a great option if you dont mind paying the price for one, the 2nd gen has gps built in and goes for under $200 on sale.
The Garmin would be cheaper and have all the features and integrations with apps and services that anyone would need if you dont need all the extra stuff an apple watch does.0 -
gregholmes1974 wrote: »Interesting question and interesting replies - never knew Garmin was so highly thought of.
Would you also recommend over an apple watch ?
That becomes an ecosystem question, rather than device. I'm not an Apple user, so a watch in isolation would be very limited value for me. Garmin beats it hands down. If I were an Apple user then I'd be in a different place around what the device adds.
I have a Garmin Tri- watch:- running - connects to a Footpod and HRM Tri using ANT+ so I get GPS, HR, vertical oscillation, cadence, L/R balance, ground contact time
- cycling - connects to HRM, pedal cadence, speed sensor and power meter so I can get GPS, HR, cadence, speed and L/R balance
- Swimming - connects to HRM Swim so I get HR (post activity upload), stroke rate, stroke distance, GPS if outdoors
What I don't get is particularly sophisticated notification handling, or the ability to use it for voice. Neither of those matter to me.0
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