Wearable Tech

Fitbit charge something or other... Picked it up after signing upto a life insurance plan that has additional benefits for being healthy - and was partnered up with Fitbit amongst others.

Neat little product, heart rate and step count are the features I mainly use and is quite interesting to look at the collected data over time - definitely had a positive impact on my health.
 
Galaxy watch for day to day use, and a Garmin Fenix 5x for when I'm out up in the hills etc, as it has much longer battery life and better activity tracking.
 
you still need a heart rate strap if you want accurate data ..
I usually can't be bothered to put one on, but it is nice if you do fartleks to match heart rate change with geo location where you sprinted ..I'm pretty sure I can't touch 190 now even if the watch says I can.

Of the four wrist-worn monitors, the Apple Watch and the Mio Fuse did the best. Most (95%) of their measurements fell within a range of 29 beats per minute (BPM) under the measurements from the EKG to 27 BPM above it. In contrast, the Fitbit Charge HR had measurements that ranged from 39 BPM under to 34 BPM above the measurements from the EKG, and the Basis Peak had measurements ranging from 33 BPM under to 39 BPM above the measurements from the EKG.
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for swimming, having a button you can hit for end of length is useful too, if you're not doing agressivre push-offs, which most watches want.
 
Had a couple of smartwatches, favourite being the Moto 360. Shame the service centre broke it :mad: Need to get another smartwatch, find them very useful. The 360 was a great size and had a real clean design.

Also had a Google Glass through work. I liked it. Didn't work too well when wearing glasses, but would have had to have a proper frame set for it. They are still continuing to iterate the idea of the Glass, but it's mainly for industrial use.

Other half won a fitbit earlier this year. No idea what model it is. She's worn it pretty much constantly since she won it. She's happy with it.
 
Had a couple of Fitbits over the past years, build quality was woeful though, I literally had a 2 or more replacements for each one (normally the strap starting to come apart).

Since getting into triathlons, I bought a Garmin Forerunner 935. It's on another level (as you would probably expect from the price). HR tracking is much more accurate, although I wear a chest strap when training. Battery is also pretty impressive too, I can easily get 10+ days if I'm not training with the GPS, and even with that on, I get more than I did from my Garmin Edge cycle computer.
 
Bought aGarmin Forerunner yesterday. About to take it out for a run this morning. Not convinced by it yet though - the heart rate monitor seems to be all over the place. I hope I picked the right device where you get all the maps and stats displayed on a nice web page. I might be getting confused with Strava. ‍♂️
 
jpaul said:
you still need a heart rate strap if you want accurate data ..
I usually can't be bothered to put one on, but it is nice if you do fartleks to match heart rate change with geo location where you sprinted ..I'm pretty sure I can't touch 190 now even if the watch says I can.




for swimming, having a button you can hit for end of length is useful too, if you're not doing agressivre push-offs, which most watches want.
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I did have my concerns over the accuracy of the HR sensors on a watch. Not seen any that advise to wear it inverted so the face is on the inside of the wrist for better measuring of pulse, most pics i've seen do show the sensors under the watch face and not on the strap. This to me would make sense for a strong pulse read giving better accuracy.
 
Shadowness said:
Had a couple of Fitbits over the past years, build quality was woeful though, I literally had a 2 or more replacements for each one (normally the strap starting to come apart).

Since getting into triathlons, I bought a Garmin Forerunner 935. It's on another level (as you would probably expect from the price). HR tracking is much more accurate, although I wear a chest strap when training. Battery is also pretty impressive too, I can easily get 10+ days if I'm not training with the GPS, and even with that on, I get more than I did from my Garmin Edge cycle computer.
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What kinda of hrs battery do you get from it with GPS on? I do like the look of the Garmin forerunner and fenix models. How is it for swimming, the garmins seem to spec quite a range of features for swimming
 
Anybody know of any big name stores that stock a range of smart watches which you can try on to check how they fit? Places like John Lewis worth a trip? High St these days is woeful for try before you buy :rolleyes:
 
I've had a Fenix 5 for a few months and I'm really enjoying it. I cycle a lot so it's great to be able to use that instead of Strava + chest HR monitor. Also has the additional benefit of being able to give me directions, see notifications, swim with it (track lengths), and tell the time.
 
@SHOTinTHEface86

Well I charged it to full last weekend, since then I've done 3 60min-ish runs, a 3 hour ride on Saturday, and a 5:15 hour ride yesterday (all with GPS). And it's currently on 30% (and of course that's on top of using it as a normal watch in between all that)

For swimming it's fine, as with any watch the GPS traces can be a bit dot to dot (open water). Pool swimming has been fine, occasionally it missed a length, probably as I didn't make it obvious I had stopped swimming and 'turned around'. I pair it with the Garmin Tri HRM and it hasn't missed a beat recording HR data while swimming. I've used it for a few half iron man triathlons, and it hasn't had any issues at all, and has proved to be very reliable.

The only minor niggle I could say is that some of the buttons are a bit squidgy now, and have lost that defined click when new, but you can still tell when you've pressed it thankfully.
 
bloodiedathame said:
I've had a Fenix 5 for a few months and I'm really enjoying it. I cycle a lot so it's great to be able to use that instead of Strava + chest HR monitor. Also has the additional benefit of being able to give me directions, see notifications, swim with it (track lengths), and tell the time.
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How do you find the accuracy of the HR sensor on the watch compared to using the chest strap?
 
SHOTinTHEface86 said:
How do you find the accuracy of the HR sensor on the watch compared to using the chest strap?
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I experienced this yesterday as I did a 100 mile ride and forgot my HRM for the first time ever!

Generally, it was pretty terrible (as you would expect). For walking around, and general low HR stuff they are fine, and actually quite accurate when I've tested it against a HRM at the same time. But when doing exercise I never use the watch to record HRM. They are not accurate and take too long to respond to changes.

HRM straps use the electrical output of your heart, the optical ones are just that, they 'see' the blood flow, so are no where near as good.
 
Shadowness said:
The only minor niggle I could say is that some of the buttons are a bit squidgy now
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same happening on my suunto .. although they still work, am debating if to make a warranty claim , before it is too late.
I usually put it in cold water and cycle through the buttons in an attempt to keep it clean after a swim.

[How do you find the accuracy of the HR sensor on the watch compared to using the chest strap? - 95% of the time they're within +- 30bpm ]
 
Shadowness said:
I experienced this yesterday as I did a 100 mile ride and forgot my HRM for the first time ever!

Generally, it was pretty terrible (as you would expect). For walking around, and general low HR stuff they are fine, and actually quite accurate when I've tested it against a HRM at the same time. But when doing exercise I never use the watch to record HRM. They are not accurate and take too long to respond to changes.

HRM straps use the electrical output of your heart, the optical ones are just that, they 'see' the blood flow, so are no where near as good.
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I have a Myzone Mz3 from the gym that I was using and I found it a bit crap, it moved around too much, seemed to lose connection to my phone, was a PITA to put on, it got smelly if you didn't rinse it after every ride (and isn't waterproof so more faff taking it apart etc) - so no way near as convenient. As for accuracy, apart from the connection losses which gave flat spots, my average and maximum heart rates are the same values I get from the Fenix 5, I've yet to compare them side by side but I think the Garmin does a good enough job, even if it is a bit inaccurate the convenience factor wins for me.
 
Shadowness said:
I experienced this yesterday as I did a 100 mile ride and forgot my HRM for the first time ever!

Generally, it was pretty terrible (as you would expect). For walking around, and general low HR stuff they are fine, and actually quite accurate when I've tested it against a HRM at the same time. But when doing exercise I never use the watch to record HRM. They are not accurate and take too long to respond to changes.

HRM straps use the electrical output of your heart, the optical ones are just that, they 'see' the blood flow, so are no where near as good.
Click to expand...
Yeah I gotta agree, the wrist mounted HRM isnt great for exercise, not bad if you just want to get a general look at HR, and perfectly fine for normal day to day business, but if you want to be using it for working zones and such, its just no good.

One thing I'll say with the Fenix 5x is that after recent updates (In the last 6 months?) the accuracy of the HRM has taken a huge dive for me. I'm finding that when I'm doing an activity it will sometimes under read massively, were talking by a large margin above ~150bpm area, to a point where I know I'm up in the 160-170 and pushing up over 180 and my watch says I'm barely breaking 120. Used to work a hell of a lot more accurately.
 
I wear a fitbit versa, works enough for me for my weekly 10k.
I know most of the serious runners in my club wear a Garmin - Pretty sure they are the brand to go if you want accuracy.

Apple watch is a good smart watch but pretty terrible fitness tracker and charging that every day? **** that!
 
Myzone MZ3 and Fenix 5 comparison:

Myzone in app capture from 10th May evening ride: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fby7u94u4...19_111022_com.myzone.myzoneble 10May.jpg?dl=0
Strava in app capture from 10th May evening ride (the same ride): https://www.dropbox.com/s/jygvtngu31ko1a7/Screenshot_20190819_111057_com.strava 10May.jpg?dl=0

Fenix 5 capture and sync to Strava: https://www.dropbox.com/s/6a3pjejn1t2gex5/Screenshot_20190819_111125_com.strava.jpg?dl=0

The route is exactly the same, and I typically put in the same effort each ride. 5bpm variance between both average and max.
 
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