best activity tracker?

Hitman_UK · 2 Nov 2017 at 13:45

Hi I'm looking for an activity tracker, I have a Hawuei W1 but I wanted a watch where you don't need to carry the phone, it doesn't pick up my running route as no GPRS? i might be wrong.

I was looking at a fitbit or an apple watch with the 4g but they needs like a big investment.

I noticed some trackers are not even accurate what do you recommend?

SpeedFreak · 6 Nov 2017 at 18:17

Garmin are excellent. App is great, tracks accurately and battery life is very good.

Martynt74 · 7 Nov 2017 at 11:40

Do you want purely an activity tracker or the added benefits of a Smart Watch?

inflames · 8 Nov 2017 at 15:43

I was about to start a thread about this to, but don't see the need now.
What features you after?
Me i am after GPS, for it to be water proof and have heart rate monitor. All three of these seem to land in the £150+ range. I like the Tom-tom Spark, but its not overly aesthetically pleasing. The fitbit charge i like but its not water proof for swimming, the Ionic is but that is around £300 what is more than i would really like to spend and in is more of a smart watch.

UnworthyBean · 8 Nov 2017 at 16:15

I just bought a Garmin 235 after reading thousands of reviews, can't fault it at all.

Battery lasts forever even with constant heart rate monitoring and the GPS tracking is spot on.

Also has basic notification support too.

inflames · 9 Nov 2017 at 11:19

UnworthyBean said:
I just bought a Garmin 235 after reading thousands of reviews, can't fault it at all.

Battery lasts forever even with constant heart rate monitoring and the GPS tracking is spot on.

Also has basic notification support too.

Its the other one i have been considering, seems to be good bit of kit from the reviews i have read. Its the same as the Ionic it just a little more that i really want to spend.... But seems to be the case for everything these days, might wait for black friday and see if any of them come down in price.

Martynt74 · 9 Nov 2017 at 11:40

The Vivoactive HR has been replaced by the Vivoactive 3. It's brand new and supply seems limited but once that catches up i'd expect big discounts on the HR.

NickK · 9 Nov 2017 at 17:20

UnworthyBean said:
I just bought a Garmin 235 after reading thousands of reviews, can't fault it at all.

Battery lasts forever even with constant heart rate monitoring and the GPS tracking is spot on.

Also has basic notification support too.

I have the Garmin 235 Forerunner too. I wanted a watch that didn't need a phone, could track GPS, give rough heart rate over time.

As said - battery really good, GPS good (although you don't really get any read out from GPS itself other than it helps tracking accuracy) and works offshore and in the USA. I have a tempered glass cover (pack of 3) that to cover the face - fits well and has already save the face from a wall impact (cracked the glass).
The face has a really nice readout, has an easy light, controls are easy and the watch is stupidly light. I've compared it with the latest Fenix which suffers from being heavier for example.

It has bluetooth but I've not tried syncing data over BT yet.

Hitman_UK · 13 Nov 2017 at 13:07

My main concern is how it actually tracks it and is it accurate for example I rode 1 hour 30 minutes yesterday it come up with 453 calories burnt (average speed 12.4mph the ride included a lot of hill riding it wasn't an easy ride, I get the impression I would have burnt more than that, maybe not, yet once I use a calculator for my weight it says I burnt around 800-1000 calories for the same exercise, I finally managed to get my phone linked up again and it said I burnt 597 calories for 55 minutes of running, however part of the run I ran up 750 steps, I wonder if it actually reckonising this and notice my heart rate will be higher etc..

Vonhelmet · 13 Nov 2017 at 13:26

Hitman_UK said:
My main concern is how it actually tracks it and is it accurate for example I rode 1 hour 30 minutes yesterday it come up with 453 calories burnt (average speed 12.4mph the ride included a lot of hill riding it wasn't an easy ride, I get the impression I would have burnt more than that, maybe not, yet once I use a calculator for my weight it says I burnt around 800-1000 calories for the same exercise, I finally managed to get my phone linked up again and it said I burnt 597 calories for 55 minutes of running, however part of the run I ran up 750 steps, I wonder if it actually reckonising this and notice my heart rate will be higher etc..

Calorie calculations are utter guff on any device.

D.P. · 13 Nov 2017 at 16:54

You will never get accurate calories unless you wear a face mask measuring CO2 output. If you use a Garmin watch with a chest strap HRM then you will get a reasonable approximation.