Fitness Trackers

neil_g

neil_g

neil_g

Soldato
Joined
9 Dec 2007
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I've got some rainforest vouchers that need spending, I'm thinking of joining the whole fitness tracker trend to try and get my behind in gear.

Does anyone wear one alongside a "normal" watch too? Not necessarily the same wrist, that may look a bit too daft..

Basically I have narrowed my decision to 3 options and from what I've read have formed some pros/cons. At the moment I think I'm leaning toward the Garmin. I'm thinking out loud a little but if anyone want to chip in feel free :)

Fitbit Charge HR (£99)

Pros
Built in HR
Vibration alerts
Step and floor tracking
Sleep monitor
Caller ID
Feature stacked app

Cons
Only 5 day battery
Only splash proof
Limited stock of colours (without huge price hike)
Most expensive option

Garmin Vivofit 2 (£73)

Pros
Already have Garmin Connect account
1 year battery life?
Waterproof to 50m
Sleep monitor
Prompt you to get moving

Cons
HR is via external sensor*
No vibration alerts
No caller ID etc

*I do have a Garmin HR strap from my 800 GPS, although unsure on compatibility

Xiaomi Mi Band (£14)

Pros
Cheap
Smart alarm/sleep monitor
Vibration alerts
Best option to wear alongside existing watch?
30 day battery
Waterproof(ish)

Cons (based on user reviews)
Accuracy problems?
Basic app with questionable support?
Possible longevity issues/broken units?
 
I went through similar pros/cons a while back. I ended up going with the Mi Band. I can address some of your concerns, and add to one too :)

1. The accuracy is fine for a pedometer. It will be roughly +/- 10% compared toa GPS watch if you are using it to measure distance.

2. The app is frequently updated - far more than Misfit updated theirs when I had the misfortune to own one of their monitors...

3. Reliability. My first Mi band lasted 8 months, and then just died. I couldnt get it working again and could not be bothered claiming warrantly the other side of the world. I weighed up all the options and bought two more (direct from china they are ~£10.50 each). My reasoning being even after buying two more, I had still only spent ~£30, much less than half the price of any serious alternative.

One other pro for me that I didnt see you mention is the smart unlock - I can unlock my phone just by wearing the band (z3, works flawlessly).

One final thing I will add is you need weeks of battery life on one of these things. I dont want to be charging it every 2-3 days, and all the folks I know with one that needs charing this often dont bother before long. They really need to be fit and forget imo.

cheers
 
I tried eh fitbit charge hr and the Samsung gear fit before landing on the Sony Smart Watch 3. The SSW3 suites my lifestyle better. Has built in GPS etc and is currently £111 on Amazon. She's a chunky monkey though ddepending on how small you want one
 
I also grabbed a smartwatch 3 the lack of hr monitor is a slight downside but the alternatives involved taking a phone with you on a run which kinda defeated the object in the first place
 
yeah had a charge HR for a few weeks now, good motivator - not that I'm inactive, but I just wanted to see my HR's, burn etc.. and it seems to be a good tool! :) good fun competing with your friends too, who also have a fit bit tracker!

battery does not last 5 days tho, more like 3.5 ;)
 
this is why im swaying towards the garmin for the battery life. the more i think about it the less the HRM bothers me, apparently the sensor from my edge 800 works if i really need it.

the lack of vibration bothers me slightly though.
 
I use the Charge HR and I love the little thing.

Battery doesn't take that long to recharge, so if you are sitting at a PC for any length of time it is easy enough to top it up.
 
I'll admit I was a little sceptical about whether these things were a bit of a fad but I think this could be really good.

I found myself walking around the block yesterday to hit my step goal for the day.

Whether it'll last through the winter remains to be seen :D

The sleep monitoring seems handy too, although I guess a pinch of salt is needed? I really lack in deep sleep at night.

If anyone is on Garmin Connect give me a shout, I know nobody else on there at the moment..
 
I had a fitbit but lost it in a Run some months back and didn't bother to replace because I felt I no longer needed a step count. The biggest problem I had is the app was terrible, would always crash, freeze, or kill my phone.
 
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