Best fitness trackers...?

macvisual

macvisual

Suspended / Banned
Messages
7,193
Name
Peter
Edit My Images
No
Looking advice/knowledge please for a QUALITY fitness tracker, mainly for; gym work - walking - cycling etc... I don't know much about these if I'm honest, but I've heard names bantered about like; Fitbit and Garmin.

I want to buy a quality tracker for my better half for a Xmas pressie, a budget say of around £150 max, any ideas/experience/knowledge would be greatly appreciated. So makes and models would be fantastic.

Peter
 
Following this with interest because I keep looking at them but all seem to have issues and/or be tied to a particular phone etc.and I am really not happy to spend that kind of money on something that will be obsolete in 18 months and which for me is a nice-to-have rather than something I really need.
 
Garmin get goo reviews
 
They did a review on four or five "fitbit" type devices, a few months ago on the BBC, and to be honest none of them were very accurate. The best advice seemed to be get a heart rate monitor and make sure that you walk/run/cycle/swim certain distances every weeks. The "experts" also said that folks who bought "fitbits" were more likely to reward themselves with treats as soon as their daily target had been reached.
 
andy700 said:
They did a review on four or five "fitbit" type devices, a few months ago on the BBC, and to be honest none of them were very accurate. The best advice seemed to be get a heart rate monitor and make sure that you walk/run/cycle/swim certain distances every weeks. The "experts" also said that folks who bought "fitbits" were more likely to reward themselves with treats as soon as their daily target had been reached.
Click to expand...

i would agree with that completely, my mate joe does the same with his apple watch, its cakes
 
My other half has a Fitbit Flex - she never takes it off as it is completeley waterproof etc.

I use a Fitbit Charge HR (v2 of this has recently been released) - it is splash proof but it can;t be worn swimming etc. The HR monitor is wrist mounted so it's okay as an indicator but it's not brilliant.

We like to look at not only how much we walk but the frequency of it, you can analyse which hours you were sedentary etc. I definitely take more short breaks from my desk now, boosts the step count and the time spent away from the screen which helps my eyes.

The thing to remember is these devices aren't perfect, but they're a good enough tool for tracking yourself and comparing your numbers against your own historic levels.


I also have a GPS watch and chest strap HR for training purposes - this is infinitely better for HR, distance, calories burnt etc., therre's also a fitting I can get for my bike and another one I can put on the laces on my trainers to measure cadence
 
I've found FITBIT lacking in quality. I'm not sure they're wonderfully accurate, but as long as they are consistent day to day Im not sure it matters that much. The other big deal is they aint waterproof.

I now us a Garmin Vivoactitve HR for a activity tracker and running. I'm more then happy with it
 
I have a fitbit charge hr, when I get into intense cardio stuff it struggles getting the heart rate, it is also a pain if I wear it in the Land rovers as every bump registers as a step :)
Still worth having though, but I now only wear it whilst training.
 
Ive owned both apple watches, and had much more use from the 2nd generation purely because its waterproof!

However, if I was going to look for something different, id probably go for the forunner https://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-For...=1480011617&sr=8-2&keywords=garmin+forerunner

If your bothered about accurate heart reading make sure its the sensor is optical as i believe thats the accurate one.

Never tried them, and also heard good things about fitbit too, so suppose it really depends on budget and what you like the look of!

Jordan
 
scraggs said:
I have a fitbit charge hr, when I get into intense cardio stuff it struggles getting the heart rate, it is also a pain if I wear it in the Land rovers as every bump registers as a step :)
Still worth having though, but I now only wear it whilst training.
Click to expand...

change the setting so it thinks you wear it on your dominant arm (assuming it is currently set to non-dom) and it becomes a lot less sensitive to bumps and jostles
 
My other half has a Charge HR and I am getting her the Charge 2 as a Christmas present.

To be fair, its probably not 100% accurate but she thinks the sleeping thing works and she also thinks the steps work well and it encourages her to walk more so I guess it provides at least a placebo benefit.

I will probably take her HR to wear as my work health insurance gives me a free starbucks and free Cinema ticket each weak as long as I complete 7k steps 3x a week.
Its a benefit in kind so four starbucks a week is worth more than I actually pay for it :)
 
boyfalldown said:
I now us a Garmin Vivoactitve HR for a activity tracker and running. I'm more then happy with it
Click to expand...

same. nice bit of kit, pairing with smart device is simple, web interface is good etc etc.

RMA'd mine because I broke the strap and it is not a user serviceable part, they sent me back a whole new device.

edit: oops mines a vivosmart HR
 
Last edited:
Uneducated_Rick said:
change the setting so it thinks you wear it on your dominant arm (assuming it is currently set to non-dom) and it becomes a lot less sensitive to bumps and jostles
Click to expand...
I have it set on that already, in fairness the land rover is a pretty rough ride :)
 
Ricardodaforce said:
I'd be a bit more generous and get her an Apple Watch Series 2.
Click to expand...
Fully agree, very versatile after the Fitbit, Pebble, Microsoft band, some android rubbish, I wished I saved myself a lot of money and just went for it first.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top