I got the Charge HR version about 2 months ago and really enjoy having it. I wanted it to track my HR and sleep, which it has done a good job doing. I don't really pay attention to anything else, but it is interesting to look back on days when I was inexplicably tired. For example, during yesterdays run I felt very sluggish, which I expected because I was out and about the entire day before. Turns out I walked roughly 12 miles. Wouldn't have known that if it weren't for someway to keep track of it.

I also have the charge HR. Only purchased it to support my sister who also bought one and I can "join" her in her journey to become more fit. You can add friends and "cheer" them on when they complete challenges. Adds a level of accountability to encourage staying on a fitness journey.

Other than that, I find the sleep monitoring function mildly interesting. Albeit, it only confirms what I already know about my sleeping habits. The data clearly reflects the quality of my sleep. The HR monitoring function appears to be accurate comparing to other HR monitoring systems too.

Obviously it does not track swim, strength training, or bike workouts. Although, the vibration transmitted through the handlebars on the bike does tend to add to the total "steps".

They have a more expensive one that adds GPS which appears to be marketed to multi sport athletes. Unfortunately, I don't think it is waterproof . . . so no swim data.

Lastly, I discovered today that it is at least somewhat water proof. I was 200 yards into my swim workout before I discovered that I still had it on. I took it off and stuffed it into a water proof bag and was surprised to see that it was still working after I completed my swim.

It is mildly interesting, but I would not consider it to be an effective training tool for a triathlete.

Take a look at the Jawbone UP Move if the HR isn't a deal breaker. I am a gadget nerd but I'm injured so the big stuff isn't being used right now. I got a Fitbit and it died pretty quickly. They aren't that reliable. I also have a MOTO 360 Smartwatch that measures steps but doesn't integrate into anything.

The Jawbone UP Move is a good entry level tracker. I bought mine at Costco for $25 and it included two wristbands. I use it to measure sleep and it will motivate me to get up and walk a little further for lunch. It also integrates into myfitnesspal.com for food tracking if that matters to her.

If she really gets into it, then you can upgrade. PC Mag did a review. (The Move isn't on there.)

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2404445,00.asp

---

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

At work, we have a Wellness Incentive Program though Virgin

http://www.virginpulse.com/

As you count steps, you acquire points, which in turn become cash. They've partnered with many tracking devices [including Fitbit] to help us along

That being said, I would never trust a Fitbit to be my only tracking device, especially from a mileage standpoint

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/...tbit-product-reviews


****

http://draftmag.com/...or-beer-and-running/



I REALLY like the Untappd interface idea

Now, I have to do it semi-manually

http://draftmag.com/calories/

****

https://theconversation.com/...tness-trackers-43363


I must admit that I felt a little like a tagged shark while wearing one [lost mine a couple of weeks ago]

---

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

I have a Surge which includes GPS option and a decent sized screen over and above what the Charge HR does. Love it. Pluses for me are having all the following in a single device:

- The GPS and syncing are good enough to replace my aging Garmin. The Fitbit data analysis on your workouts isn't that great, but the sync to Strava works beautifully (my runs and rides appear on Strava within a few seconds of syncing the Surge to my phone) so I can analyse from there. If you're a user of power on the bike this might not be much of a bonus, but all I'm interested in is logging time, mileage, elevation, etc and occasionally having some segment bragging rights with friends, and it's perfect for that
- Sleep tracking is interesting. Kind of tells me what I should already know, but having it automatically charted and saved makes it much easier to look at the long-term trends of when I'm not getting enough sleep over a period of weeks, not just the occasional bad night
- Everyday watch. If not using the GPS the battery lasts 5 days or more, kind of nice having it
- Activity tracking has actually been more interesting than expected. Really highlights the difference between the days where I exercise but otherwise sit in the office all day, and the days when I'm active all day. E.g. a couple of weeks ago I had a day when I cycled to and from the office (16 miles each way, with some rolling hills and lots of racing of other commuters, so a good solid 2 hours of training) but other than popping out for lunch didn't really move that much. Next day I was home with the kids (both under 5), did no training but was moving all day - walked to local park, did some gardening with them, played ball, etc. Burnt over 1000 calories more with the kids than the day before with 2 hours of hard cycling. So it has motivated me to be more active even on the days when I'm doing good training. Another good example was on a work trip when through circumstance I hadn't been that active, found myself walking 2 miles across San Francisco with my wheelie bag instead of getting a cab.
- Resting HR is a good function. Was sceptical at first since it seemed to be returning higher numbers than I'd expected (e.g. resting HR was 60 on a day when I'd have no problem getting HR down to 50 or so just by sitting still for a few minutes). But actually it seems to be an excellent indicator of overall "health" for want of a better word. Not sure how it calculates it (always updates in the morning after I've slept) but there's a very clear trend that it drops when I'm eating well, exercising, and getting plenty of sleep, but that any combination of insufficient sleep, overeating, alcohol, or lack of training will start driving it up again. Interesting thing for me is the length of the trend. E.g. a couple of really unhealthy days like a business trip with too much rich food and alcohol can cause a spike that takes a week or more of clean living to recover.

Personally I'd recommend it, I thought I had a pretty good balanced lifestyle where I was already fairly active, tracked my training, aware of diet and sleep, etc. This has basically enhanced all of those things more than I thought it would

Thanks everyone, it's definitely helpful. I'm still on the fence about it. It sounds like there are some interesting aspects but I'm not sure I've seen a lot of change of habits or improvements.

I had the Fitbit and I wasn't happy with it. I got the Garmin Vivofit now. Since I run various other Garmins for my swimming, biking and running it is nice to have all the data together in one place on Garmin Connect. I basically use it to track steps and my sleep. I like the band better on Vivofit and I never take it off. Swimming, showering, IM races, it stays on for everything.

---

Charity is injurious unless it helps the recipient to become independent of it. John D. Rockefeller Sr.

I bought the GF a Fitbit charge HR, she loves it.
She was trying to lose weight, this watch motivated her to run, and also, the website that logs caloric intake really helped her drop 10lbs.
It is not waterproof however

---

res, non verba

Did you try returning your FitBit, they seem to have really good customer service.

I already had they replace a lost one when the band popped open. They were really good about that because the band is very poorly made. I didn't try for a second replacement. :-)

---

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

I have gone through two of the Fitbit One units. They've both died on me because they can't keep out water worth anything. Rain and sweat ruined them both.

I got them for a work-related thing. It taught me that I will never again buy another device of that sort from anyone unless it is waterproof.

Clothing, helmet, bike, FitBit. In that order.

My girlfriend has one and likes tracking her heart rate and daily steps, and it looks good. It seems like more of a fashion piece than useful equipment, but if the price is right then I'd say get one.

---

'It never gets easier, you just get crazier.'

I had been a loyal fitbit user for a few years - first the fitbit flex and then the fitbit surge after receiving it as a gift for xmas. My wife uses the flex right now as well. I used the surge right up through last week and was interested in it because of the integrated heart rate - I wanted something to wear when not running/biking to get HR without wearing a strap. I really liked the watch - wore it as an everyday watch, wore it on my right wrist in races (running, not tris this year) with my Garmin on my left (so I could get all my steps) and had even transitioned to wearing it for runs instead of my Garmin because I found that the GPS was pretty reliable. The few complaints I had:

It's pretty big for every day use
The HR was not reliable for most activities other than running. I found it to be working and fairly accurate while running but not there or wildly off for things like workouts, spinning, riding outdoors or on trainer.

So, even though it was working well and I liked it I got caught up in the Apple watch craze and decided to sell my Surge and Garmin 910 on ebay and buy the Apple Sport watch. I moved too quickly, didn't do enough research and put the two watches on ebay (both sold in about 5 hours) and then went to Apple the next day, where they told me there was no internal GPS and I needed my phone with me for anything GPS related. I got it anyway but lasted only a few days with it before returning it. I can provide more details about what I thought about the Apple Watch if anyone is interested but it just didn't work the way I had hoped in several areas and I decided to return it within the window they allow to get something else.

I realize this is a long watch story - but I eventually ended up with the Garmin Vivoactive. It's much more streamlined watch wise than the Fitbit Surge, has a color face (and more watch face options), has great battery life, GPS works great, has text notifications - has everything except the built in HR which I found wasn't really working as advertised with the wrist based units anyway. So I still need a strap but when I wear it, it works. It also has a golf option where you can download your courses and wear it while playing to show your distance to the hole each hole that works very well (the Apple watch did not) and I find myself playing more golf than Tris these days.

Long way of saying that I think Fitbit is worth looking at but if the HR is a big reason why you are thinking about it then I would look at the Garmin options out there for step tracking that don't have the HR and see if they include other features that might offset the fact that they don't have built in HR (with no strap). I wasn't even thinking about a Garmin until I realize the Apple wasn't a good option for me and now I'm very happy with it - after one week of use.

I am a long time garmin user. I too am looking at getting an activity/sleep tracker. I have it narrowed down to fitbit charge HR or garmin vivofit2/vivosmart. I do not plan on wearing them during workouts (to prevent double tracking with my garmin watch and because I am interested in comparing apples-to-apples ie. my activity level the 23 hours a day I am not working out). So main question is... Is it better to get the garmin and have one database/app (Garmin Connect) at the expense of some would argue poor sleep metrics, features (no optical HR), poorer quality app. OR get the fitbit with better metrics, better app, but have to deal with two databases/apps to review info.

I downloaded the phone app for my charge hr. I hit sync it gets the info and displays it on your phone in about 10 seconds. Very easy no need to ever look at it on computer.

Fitness trackers are highly popular now but they are just toys...kind of like the exercise equipment that people buy hoping it will trigger them to workout but ends up in next year's garage sale. In fact, a recent study on trackers found that about 1/3 of buyers shelve them within 3 to 6 months of purchase because they don't really do much...notwithstanding the folks on ST who might be looking for specific & useful applications. Nonetheless, FitBit sales are pressuring Garmin as noted in the article below.


http://www.itproportal.com/...d-in-the-bands-race/

I used one as part of a pilot at work. Personally, if you're looking at it for someone fit who goes to the gym multiple times a week, I don't see it as all that useful. It's cool to see your sleep patterns/quantity for the first while, but that novelty wears off quickly. I also don't think the HR monitor in it would be as reliable as an actual athlete would want.

UPDATE: Thursday before last, I finally sent Fitbit an email saying that I had " lost mine in the Shop Rite parking lot, and when I realized it, I went back and it had been run over by a car" [which is pretty much exactly what happened, except I didn't actually find the "wreckage"]

They sent an email back asking for specifics like what kind & color and where I bought it, then shipped me a replacement which I received last Wednesday

So, I've been back on the "tagged shark" list for a week now

No adverse effects to report

---

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

http://throb.gizmodo.com/...ted-a-cla-1723429652

---

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

I have the fitbit one. Didn't want to get the watch/armband because it doesn't look professional enough in my work environment, and I definitely enjoyed being able to use the One discretely tucked against my waistband. I never used it for tracking s/b/r workouts, but would use it to track my 'other daily activities'. It definitely helped change my behavior towards more 'during the day activities', i.e. make sure I get up from my desk during the day - and seeing that data in the app/on the web site was a great motivator. Now, my daily walks around the office have become the norm, and I don't feel like I need the fitbit to remind me. Plus, quite frankly, I'm happy w/ my body image/fitness that I'm not trying to hit a specific # of steps - and since I don't log calories, I have no more use for the program. In fact, I'm planning on selling it this weekend!

Outside Magazine recently had an interesting article on fitness devices:

http://www.outsideonline.com/...y-life-wired-athlete

Interested in the Garmin HR tracker for my swims. Curious about my actual hr. Suggestions? I P ratings of 68 + seems to suggest waterproof.

---

🐾

Waterproof and swimproof for sure but I think the HR function via the optical sensor is disabled during swimming. You will need to use a 'tri' or 'swim' HR strap if you want heart rate.

I bought the charge hr for the gf 2 years ago, she loved it.
Unfortunately the strap broke (fitness watch straps must be all made from the same batch of sub-standard plastic rubber) , so she now has the surge
If fitbit come out with a waterproof watch for the s-b-r crowd with a tougher strap, I'd probably buy one

---

res, non verba

Thanks!!

---

🐾