Activity Trackers

bexs2247

I'm thinking of getting an activity tracker but there are so many on the market I am a bit flummoxed by all the reviews

I was toying between a Fitbit charge and a Fitbit charge HR but I em also been looking at the Microsoft band which is released on Wednesday.

Does anyone have one and what are your thoughts on them?

Thanks

purpleshoes_2

I have a garmin vivofit and really like it.

lauraj87

I have a Fitbit charge and I love it. The sleep tracker is handy and so are the silent alarms. It's also great to see who is calling whilst I'm at work by looking at the display as their name comes up.

Also, if you get a Fitbit you can connect it up with Bounts, a reward website, free to sign up and gives you points which can be exchanged for vouchers. I've been a member for two months and I've learnt over £10 for doing my usual amount of activity. If you want, my referral code is * for 100 free points when you sign up, well worth it.

Mr_Singleton

bexs2247 wrote: »

I'm thinking of getting an activity tracker but there are so many on the market I am a bit flummoxed by all the reviewsI was toying between a Fitbit charge and a Fitbit charge HR

Here's pretty much the gold standard for a decent review of the Fitbit Activity trackers

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2015/02/fitbit-charge-review.html

Personally I'd recommend the Garmin VivoFit.

bexs2247

I'm also now looking at the Microsoft band which is due out on Wednesday!

32b3in2013

Hi

I have the fitbit charge. I recently upgraded from the fitbit flex. The charge is really good, I also like the name of callers running across the screen and the sleep tracker. They are on special offer in Argos and Currys at the moment. I paid £69 for mine.

They all do basic stuff like counting steps, it depends really what else you want it to do.

32b3

teegiebear_2

Ive got the garmin vivosmart and I love it.
The charge lasts just over a week with the Bluetooth connected and it's so handy being able to see who's calling you by glancing at it and same with a text rather than looking at your phone, after finding it!
It changes your goals for you depending on how active you are the day before aswell which helps. Increase if you hit it or smash it or decrease if you keep missing it.
It tracks sleep, has alarms which buzz you and not wake up other half and also can set it for a run to time your runs and it works out your records for fastest distances and longest goals streaks and other records
Plus with some health insurances you save 50% off all garmin products!

I love it and it's not bulky I find, I'm used to wearing a rubber band anyway, like the help for heroes or the other charity band style ones and don't find it gets in the way at all, 6/7weeks in and love it

szam_

I've had the Microsoft Band for a week as an upgrade to a Fitbit Flex.

I love it, personally. Functionality is really nice, and I love the stat feedback I get from it. The built-in GPS is a big one for me though, I no longer have to carry my Lumia 1020 around with Runtastic Pro running.

It's definitely had a huge impact on my motivation because I love to analyse my performances and see where I need to improve or where I have improved.

bexs2247

szam_ wrote: »

I've had the Microsoft Band for a week as an upgrade to a Fitbit Flex.

I love it, personally. Functionality is really nice, and I love the stat feedback I get from it. The built-in GPS is a big one for me though, I no longer have to carry my Lumia 1020 around with Runtastic Pro running.

It's definitely had a huge impact on my motivation because I love to analyse my performances and see where I need to improve or where I have improved.

Did you find it uncomfortable and chunky to start with?

I managed to try a medium one on in the O2 shop today. Think it might be a bit big as I had to have it done up all the way on the strap. They didn't have a small. It felt a little uncomfortable and looked quite big and chunky on my wrist. Then again a 2 minute try on in a shop is not really enough time to decide if it's going to be Comfortable and maybe the small would seem quite so chunky.

I am prob going to buy one when I get paid Tuesday and wear it round the house for a day to see how it feels after a while.

Tried a Fitbit charge on too and wasn't too sure about that either although it's definitely more flexible in the wrist than the Microsoft band!!

Decisions!!!

bexs2247

Well I bought a Microsoft band via o2 click and collect and bought it home last night, wore it round the house for a little while (didn't switch it on) but it was quite bulky even in a small and as I have a desk job I could see it becoming quite annoying.


Went to take it back to o2 shop for a refund but as I paid online I have to send it back so done that today and hopefully will get refund soon.


Think I will probably go with a Fitbit but I now can't decide between a Charge (in burgundy), a Charge HR (which I would probably have to wait for as the plum ones aren't available yet) or a Surge - really don't know which one to go for!

Johnmcl7

I originally had a Fitbit Flex but stopped using it when it died and I didn't take the replacement out of the box, the brief time I didn't have it I decided I preferring not wearing any extra device in addition to the watch.

At the moment I'm using a Garmin Vivoactive which is sort of a cross between the Vivo series and fitness watch. Just to clarify, the vivofit is their original fitness band which doesn't have any 'smart' functionality (just shows steps, calories, time etc.), the Vivosmart is also a fitness band but can display notifications from a connected device and the Vivoactive keeps the same step counter/move bar, notifications but is powered by Connect IQ to give it more advanced functionality such as being able to run custom watch faces.

I have very small wrists which immediately rules out most of the smart watches as they're too bulky to wear comfortably all the time and I prefer more batterylife than just one or two days. The Vivoactive is comfortably small and light for me to wear and it has its own GPS receiver for tracking activities. The smart functionality is basic but I do find it handy getting texts, mails, FB messages etc. on my phone and not too bothered about not having fancier apps as I'd rather use my phone for that anyway.

There's a detailed review here:

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2015/04/garmin-vivoactive-in-depth-review.html

John