Activity tracker 23 November 2017 at 10:31PM in Sports & fitness MoneySaving 4 replies 2.6K views

UKTigerlily

I'm looking for an activity tracker that I can get in the Black Friday sales. I want a wristband & am most interested in sleep & step tracking

I love the Fitbit Alta HR & Charge 2, but have a nickel allergy . . . does anyone have one who has an allergy & if so, are you ok with it?

Are there any good alternatives that may be a better bet for nickel allergy? The Fitbit info says it's stainless steel & has a small amount of nickel, as apparently all stainless steel does . . my watch is ss & i'm fine with that

Fosterdog

I’ve got the charge 2 and although it has bits of stainless steel, very little of it comes into contact with your skin. The back of the device itself is mostly plastic housing for the heart rate monitor, the only SS bits are the side panels of the device, the little clips to hold the straps on and the watch buckle, which again is mostly away from your skin.

A friend who runs a lot and uses a tracker covers the metal parts with clear nail polish, of course it does look a bit tatty after several months of usage when she cleans it off and reapplied. Of course that could affect a warranty and cause discolouration to the other surfaces too.

I guess ideally you could borrow one to wear for a few days to see if you have a reaction, I bet there’ll be loads sold second hand over Christmas as people upgrade for you to cheaply try one before buying new.

UKTigerlily

Fosterdog wrote: »

I’ve got the charge 2 and although it has bits of stainless steel, very little of it comes into contact with your skin. The back of the device itself is mostly plastic housing for the heart rate monitor, the only SS bits are the side panels of the device, the little clips to hold the straps on and the watch buckle, which again is mostly away from your skin.

A friend who runs a lot and uses a tracker covers the metal parts with clear nail polish, of course it does look a bit tatty after several months of usage when she cleans it off and reapplied. Of course that could affect a warranty and cause discolouration to the other surfaces too.

I guess ideally you could borrow one to wear for a few days to see if you have a reaction, I bet there’ll be loads sold second hand over Christmas as people upgrade for you to cheaply try one before buying new.

I went & got the Charge 2 on Saturday . . . someone said that you can try them on at Curries so I went & tried that & an Alta & preferred the 2, it's not as wide as i'd expected so looks great!

No reaction yet, and usually i'd react by now so fingers crossed. Do you find the heart rate monitor to be accurate at rest? When I watch it on the app at the same time as taking my pulse it seems to be, and reviews seem to say it is at rest but not so much when doing thins, I was suprised my heart rate is so low as even though I train 3x a week, I don't think of myself as fit

Fosterdog

It does seem to be pretty accurate, I’m anaemic which causes me to have palpitations sometimes and the charge 2 has always been within a few beats per minute of what the ecg brings up when I get them done, at least they’re accurate if they are worn properly, which should be slightly higher up the wrist than a watch would be worn, kept loose most of the time and tightened slightly before very active exercise. So mine is usually on the third strap hole but tightened to the second for anything more active than a brisk walk.

jeradon

I also own a Charge 2. I love the features and it motivates me to be more active.