Smartwatch / fitbit / activity tracker...

fanaudical · fanaudical's Garage

So, my wife wants some kind of activity tracker for Christmas. Her primary intent is to ensure she's getting enough exercise and to track her sleep patterns. She is no good at plugging things in to recharge.

From what I've researched, the Fitbit Alta or Alta HR seem to fit those requirements.

Any suggestions/recommendations?

recycled sixtie · recycled sixtie's Garage

I just bought my son in law the fitbit charge 3 for Xmas. I have had the fitbit alta hr for a year and a half and it has been very satisfactory. The warranty I believe is good for a year. The latter tells you sleep amounts(different stages as well), steps done and reminds you when to eat and when to start moving.

It is tied in to my iphone with the app and is easy to set up. Highly recommended.

recycled sixtie · recycled sixtie's Garage

Rereading your post in terms of charging she will need to charge it up about every 5 days to a week.

nikita76 · 12-02-2018, 10:40 AM

I have the Garmin Fenix 5x plus that I picked up after my heart attacks and open heart surgery. Totally satisfied! Auto link to Strava. I just bought my wife the Garmin Vivoactive 3 w/music in Rose Gold. She currently has a Fitbit but saw everything that I can do and wanted more options. She's kinda a gadget nut! Hope she likes it....we'll find out Xmas!

Good luck!

MBAtarga · 05:52 PM

I just got a Fitbit Charge 3 model about 3 weeks ago. My employer offered $100 towards the purchase of a fitness tracker and that's the model I picked (cost is $150.) It is water resistant to 50 meters - which means I don't have to take if off when I shower. Their website has a comparison page to narrow down models of interest. So far I'm pretty impressed with it. There is a smart phone app and you also can view your "dashboard" from their website.

Edit - the charger actually just "clips" around the back of the sensor - and essentially snaps into place place so it's not difficult to charge. I take it off about once/week when sleeping - as I prefer it to track my steps/activity during the day.

Brando · Brando's Garage

I have an older FitBit Charge HR (first or second Gen) in black that is just gathering dust. You are welcome to it to try it out if you like. I just have to find the charging cable.

unclebilly · unclebilly's Garage

My wife just got a Fitbit Alta for her birthday last week. She really likes it so far.

Brian 162 · 12-03-2018, 05:53 PM

I have the Alta HR. I started running so i want to measure my heart rate and distance. The distance isn't accurate unless you track your exercise. It's impossible to read your heart rate while running. The display isn't very bright in day light.
I do find it useful for tracking my heart rate, I can see the graph that shows peak rate and an average heart rate for the whole run.
I also give it a 10% fudge factor, I'm not sure how accurate it is.

RSBob · RSBob's Garage

Fun fact, a high percentage of FitBit or activity trackers use their counts to justify eating more. I did 15,000 steps, so why not an extra beer? Some don’t abuse their counts and do benefit. Then there are the serious athletes that plot their exercise, their calories and sleep where activity trackers really work.

VincentVega · 12-04-2018, 06:13 AM

I've been wearing a fitbit alta hr for maybe 6 months. My goal was to better track my sleep and for that its been useful. My only gripe is you are not supposed to shower with it. Little thing but I forget sometimes. Compared to my polar HR monitor its not compatible with gym equipment and dont think its as accurate. If you expect it to give an idea, not 100% accurate, of steps/HR/sleep you'll be happy.