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So, I've gotten on the activity tracker bandwagon. Actually, I've been on for some time and I am currently test-driving one as we speak, but I've decided to post a review of a few that I've picked up. This will be one of the shortest, least-detailed reviews you will EVER read because it's late and I'm not getting paid to do this.
This young lady here is the Fitbit One. I've had this particular unit since March 2014...in that exact same color. It's a pretty sturdy little thing (emphasis on little), but just don't wash it. I did. It is sweat resistant, but not 1hr in a heavy duty wash cycle then another 45 in the dryer. #oops
Anyway, I find this one to be pretty accurate when it comes to steps. How do I know? I look at it while I'm walking and/or jogging. So that's good.
Ummm...It does track your sleep. when you wear it in an included wristband on your non-dominant hand. I can't confirm the veracity of its readings because it falls out of the wristband while I'm asleep (so disappointing), but the idea of it tracking your sleep is cute. It gets an A for effort.
The fitbit app and dashboard are good ways to track your food and water intake...if you're in to that sort of thing. If you're eating clean, then there's really not much to track. If you are eating outside of that, then you may really want to track your food to see how quickly you're screwing yourself over (all this said as I'm popping Hershey Drops into my mouth #wompwomp.)
Beyond that, it can sync to the dashboard (through a teeny-tiny USB dongle) or through the app to calculate calories expended throughout the day based on your height, weight and age. Once again, this is cute, but a true calorie count is best based off of Max VO2 and heart rate throughout the day. Since this pretty pony lacks both of these, this apparatus is probably best used for those just getting into the habit of moving about. This will not help those doing any sort of stationary exercise like weight lifting, crossfit, stationary bike, etc.
Now it's on to the next...
The Fitbit Charge HR is cute too, but I find it to be tiresome and inaccurate on so many levels.
1. Getting it out of the box without damaging the box is pretty difficult. I don't know if they tried to make it so you can't return it without them knowing or what, but when you need a degree in engineering just to open some packaging, there's a problem
2. Step count. It's wrong. Plain and simple. When I compare it to the Fitbit One, this monkey-sucka STAYS giving me extra steps. That's nice and all, but why you gotta lie Craig? If I want to track my steps and potentially the estimated amount of calories I've burned throughout the day, I'd rather the hard truth that I've been on my butt most of the day vice a lie saying that I damn near ran a marathon. Such a fibber. Such a bender of the truth. Just another device of Satan.
3. Heart rate. Lies, fibs and fabrications. How do I know? First, I have a heart rate tracker that I wear around my chest and that one is as accurate as it's gonna get for a consumer product (at least when it comes to measuring heart rate while exercising...the most important time to track heart rate for me). Second, the Charge HR uses optical sensing technology and it's proven to be wrong at times due to the location of the sensor (your arm) and the amount of pigment in your skin. You can do some reading on that here, here and here,
"Harrison and other experts say arms that are too hairy, sweaty, fat, or thin can make it hard to get a good reading from today’s optical heart-rate sensors, which read blood flow in the wrist. Tattoos can pose a problem, too—as Apple points out on a support page for the Apple Watch, noting that the ink can block light from reaching the sensor. “All of a sudden that translates to thousands of users out there, all of whom are going to be unhappy and say it doesn’t work because it doesn’t work for them,” says Christian Holz, a researcher on human-computer interaction at Yahoo Labs who focuses on the miniaturization of mobile devices."
So, what they're saying is that since my arm is fat AND sweaty during times of exertion, then I'm not going to get a proper reading. And I have to agree. I noticed that during times of exertion, the Charge HR was off by at least 10 BPM. Not something criminal, but for $149.99 (not including that 8% CA sales tax), that's bull spit....especially since I'm trying to track calories burned.
4. Calorie count. Since it can't seem to get the heart rate right, what would make me think that the calories burned would be correct. The Charge HR stays strong and wrong. You can be one or the other, but never both.
From my estimation, this is a device for the slightly more dedicated workout enthusiast. The person who is a little past motivating themselves to get off the couch, but not quite so super-moto to start doing cross fit or even sprinting to the mailbox and back.
Last on the list is the Garmin Vivofit 2. I went with the Vivofit 2 because it's 2 and that means that most, if not all, of the kinks in 1 were figured out and vanquished by the time they got to 2. That's a good explanation so I'm going to stick with it.
Actually, the original Vivofit has some issues with the band design and I don't want to have to worry about something falling off in the middle of a workout.
I've decided to keep the Vivofit, but as I type this, I wonder if I should go out and get a regular heart rate monitor and spend a little less money. Oh well, I'll figure it out.
Anyway, the good: great heart rate monitoring. The bad: the step count isn't accurate as compared to the Fitbit One (mainly because the monitor is on your arm and if you move your arm, BAM! you got a step in. if you don't move your arm, BAM! no steps and you could be in the throes of a marathon session of the Wobble)...however, I do have the option of adjusting my stride length within the Garmin Connect app AND the heart rate monitor that came with my husband's bike computer works with it. In fact, any of the Garmin heart rate straps will work across devices so if you have the strap for one, it'll work with them all. Anyway, because the heart rate strap is across the chest, I get better heart rate monitoring, which ends up getting me a better calorie count. SCORE!
In the end, just get off your lazy ass and move (I should talk). You know you're doing something if you start sweating, your heart rate increases and it's hard to speak. You know you aren't doing enough if you can carry on a full conversation and hit the high notes of a Mariah Carey song and still be "exercising." Even Beyonce can't pull that off
