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Fitness tracker band

I haven't tried one, but I like the idea. I always wanted to try one of the Nike Fuel bands that sync with the shoes and the app, but the cost of investment is far higher than I'd prefer to just try it out. Plus, I don't really do anything I can't quantify already in the gym. A heart rate monitor is basically the only real piece of electronics I need.
 
My Polar R300SX is kinda acting up...I think I jacked up the transmitter playing grass volleyball (diving while wearing the transmitter)...

I ordered a Coded T31 transmitter from Amazon (since it was flatter because the transmitter didn't attach to the chest belt like the one that came with the R300SX)...I received a bad unit (it was from Amazon Used warehouse) which didn't work with my monitor or the machines at the gym so I returned it...Back to the drawing board...

I wanted something to measure my HRM while cycling, doing cardio at the gym (elliptical/treadmill) and playing sand/grass volleyball)...

I didn't realize all of the new stuff that is out there (been 2 or 3 years since I researched my R300SX), especially the blue tooth and ANT monitors which works with apps on your phone...I have a Note 3 so I am not wearing that when I work out (not even with an arm band)....

There were only two fitness trackers that had actual heart rate monitor functionality with a chest strap....The Polar Fitness Tracker ($155 for tracker and h7) and the Garmin vivo ($170 includes chest strap but doesn't ship til 03/31 on Amazon)....

Went with the Polar fitness tracker and it should be here tomorrow....Will post an update later...
 
Kept the Polar Loop for about two weeks...overall, I liked it but it would never update the unit when connected to Polar Flowsync software. Everytime I connected it, it would prompt me to upgrade, I would say yes, it would do the download, 'do' the upgrade and restart. After the restart, it would prompt me to do the same upgrade. Tried it on Windows 8.1 and 7 machines and the same thing happened. After doing a chat with Polar CS, they wanted me to send it to them so they could look at it. I decided to return it.

After returning it to Amazon, I went to REI and got the Garmin VivoFit. The Loop had a cooler 'wow' factor to me (since it looked like a modern bracelet with red LED's while the Garmin looks like a plastic toy, but totally comfortable to wear 24/7.

The Garmin seems to have lower counts for steps, calorie burn and heart rate BPM's. When using the chest strap, the Polar would drop a signal (every 10 minutes when I first got it but down to just two or three times a workout when I returned it so I don't know if it had to get used to you)...

The biggest advantage for the Garmin is the battery. It has two little watch batteries inside that can replaced by the user. According to the manual, they should last a year. I charged the Polar every 3 or 4 days. You to remove the unit to charge it because the charging port (which connected to the cable magnetically) was under the display. The Garmin display has no backlight so it can't be seen in the dark (which is probably why the battery lasts a year).

I personally liked the Garmin software (both the PC and mobile app) over Polar but that is just personal preference. Garmin's mobile app is available for both iphone and android while the Polar only has an app for iphone (that just seems ridiculous)....

I would definitely have to recommend the Garmin over the Polar Loop based on the time I have had with both of them.
 
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Funny thing, I found a fitness tracker for the paranoid called Safe Band. It also store your passwords and do not let you lose your stuff.
 
I have a Jawbone Up24. I like the battery life (week+). I hate jewelry, but it doesn't bother me. Wish it had like an e-ink screen for time, at least.
 
I'll stump for MS and give a vote to my Band. I really like it. It does HR tracking, standalone GPS, a decent smart watch notification interface and an easy to use (if not spartan) companion app for smart phones. I love how I can track my workouts, name them easily, and also break them up by workouts, runs, and daily activity. It also does very good sleep tracking. The website from MS has some very detailed and fun to look at reports that the apps don't have. It was a bit uncomfortable the first few weeks but after 3 months I forget I even have it on. Battery life is ok, you can do 2 days easily without anxiety. GPS will torch it, but that's true for any device of that type. I have a coworker that really stripped down the functions and he can do almost 4 days off the charger. It's a darkhorse in the fitness tracking market and really an interesting device. I'm hopeful that Rev2 really brings some competition to the field.
 
vi edit said:
I'll stump for MS and give a vote to my Band. I really like it. It does HR tracking, standalone GPS, a decent smart watch notification interface and an easy to use (if not spartan) companion app for smart phones. I love how I can track my workouts, name them easily, and also break them up by workouts, runs, and daily activity. It also does very good sleep tracking. The website from MS has some very detailed and fun to look at reports that the apps don't have. It was a bit uncomfortable the first few weeks but after 3 months I forget I even have it on. Battery life is ok, you can do 2 days easily without anxiety. GPS will torch it, but that's true for any device of that type. I have a coworker that really stripped down the functions and he can do almost 4 days off the charger. It's a darkhorse in the fitness tracking market and really an interesting device. I'm hopeful that Rev2 really brings some competition to the field.
Click to expand...

I have the band, it definitely has a lot of potential but I agree with your last line - band v2, whenever it comes, I think is going to be the one to get. I feel it brings the right blend of fitness tracking and basic smartwatch functionality, I just think the hardware needs another round of refinement - make it a little smaller, a little more comfortable, improve the battery life, they could have a hit.

It's also one of the few fitness trackers OR smartwatches that's truly cross platform.
 
I'm on my 3rd Up24, and it's pretty much completely failed on me as well, so am looking to replace it.

Anyone using the MS Band with iOS? I want HR tracking, sleep tracking, and SMART ALARMS. Smart alarms is key. I don't get enough sleep usually, but when I do, waking up to a smart little vibration on my wrist is super pleasant. Most will do silent alarms, but the jawbone is the only one I know of (in that class of device) that does the smart alarms based on sleep state.
 
I stated in my GPS watch thread that I bought the Vivofit2 for my wife. It retails $99 just about everywhere, but has been 20% off in the last month (brief sale).

There are 3 basic types of fitness bands...the step counters and sleep trackers...then there are the GPS watches that track routes and store them to be synced later...then there are smart watches, which are basically just gateways to a smartphone and require apps/gps to run ont he phone.

The GPS ones tend to be more technical if you run or bike. That's what I really wanted...something that would link to runkeeper or strava...then I like those to myfitnesspal and track calorie burning along with distance/pace to see progressions in my workouts.

I know the Vivofit 2 uses Garmin Connect (which can be linked to other fitness apps) and is ANT+ compatible for HRM. The 2 just gives you 1 year of battery life (their claim) if you don't want to worry about charging the thing daily or weekly.

Other watches all seem to require charging every 8 hours, or with less features every few weeks. There are a lot of smart watches that use the phone GPS and link to apps actually running on the phone itself. So be careful if you look at brand-specific watches from companies like Samsung. If you're looking for a cheap smart-watch, read up on compatibility with your favorite apps. The Pebble watch, for instance, is cheap and can do a lot.
 
Scarpozzi said:
I stated in my GPS watch thread that I bought the Vivofit2 for my wife. It retails $99 just about everywhere, but has been 20% off in the last month (brief sale).

There are 3 basic types of fitness bands...the step counters and sleep trackers...then there are the GPS watches that track routes and store them to be synced later...then there are smart watches, which are basically just gateways to a smartphone and require apps/gps to run ont he phone.

The GPS ones tend to be more technical if you run or bike. That's what I really wanted...something that would link to runkeeper or strava...then I like those to myfitnesspal and track calorie burning along with distance/pace to see progressions in my workouts.

I know the Vivofit 2 uses Garmin Connect (which can be linked to other fitness apps) and is ANT+ compatible for HRM. The 2 just gives you 1 year of battery life (their claim) if you don't want to worry about charging the thing daily or weekly.

Other watches all seem to require charging every 8 hours, or with less features every few weeks. There are a lot of smart watches that use the phone GPS and link to apps actually running on the phone itself. So be careful if you look at brand-specific watches from companies like Samsung. If you're looking for a cheap smart-watch, read up on compatibility with your favorite apps. The Pebble watch, for instance, is cheap and can do a lot.
Click to expand...

The MS Band is about as far into the smart watch category as I'm willing to venture, at least until the AppleWatch 3 (not a sure thing, but I know that I want at least 2-3 days regular use battery life, so I can get a solid 24 hours of serious use out of it [sleep tracking with frequent HRM, workout tracking with constant HRM, etc]).

I'll check out the Vivofit, but at first glance it doesn't appear to have a vibrate motor, and not sure about smart alarms for sleep.
 
TheStu said:
The MS Band is about as far into the smart watch category as I'm willing to venture, at least until the AppleWatch 3 (not a sure thing, but I know that I want at least 2-3 days regular use battery life, so I can get a solid 24 hours of serious use out of it [sleep tracking with frequent HRM, workout tracking with constant HRM, etc]).

I'll check out the Vivofit, but at first glance it doesn't appear to have a vibrate motor, and not sure about smart alarms for sleep.
Click to expand...

You are correct - the VF (1 and 2) don't have a vibrate motor or alarms for sleep. At the end of the day, just have to decide what features are impt to you. I considered the Jawbones and the Fitbits last year before deciding on the VF1. Don't doubt my decision for a second - love it. The VF2 improved by adding in a backlight, audible alarm, few other features that were missing from the VF1.

Really at the end of the day, just have to ask yourself what features are really impt.
 
RagingBITCH said:
You are correct - the VF (1 and 2) don't have a vibrate motor or alarms for sleep. At the end of the day, just have to decide what features are impt to you. I considered the Jawbones and the Fitbits last year before deciding on the VF1. Don't doubt my decision for a second - love it. The VF2 improved by adding in a backlight, audible alarm, few other features that were missing from the VF1.

Really at the end of the day, just have to ask yourself what features are really impt.
Click to expand...

Sleep tracking and silent smart alarms
Heart rate monitoring
I care not at all about step count
 
RagingBITCH said:
If that's what you care about then the VF series is not for you.
Click to expand...

Well, the decision has been pushed off for a while. I contacted Jawbone to see if I could get a refurbed UP2 or something since I went through 3 of the UP24s (the UP2 is a new design, but (mostly*) all the same capabilities), and instead they are sending me an UP2 for free. I'll look into those chest HRMs, but that's another thread altogether.



*I think the battery life is a little better on the UP24, but that was due to a firmware update maybe 6-12 months after initial release, so UP2 could get there as well.
 
I can see this whole space contracting in another few years. Fitbit really soaked up the market. The next step is going to be smartwatches with more fitness band features so people will get everything they want in one device. Who knows what they'll convince us we need next. 😛
 
The only thing these items can do is measure distance traveled (via gps) and heart rate (via a sensor).

There's nothing else these can do for you. Why do people use them?
 
Phanuel said:
The only thing these items can do is measure distance traveled (via gps) and heart rate (via a sensor).

There's nothing else these can do for you. Why do people use them?
Click to expand...

Many don't actually have a GPS on them. They have an accelerometer and measure movements that get translated into steps for estimated calorie burn (based on formulas and weight/height that you enter).

They use them because you can track movements and be aware of when you are sedentary. They are not 100% accurate and the formulas aren't accurate for most people either, but it's really about awareness and accountability. If you aren't paying attention to your movement or aren't being reminded to move, a lot of people simply don't. I really like the concept.
 
Here's what the MS Band can do:

Track my workouts. When I start my workout I push a button. It tracks my HR throughout the workout and uses that in a formula for figuring out calories burned. I can then label the workout on my phone and it logs everything I did including how "hard" I worked out.

Track my runs. When I get outside I get a GPS lock and go. It gives me a buzz on my wrist at each mile mark and a readout on my pace. It also tracks my HR through the workout and elevation. When I'm done it automatically overlays it to my route, logs all of my splits and my HR during them. I don't have to do anything else.

When I go to bed I hit a button and put it into sleep mode and it tracks how restful my sleep was. I've been quite impressed with how accurate that is. It's been useful for me because I know when I'm starting to get sick or if I'm training too hard as my overnight HR's start climbing up. There's also a mental factor of thinking you slept like crap and looking at the report the next day and your phone telling you otherwise. Then you stop feeling like a slug.

For me it's mostly about the easy logging of everything. The only work I have to do is a couple clicks and then enter a name on my phone when I'm done. That's it. Everything else is laid out in easy to use reports and data. I can easily look and see how well I'm progressing or how much harder I'm working at things. It's just one less thing to keep track of since it does it for me.

Plus with the band there's the added perk of notifications. I like that I can just toss my phone on the desk or keep it in my pocket and get that buzz on my wrist when something comes in. Plus I'm in so many meetings my phone is constantly in silent mode. So when I go home I forget to turn on the ringer and instead of missing a call I'll get a buzz on my wrist and I can see who's calling. It's a lot more useful than I thought it would be.

I only charge it about 30 minutes a day. I run at 4:30AM. Come back home and toss it on the charger and hit the shower then get ready for work and eat breakfast. It's topped off when I walk out the door at 7:00.

These things aren't going to revolutionize lifestyles. They can't drag you out of bed and get your ass moving. They don't have notifications that pop up and tell you that's you're a lazy ass today and get moving faster. They don't high five you after a good run. But they are a nice novelty if not even a useful tool in tracking how well and often you do things. That's something I've been historically terrible about.
 
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