Been looking at the new Fitbit Charge HR and Surge but also just read a post on here and there seems to be a lot of love for Garmin...
Any advice from existing users of Fitbits? I'm looking for something that monitors sleep and the FB seems to so this and GPS
Hi the FB doesn't do gps. I have a Fitbit a garmin forerunner 305 and a tomtom runner cardio. If you want an all sports gps he monitor then the garmin is the best. If you want just a runner watch gps hr monitor then the tomtom. The Fitbit is more a walker / work thing really. Hope this helps J
I have a fit bit flex and never use it now. I should do for normal non run days. Just got out the habit. I have a garmin for running. It's fab. I love it. Can't beat a good gadget!!
I have a Garmin vivofit which does steps and sleep but not GPS ...it really is just like the flex but can be used as a watch. I use a Garmin forerunner 10 for runs.I have just bought a 610...
Hiya CP... I'm the resident fitness gadget geek. I have a number of gadgets, and wear a FitBit Flex every day. It is great for tracking my steps, sleep and gives me an incentive to be more active. From time to time I also use the Flex to track my water intake (need to manually enter it into the iPhone app). Great to have a daily calorie expended stat, too. It is a great little gadget. I wish it could display the time, though.
Time?? That is the purpose of the new FitBit Charge. It is a little larger than the Flex and has the advantage of being able to display more information. To be honest, when my Flex dies, it will be replaced by a Charge. I do like the FitBit web interface where I can see all of my data, and I like receiving regular emails from FitBit telling me of my progress. It's great!
BUT
Flex and Charge are not running watches/gadgets. They do count steps and use your height to estimate the distance (in miles or km) you have travelled. It is surprisingly accurate, but nothing like as accurate as a proper running watch with GPS receiver. This can make a much better job of recording your speed, pace, distance travelled etc. The big advantage of a Garmin ForeRunner watch is that it can display salient information when you are running - data like elapsed time, or current pace, and even (more expensive models) can vibrate to tell you that you've started running too slowly, or can give you 'lap' signals. You won't get this data whilst you are running with a Flex or Charge.
That's why I run with a FitBit Flex, and an old-fashioned Nike+ SportWatch with GPS. FitBit does my activity analysis, and SportWatch tells me what I need whilst running. I like to upload my GPS data after a run and see where I went, what elevation I gained/lost and what pace I ran each kilometre. FitBit won't do that for you (perhaps Surge does).
Your post mentions sleep and GPS. With FitBit, you'll need the Surge model (this is only one that has GPS). Alternatively, some of the more expensive Garmin ForeRunners (which all have GPS) can also count steps and monitor your sleep.
So... the runners on this site swear by Garmin ForeRunners. When my Nike+ SportWatch dies, I'll replace it with a ForeRunner 620 (probably 630 by then). It is very helpful to improve your running pace. And I'll continue to wear a FitBit for the day-by-day activity tracking.
GPS Runners watch. FitBit activity tracker. Different devices, different features, different user-base.
Anyone on here have first hand experience of the Fitbit surge - have to say I am tempted but limited info available from actual users online as so new
Just bought a TomTom runner, and looks excellent so far - its an update of of the Nike+ sportswatch (which TomTom developed for Nike) - it's much slimmer and locks onto GPS very fast. Also has blue tooth for syncing to phones and tablets.
Have a look at DC rainmakers blog - this is excellent and and does reviews for lots of wearable tech (dcrainmaker.com/)
