I'm using the Fitbit Surge at the moment. Like the fact it has a heart rate monitor and tracks exercise routines. Not exactly sure how accurate the HR monitor is but kind of cool to use as another tool.
The Jawbone Up3 is supposed to be pretty nice as well but it seems as though it's release date keeps getting pushed back.
I think the apple watch will be better than all of them as a total fitness/communication/style device. I will probably get one when they are released.
I believe that some of the smartwatches do this by shining a light on your wrist and looking for the beat but I've read that you usually have to be stationary for it to work.
I have a Garmin Forerunner 610 Watch with the chest strap and that works great, as long as you don't mind the chest strap.
Is the surge worth the extra money ? My son has the fitbit charge and he really likes it, but the Surge looks great.
Is the surge worth the extra money ? My son has the fitbit charge and he really likes it, but the Surge looks great.
I would say probably not. The stores in my area were out of the charge so I went ahead and got the surge. If the charge were a bit smaller I would have held out for it.
I think really the only things the surge offers over the charge is gps, music control, and bigger display. I will probably still use my phone's gps and music when I run so probably not much of an advantage.
What's the benefit of using these devices, in comparison to using the free Android/iPhone apps that calculate steps?
I would go for the ChargeHR, I am using it now for tennis and love it. The Charge does not have Heart Rate monitoring, and the surge has the nice GPS feature, but not sure that is worth $100 over the ChargeHR
Just got the Surge. Have used it only for running, but plan on trying it out for tennis soon. Seems like it only monitors HR though.
As a side note, I'm selling my Magellan Echo if you're interested.
good for you. i had one of those HR monitors. I have no idea where it is now. Maybe gone or in the trash? i haven't seen it in years. it was running low on batteries.
I'm using a Garmin Fenix 3 HR. Best watch/fitness tracker on the market. A little big but I like my watches on the larger side. Used to wearing Panerais so I really like the look and feel of the Fenix 3 HR.
I think Garmin is making some great products right now. They really do have something for everyone.
HR monitoring is still erratic on wrist-worn devices but the nice thing with some of the Garmins is you can connect to an external HR monitor For better accuracy.
I'm using a Garmin Fenix 3 HR. Best watch/fitness tracker on the market. A little big but I like my watches on the larger side. Used to wearing Panerais so I really like the look and feel of the Fenix 3 HR.
I think Garmin is making some great products right now. They really do have something for everyone.
HR monitoring is still erratic on wrist-worn devices but the nice thing with some of the Garmins is you can connect to an external HR monitor For better accuracy.
Very cool watch/tracker. For those who might be interested, here's a great review: http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2016/02/garmin-fenix3hr-review.html
Did you try the HR monitoring while playing tennis ? I want to capture my HR data while playing tennis and am thinking about the Garmin Vivoactive HR, which uses the same HR optical wrist sensor as the Fenix 3 HR. I may give it a shot and if the wrist sensor has problems, I suppose I can go with the dreaded chest sensor.
I use the HR monitor all the time to track tennis and Crossfit. I think it gives you a general idea of your HR during workouts but not near as responsive or accurate when "just" running. An external HR monitor is much more accurate when trying to measure things such as tennis or working out.
Overall I think it does a pretty good job. Just don't go into it expecting 100% accurate results.
I love larger watches. Used to wearing Panerais, etc. If you like large watches the fenix 3 is a great option. If you don't, then the vivoactive HR is a great option.
Thanks couch. I notice the Garmin watches/trackers don't include "Tennis" as a selectable Activity. What Activity do you select for tennis ? Also, have you used a chest strap with your Garmin ? If so, which one ? Thanks.
It was high intensity rallies and drills for three hours; basically full sprints from start to finish. But you could be right...I'm not sure...1900 kcal in three hours of tennis sound a bit high.
Okay, in that case, it sounds right.It was high intensity rallies and drills for three hours; basically full sprints from start to finish. But you could be right...I'm not sure...
It depends on how loose or tight your band is, I think.I'm loosing faith in the vivoactive hr. I don't think it recorded my hr correctly at all in the last singles match and now if I take it off my wrist the hr is going up and down wtf? I suspect it just guesses your hr if it doesn't have a good signal to detect properly but there's no way to tell if it's detecting a pulse properly. I'll try some more wrist positions as otherwise the watch is really good but I need some faith in the readings!
Or arm straps seem to have accuracy equal to a chest strap... But do I keep £200 worth of watch that doesn't monitor hr? I do like many of the features on it though so it would be a good way to track fitness even if you have to for a strap for hr measurement.The accuracy issues with wrist sensors are well known. If you want better accuracy, go with a chest strap.
Or arm straps seem to have accuracy equal to a chest strap... But do I keep £200 worth of watch that doesn't monitor hr? I do like many of the features on it though so it would be a good way to track fitness even if you have to for a strap for hr measurement.
I just ordered one of these too. I hope it is wearable while hitting though I mainly got it for more boring forms of exercise.My Tomtom cardio gets here in the next day or two, it has been shipped! This is the one with the heart rate monitor built into the watch....can't wait!
Ugh!!!
I keep reading all of these reviews online and here and I can't make up my mind. I want to buy for my daughter and wife too. I hate the chest strap but my wife doesn't mind them. Here are my thoughts. I'll use it for tennis, golf, soccer officiating, running inside on a treadmill and outside, etc. My daughter will use hers for general fitness, soccer officiating, and running. My wife will be using for fitness and running.
My daughter and I need a stopwatch feature for timing soccer. We'll need GPS too for running. My wife is looking to upgrade from her more basic Fitbit thingy and to leave her old Garmin Forerunner 305.
My thoughts are for these models in no order:
Garmin Vivoactive HR- does it have a stopwatch? It has a golf gps capability but so does my phone. $170
Polar M400- it has a stopwatch but requires chest strap. $170 but come with Polar Loop 2 for free.
Polar M200- it has wrist hr. I'm not sure about other features. $150
Tom Tom Spark w/ hr and MP3-$150 requires Bluetooth headphones. Would be good for my daughter. She'll want a small music player.
Polar A300-no gps but has hr strap good with the other models for $90. The strap itself is $50-70.
Too much information for me to go through. My last big watch I used was the Garmin Forerunner 201 and the gps really helped me to improve my speed. I'm not worried about all of the tracking stuff but my wife loves it. I'm thinking my daughters will love it too.
I'm looking for personal experience from tt!
I just ordered the Polar V800 special edition. It was nearly 1/2 off from Amazon and Polar updates it. It requires the chest strap but from all the reviews I've read, it's much more accurate. This thing looks very techy.