FitBit - which is the best one?

[BucksBugsy]

To remove any confusion I am talking about the wrist band devices that can be used to monitor heart rate, steps taken etc. This is not meant to be a euphemism!

My wife has got it in her head she needs one of these in her life! They seem to vary in price but our daughters BF's parents have got one each that they bought for about £100 each.

If you have one (a) how much did you pay for it and (b) where did you get it from? How long have you used it for and do you still use it?

If it makes any difference her Android phone is due an upgrade and she is eyeing up another HTC device


Regards

Dave

[thesorcerer]

My DD has decided this too, so I'd be interested in people's experiences?

[Funkymoover]

Type of phone shouldn't make a difference. I have iPhone hubs has the new Samsung I think (android anyway) works fine on both.

I have a flex from July last year till Jan. Worked fine. Hubs bought me the charge HR for my birthday. Friend has just got the alta

Charge HR has more features but the alta looks more feminine and I like the fact hers buzzes near the end of each hour if she hasn't done her 250 steps an hour.

The Fitbit website does show a comparison chart of all the models but not prices. I think unless she is training for something specific the the HR ones are probably overkill (I don't look at the HR much on mine) with hindsight I would prefer the alta but that wasn't out at the start of the year

[kellsbells]

I got an Alta a couple of weeks ago, it was £99. My mum and dad got one at about the same time, they got the charge HR which was the same price and has more features. I went with the Alta as I think it's a bit nicer looking and had a good choice of colours although it doesn't measure heart rate/stairs.

I would advise going to john lewis or somewhere to try on before buying as the small really is quite small!

I'm really enjoying using it so far and it has definitely spurred me on (I walked 20,000 steps yesterday because me and my dad were challenging each other - he won - just! ) I wear it everyday and even at night as it tracks your sleep too

[Bee happy]

I just bought a charge last week from Tesco £79 but uses the club card boost to buy it. I love it

[Leyfy]

Having had a Flex, a Charge and now a Surge, I have a bit of experience in the Fitbit area

I love the surge because I am a self-confessed gym rat and it also clocks my spin classes, which the others didn't and is the main reason I upgraded from the Charge to the Surge. If you are heavily into fitness then the surge is great - I've recently started doing more running and it has a GPS tracker and a heart rate monitor. The stats are great to look at and have helped me make comparisons of my runs. The only thing I don't like about the surge is that it is VERY bulky and, in my opinion, 'blokey' looking on my wrists! I was considering getting an Alta as well to where when I wasn't running ... Then I started looking at Garmins and couldn't make up my mind!

The blaze looks very cool but it's like an apple watch and doesn't have the GPS monitoring, so it's not that good for me.

If you are not bothered about the fitness stuff or the smart watch features then I'd be tempted to go for either the Charge or Charge HR (the slightly more expensive one has the heart rate monitoring too, which gives a more accurate calorie burn) or the new Alta.

(I also have the Fitbit scale, but I'm unsure about that as it has given me a few dodgy measurements!)

[Mo&Chris]

I've got a Charge HR, which Chris got me for Christmas.

The deciding factor wasn't actually any of the monitoring features, but the strap closure! It actually has a buckle, rather than the stud closure that the others he looked at had. And, knowing that I'm clumsy and capable of frequent acts of what he lovingly describes as "Mo-based f-uppery", he got me the one that would be harder to lose! And funny, I know at least one person at work who has lost the stud closure style one already.

/Mo

[novocastrian]

another vote for the surge as it has GPS i use for cycling and it ports directly into strava. being a bit of a geek i like to see heart rate/effort against different segments of the ride

the steps thing comes addictive as well on the non cycling days..

its also actually a watch so dont need to wear 2 things

and i collect bounts points from fitbit & strava so double bubble

[MEZZA]

I started off with the Garmin vivosmart which was around £80, did all the steps, sleep etc but it also connects with my iPhone so I could read my texts and see who is calling without getting my phone out
I moved on to the Garmin vivosmart HR which does all the above but also intensity minutes and heart rate, it's been great fun to use and it's doing its job in keeping me moving

[mushumadness]

I have the alta as k didn't want stairs or heart rate monitoring
I love it