Advice please - Activity / Fitness tracker watch

[marzman]

Hi guys,

 

I've been after a fitness tracker watch for some time, with Fitbit style features, but there are so many i'm not sure where to start.

 

My friend has a Fitbit Charge 2 which can measure heart rate, different exercises, steps, sleep patterns etc and has a fully comprehensive app. Its got all the functionality i want, but they're quite expensive (£100-£130).

 

I'm sceptical about how much i'll actually use one so want to buy one of the cheaper alternatives - (£15 - £50), but I don't want to compromise on features.

 

It also has to be small enough to wear 24/7 - I don't want something too obtrusive - however if it's going to replace my watch it needs to look good too. Impossible?

 

Lastly, it needs to be IOS compatible.

 

Any recommendations/experience please?

 

Edit:

 

The only exercise i do is:

 

Indoor 5-a-side football

Dog walking

Occasional boxing/pad work

 

I've like to be able to record the distance travelled and calories burned on each. I wont have my phone on my while playing football, but it will be in the same sports hall... will this work?

Edited December 29, 2016 by marzman

[Fodder]

I have a charge HR gen 1 and I can't fault it. If you want Fitbit like features then you will need to go Fitbit.

 

Battery life is around 5 days on mine, couple of hours to charge. One thing I don't like is if you are recording your exercise via the app (so it tracks routes via gps) it will only allow you to select run, walk or hike iirc and doesn't include bike.

 

Also the one I have isn't waterproof so you obviously can't swim and I ended up leaving at home for summer holidays. I have a gen 1 Apple Watch too and I think I'll be swapping both for a gen 2 watch at some point.

[marzman]

Thanks Fodder. Most likely this is the most accurate advice, but not what i'm after i dont think.

 

Has anyone had both a Fitbit and a generic activity tracker? Is a fitbit really worth 10x the price of a generic one??

[Fodder]

Thanks Fodder. Most likely this is the most accurate advice, but not what i'm after i dont think.

 

Has anyone had both a Fitbit and a generic activity tracker? Is a fitbit really worth 10x the price of a generic one??

 

Just a note it's not necessarily accuracy you need but consistency. I hope you get my drift

 

I know a couple of people with jawbone devices and will ask them when I'm in the office next week.

[andybp]

My wife's had a few of the cheaper branded and chinese unbranded none of which were very accurate or lasted very long she now has a garmin not sure which one and i have a fitbit surge with gps which have all of the features we need and

have worked perfectly for the last year personally I'd go with one of the better quality branded versions and that's not snobbery I've quite happily put cheap chinese turbo's and other parts on my Z which have proven to be reliable (so far)

[marzman]

Sod it. Just bought a Fitbit Charge 2.

 

I downloaded various apps from the different activity watches and had a play with each one, but the Fitbit app seems by far the most comprehensive so ive decided to go with one.