Fitness tracker feedback - looking at Fitbit Charge 2 vs Samsung Gear Fit 2.

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tehgerbil

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#209152 14-Mar-2017 20:24

Backstory - I've been training for the City2Surf here in Chch just doing the 6km run.

However, after that's over I want to start gamifying my runs to keep up/improve my fitness level.

I don't listen to music much, and currently work at a desk, so have my phone within access at all times.

I have a Samsung S5 mobile, but have disabled s-Health to save battery and use Endomondo to track runs.

Pros and cons of each:

Samsung:

Cons:

battery life - 2 days.
doesn't check heart rate constantly - only every 10 minutes unless you start an activity.

Pros:

Can hold music.
beautiful screen.
Potentially more open to 3rd party apps.
Built in GPS and maps.
Better notifications (/can respond/make calls?)
water resistant (IP68 - Same as my phone)

Fitbit:

Cons:

No music.
no GPS but can use mobile GPS
Not water resistant, barely 'splash proof'.

Pros:

V02max sensor
Constantly checks heartrate
better battery life
better sleep tracking
Still has good notifications

What they both offer:

Silent (vibrate) alerts.
notifications on device
sleep tracking
heart rate tracking

I'm really struggling there, they're both around the same price - $250.

I've looked into, but am not keen on Vivoactive series by Garmin.

tripp

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#1736604 15-Mar-2017 05:55

I love my gear fit 2.

I have had a number of smart watches etc and always go back to my fit 2. Will be upgrading when a new one is released.

You are correct about charging however, If i work out for an hour or so each day I have about 60% left at the end of the day (put it on about 4.40am got to bed at 9pm). Charging does not take long however.

One thing i do suggest however is going on aliexpress and getting something like this.

For spotify setup you might want to google (setup spotify on gear fit 2 outside of US).

geekiegeek

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#1736676 15-Mar-2017 09:55

I have used both in anger.

The Samsung is very nice so long as you don't want to use it in sunlight. I also found when running that it would default back to the main screen so I had to swipe through multiple screens to see my current pace and distance. Also getting music onto it is extremely slow.

Fitbit is great at what it does but I remember having issues with connected GPS, I think it didn't match what runkeeper showed, something to do with when it actually starts tracking.

invisibleman18

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#1736694 15-Mar-2017 10:51

Can’t say anything about the Samsung one but I’ve had the Fitbit Charge 2 for a couple of months and am loving it so far. I’d been using the Garmin Vivofit (the original version) for a couple of years and it served me well but was pretty basic – just the time, steps and calories – although good that the battery lasted about a year. Was thinking of upgrading to something with heart rate then saw JB Hifi had the Charge 2 on special for $206 which was the cheapest I had seen it (think Noel Leeming have had it for about the same since) so decided to get it.

Love the extra info I get from it compared to the Vivofit, particularly the heart rate. My favourite feature is that you can set the workout you’re doing and it will time it and record the stats for that specific workout (steps, calories, heart rate, distance etc) whereas with the Vivofit I just got steps and distance for the whole day and couldn’t see what my actual workout contributed to it. Battery life has been good – they say up to 5 days but it’s been lasting 7 days for me so far and that’s with tracking workouts pretty much every day. Only time it died after 5 days was the first week because I was playing around with it a lot, as you do with new toys! And it charges in under 2 hours so it’s not a big deal. Also since I use Windows phone a big advantage for me is that there is a Fitbit app for Windows and it syncs with my phone, which most other brands won’t.

Another minor thing is that because it’s bright like a phone screen you can see the time in the dark, which you can’t with the Vivofit. In-built GPS would be nice, but since I tend to play sport and go to the gym rather than go for runs/walks it’s not essential and wasn’t worth the extra money to buy one that had it. If running or cycling is more your thing and you want to track your route then that may be more of a consideration.

tripp

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#1736701 15-Mar-2017 10:58

geekiegeek:

I have used both in anger.

The Samsung is very nice so long as you don't want to use it in sunlight. I also found when running that it would default back to the main screen so I had to swipe through multiple screens to see my current pace and distance. Also getting music onto it is extremely slow.

Fitbit is great at what it does but I remember having issues with connected GPS, I think it didn't match what runkeeper showed, something to do with when it actually starts tracking.

Think the last update fixed the default back. I had the same issue but after the last update it stays on the last screen i had it (normally my fitness timer and heart rate).