Flex vs Charge HR: which fits a beginner better?

November 17, 2015 12:37 PM

Please help me pick an activity tracker that fits my needs from the seemingly limitless options out there. Snowflakes inside.

I've realised I really need some kind of motivation to get off my butt, and I'm hoping the accountability of an activity tracker will get me there. With Black Friday around the corner, I figure it's a good time to bite the bullet.

Snowflakes:

- I have seriously tiny wrists.

- I'm really not into numbers/tracking, so the less complicated the better. I pretty much just want to track my steps (ideally on the device itself, but I can deal with an app). Sleep tracking is a nice bonus but not necessary, ditto being able to tell time. I don't care about being able to share on social media.

- Phone apps do NOT work for me, I've tried several. Ditto Fitocracy et al. The thing needs to be on me to work.

- I'd like a tracker with an alarm of some sort so that I can prod myself to go exercise.

- Budget: $100-150, but I'd go to $200 for a really excellent product.

I would like to do a mix of cardio (Couch to 5K) and weight training. Given that, should I go with the Flex, the Charge HR, or something completely different?

posted by Tamanna to Health & Fitness (17 answers total)

I currently wear a Flex (previously used a Zip). The only display is a row of 5 lights. It progressively lights up left-to-right based on percentage completion of your goal. (Eg, Your goal is 10,000 steps; at 2,000 steps there is only one light lit). If you want to know exactly how many steps you've taken, you have to sync with an external device (computer, phone, etc). The battery life is only about 3 days, which I find annoying. You have to remove the device from the band and insert into a separate charging device, which takes like 4-5 hours to completely recharge.

On the other hand, it vibrates when you reach your goal. That is always a little thrilling :)

All of which is to say... If I were you, I would choose a level up from the base Flex.

Edit to add: I also have tiny wrists. The small band works perfectly for me. It's lightweight and not at all annoying to wear.
posted by slipthought at 12:55 PM on November 17, 2015

I really love my Fitbit Zip, and it clips easily on my bra, where I don't feel or see it or have to worry about if it fits my wrists. I wear it daily and would say I change the battery every 4 months. Doesn't track sleep.

As a bonus, it's below your budget range.
posted by fiercecupcake at 12:56 PM on November 17, 2015

Oh, and you can see the steps instantly on the Zip, no little lights or anything.
posted by fiercecupcake at 12:56 PM on November 17, 2015

The Flex is great for small wrists and is on sale right now for $60. I've had mine for 2 years and it's still going strong.

Can set an alarm if you want to drink water or whatever else you want to track.

I get almost a week out of mine (between charges).
posted by getawaysticks at 12:57 PM on November 17, 2015

I love my charge HR and the sizing does run small (especially considering you're supposed to wear it higher up your arm, however the device itself is quite large, I'd say 2.5-3 inches long and that doesn't get smaller even with a smaller band size. It also doesn't have an inactivity alarm (although that would be a great feature).

Honestly I think its probably more device than you need.
posted by missmagenta at 1:00 PM on November 17, 2015

I have a Charge HR and as a Very Lazy beginning exerciser, it's been really nice to have the heartrate feature - it's fun to check it while I'm exercising, and it's really motivating to see the huge spike on the days when I do cardio. I've also liked the sleep tracking.

I have very skinny wrists and the small fits fine.

The readout on the device can tell you, in numbers: the time, the daily total for your steps, flights of stairs, calories burned (they calculate that), distance traveled (also calculated), and your heartrate at that moment. It can be an alarm, or multiple alarms I think, although you have to set it through the website. It can also be a stopwatch.

To get the info out, you sync it to your computer/their website, and they show you nifty displays of all of it. The site asks you for stuff like your age and weight and height, for calculating calories etc. It asks if you have eating goals etc but you can leave that stuff blank.
posted by LobsterMitten at 1:00 PM on November 17, 2015

Oh, and since you mention complexity of interface: the interface of the Charge HR is just one button on the side, and you press it to cycle through the things it can display (time - heart rate - steps - ....). On their website you can decide which things you want it to show and in what order.

You charge it with USB and it take something like a couple of hours for a full charge, which lasts most of a week.

It's water resistant but not waterproof, so it's ok in the rain but you take it off for the shower.
posted by LobsterMitten at 1:07 PM on November 17, 2015

I have the fitbit One, and I really like it. it clips onto my bra or into my jeans pocket, or sometimes onto my shoe, and I like that it has a display that tells you things. Steps, flights of stairs, calories, activity level, and it does sleep tracking. it also has a silent alarm (buzzing) that you can set to wake you up in the morning, which is surprisingly effective. You can set it for something else too, obviously.

I had a flex because I threw my One into the washing machine and killed it (that's its main problem) but I didn't like it, I don't want a silicone band around my wrist all the time.

I would maybe get the charge HR now, because I would like heartrate.

I link my fitbit up with MyFitnessPal, and I like that setup.
posted by euphoria066 at 1:40 PM on November 17, 2015

I have a Flex and I love it. I tried on a Charge, but found that in order for it to read my heart rate, it needed to be snug enough that I found it a little annoying. It's a pity, because I would like to have a heart rate monitor, but not one that I find too irritating to wear.
posted by KathrynT at 1:42 PM on November 17, 2015

I have the charge - it's a nice streamlined device. all the same features as the HR, except it doesn't measure your heartrate. I compared it with my friend's charge HR, and it might be a bit easier on small wrists (which I also have) the sleep tracking is good, and it's nice to have a bunch of different things that it monitors on the display, and you can choose which functions to display (or not display). I have taken it swimming and snorkeling, so the water resistance is pretty good. I also really like the alarm on it, because it vibrates instead of beeping.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 1:50 PM on November 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

I do wish I had the automatic sleep tracking that the Charge offers.
posted by getawaysticks at 2:34 PM on November 17, 2015

I think, considering you want hr monitoring and want data you don't need a computer to see, the Charge is your best bet. You might also look at the Garmin vivofit, which is smaller, comes in cuter colors and does mostly the same thing.
posted by Brittanie at 2:57 PM on November 17, 2015

The Vivofit vibrates every half hour if you're not moving. It's just a little buzz, but I found it astonishing how motivating it actually was.
posted by aint broke at 4:08 PM on November 17, 2015

The new Misfit Shine 2 looks like an interesting choice. I don't have it, but it seems to have the features you're looking for, and it seems to be on the cheaper end for these devices. Interestingly, it uses a button cell battery but still claims many-month battery life. The form factor also seems like it'd work on tiny wrists, and they offer a number of ways to wear it.
posted by that girl at 7:30 PM on November 17, 2015

Another point to consider: with the Flex, you can swap bands and get cheap ones on Amazon. With the Charge (and HR) you are stuck with the color you buy, which is likely going to be black.
posted by smackfu at 4:56 AM on November 18, 2015

It seems like both examples have more features than you really need and that you might be happy with something a lot cheaper, like the Zip. It clips to your clothes (I attach mine to my bra), which personally I prefer as it is out of sight.
posted by intensitymultiply at 6:53 AM on November 18, 2015

If you are a person who loses stuff, you are probably going to lose the clip-on ones. Or put it through the wash.
posted by smackfu at 8:05 AM on November 18, 2015 [1 favorite]