Help me find the one true fitness tracker

January 19, 2018 4:53 PM

I would love to find a great fitness tracker that's just right for me, but of course, I have complicated requirements, and so I turn to you, the trusty hive mind, for help. Requirements below the fold.

The most problematic requirement: wrist trackers that rely on me to swing my arms don't work for me. For example, I'm often hiking with a camera and holding the camera rather than swinging my arms.

I found out today my workplace will buy me an Apple watch for this purpose! And it can track steps using GPS and not arm swinging! However, I don't own an iPhone, so I can't do the GPS part. I do have an Android and am willing to consider other devices that track via GPS. I typically do not turn on my location on my phone but I suppose I can bite the bullet on that one if I must. However, if it tracks without that, so much the better.

The reason I don't just get a clipon Fitbit is that I would love one that was gamified in some way since gamification really, really works on me. However, the only walking game I know of involves zombies, and I hate zombies.

Any suggestions?

posted by Threeve to Health & Fitness (14 answers total)

I use a Fitbit Alta HR and as far as I can tell, it doesn't require my arms to swing in order to pick up movement. It picks up my steps just fine when I'm holding something and walking. I think the only time when it doesn't really recognize that I'm moving is when my hands are on the handle of a shopping cart, so that my arms are not moving in rhythm with my walk and the effect of body movement is attenuated.

There are a few other quirks that come out with the heart rate detector, but it doesn't sound like that's of interest to you.
posted by Sublimity at 5:14 PM on January 19, 2018

Best answer: FitBit is kind of gamified. You get badges and trophies based on achievements. I have the FitBit Blaze, and I sometimes have issues with shopping carts and such. But, I got my hands on a FitBit Zip, put it on a keyfob, and just put it in my pocket. It doesn’t double-credit you for steps. It basically takes the higher of the two totals and syncs the lesser with the higher number. So your results aren’t skewed.

There are apps that you can download (like AchieveMint) that sync with FitBit and offer rewards for steps. I think the Walgreens app did the same at one time.

What I love about FitBit is their top notch customer service. My Blaze started acting wonky a few months after I bought it, and they just sent me a new one. Just like that.
posted by Master Gunner at 5:25 PM on January 19, 2018

Almost forgot: FitBit also works with IFTTT, which means you can gamify it yourself, too. I linked my FitBit progress to Qapital, and reward myself every time I make my daily goal.
posted by Master Gunner at 5:28 PM on January 19, 2018

I got the Garmin Vivosport for Christmas. I think it meets your requirements--I don't have an iPhone (i'm on Android) and can still use its GPS tracking. It lets you do various sorts of gamification--I believe--but I'm new to it and not interested in gamification, just data.
posted by crush at 6:27 PM on January 19, 2018

I also have the Garmin Vivosport, and can confirm that the GPS is built in. However, I discovered that it doesn’t like to lock on to a satellite if the Bluetooth is on. It seems to be a known problem on the Garmin forums, and it’s not a dealbreaker for me, but not exactly ideal.
posted by outfielder at 6:59 PM on January 19, 2018

I have a garmin vivosport as well and can add that it knows the difference between when I'm walking and when I'm using vibration-crazy power tools, which on my old fitbit would run my steps up insanely.
posted by teslacoilswoah at 7:02 PM on January 19, 2018

Benefits of Fitbit is that it's the most integrated with other things non-Apple device so you can gamify that way. It has its own native badges and achievements as well. It tracks either via gps (if you set your activity to "run") or from steps and I have found it does log steps even if my arms aren't swinging but you can always just take it off and put it in your pocket for maximum step bouncing. I've sometimes done that when pushing a shopping cart or stroller for a long distance. I have a Charge HR (I'm on my second actually due to stupidity involving saltwater and sand).
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:14 PM on January 19, 2018

I've never found the Garmin line needed arm-swinging. I certainly used mine to cycle and there's precious little arm swinging involved if you're doing it right. I am not invested in the Applesphere either, and see no need to be, so when I purchase a new one it'll almost certainly be a Garmin.
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 7:45 PM on January 19, 2018

Another note for FitBit - I have the charge 2 and it counts steps with good accuracy regardless of what my arms are doing.
posted by Miko at 7:55 PM on January 19, 2018

I have the fitbit one that I keep in my pocket. As others mention there is badges you can earn. Also, you can link up your account to friends that also have a fitbit. This lets you compete against against a rolling 7 day leaderboard. Also you can schedule competitions against your friend. Lastly the fitbit one gets tremendous battery life since it doesn't have an always on screen.
posted by mmascolino at 8:56 PM on January 19, 2018 [1 favorite]

Not a tracker recommendation but you mention the Zombies game but actually they made an app specifically for walking (in conjunction with the NHS), called The Walk, there's no zombies involved at all.
I'm also currently doing something called StepBet, it takes your steps from your tracker and gives you a steps target based on your current average (your first one seems to be 4-5k steps more than your average), the one I'm doing is a $40 bet, with 4 days of "active" goal, 2 days of "stretch" goals and 1 rest day. If you meet those goals every day for 6 weeks, you're guaranteed to get your money back, plus once StepBet have taken their cut of the pot, the players that complete the challenge share the money put in by everyone who didn't.
posted by missmagenta at 2:20 AM on January 20, 2018 [1 favorite]

Another for Garmin vivofit - it tracks without the arm swinging. You also don't need to charge it and it's iPhone app is stupid easy and it synchs to myfitnesspal as well if you also track food. It's ridiculously low maintenance.
posted by floweredfish at 4:50 AM on January 20, 2018

I have a Misfit Shine which I like a lot. I mostly wear it on my wrist and find it decently accurate even when carrying things. It also comes with a thingummy that you can use to secure it to your shoelaces or belt if you prefer. Takes a watch-style coin battery, which I like because I literally never think about it outside replacing the battery every 4 months or so. I'm not sure about its gamification properties, though.
posted by basalganglia at 6:11 AM on January 20, 2018

I've had direct experience with the FitBit Charge HR, the Garmin VivoFit, and a Garmin ForeRunner 220 watch (has GPS). The fitness trackers are using an accelerometer to determine steps (impacts), while the ForeRunner works off of GPS but can measure extra stuff like cadence or heart rate if you have additional sensors. The fitness trackers are also really simple devices from a display point of view - think like a calculator. While there is a bunch of gamification, it is all going to happen later, when you upload data to the vendor's website/platform - the only immediate feedback you'll get is something like a buzzing notification if you hit your goal. If you want to really go down the rabbit hole on device reviews, I would recommend DC Rainmaker's website:

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/product-reviews

You mentioned you have an Android - if you wanted to try something for free, you could download Strava. That would give you some experience with granularity of data and what kinds of metrics you can get. Strava is used pretty universally by runners and cyclists who are tracking GPS data; you can use their app, or directly upload your GPS data to the site it you have a watch. Plenty of gamification there, too, but again, you only get that when you upload your data. One of the really annoying things about virtually all of these devices is that they need to be charged nightly. The Garmin VivoFit is one of the rare exceptions.
posted by kovacs at 1:37 PM on January 20, 2018