What's the best wearable fit tracker that doesn't go on your wrist?
March 19, 2023 7:04 PM Subscribe
I love my fitbit and it's been great helping me track exercise, sleep, diet, heartrate, and steps. I want to upgrade to something that I don't have to wear on my wrist, because it's causing soreness.
I've tried getting a longer strap and wearing it on my ankle, but it's much less accurate. I could probably get a fitness ring but I've seen them mostly promoted for sleep and not exercise tracking. (Plus they seem bulky and I wear a small ring size)
What recommendations can you give me for a fitness tracker that works for you?
I've tried getting a longer strap and wearing it on my ankle, but it's much less accurate. I could probably get a fitness ring but I've seen them mostly promoted for sleep and not exercise tracking. (Plus they seem bulky and I wear a small ring size)
What recommendations can you give me for a fitness tracker that works for you?
Not quite answering your question but a possible option -- I traded out the band that came with my fitbit for a softer stretchy one because the original was so uncomfortable.
posted by gingerbeer at 7:49 PM on March 19, 2023
posted by gingerbeer at 7:49 PM on March 19, 2023
Several of the fitbits have clips you can use to put them other places like clipped to your shirt or hip or whatever (find your model here to see if it has one, plus i'm sure there are 3rd party ones). I don't believe heartrate works for anything other than wrist though.
posted by brainmouse at 8:26 PM on March 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by brainmouse at 8:26 PM on March 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
Try a different band, maybe you need one that's more adjustable as you're wearing it a bit too tight.
posted by kschang at 8:48 PM on March 19, 2023
posted by kschang at 8:48 PM on March 19, 2023
Response by poster: An FYI I should have mentioned - I've tried several of the bands, both wrists, and wearing the fitbit looser, but I always wake up with sore wrists.
Looking for an alternative!
posted by Space Kitty at 9:07 PM on March 19, 2023
Looking for an alternative!
posted by Space Kitty at 9:07 PM on March 19, 2023
My father in law has an Oura ring and enjoys the activity tracking- not sure if this is the ring you’ve seen, but a personal recommendation at least! It’s hard to tell how bulky it is (his seems pretty unobtrusive but that may not translate to smaller hands), but it does come in a range of ring sizes if that helps.
posted by MadamM at 9:56 PM on March 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by MadamM at 9:56 PM on March 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
I wore an Oura for a few years with good luck. It was too obtrusive on my right hand index finger (I’m right handed) but fine otherwise.
posted by supercres at 10:55 PM on March 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by supercres at 10:55 PM on March 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
If it's the Inspire, this turns it into a clip-on device. However, this means you lose some of the functionality like heart-beat measurements, at least until you started to wear it on your wrist again. If that's not the right model, here are some other alternatives...
posted by kschang at 11:28 PM on March 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by kschang at 11:28 PM on March 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
Whoop is great, and many people wear it on an armband rather than a wristband, or you can even buy Whoop clothing that is designed to hold it against your skin.
One caveat: If step tracking matters to you, Whoop doesn't do it.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 4:30 AM on March 20, 2023
One caveat: If step tracking matters to you, Whoop doesn't do it.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 4:30 AM on March 20, 2023
I find Fitbits to be pretty accurate when carried in my pocket (or, when I had a tiny Flex, in my bra- I wish they still made something small!)
posted by metasarah at 5:48 AM on March 20, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by metasarah at 5:48 AM on March 20, 2023 [2 favorites]
I've been wearing an Inspire on an after-market clip (this one, but there are many others) in my pocket for years, and it's actually more accurate in my pocket than on my wrist, because I am half Sicilian, and telling a good story makes my Fitbit think that I am running a sprint.
posted by spamloaf at 7:57 AM on March 20, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by spamloaf at 7:57 AM on March 20, 2023 [3 favorites]
I use and like the Oura ring as well.
I have small hands and do find it somewhat bulky, but wearing it on the index finger of my non-dominant hand I rarely notice it. When I was figuring out the correct size initially, I tried other fingers but found it really bothersome when it could be squished between two other fingers, and wearing it on my dominant hand it gets in the way while writing. The kit they send you to figure out your size mimics the overall bulk of the ring, rather than being a simple ring sizer, so you can get a pretty good idea of how it'll feel.
While it's much more focused on sleep than a lot of other trackers, it's still a quite competent overall activity tracker for most things. I don't find that it gets confused by typing, but knitting does make it think you've done a lot of walking. The app is pretty well-made, and I like that they present some of the science behind the metrics they track and report on. From my experience comparing it to the Apple Watch and long-ago FitBits, I think the sleep focus is more along the lines of added sleep-tracking features that complement the activity tracking, rather than any obvious trade-offs with things you give up to get the sleep tracking.
posted by duien at 5:30 PM on March 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
I have small hands and do find it somewhat bulky, but wearing it on the index finger of my non-dominant hand I rarely notice it. When I was figuring out the correct size initially, I tried other fingers but found it really bothersome when it could be squished between two other fingers, and wearing it on my dominant hand it gets in the way while writing. The kit they send you to figure out your size mimics the overall bulk of the ring, rather than being a simple ring sizer, so you can get a pretty good idea of how it'll feel.
While it's much more focused on sleep than a lot of other trackers, it's still a quite competent overall activity tracker for most things. I don't find that it gets confused by typing, but knitting does make it think you've done a lot of walking. The app is pretty well-made, and I like that they present some of the science behind the metrics they track and report on. From my experience comparing it to the Apple Watch and long-ago FitBits, I think the sleep focus is more along the lines of added sleep-tracking features that complement the activity tracking, rather than any obvious trade-offs with things you give up to get the sleep tracking.
posted by duien at 5:30 PM on March 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
Reading back through your list, the one thing the Oura is lacking is any diet/food tracking features, although I assume those are features of the FitBit app, rather than of the device itself. You could presumably replace that part with a different app, but you lose out on the integration. Although, if you're in the Apple ecosystem, the Oura will happily report into the Health app, which might let you regain some of that integration. I don't use any food tracking myself, so I don't know how well integrated that is into Health.
posted by duien at 5:35 PM on March 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by duien at 5:35 PM on March 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for the updates! I'm gonna try the clip holder (although I suspect I may have the same issue as spamloaf!) and if that doesn't work go ahead and try the Oura.
posted by Space Kitty at 7:00 PM on March 20, 2023
posted by Space Kitty at 7:00 PM on March 20, 2023
This thread is closed to new comments.
As for rings, I hear you, I hope less bulky rings will appear on the market -- I used to have a Ringly which was so beautiful that I actually still have the ring and wear it as a ring, even though the company no longer exists/the app is not supported. I wish more smart jewelry prioritized aesthetics as much as performance.
posted by virve at 7:28 PM on March 19, 2023 [1 favorite]