Fitness Tracker: Needed

D.A.Lewis · Post by **D.A.Lewis** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 6:35 pm

Ancient fitness buff here. Well over 4 decades with all kinds of activity stuff.

Both my wife and I have recently retired and I got her a Fitbit Charge for a present. She loves it and I love the web site interface that comes with the device. But all my wife does is a lot of walking. Cycling is my main daily aerobic activity. My next main fitness activity is 3 days a week at a boxing aerobic class. I do approx. 40 min of various calisthenics, stretching and martial arts every day. And each evening I do a some elliptical, total gym (the Chuck Norris machine) and a dvd (beachbody and what nots). Okay, okay, I'm a fitness addict.

Whenever I go to Kaiser I just tell them I work out every day. But they have to pull that information out of me. This is what they have to endure.

Int. Scene - Nurse's Station/Patient Intake Room - Day

Nurse: Do you exercise?
Me: Yes
Nurse: How often?
Me: All the time.
Nurse: How many times per week?
Me: Every day
Nurse: That's 7 days a week?
Me: Yes.
Nurse: How long do you work out?
Me: Oh about 20 minutes.
Nurse: So that's 20 minutes every day.
Me: Oh, sometimes it's a little bit longer.
Nurse: How often is that?
Me: Most every day.
Nurse: How much longer than 20 minutes?
Me: Sometimes 30, sometimes 40, sometimes 60
Nurse: Everyday?
Me: Yeah, pretty much.
Nurse: Okay Mr. Lewis, I'll put down you get daily exercise, over 30 minutes day
Me: Sounds good to me.
Nurse: Okay, grab a seat over there the doctor will call you when he's ready.
Me: Question.
Nurse: Yes.
Me: Does it affect the chart if I tell you that's my morning workout?
Nurse: Does it affect your day if I give you a referral to the psychiatric clinic?
Me: Well played.
Nurse: Sit you ass down.

So I've been looking at a couple of fitness devises to suit my multiple workout schedule. I really "don't" want a smart watch, but I love the idea of the bands. Fitbit won't work because it doesn't track cycling. The Shine looks good, its cheap, it tracks cycling but the web page looks like an excel spread sheet and the devise is reported to easily slip off the wearer. The Moov looks good but its expensive and while it tracks cycling it doesn't track aerobic classes. Nike is out. Literally, I think they are teaming up with another maker.

My fitness tracker wish list would be

1) tracks cycling and aerobics
2) automatically tracks (senses) activities with little or no input
3) has a great web site (Social media component "not" important)
4) tracks elliptical

5) yoga and weight lifting is a plus but not necessary

Anybody on or has been on this same journey?

EvilHomer3k · Post by **EvilHomer3k** » Fri Mar 06, 2015 3:55 pm

The closest thing you'll find is something that runs on your phone. You need a GPS for cycling. Nothing really tracks weights unless you enter it manually. Same with yoga and martial arts. I use endomondo when I use anything. Strava is what a lot of cyclists use. Last year I decided that tracking was taking time away from exercise and I stopped it except for biking and running (and running I only do half the time anyway). I was tracking with endomondo and fitocracy (with some myfitnesspal sprinkled in for food). Now I just go out and enjoy myself.

Any modern smartphone can do cycling and running. I'd look into something with a heartrate monitor (or get one that connects to your phone).

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Fri Mar 06, 2015 4:07 pm

For cycling/outside running/walking/hiking I use SportyPal. Lots of cool features. But, as EvilHomer suggests, it doesn't do much if you aren't moving from one point to another. So it's useless in the gym.

I used to (and probably should get back to) manually recording gym workouts on Livestrong.org. I'm sure somewhere there's an app for that (hell, I might have an app for that on my phone...my S5 has all sorts of features, including a pedometer and a heart rate monitor that I never use). But I don't know of anything that works on stationary equipment -- I thought maybe the Nike+ gadget I had (transponder in the shoe connecting to a transceiver in a ipod) might work since it doesn't use GPS, but performance on treadmills and torture bikes was poor at best.

D.A.Lewis · Post by **D.A.Lewis** » Fri Mar 06, 2015 5:46 pm

Thanks guys. The research is overwhelming. Last night I spent over an hour looking at stuff before I just went to bed with no resolution.

@Jeff - Torture Bikes . . . LOL - But stationary bikes are great for watching TV

@Homer - yes tracking and recording do take away time from working out. My exercise journal is very brief- It simply says Run-2, Bike-30, Gym, KFu, Stretch and few others - and has about 12 simple one word lines per day. This style has served me well for over 7 years. All my other full feature journals usually end for good when I fill up the book.

And that is why I want a fitness tracker that can sense my activity - load it up and then when I get next to my input station it will automatically transfer the data to my app/web page/ejournal. But I think what I want isn't available yet so I will have to settle for less features.

So since I'm settling. Right now my top contenders are:

Jawbone up23 (does cycling-used at my gym)
Fitbit Charge HR (great HR monitor-great web site-will be one with my wife)
Misfit Shine (does cycling-inexpensive)
Amiigo (auto tracks all my activities but no screen-crowdfunded but not out yet-(late))

As far as smartphones, I have an Galaxy S4 that tracks walking and cycling. However the problem with the cycle tracking is that it throws in numbers to my step total - even though I have to manually enter that I am starting and stopping my bike ride. And it turns out this is a common problem with most of the fitness trackers.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Fri Mar 06, 2015 6:13 pm

Check out the Basis Band and maybe the Microsoft Band as well.

Not sure if the Apple Watch will do what you want - they didn't get the health sensors where they want them, but it is still yet to be determined where they did get them too.

I have a Basis Band and Endomondo Pro. I refuse to pay the exorbitant subscription fee for heart tracking. If you find a decent one which isn't subscription based, sing out!

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Fri Mar 06, 2015 6:56 pm

My tracking goal is simple: to convert effort into approximate calories burned, which I then translate into beers earned.

The perfect app need only tell me when I've earned a 6-pack and a pizza.

D.A.Lewis · Post by **D.A.Lewis** » Fri Mar 06, 2015 9:08 pm

@Pypercub - Apple watch is out (as in no-go). Not so sure they get the fitness market. Way too bulky (and expensive) for my taste - I rather have google glasses if I'm going for geek.
@Jeff - exchange beer for candy and cookies and that's me. What can I say, my taste buds never grew up.

Example:

Last night my wife made meat loaf for dinner for the first time. I hate meat loaf and I hate bell peppers. But she wanted to be in the crowd that says, "Yeah meat loaf sucks but wait till you try my meat loaf." What a predicament for a married man to be in. I am probably going to hate it but how can I say that to her? Well she made a huge meat loaf with bell peppers. We also had green beans and mash potatoes. Truly a comfort meal. I told her the meat loaf was far better tasting than I expected it to be. And had a second slice. She said she hated it. And wanted to throw it out. I told her it okay because I probably won't be eating it as left overs. Later in the evening, she made me some chocolate chip cookies for an evening snack. They were delicious. Small and perfectly baked. More crunchy than soft. Fortunately, earlier in the day, I put in an extra 20 min on the elliptical, so no harm no foul. Yummy. Cookies.

I had a Polar watch with HR band a few years back. The tech has probably improved immensely since then, but right now I don't want to go that route again.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Sat Mar 07, 2015 1:24 am

I have a Polar HRM around here somewhere...I had to replace the battery in the transponder (a device strapped to the chest) every other run. It was ridiculous. I wore it for a handful of training runs for my first half-marathon, and never since. I did figure out that my ideal heart rate at the time was 155...I was able to sustain without substantial fatigue. It was handy to know that when training, because if it fell much below 155, I knew I was slacking and should pick it up, if it started screaming alarms, I knew my heart was about to explode.

I'm with you on meat loaf and bell peppers. I never like my mom or grandmother's meatloaf, and I'm quite certain I won't like anyone else's either. And bell peppers are just vile. If I'm going to eat peppers, they best be scorching my taste buds with heat so I can't tell I'm eating peppers. Anything below jalapeno on the Scoville scale need not apply.

Fortunately my wife doesn't have a meatloaf in her culinary arsenal. But that doesn't mean she doesn't have her own unique assortment of inedibles. I made dinner tonight, but she made soup for her lunch (she works night shift). The soup she made includes a shit ton of very bitter leaves from some plant I've only ever seen in Filipino grocery stores...I've tried this several times and it's just never going to sit well with me.

RMC · Post by **RMC** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 12:31 pm

I have a fitbit, that tracks my 'steps' and automatically uploads it to their software, but then I can connect it to other software to help track things. IE - Weight Watchers, or my companies fitness program.

This is the entry level one that I have and it works very well: Amazon Linky to device

It costs 100 bucks, but I think you can get it cheaper, and there are others as well that do more. It's nice, as I can tell how many miles I have walked, and what sleep I am getting.

Has helped me with the exercise part of my diet/getting healthier.

If you have any questions, PM me and I would be happy to answer them.

MHS · Post by **MHS** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 12:37 pm

Pyperkub wrote:Check out the Basis Band and maybe the Microsoft Band as well.

Not sure if the Apple Watch will do what you want - they didn't get the health sensors where they want them, but it is still yet to be determined where they did get them too.

I have a Basis Band and Endomondo Pro. I refuse to pay the exorbitant subscription fee for heart tracking. If you find a decent one which isn't subscription based, sing out!

The Basis claims to track cycling pretty well but I don't how accurate it really is. For us at least, it picks up "adult activities" as bicycling, so I can say with authority that the cycling totals it shows on mine and Neal's is not accurate.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 12:59 pm

MHS wrote:
Pyperkub wrote:Check out the Basis Band and maybe the Microsoft Band as well.

Not sure if the Apple Watch will do what you want - they didn't get the health sensors where they want them, but it is still yet to be determined where they did get them too.

I have a Basis Band and Endomondo Pro. I refuse to pay the exorbitant subscription fee for heart tracking. If you find a decent one which isn't subscription based, sing out!
The Basis claims to track cycling pretty well but I don't how accurate it really is. For us at least, it picks up "adult activities" as bicycling, so I can say with authority that the cycling totals it shows on mine and Neal's is not accurate.

Yeah, the Cycling pick-up is weird. Do you all have the newer version, or the older one? I still have the older one - I don't particularly like the design of the newer one. I did add a leather band though.

As to your bedroom bicycling... hmmm. Do you hit your goals? Does Basis give you the old pat on the back for a good ride? LOL!

MHS · Post by **MHS** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 1:08 pm

We have the older Basis. I think it does a much more accurate reading for things like walking and jogging than the Fit or other trackers. Neal has stopped wearing his because it was giving him a rash. I stopped wearing mine because I've become a couch potato.

I only paid attention to the cycling to make sure Neal never "cycled" without me.

The Meal · Post by **The Meal** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 1:32 pm

Actually I was mostly able to deal with the rash (daily swapping of the wrist upon which I'd wear the watch, daily swabbing of the band/watch with IPA). My frustration was that Basis is not making your data available to external databases (such as iOS HealthKit). Knowing that Basis was not my long-term solution was frustrating enough for me to move on.

I wonder if there's another device, soon to be available, which would better match my needs...

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 1:38 pm

The Meal wrote:(daily swapping of the wrist upon which I'd wear the watch, daily swabbing of the band/watch with IPA).

Probably better than a porter or stout.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 2:01 pm

The Meal wrote:Actually I was mostly able to deal with the rash (daily swapping of the wrist upon which I'd wear the watch, daily swabbing of the band/watch with IPA). My frustration was that Basis is not making your data available to external databases (such as iOS HealthKit). Knowing that Basis was not my long-term solution was frustrating enough for me to move on.

I wonder if there's another device, soon to be available, which would better match my needs...

Being able to add a leather band (you needed the stainless option, I think) made it so much better. I don't think those silicon bands are very good for constant contact at all - fitbit has had a ton of problems too. There's a big reason why Apple is primarily going with metal bands I think.

D.A.Lewis · Post by **D.A.Lewis** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 2:36 pm

MHS wrote:We have the older Basis. I think it does a much more accurate reading for things like walking and jogging than the Fit or other trackers. Neal has stopped wearing his because it was giving him a rash. I stopped wearing mine because I've become a couch potato.

And a candy lover. But no worries, your candy brother is with you. More exercise = more candy (or at least some guilt free splurges)

now I have narrowed it down to the final three contenders:

Device Pros & Cons
(they all track sleeping patterns)

Jawbone up24
PRO
does cycling-used at my gym
gym sells it w/ $45 discount
color options, stylish
CON
No screen on device
No HR monitor
web sit is Meh

Fitbit Charge HR
PRO
HR monitor-great web site
my wife has a fitbit
screen on device
CON
kinda looks like a watch
only tracks walking and running

amiigo
PRO
auto tracks all my activities
(walking, elliptical, aerobics cycling)
HR monitor, some color options, stylish
second tracking device for more accuate tracking
CON
No screen on device
brand spanking new, shipping on Mar 31
Early adapter
2nd additional tracking devise, small and appears to be easy to lose
most expensive of the bunch

RMC · Post by **RMC** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 2:39 pm

D.A.Lewis wrote:uote="MHS"]We have the older Basis. I think it does a much more accurate reading for things like walking and jogging than the Fit or other trackers. Neal has stopped wearing his because it was giving him a rash. I stopped wearing mine because I've become a couch potato.

And a candy lover. But no worries, your candy brother is with you. More exercise = more candy (or at least some guilt free splurges)

now I have narrowed it down to the final three contenders:

Device Pros & Cons

Jawbone up24
PRO
does cycling-used at my gym
gym sells it w/ $45 discount
color options, stylish
CON
No screen on device
No HR monitor
web sit is Meh

Fitbit Charge HR
PRO
HR monitor-great web site
my wife has a fitbit
screen on device
CON
kinda looks like a watch
only tracks walking and running

amiigo
PRO
auto tracks all my activities
(walking, elliptical, aerobics cycling)
HR monitor, some color options, stylish
second tracking device for more accuate tracking
CON
No screen on device
brand spanking new, shipping on Mar 31
Early adapter
2nd tracking devise, appear to be easy to lose
most expensive of the bunch[/quote]

I think I am going to upgrade my fitbit later on this year, and give my old one to my wife. That one you linked looks very nice.

D.A.Lewis · Post by **D.A.Lewis** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 2:45 pm

Interesting how and edited post ends up being credited to RMC....

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 2:47 pm

He mangled the BBcode after at least two separate attempts.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 2:48 pm

On a hunch I just whipped out a little google fu and found this:

A gadget rental company called Lumoid has introduced a new service that will ship you up to five fitness trackers of your choosing to try for a week, Fast Company's Chris Gayomali reports.

Like a “Warby Parker for wearables,” the company will let you try each tracker risk-free.

Sounds like a concept to look into. It doesn't solve the problem of long term fitness (tracker) malaise, but it may help in the decision process...

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 2:52 pm

Pyperkub wrote:Warby Parker

Which is an eyeglass retailer. I was not familiar with the name. I expected some Aussie clothier or something.

RMC · Post by **RMC** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 2:53 pm

Isgrimnur wrote:He mangled the BBcode after at least two separate attempts.

I didn't do anything to the code, just hit the Quote button. <sigh> Go figure, it is how my day is going..

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 2:57 pm

RMC wrote:
Isgrimnur wrote:He mangled the BBcode after at least two separate attempts.
I didn't do anything to the code, just hit the Quote button. <sigh> Go figure, it is how my day is going..

You're missing the '[q' from the MHS portion.

D.A.Lewis · Post by **D.A.Lewis** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 3:18 pm

Pyperkub wrote:On a hunch I just whipped out a little google fu and found this:

A gadget rental company called Lumoid has introduced a new service that will ship you up to five fitness trackers of your choosing to try for a week, Fast Company's Chris Gayomali reports.

Like a “Warby Parker for wearables,” the company will let you try each tracker risk-free.
Sounds like a concept to look into. It doesn't solve the problem of long term fitness (tracker) malaise, but it may help in the decision process...

Fascinating

here is a link to Lumoid's wearable tryout

I was thinking of this type of company a couple days ago. But then I thought how could it possibly work, Will you be renting someone else sweat in addition to the band?

MHS · Post by **MHS** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 4:36 pm

Isgrimnur wrote:
Pyperkub wrote:Warby Parker
Which is an eyeglass retailer. I was not familiar with the name. I expected some Aussie clothier or something.

And which is now showing up in my Facebook ads.

/shakes fist at sky

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 4:58 pm

MHS wrote:
Isgrimnur wrote:
Pyperkub wrote:Warby Parker
Which is an eyeglass retailer. I was not familiar with the name. I expected some Aussie clothier or something.
And which is now showing up in my Facebook ads.

/shakes fist at sky

AdBlock plus FTW!

D.A.Lewis · Post by **D.A.Lewis** » Fri Mar 13, 2015 9:33 pm

So I was in the gym the other day and saw the Jawbone up24 for 50% off. I went for it. It’s been 3 days with the thing and here are some comments.

The Lame

*No display screen (either use your cell while you are out or wait till you sync at home)
*No heart rate monitor
*Activities have to be manually input
*Web site sucks (I’m very jealous of my wife’s Fitbit web site)
*Cycling, aerobics, & calisthenics are counted as steps (albeit at a reduced rate)
*Instructions (packaged and web) were impossible to follow – YouTube vids for the win
*The jawbone would not sync to my IPad, only my android phone. Thus all input is via the phone keyboard.

The Cool

*While activities have to be manually input the jawbone up24 does recognize you were doing something other than sitting or walking and requests that you input that activity.
*The sleep monitor can differentiate between light and deep sleep and shows it on your sleep graph. It can even tell when you fell asleep and when you woke up.
*When your significant other has a fitness tracker, workouts and getting to your step goal is a lot more fun and far easier.
*It has a reminder function (it buzzes) if you’ve been inactive too long. (Mine is set for 45 min)
*the stats (within the app) are broken down into hour increments - ie when you see high red bars it means you were active at something at such and such o'clock

This is not the tracker I wanted but it’s working out. The tracker I wanted (Amiigo) also has no display but it does have a HR monitor. And it uses far more sophisticated algorithms in its device. The Amiigo can tell if I’ve been on the elliptical or cycling or running or lifting weights. And will automatically list those activities with the app. However it is getting released at the end of this month. So maybe holding off a while and waiting for all the bugs to get ironed out, might be a better option.

Right now I am averaging about 17,000 steps per day but of course it is throwing all my physical activities into steps. Well, It is kind of fun looking at all the Stats that are generated.

gbasden · Post by **gbasden** » Sat Mar 14, 2015 12:33 am

My Microsoft Band should be arriving in a few days. I'm really interested in seeing how good it is at discerning different activities at the gym. The reviews are good, and it has built in GPS for mapping my lunch time walks.

D.A.Lewis · Post by **D.A.Lewis** » Sat Mar 14, 2015 2:28 am

gbasden wrote:My Microsoft Band should be arriving in a few days. I'm really interested in seeing how good it is at discerning different activities at the gym. The reviews are good, and it has built in GPS for mapping my lunch time walks.

It's funny but the Microsoft Band looks good to me. Real good and way better than the Apple Watch. If I still did competitive road racing, I would probably get one. The only thing about the MS Band is that it's missing that slight curve that the Samsung Gear fit has. But as far as smartwatches go, I think I would rather be in the Microsoft world than the android world. In that I would rather link up to my computer instead of my phone.

D.A.Lewis · Post by **D.A.Lewis** » Sat Mar 14, 2015 10:35 am

Well I encountered my first problem, my Jawbone up24 was not getting recognized by my computer. It was charging but I could not see the device via my USB port. I tried installing an update but I was getting scripting errors when I tried to run the program. The web site was no help. Actually a number of folks were complaining that the company was totally non responsive and may be OOB. So I took a chance and called their 1-800 number.

Blam. I got a real CSR. Kudos to Jawbone.

Apparently my device needed a firmware update (the device out of the box was 2 patches behind) . Kathleen (an excellent CSR, BTW ) guided me through the process, but I think most can do this by themselves. When I tried to update the up24 by myself I had downloaded the Mac file (it turns out to be the default setting on the jawbone site) and the computer of course did not recognize the file and gave me scripting errors. Kathleen directed my to the correct file (simply clicking a small print heads-up directing me to the Windows file).

And Now, with the update, my Jawbone up24 is supposed to have double the battery life (2 weeks).

However the reason I wanted the device to recognize my computer was so that I could do some of the app stuff on my computer instead of my phone. Doing some stuff is just more comfortable on a desktop than a phone. Unfortunately the device only recognizes mobile stuff (ios or android phones and tablets)

Curiously, when I plug my up24 into my computer, it's still not recognizing the device hooked into the computer. A curious anomaly that may be a security issue as far as Microsoft is concerned.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Sat Mar 14, 2015 11:20 am

I pre-ordered the Charge HR in January with a 8-10 week lead time since I have the mutant wrists (over 8") and that requires the XL size. I just got an email that it won't be available until June...so I'm trying to decide if I stick that out or just move on. I've heard mixed reviews about the Charge HR anyway for HR monitoring so maybe this is a good thing.

Sidenote - how the heck can the larger wristband size be that difficult to manufacture? Fitbit seems to be having severe production and communication issues - they can't seem to meet demand at all in multiple product lines and that does not seem to be due to overwhelming demand and they don't keep customers informed until they miss deadlines. Not a great way to do business IMO.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Sat Mar 14, 2015 11:26 am

malchior wrote:I pre-ordered the Charge HR in January with a 8-10 week lead time since I have the mutant wrists (over 8") and that requires the XL size. I just got an email that it won't be available until June...so I'm trying to decide if I stick that out or just move on. I've heard mixed reviews about the Charge HR anyway for HR monitoring so maybe this is a good thing.

Sidenote - how the heck can the larger wristband size be that difficult to manufacture? Fitbit seems to be having severe production and communication issues - they can't seem to meet demand at all in multiple product lines and that does not seem to be due to overwhelming demand and they don't keep customers informed until they miss deadlines. Not a great way to do business IMO.

Do you have a Costco membership? My local Costco had a bunch of Fitbit Charges when I was in there on Wednesday.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Sat Mar 14, 2015 11:37 am

pr0ner wrote:
malchior wrote:I pre-ordered the Charge HR in January with a 8-10 week lead time since I have the mutant wrists (over 8") and that requires the XL size. I just got an email that it won't be available until June...so I'm trying to decide if I stick that out or just move on. I've heard mixed reviews about the Charge HR anyway for HR monitoring so maybe this is a good thing.

Sidenote - how the heck can the larger wristband size be that difficult to manufacture? Fitbit seems to be having severe production and communication issues - they can't seem to meet demand at all in multiple product lines and that does not seem to be due to overwhelming demand and they don't keep customers informed until they miss deadlines. Not a great way to do business IMO.
Do you have a Costco membership? My local Costco had a bunch of Fitbit Charges when I was in there on Wednesday.

The problem is the XL size. They resized the bands from the Flex to Charge so I would have been a L in the old one but now am XL. Unfortunately I haven't seen a single confirmed mention of anyone receiving an XL anywhere (and to boot only available through the website BTW). I was an early pre-order so I should be at the head of the line which implies they had a severe manufacturing issue on the wristbands...which is borderline hilarious. My biggest problem besides availability is that the information they release is scant and inaccurate. They just don't seem to know what they are doing.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Sat Mar 14, 2015 11:41 am

Hmm, I wasn't aware of the sizing issues. Yikes.

I'll take a closer look next time I go to Costco and see what sizes they actually have there. They do somehow manage to get crazy things in there sometimes.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Sat Mar 14, 2015 11:48 am

pr0ner wrote:Hmm, I wasn't aware of the sizing issues. Yikes.

I'll take a closer look next time I go to Costco and see what sizes they actually have there. They do somehow manage to get crazy things in there sometimes.

Cool - I severely doubt it but who knows. I'm actually a little surprised the tech press isn't all over them because they appear to have some pretty significant issues as they also pushed the special colors back too into the same time frame. I smell capacity issues and maybe the retail channel is gobbling up the S/L black color ones at a rate that require them to scale up additional production but still it appears they screwed up...

D.A.Lewis · Post by **D.A.Lewis** » Sat Mar 14, 2015 12:10 pm

pr0ner wrote:
malchior wrote:I pre-ordered the Charge HR in January with a 8-10 week lead time since I have the mutant wrists (over 8") and that requires the XL size. I just got an email that it won't be available until June...so I'm trying to decide if I stick that out or just move on. I've heard mixed reviews about the Charge HR anyway for HR monitoring so maybe this is a good thing.

Sidenote - how the heck can the larger wristband size be that difficult to manufacture? Fitbit seems to be having severe production and communication issues - they can't seem to meet demand at all in multiple product lines and that does not seem to be due to overwhelming demand and they don't keep customers informed until they miss deadlines. Not a great way to do business IMO.
Do you have a Costco membership? My local Costco had a bunch of Fitbit Charges when I was in there on Wednesday.

Was that the Charge or the Charge HR?
My Costco also had a ton of Fitbits right next to the entryway but they were all Fitbit Charge. I definitely noticed that because I had just got my Charge from Amazon and was comparing prices.

If it was the Charge HR, do you remember what they were going for?

Jaddison · Post by **Jaddison** » Sat Mar 14, 2015 10:33 pm

Have you looked at this? http://www.wahoofitness.com/devices/hr.html

Have always liked their app and web site and the X version is tempting.

D.A.Lewis · Post by **D.A.Lewis** » Sun Mar 15, 2015 12:22 am

Jaddison wrote:Have you looked at this? http://www.wahoofitness.com/devices/hr.html

Have always liked their app and web site and the X version is tempting.

hmm. looks like a belt with a giant buckle. And the device app seem to center on running and cycling as opposed to over all fitness. It will have to have a lot more features if I am to consider that in my next purchase.

EvilHomer3k · Post by **EvilHomer3k** » Sun Mar 15, 2015 12:14 pm

D.A.Lewis wrote:
gbasden wrote:My Microsoft Band should be arriving in a few days. I'm really interested in seeing how good it is at discerning different activities at the gym. The reviews are good, and it has built in GPS for mapping my lunch time walks.
It's funny but the Microsoft Band looks good to me. Real good and way better than the Apple Watch. If I still did competitive road racing, I would probably get one. The only thing about the MS Band is that it's missing that slight curve that the Samsung Gear fit has. But as far as smartwatches go, I think I would rather be in the Microsoft world than the android world. In that I would rather link up to my computer instead of my phone.

The MS Band is compatible with Android, iOS, and Windows Phone so you don't have to be in the microsoft world for it to work. It is also one of the cheaper smart watches with a gps and lcd. Engadget liked it better than the Fitbit Charge (they also liked several other gps watches better).

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Mon Mar 23, 2015 5:30 pm

Fitbit Surge adds Cycling support (no idea how good the tracking is however).

Surge, the company’s $250 GPS-enabled watch, is getting support for tracking bike rides. With the new feature, cyclists can take advantage of all the sensors packed into the Surge, with metrics specific to riding a bike. As they’re biking, users can see their distance, duration, average speed, heart rate and calories burned. On the desktop, users can see a map of their route, and compare the stats from past rides to see how they’re doing over time.

It’s part of a broader move in fitness tracking to cater to the needs of cyclists, expanding beyond core features for running and walking. Microsoft, for example, recently released a cycling update for its Microsoft Band wearable device. Fitbit says bike tracking was in high demand among its users.