Friday 19 December 2014

for a Fitbit Flex v Garmin Vivofit Review

Thinking of buying a Fitbit or Garmin fitness tracker this Christmas?? Then you MUST read this highly professional* review of the products!

I had been looking vaguely at these new 'must have' products for a while and when my Fly Buys Catalogue turned up back in August I discovered that I had enough points to get a Fitbit Flex for free (the thousands of dollars I had to spend on groceries and fuel to get enough points doesn't count right?). So I did a little bit of research on exactly what the Fitbit Flex had to offer but ultimately I didn't have anything else to choose from so I was always going to get it. 

After seeing me with mine for a few weeks my sister decided she wanted to get a fitness tracker of her own and I (almost) convinced her of the awesomeness of the Fitbit Flex....that was until she went to the Sports Store and the sales guy talked her into the Garmin Vivofit...
It's a Fitbit v Garmin faceoff!

So whose is better? 

In many ways they are pretty much the same, both have the ability to track your steps, calories burnt, you can input your food intake and water intake, both can be turned onto sleep mode to track your sleep. 
The view of your sleep pattern on the Garmin Vivofit


My sleep pattern on my Fitbit Flex...I am definitely a crasher!

Both have apps that can be downloaded to your smartphone to track how you are going during the day towards meeting your goals. Both come in a range of different colours that are interchangeable for all you fitness fashionistas out there. 

Both also allow you to connect with other users so if you have friends and family with the same tracker then you can challenge them and track each other's progress. 
So, what's the difference then you ask? 

The main differences that set them apart are:
The Fitbit has a setting that allows you to set silent alarms. I set it to wake me up in the morning and I will admit to also setting my usual alarm on my phone as I was worried that, being a silent alarm, it wouldn't actually wake me up, but I need not worry. The 'alarm' goes off by vibrating on your wrist and the little led lights flashing. You can set more than one alarm per day which could be used as reminders to get up and move. The Garmin has no such alarm, or any alarm at all.

The Garmin has a display screen that allows you to easily see how you are travelling during the day without the need to go to the phone app. The Fitbit Flex does have five flashing lights that increase the closer you get to your goal by double tapping on it so you can get a bit of an idea, but you do have to go to your app and sync it to get an exact idea how you are travelling. The screen on the Garmin doesn't have a backlight so you need to be in a well lit area to see it. The Garmin also doubles as a watch which I think is great. 

Another difference is the batteries, I need to charge my battery using a USB dongle approximately once a week, the Garmin battery does not need to be charged and they claim it's a year long battery, so time will tell whether that is true or not. My fear (as it's almost already happened) is that I will lose the charging dongle and will have to replace it and who knows how much that would cost me. I also don't like that I have to take it off to charge! It's not counting vital calories burnt while sitting plugged into my computer! 

Price wise they are around about the same depending on where you shop and can be anywhere between $100-$130.  

Truth is we both love our fitness trackers but I will admit to loving the fact that hers has a display, but I also love that mine has the silent alarm. 

Fitbit have just bought out a new product called the Fitbit Charge which does appear to challenge the Garmin Vivofit a bit more than the Flex in terms of features but is (obviously) a little more expensive. 

*we don't really claim to be professionals and if you want to read a bit more of a professional review then click here!!

http://www.withsomegrace.com/

Linking up this review with With Some Grace for FYBF

4 comments:

  1. I think your review is great because it answers the questions I have been wondering. Thanks - I really want one but after your review it might come down to which one has a prettier colour I like.

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  2. I need one (of neither) so thanks for sharing!!!

    Deb

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  3. So hubby and I want to get back in shape and some 7 years ago we got heart/watch monitors but they seem SO old school now, thanks for this!

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  4. Thanks for the review, I think I'm going to ask for one for my birthday in Feb - though I've no idea which one!

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