by In my quest for better health and since I am a nerd/geek/whatever I need to have the numbers, the stats, the data so I can see that things are happening to my body. So I’m on a mission to get a fitness tracker and these are the five on my shortlist.
The five finalists in alphabetical order are
Fitbit Charge 2
This is the successor to the WILDLY popular Fitbit Charge HR. I think at some time EVERYONE I knew wore the Charge HR on their arm.
Many people still have the previous version, but many have also updated since the previous one had a bad habit of falling apart where the wristband delaminated from the watch. My Charge HR did the same but I have been to lazy to request a replacement. Perhaps I should try but the guarantee period has probably expired. And to take pictures of the fault I would need to find it…
Sadly it looks like there is a similar but different problem with the Charge 2. Looks like I need to do some more investigating around this to see if it’s a real problem or people just being stupid.
But it has what I’m looking for and tracks heart rate, some workouts, your sleep pattern and it can connect to the GPS of your mobile phone for that all important sharing of your runs and bicycle tours.
It is also more or less THE de-facto standard in fitness trackers, so you know it will work with every app, mobile and computer under the sun.
Fitbit Versa
Here Fitbit have strayed into the smart watch arena, very apparent in their blatant copying of the Apple iWatch design language.
It’s a better tracker than the Charge 2 in many ways. More tracking, more features, more everything.
The price have also of course gone up, but for what you get I think this is better value than the Charge 2. The biggest improvements is that this is swim-proof, it stores music on the watch and you can download apps for it.
It really only lacks one thing and that is a built in GPS. You can of course get that if you go for the Fitbit Ionic, but then we’re talking about a pretty substantial jump in prize.
Garmin Vivoactive 3
If you know Garmin you know that these people KNOW their sports watches and bicycle computers. You might also have their GPS in your car, boat or plane.
This is another crossover fitness tracker/sports watch, similar to the Fitbit Versa. But here we have an even bigger price jump than we had with the Fitbit Ionic. But if you want to splurge I think this is a better alternative than the Ionic.
And since this is a Garmin watch you will as with the Fitbit alternatives have no problems connecting to apps and mobiles. Garmin is huge in the sports world so you won’t find that your watch is suddenly not supported.
Personally I think this looks better than all the Fitbit alternatives, so if I find it for a good price I think this might end up being my choice. It also have solid reviews, so you know you won’t go wrong with this option.
Nokia Steel HR
This is not a Nokia product. This is a Withings-product that changed name to Nokia when Nokia bought the company. Now Nokia has sold the company back to the guy that started Withings, so good knows what it will be called now. Did he get back the rights to the Withings name? Who knows?
This option is sort of a joker wild card. It is the design I like the best of all my options. People that don’t know better will think this is just an ordinary watch. Only people in the know will be wise to your heartbeat tracking antics.
This is closer to the Fitbit Charge 2 in specifications, with the added bonus that this is also swim-proof. It is also fairly close in price to that model.
I like this option and I like it a LOT. The design is vastly better than any of the others and you don’t look like a nerd as it easily disguises itself as an ordinary watch.
The only drawback I can find here which makes me hesitate a little bit is the selling back and forth of the company. Withings was a fairly good known name and it’s products was of good quality so I think it should have an OK future, but it is somewhat of an outsider.
Suunto Spartan Trainer Wrist HR
Lastly we have an option from Suunto. This is a clock that have specifications somewhere between the Fitbit Versa and Garmin Vivoactive 3. Price wise it also smacks itself between these two alternatives, depending on what version you want of the different watches.
If you’re looking at the Fitbit Versa I would advice you to take a long look at this first. From what I can see from different reviews etc this watch gives you a LOT more than the Versa. At least two reviews mention that this watch is excellent value for money.
When I’ve finally made my decision I will let you know what I ended up with.
d-Fect Inc. 
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