I've had a Fitbit but it was hijacked by Google and FUCK THAT.

I will check it out!

Last edited Wed Jan 15, 2025, 10:05 PM - Edit history (1)

I'm sorry about the videos displaying like this. I used the 'link' tag surrounding text ... don't know why it's displaying the videos. I know it's messy, but I'm not going to try figuring it out. Sorry. Also, looking back on these videos I'm not sure they are all that great a resource, but I'm leaving them up anyhow, since they might get you started. Maybe a good approach would be to find a product you're interested in, and then do a search on this channel, or at DC Rainmaker's website below for an in-depth review.

This is his most recent multiple-device review: Best Sports, Sleep & Health Tech: " target="_blank">Best Deals! (Heart Rate, GPS, Sleep, ...) (This is from a month ago.)

But it might be worth it to look at his opinions from " target="_blank">2022 and " target="_blank">2023.

Here are the results from a search on 'Best Fitness Tracker' on his channel.

I use an old Garmin Forerunner 245 to track my workouts, but I'm not sure it's great as an overall fitness tracker. I like the Garmin 'ecosystem' (no paywall to unlock features and no hidden charges or subscriptions), but even as a workout tracker, I feel I have to pair it with an ECG chest strap to get accurate readings (I don't mind).

(I should make it clear that my Forerunner 245 is actually pretty accurate WITHOUT the chest strap when just gathering data during the day. It's just that the Forerunner is really designed to be a running watch. I think the other Garmin products mentioned ... such as the Vivosmart, Vivoactive, and Venu might be pretty good for that. They're all reviewed on Rob's channel if you look them up. You'd get a lot of pre-purchase information. They are also reviewed in depth at DC Rainmaker's website, along with hundreds of other devices. You can search easily from the front page, and he is very well respected.)

I had a Fitbit Charge 5 free as part of a medical study. I had to use it for a year, and found it really annoying. The fact that you had to pay to unlock features (you get to use them 'free' for a while, but you have to give your credit card #, and they start charging your card if you don't remember to opt-out in time) was maddening. The web interface was horrible.

Unfortunately Apple Watch consistently scores high on Rob's channel and so does Fitbit in many categories, but there are a lot of other choices. I am not interested in either. I think Rob does a good job ... good enough that I subscribe to his channel ... and he does go really in depth on each device he reviews.

Rob and DC Rainmaker are my go-to resources for wearable devices!

I will dive in to the website and videos.

At this time I'm staying with my current device, but unless support comes back with a decent answer to the issues I'm having, I'm leaving that brand for something totally new. So now I am in data gathering mode and very glad for what you've provided here.

I think those two sites are pretty valuable for in depth reviews of devices you're considering. Like you, I'm sticking with my now 'outdated' Garmin Forerunner 245. It's pretty good for collecting day to day health data without a chest strap. The sleep analysis is abysmal, but the 'Body Battery', which is sort of a running readiness score ... based on heart rate variability, stress, heart rate, amount of sleep, etc ... is pretty darn good. It gave an impressive graphical representation of my reaction to the covid vaccine every time I've been vaxed; very much synchronized with how I felt, my temperature, etc, over two or three days. I haven't gotten sick, but I think it would be an early indicator if I'm getting run down. Mostly I use it for tracking workouts. While it is pretty good for heart rate data if you're just walking around, it is pretty terrible if you're active. According to Rob, most of the Garmin devices are like that, even though they are $$$. I solve that by wearing an external heart monitor (Polar H10) for workouts, and with that, the data collected during workouts is fantastic. As a stand alone device, I think Apple Watch does really well, also Pixel Watch and a bunch of others, but I got my watch used, for cheap, and I can't see spending the money to update right now. One thing about the Garmin watches is that they play well with other devices, and you can connect several at once via both Bluetooth and Ant+. Oh, yeah ... another good thing about Garmin is that they're pretty good about regular updates, which come in and install automatically. I'm still getting updates on my outdated Forerunner.

But ... I still check in with Rob & DC Rainmaker to see what's out there. Window shopping!