Which FitBit should I get (have a credit from RealAppeal)

[jeromedawg]

Hey all,

Signed up for RealAppeal through work and one of the benefits is after several weeks of participation they send out a voucher credit for a FitBit. I think YMMV on how much and if all companies participating in RA do this. Anyway, I can pretty much get any FitBit I want but not all of them are "free"

The ones that are free are:
Zip, Flex2 and Alta

Otherwise,  the 'discounted' Fitbits start at $25 and go as high as $163:
$25 - Alta Special Edition, Alta HR, Charge 2
$47 - Alta HR Special Edition, Charge 2 Special Edition
$65.50 - Versa
$88 - Versa Special Edition
$140.50 - Ionic
$163 - Ionic Special Edition

Are any of the discounted ones (that I would have to pay for) worth considering purchasing at those prices? I currently have a Xiaomi Mi Band 2 and it's OK in terms of tracking. What I like most about it is sleep tracking, which it actually does pretty well. Step tracking is kinda meh on it from my experience.

Any suggestions? I think the Flex 2 would definitely be out because if I'm going to wear something it better at least show time.

[jeromedawg]

BTW: If I were strictly looking at resale/flip value, it seems like the Alta line and also the Versa would offer the most yield. Not sure I'd want to flip it though, if it can prove to be something that's actually useful.

EDIT: also just found that the Alta and Charge lines are not waterproof. The Versa is. This would be another factor because I generally wear my Mi Band 2 all the time. I've also been doing more surf fishing lately and my hands/wrists sometimes get submerged or dunked. On the flip side, it would suck to have sand get on it and scratch it up... I'm assuming there are screen protectors for these though.

If I get one of these Fitbits, I may have my wife start wearing the Mi Band 2 especially for sleep tracking since she's been diagnosed with TMJ and has issues with sleep. Or I could just get another Mi Band 2 or the new Mi Band 3 haha

[robartsd]

I might consider the $25 charge to get the heart rate monitor feature of the Alta HR or Charge 2.

[jeromedawg]

I might consider the $25 charge to get the heart rate monitor feature of the Alta HR or Charge 2.

I don't know why they wouldn't just make these waterproof by default. I've gotten so used to just leaving my Mi Band on all the time and not worrying about water damage. Such a shame. Even when I would wear regular watches before, I would never look for non-waterproof watches, and assumed *most* were anyway. Same thing here... is it weird that I leave my watch/band on while showering? LOL

[drachma]

none of them, they are gimmicks

any of the HR ones are nowhere near accurate enough to be useful as a tool for any actual athletic training. Optical HR sensing technology is just not yet good enough to be useful. In athletic training, this niche is filled with the chest-strap based bluetooth sensors which are far more accurate, and cheaper.

the expensive ones with gps functions are kind of cool (my friend has one so we know how far we run when we trail run) - like a cheaper and much less featured version of a GPS triathlon watch. in models without GPS, the distance measurements made by these things is pure garbage.

and other than that unless you think you are personally going to be motivated to walk a little bit extra in order to hit some arbitrary metric on your wrist, well then idk what to tell you. its cheaper just to simply go for a walk.

[jeromedawg]

none of them, they are gimmicks

any of the HR ones are nowhere near accurate enough to be useful as a tool for any actual athletic training. Optical HR sensing technology is just not yet good enough to be useful. In athletic training, this niche is filled with the chest-strap based bluetooth sensors which are far more accurate, and cheaper.

the expensive ones with gps functions are kind of cool (my friend has one so we know how far we run when we trail run) - like a cheaper and much less featured version of a GPS triathlon watch. in models without GPS, the distance measurements made by these things is pure garbage.

and other than that unless you think you are personally going to be motivated to walk a little bit extra in order to hit some arbitrary metric on your wrist, well then idk what to tell you. its cheaper just to simply go for a walk.

Then I may just buy the Versa or Versa Special Edition and flip it on Ebay, where they're selling for $200~ for the Special Edition and $150-180 for the regular.

[robartsd]

If you aren't getting the Flex 2, you don't get a waterproof model until you move up to Versa. If you're happy with your current wearable, just flip the fitbit.