Activity Watch thingy

[littleredrooster]

Sorry for the title - I didn't want to limit it to just one manufacturer (the ubiquitous Fitbit).

SWMBO has asked for a 'Fitbit' for her 65th birthday but I didn't realise that there was such a bewildering array of these devices with so many different features! Her principal hobbies are walking and gardening and I think she wants to track her activity levels.

Could anyone give me a recommendation of something suitably simple, with basic stuff like pedometer, heart rate, calorie counter please? Any other useful features I should look for? I'm fairly sure she will have no use for GPS or altimeter, for example!

[nyt]

I have one of these: https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/xiaomi-mi-band-6-...

Does everything that I can think of and looks ok. Different colour bands are available.

[heisthegaffer]

I have a Huawei Pro band 4 I don't use as I've got a Garmin Vivoactive 3 now. The pro band was OK but you have to install a massive app and in order to use the GPS, connect the band daily.

Because of this I've stopped using it. The amount of times I went running only to find it wouldn't connect was annoying.

Not a problem for your wife and it was OK other than that.

[Getragdogleg]

Do they do any that don't connect to the Internet or an app or any other complex bks I can't be bothered to learn?

I'd be interested in a stand alone thing on my wrist that just tracked heart rate, steps, resting time, that sort of thing.

[Birdster]

I’m a big fan of the Garmin devices. I use them for running, workouts and cycling etc.

I think the heart rate monitor requirement pushes the price up a bit from your basic activity trackers. Have a look at the Vivo Smart 4 and ForeRunner 45s maybe.

The forerunner might have a few more features such as running and training modes and be a big bigger, but is more watch like and you don’t have to use those modes. Also don’t have to use the Garmin Connect app if you don’t want to. It allows you too see graphs and compare data but isn’t necessary unless you want to see that information.

Garmin are behind on releasing new models so might be upgrades/new devices soon or discounts on the previous generations.

Others probably have good experiences with other devices.

Edited by Birdster on Sunday 8th August 19:07

[steve-V8s]

I doubt there will be any that operate without sending all your data back to base so they can sell it. A simple product that does what you bought it for without reporting back to a server somewhere is an unlikely prospect.

[Road2Ruin]

Just about every smart watch/ activity watch will do what you are asking. In this case, unless you want to charge it every night, get one with a good battery. Some now will do two weeks between charges, most will do between one and two days. The one feature I like about mine is the notifications on the watch for messages and phone calls. Again most, but not all, will do this. Some even allow you to answer the call and speak to the watch, but most don't. Others let you reply with a message from the watch.

For a basic, but pretty smart watch, with the features you want, plus a little extra, pay around £150-£200. You can, if course, pay a lot more for an apple watch or Samsung, but there is no need.

[CubanPete]

OH has an Amazfit Pace.

We paid £65, seems to be better than her friends' £200 Garmins.

Setting it up was a bit of a pain. As we had to use an old phone to let it update to the latest version. But that was a couple of years ago now. But apart from that is has been a brilliant bit of kit.