Whether you want to get fitter, lose weight, or just monitor your activity levels, a fitness tracker can be a great starting point, but picking the right one can be difficult. Here Store looks at the things to consider when selecting the right tracker for you, as we run through our selection of the best fitness trackers available in 2015.
- For the purpose of this guide we will be focusing on general fitness and activity trackers, rather than the sport-specific tracking and training tools which also exist. We will also not be looking at smartwatches – while they can boast impressive fitness tracking features, this is not their main purpose, and their price and dependence on other hardware arguably puts them in a different product category.
This is the big one: you need to seriously consider what aspects of your fitness and activity you want this wearable to measure and track. It might be that you just want to keep an eye on how many steps you take per day, the distance you cover or the calories you are burning. Other trackers also offer built-in heart-rate tracking which can be a great indicator of how hard you're working, and let you work-out in different zones for fat-burning, endurance, or speed.
Another feature offered by some trackers is the ability to log location via GPS. This is good for users who want more precise measurements of the distances they have run or cycled. While some trackers have GPS built-in, others can use the information from your phone (if you have it with you while you work-out).
In terms of activity tracking, not all devices can monitor all activities. While most cover things like walking, running and cycling, you can't always select exercises like yoga, gym-equipment based activity or sleep quality, and you will need to check a tracker's compatibility with your fitness schedule.
Are you motivated enough to exercise and let a tracker simply monitor your activity, or do you need that extra push? Most fitness trackers will set you a daily target (be it steps, calories or active minutes) and let you know when you've reached it, while others keep you motivated with in-app rewards likes badges, or online competitions with friends. Sharing to other fitness apps can also help in this regard.
Many fitness trackers can also use vibration alarms to shake you out of periods of inactivity, and others go a step further by actively coaching you during periods of exercise to maximize the benefits of your workout.
There's not much point in having a fitness tracker sitting at home on charge while you're out running. But due to the battery life of many devices, that's exactly what happens … and there's often no way of logging those lost miles. Typical battery life is under a week, and all too often just a couple of days, though devices which use old-school watch batteries can last up to six months.
How you are using a tracker will obviously impact its battery life. Just logging steps and you'll get near the maximum stated battery life, but turn on heart-rate monitoring, GPS or music playback and you'll see it drop to a matter of days if not hours. With many proprietary charging methods used on these trackers, the chances are you won't have the right cable with you for a quick recharge unless you are at home either.
If swimming is one of your main forms of exercise, you'll obviously need a waterproof fitness tracker. But it's also something to consider if you just want a device you don't have to worry about when taking a shower or doing the washing up. In our experience every time you take an activity tracker off, there's a chance to forget to put it back on, and that means inaccurate tracking that day.
While most people probably think of wrist-based fitness trackers, not all have to take up that smartwatch real estate. A number of fitness and activity trackers are clipped to clothes, or can even be worn as jewelry.
While smartwatches are currently where it's at if you want the best smart features in a wearable, fitness trackers can boast some smart(ish) features, which might be enough for you right now. Some fitness trackers will notify you of incoming calls or messages on your wrist, so you don't need to stop and get your phone out. A couple also allow you to do things like remotely control music playback on your phone.
Others boast features which might allow you to leave your phone at home when you go for a workout. This could be thanks to local storage for your workout music or the ability to control external devices such as action cameras.
The smartphone app for your fitness tracker is important because it's probably going to be where you review your data most often. Yes some trackers have screens to display tracked information, but this is typically limited, and the inability to compare historical data can leave you wondering if you are making progress.
Some of the companion apps are considerably better than others. This could be because they display more information, make that info easy to use and act upon, or are just more simple and friendly to use. We've found the apps from Fitbit and Jawbone are some of the best in these regards. With a number of trackers, you'll might also need to install Mac/PC apps to get up and running (pardon the pun).
As with many things, you tend to get what you pay for when it comes to fitness trackers. The more expensive offerings boast more impressive features. However depending on what you want to track, and how you want to use your tracker, it might not cost as much as you expect. The cheapest tracker on our list costs just US$50, compared to the most expensive ones which come in at $250.
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