Fitbit Sense 2 —not that great for the money

[hammerhead]

I never did believe the calories I was burning displayed on my Fitbit was correct. Nor believed that I climbed as many steps. My real interest in the Fitbit was to track and monitor my running and I'm deeply disappointed in the device. For me it's not worth the money but i can't break my kids hearts since they purchased it for me on fathers day.

Here's the problem:

When I started back to running about two years ago I downloaded an app on my phone called Strava to track my progress. I've been battling bursitis in my right knee for much of that time. The bursitis is at a point I can increase my miles and what a great time to have this Fitbit. My first disappointment was I had to still carry my phone with me. (The larger iphone)
During my injury I continued to run to try and maintain the progress I had made.

I linked the FitBit to the Strava app and was back to running almost everyday. My times and progress was way off from previous and I was getting extremely discouraged until I realized maybe the Fitbit is not tracking correctly. I separated the Fitbit from the Strava app and did a test run last night with both devices.

First image is the Strava app:

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Fitbit app below:

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The same route ran at the exact same time. The elapsed time is slightly different but the distance is almost 2k off. This really threw off the time on my 1k splits. Also my splits didn't add up to the the elapsed time, they were longer. With both legs working almost equal now I felt I was running much better than the what the stats presented. The difference added up to more than a minute per 1k split. I know the Strava app is accurate because in the past I checked my routes with the F150 odometer. I was happy it wasn't me and extremely excited I can begin to pickup my pace. :)

Because I love my kids I will continue to wear the Fitbit but if your looking for accuracy this is not worth the money.

[ChickenLips]

you need to use a chest strap.

understand that it's measuring pulse via scanning capillaries. When you do strenuous stuff BP drops and heart rate increases, reducing the accuracy of capillary measurement. A chest strap will pick up the heart rate pretty accurately.

Also recognize calorie counts and any other output is just algorithm. Just like the highly inaccurate bathroom fat% scales. They use one basic input and draw all kinds of conclusions based on tables and charts to spit out numbers to what amounts to vanity sizing but instead of pant size, to exercise.

If you use a chest strap you'll get better data to feed the highly optimistic algo.

I don't put much stock in the numbers, but do put stock in the repeatability of the devices. You'll know if you're getting fatter/skinnier or had a better/lesser workout.

[hammerhead]

you need to use a chest strap.

understand that it's measuring pulse via scanning capillaries. When you do strenuous stuff BP drops and heart rate increases, reducing the accuracy of capillary measurement. A chest strap will pick up the heart rate pretty accurately.

Also recognize calorie counts and any other output is just algorithm. Just like the highly inaccurate bathroom fat% scales. They use one basic input and draw all kinds of conclusions based on tables and charts to spit out numbers to what amounts to vanity sizing but instead of pant size, to exercise.

If you use a chest strap you'll get better data to feed the highly optimistic algo.

I don't put much stock in the numbers, but do put stock in the repeatability of the devices. You'll know if you're getting fatter/skinnier or had a better/lesser workout.

I'm not too worried about calories or weight gain or lose, more concerned with time and mileage accuracy. I wear it on the underside of my wrist so it should get a good pulse. I think aggressive arm movement from running is throwing it off. I walk the dogs 2k everyday it's pretty accurate but still off. Its a great device to get people off the couch and I do like the sleep analysis part of it. There are other watches that would suit my need better. If I new my kids were going to buy this I would of suggested another option. The Fitbit is fun to have. One of my daughters has one and we are always comparing stats. She hasn't caught up to the old mans energy levels yet but its comforting to see her trying. (my kids are not on the best diets. I have one daughter who is into body building. She is doing alright.)

[ZR]

^What other option would have looked at?
Thanks for the review

[RedSN]

Doesn’t seem like you are alone…

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Sense-2/Distance-tracking-Sense-2-way-off/td-p/5535013

[hammerhead]

^What other option would have looked at?
Thanks for the review

For myself I would consider a Coros or Garmin. They have built in GPS and are geared more for runners or cyclists. They don’t have all the features of the smart watches. They are very expensive tho and at my age I’m not sure I want to invest in one not knowing how long I can continue to run.

I really don’t know what to recommend for a smart watch. I guess it all depends on what it is needed for. The Fitbit has some really good features. I think the step per day count is pretty accurate. I also think the heart rate monitor works well. It has a really cool sleep monitor that gives a readout of how well I slept and I really like this option. I watched a science guy do a comparison on the Fitbit sleep monitor with a professional monitor and it was fairly close. Some of the features work well.
When I got the Fitbit it came with 6 months of free premium. So a lot of the features you may want could cost extra. I think all apps and devices work this way. I probably won’t pay for premium when it is over.

For free I think all this can be done with any smart phone. I use to use the health app on my iPhone which worked pretty good. When I went thru the arrhythmia I used a free app called “My Net Diary” this was a really good app that tracked all aspects of my diet and helped me beat the arrhythmia without using meds. I think everything the smart watch can do can be easily done on a phone for no extra cost.

Today I went for an 8k run and my Fitbit was almost exact with the Strava app. So maybe it’s bit and miss. I did over 27000 steps today burned around 3500 calories which seems reasonable. Had a day least week with 25,000 steps and almost burned 6000 calories which seems a little off to me. Get up some mornings go to the washroom and burn 400 calories lol.

[ZR]

Good to know, thanks for your thoughts.

[hammerhead]

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This is last nights sleep broken down. 7 hours and 13 minute’s tells me it’s Sunday lol

[ChickenLips]

I'm not too worried about calories or weight gain or lose, more concerned with time and mileage accuracy. I wear it on the underside of my wrist so it should get a good pulse. I think aggressive arm movement from running is throwing it off. I walk the dogs 2k everyday it's pretty accurate but still off. Its a great device to get people off the couch and I do like the sleep analysis part of it. There are other watches that would suit my need better. If I new my kids were going to buy this I would of suggested another option. The Fitbit is fun to have. One of my daughters has one and we are always comparing stats. She hasn't caught up to the old mans energy levels yet but its comforting to see her trying. (my kids are not on the best diets. I have one daughter who is into body building. She is doing alright.)

uses capillaries near surface of the skin. Putting on the underside of your wrist doesn't make any difference.

I'm speaking from experience with a smart watch and cardio/effort monitoring. I went through several Garmin Fenix watches and unnecessary spending before going to chest strap. It also highlighted that the salespeople were not users as anyone who tries to get good monitoring from cardio will say the same thing, chest strap.

There are some bicep style monitors that apparently work also but I have no experience.

DesFit on YT does a lot of good reviews.

The watch HR monitor is only good for resting monitoring.

[Gabe]

I don't do any running whatsoever, but all of my friends that run use Garmin products and seem to get very accurate/ repeatable data.

I used Garmin for my cycling computer for years before switching over to another brand a couple years ago (called HammerHead ironically). Having problems with it and will likely go back to Garmin

[hammerhead]

I don't do any running whatsoever, but all of my friends that run use Garmin products and seem to get very accurate/ repeatable data.

I used Garmin for my cycling computer for years before switching over to another brand a couple years ago (called HammerHead ironically). Having problems with it and will likely go back to Garmin

Hahahahaha The High Commander will probably concur.