It's not that it's not accurate. In comparisons of two products (Samsung Gear Fit and an as-of-yet-unannounced product) with my Polar and Garmin straps, it seems to be close enough...when it works. And that's the trick, because if I can't consistently get it to work, then it effectively doesn't work at all. But if the strap isn't tight, forget it. And during exercise it just won't reliably give you HR regardless. Either it just gives up, or it tries to pretend that it worked when conditions were not optimal to get an accurate reading.
> The moment I see serious fitness nerds jumping from Polar to FitBit, I'll join them. Until then, I remain skeptical.
Serious fitness nerd here (well, just an obsessive runner, really) with a shelf full of Garmin and Polar devices. I doubt FitBit will ever even try to grab that market. If they do, they appear to lack the experience (and chops, for that matter) to pull off grabbing the 70 mile/week marathoner market (or serious triathlete, et. al.). It's a big jump from "inactive person who needs motivation to get off their ass" to "serious athlete who wants accurate telemetry presented in a useful manner". Even Garmin and Polar struggle with that, and they've been at it for years.
Yes, I guess that's what I mean. For me, the Polar strap works 99% of the time. The times it stops working just need to wet it. I try to clean it well, and use the electrode gel to keep it working. It's messy, but worth knowing that my HRM is actually recording my workout. If Polar or Garmin had access to technology to make this messiness go away, I think they'd pounce on it. I don't think FitBit is big enough to innovate on something like that.
But the first company to crack getting HR affordably and reliably without a separate strap? Take my money! A watch that can do it well - in rain, freezing weather, with salty sweat, or sunshine - would be incredibly cool. The strap is by far the weakest link of Garmin and Polar watches.
It's not that it's not accurate. In comparisons of two products (Samsung Gear Fit and an as-of-yet-unannounced product) with my Polar and Garmin straps, it seems to be close enough...when it works. And that's the trick, because if I can't consistently get it to work, then it effectively doesn't work at all. But if the strap isn't tight, forget it. And during exercise it just won't reliably give you HR regardless. Either it just gives up, or it tries to pretend that it worked when conditions were not optimal to get an accurate reading.
> The moment I see serious fitness nerds jumping from Polar to FitBit, I'll join them. Until then, I remain skeptical.
Serious fitness nerd here (well, just an obsessive runner, really) with a shelf full of Garmin and Polar devices. I doubt FitBit will ever even try to grab that market. If they do, they appear to lack the experience (and chops, for that matter) to pull off grabbing the 70 mile/week marathoner market (or serious triathlete, et. al.). It's a big jump from "inactive person who needs motivation to get off their ass" to "serious athlete who wants accurate telemetry presented in a useful manner". Even Garmin and Polar struggle with that, and they've been at it for years.