Sad to see the many negative experiences stated here, because I am thrilled with my little device, and here’s why:
This was my first foray into fitness wearables and, the sheer number of options is fairly overwhelming. I was at first intrigued with cheap models from no name brands but studying up on those revealed you’re not getting what you didn’t pay for, plus it seems the reviews may be suspect. So, decided to stick with the main names, Fitbit and Garmin as top players.
Knowing I needed to improve my health, especially with a sedentary desk job, I set about to do my research. Fitbit came to mind first, but I was put off by the many negative reviews. Maybe, like the bad reviews here, this is an industry plagued with hit and miss production, I don’t know, but I was surprised to learn that, generally, none of these wearable are highly accurate in what they track, so, best case scenario, you can expect to get a general sense of habits like activity and sleep and so forth.
So, I dialed down my expectations, and began looking for something that could give me basic trends on how I was doing, health wise, since I had no need to quibble over exact steps or exact moments of sleep. I just needed to get a sense of the overall trend of where my fitness is, and move that trend in a positive direction.
I should mention that, prior to this, I got a smart watch, and learned quickly that I didn’t want a device that tried to poorly replicate what my phone already did (since my phone does it all much better), needed to be charged constantly, would drain my phone battery and would annoy me on my wrist with constant notifications. I’m not a world leader, and have no need for constant connection to my phone, beyond checking it when I want to. I don’t let my phone run my day. If I’m not checking it, I don’t want to be bugged by it. Constant interruptions on my buzzing and beeping wrist, for receiving a junk email or photos of my friend’s new kitty cat are just annoying. I also learned, in trying to use that watch for a fitness device, that Google Fit stinks as a fitness app. So, a dedicated but not “smart” fitness wearable that had a decent app became my target.
I subtracted the feature of heart rate monitoring, since wrist devices are considered to be pretty woefully inaccurate, and, besides, I have a home blood pressure monitoring system, and my heart rate is good. Plus, I don’t need a device to tell me that my heart rate is up, when exercising. I can figure that out for myself. Besides, heart rate type fitness trackers cost more, and are usually the kind that need constant charging.
So, I was looking for something that would work with a decent Android app to track steps, set a step goal, track sleep patterns, keep a history of all of that, and not need frequent charging. I also wanted something slim and unobtrusive. I have a decent collection of Swiss watches and did not want some garish tech behemoth on my other wrist. After a lot of searching, I found this, the Garmin Vivofit 4.
Oddly, the 4th version here of the Vivofit gets poorly regarded for not being “more” of a fitness device, such as adding a heart rate sensor, but I found this to be the epitome of less is more and I applaud this rare find in the fitness wearables world. In short, it does everything I need and want it to do, and does it all extremely well. I think this line also is one of the very few that has a watch battery, so needs no charging at all. Just replace the battery, once a year. Perfect! I have enough stuff that needs charging, and, for a wearable, I’m not wearing it if I have to charge it all the time.
In form and function – a sleek design that emulates a tasteful bracelet, with a single button to access everything, with combinations of long and short presses. It is backlit, to see in the dark. It is easily visible in average light. It comes with a watch type buckle strap, which stays securely fastened. Connectivity has been flawless, and neither the battery on my phone, or my Vivofit, is drained, because I only connect when I want to, to store data. I do it usually twice a day.
Features are plentiful, for my needs. On the app, you can program a variety of settings that will show up on the Vivofit, even choosing what kind of display you prefer, turning alerts on and off, and setting the basic parameters for your fitness goals and sleep time frame habits and even can track your weight, and get a BMI readout based on current height and weight. A host of more complicated settings exist, but I think those are more for the heavy hitter Garmin devices, and honestly I am much more interested in simple data tracking. I’m not quitting my job to become a fitness deity.
On the device itself, you get always-on time and date displayed, and can tap the button to go through to see steps taken, steps remaining to reach your step goal, calories burned, distance traveled (which can apparently be synced up to your phone’s navigation – you can even create routes and such, if you’re so inclined), and, next, see your “intensity” minutes, which are created when the device senses more strenuous activity, like going for a dedicated fitness walk. Finally you get a weather reading, just showing the high and low for the day, which is handy when choosing the morning wardrobe without needing to check the weather on your phone.
A long press takes you to the sub-menu, where you can sync the device, start a “timed activity” which will be recorded, access a countdown timer (1, 3, 5 or ten minutes – I even find it handy when cooking!), use a stopwatch, can find your phone (the camera LED will flash and a loud chime will sound, even if your phone is in silent mode) and can access a “competition” mode, called “Toe to Toe” where you can apparently start some kind of competitive stepping exercise with someone else wearing one, if that’s your thing. Garmin suggests competing with your children – sort of a step class bonding moment, I guess?
In terms of rewards, you are blessed with a chime and fireworks on the screen when you achieve your own designated daily step goal (as set in the app, by you). This may seem insignificant, but I can assure you, when within a few hundred steps of your goal and the reset time of midnight approaching, I have more than once, when working late, jumped on my mini-stepper in my office to finish my last steps to reach my goal for the day. So, it is motivation that feels good.
Perhaps the best aspect of motivation on this device is the “activity” tracker. If being inactive, while not in your sleep window of time, a red bar shows up on the screen, accompanied by a beep, to let you know to get moving. For me, this is invaluable because I definitely lose track of time working at my desk for hours on end, and this little nudge to get up and move around is much needed. Walk a few minutes or exercise a bit and the device chirps again, to tell you that you’ve now been active, and the red bar goes away.
If you ignore the first red bar, two more red bars will occur before it resets itself, but, the more red bars appear, the longer you have to be active in order to make them go away and get the all clear chime that you’ve done enough movement.
For me, this is just gold. An auditory (which you can turn off, via the app, if, let’s say, it is your day off) and visual reminder to get up and get the blood flowing again, so time does not pass with being stagnant. It’s exactly what I needed!
Issues I’ve run into? None, thus far. No problems with sync, connectivity or operation. In terms of a timed activity, it won’t recognize my Bowflex session as working out on a fitness machine (it reads it as “walking”) but it does track it as an active time in my day, and, if I really wanted to, I could manually enter it as using fitness equipment via the app, but I’m not that fussy. Just recording my activity is enough for me. As I say, I want something simple, that basically takes care of itself, and, outside of syncing twice a day, this device does exactly that.
For me, it’s all about the convenience and simplicity of it and I think it is far superior to any of the Fitbit entry level devices. It has a screen, a wide range of actually useful functions and features, and needs no charging. In terms of the app, yes, maybe Garmin Connect is not as slick as Fitbit’s offering, but I’m not looking to join a social media fitness community. I just want the basics of my data, and you can go deep on the Garmin app, if you want, or, like for me, just see the main points of how you are doing, and see trends and averages over time. I didn’t find the app difficult to navigate, and needed no tutorial on it. Very straight forward.
All in all, this little device is a huge blessing in my life. I’ve needed to address my health and fitness, and this is definitely helping me as part of an overall strategy. No device will do for you what you won’t do for yourself, but, as a tool to help track and become aware of your health, this provides maximum assistance with minimal fuss. Using this, plus having bought the mini stair-stepper in my office, along with adjusting my calorie intake, I’m down four pounds in a few weeks, and that’s a good start. Not an overnight miracle, but certainly much needed progress and if I can even manage five to six pounds off in a month, kept off, it won’t take long to shed the twenty pounds I need to drop. Plus, I’m being active, which is good for every aspect of my health.
Given the range of devices on the market, if you’re not looking to “go big” and get an entire fitness center housed on your wrist, this is an ideal unit. Simple, small, needs no babysitting, and gives you the data you need and skips the stuff you don’t need anyway. Doesn’t bug you about what your phone is doing, doesn’t need to come off to charge. And, considering that even many of the larger and more expensive products still have their flaws, in terms of accuracy, you’re getting no less in performance here, for a lot less in cost and bulk and time spent on the device, instead of on your fitness.
I highly recommend this. It’s the easiest path I’ve found to better fitness, and that certainly earns five stars from me.
Thanks for reading. Hope this has been a help!
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