Fitbit Charge 5 Fitness Tracker Lunar White

Gave this a really thorough try - and really wanted to like it. Great form factor, thin, light, great screen, comfortable band, superb online web/phone app connections points for off-loading data. Whats not to like?!?Unfortunately, the thing I couldnt get past is that the heartbeat monitor - i.e., the primary function for which I wanted a fitness tracker - was disturbingly unreliable. I tested it against other sources of reliable HB activity monitoring, including just a stopwatch and my finger on the pulse, and it was frequently far off for more than a few moments.I tried tightening the band, didnt really address the issue while making it less comfortable.I noticed that while outdoors walking, if I put my other hand over my wrist shielding the unit from the sunlight ... MoreGave this a really thorough try - and really wanted to like it. Great form factor, thin, light, great screen, comfortable band, superb online web/phone app connections points for off-loading data. Whats not to like?!?Unfortunately, the thing I couldnt get past is that the heartbeat monitor - i.e., the primary function for which I wanted a fitness tracker - was disturbingly unreliable. I tested it against other sources of reliable HB activity monitoring, including just a stopwatch and my finger on the pulse, and it was frequently far off for more than a few moments.I tried tightening the band, didnt really address the issue while making it less comfortable.I noticed that while outdoors walking, if I put my other hand over my wrist shielding the unit from the sunlight it would work better - until I removed my shielding hand when it would go off again. Apparently the thinline design leaves very little overlapping watch surface to shield the optical HR readers from extraneous sunlight.The problem was not as pronounced indoors as it was outdoors in the daylight. This makes me believe that the benefits of a thin watch body come at the cost of a compromised HR accuracy when outdoors.Well, for me, thats a show stopper. If I cant rely on the HR monitor feature unless Im indoors, Ive compromised a key use case that prompts me to want to buy a fitness tracker in the first place.YMMV. Happy hunting for a device that meets your needs. I really wanted this to meet mine but as explained above it did not do so.

Very good watch if you are fitness minded or have plans to improve physical fitnessPrice-wise was within my budget as i was skeptical to how much value it would addHas a built-in GPS which tracks your movements. I also like to track my steps and distance traveled when I'm out doing fitness activities. A lot of features are standard across these devices.One of my reasons for choosing this device was that the watch doesn't dig into my hand if i lift it up. And the simplicity of the design also appeals to meI like how the watch will remind you to move every now and then. Working in an office setting, this is really helpful for me as i'm prone to working through breaks and not separating myself from my deskI like the animated notifications when you achieve ... MoreVery good watch if you are fitness minded or have plans to improve physical fitnessPrice-wise was within my budget as i was skeptical to how much value it would addHas a built-in GPS which tracks your movements. I also like to track my steps and distance traveled when I'm out doing fitness activities. A lot of features are standard across these devices.One of my reasons for choosing this device was that the watch doesn't dig into my hand if i lift it up. And the simplicity of the design also appeals to meI like how the watch will remind you to move every now and then. Working in an office setting, this is really helpful for me as i'm prone to working through breaks and not separating myself from my deskI like the animated notifications when you achieve milestones like walking x amount of steps or distance. It really helps motivate me to continue with the fitness journey. Its a nice reward when you're 10-20km from home and need to push through to get to the finish lineFurther down the line when i get more experience with it, i'm planning on adding a credit card to the fitbit app to make purchases with itThe fitbit app experience is ok. I wish it would communicate with Google fit app so all of my activities and progress are in one place. If there is a way, i need to find outOverall, very satisfied with my purchase. Only touched the surface on what it can really do but for now it gives me basic feedback on how active (or inactive) i am and reminds me to continue pushing to improve my physical (and consequently) mental well being

Very unhappy with my "upgrade" to a charge 5. The main problem is that the heart rate sensor is widely inaccurate. On a leisurely drive of 20 minutes I received about 30 zone minutes as it showed an elevated heart rate. Again this was a leisurely no stress drive. I often get zone minutes just sitting down. While i understand the concept of zone minutes and would be fine with it as extra information, I don't like that it has replaced giving the actual minutes of exercise although you can see that on a desktop computer but not on your phone app. Why can't that also be included on the phone app. The zone minutes are a meaningless number. I understand the concept but if I get 100 minutes is that 50 at cardio pace, 100 at fat burn or some combination. Also, I get about ... MoreVery unhappy with my "upgrade" to a charge 5. The main problem is that the heart rate sensor is widely inaccurate. On a leisurely drive of 20 minutes I received about 30 zone minutes as it showed an elevated heart rate. Again this was a leisurely no stress drive. I often get zone minutes just sitting down. While i understand the concept of zone minutes and would be fine with it as extra information, I don't like that it has replaced giving the actual minutes of exercise although you can see that on a desktop computer but not on your phone app. Why can't that also be included on the phone app. The zone minutes are a meaningless number. I understand the concept but if I get 100 minutes is that 50 at cardio pace, 100 at fat burn or some combination. Also, I get about a third of my exercise from a stationery bike. On the charge 3, I put the tracker in my pocket and shut off the heart rate and got credit for the recorded steps and active minutes. On the 5, you can't shut off the heart rate so sometimes it shows zero pulse while sitting in my pocket so I get no activity minutes although I do get credit for the steps but usually it somehow records a crazy high heart rate during the exercise which of course distorts the zone minutes and I assume also distorts many of the premium features such as readiness and perhaps your overall fitness score. If they would bring back the active minutes, and allow you to shut off the pulse meter that would partially solve the problems. I can "live with" the fact that it wouldn't show the correct total of zone minutes.Also don't like the lack of buttons as the display responsiveness to tapping it is poor.On the plus side, I love the new display especially when outside as it is much easier to read

Some background info: I have been a triathlete for years. I have used Garmin devices half of my life and I track data most of the time such as running dynamics, cadence, and heart rate. I have prior history of using Fitbit watch for 2 years back around 2017-18. Now, I got the Charge 5 because I don’t want the bulkiness from the Sense because Charge 5 practically tracks the same thing as Sense except a few things like the ABC so no stairs climbed will be measured. I tried Charge 5 for 3 days including sleep and exercising and one of the days I compared it side-by-side against a Garmin watch.My quick summary: it is an excellent fitness tracking band but if you crave for something more than just basic tracking, look elsewhere.Disclaimer: I tried it under free fitbit ... MoreSome background info: I have been a triathlete for years. I have used Garmin devices half of my life and I track data most of the time such as running dynamics, cadence, and heart rate. I have prior history of using Fitbit watch for 2 years back around 2017-18. Now, I got the Charge 5 because I don’t want the bulkiness from the Sense because Charge 5 practically tracks the same thing as Sense except a few things like the ABC so no stairs climbed will be measured. I tried Charge 5 for 3 days including sleep and exercising and one of the days I compared it side-by-side against a Garmin watch.My quick summary: it is an excellent fitness tracking band but if you crave for something more than just basic tracking, look elsewhere.Disclaimer: I tried it under free fitbit app because I wanted to see what I get from the free app since the membership price per year is outrageous I am aware there is a 6-month free trial.Here is my in-depth analysis:Wear/appearance/design: I did like the charge 5 and its band. It is comfortable once you’ve adjusted to the correct area. I often forget I was wearing it most of the time. I have no problem wearing it overnight and no skin rash or anything after the 3rd day. I wear dress shirts during the day and it is slim and nicely hiding under my cuff. The display is vibrant and easy to read.All-day continuous heart rate tracking: Their 24/7 PurePulse tech records your rate every 5 minutes. Garmin does it every 2 min. When I was wearing my garmin + charge 5 together for 24 hours, I can see a big deviation between both devices. The RHR for fitbit says 54-55 for me and for Garmin from years of history tracking me says 46-48 RHR. The HR graph is also friendlier to read on Garmin than fitbit. There is also more HR fluctuation throughout the day seen from fitbit than Garmin perhaps because it measures every 5 min?. All in all, it is a bit questionable for me here.EDA and ECG: I tried them but I don’t know if they are accurate. Even if they.

I have had this for some time now, enough time to try out many different features and judge the accuracy of the sensors. very inexpensive but highly capable for a fitness tracker/smartwatch, I bought this to replace my dying Samsung Gear Fit 2 Pro. it does everything I need it to do and more. I was quite surprised, honestly. I read hundreds of reviews on many low to mid-tier trackers and watches and this one fit the bill and put me way under the price point I was going for. one of the biggest things for me is the battery life, I was only capable of getting 2 full days out of my Samsung having to charge it every other night which made sleep tracking pointless, with this watch I can easily wear it for 5+ days straight and still have a 30% charge. Given, the band is as ... MoreI have had this for some time now, enough time to try out many different features and judge the accuracy of the sensors. very inexpensive but highly capable for a fitness tracker/smartwatch, I bought this to replace my dying Samsung Gear Fit 2 Pro. it does everything I need it to do and more. I was quite surprised, honestly. I read hundreds of reviews on many low to mid-tier trackers and watches and this one fit the bill and put me way under the price point I was going for. one of the biggest things for me is the battery life, I was only capable of getting 2 full days out of my Samsung having to charge it every other night which made sleep tracking pointless, with this watch I can easily wear it for 5+ days straight and still have a 30% charge. Given, the band is as comfortable as well and I have no issue wearing it day after day note: I take it off occasionally to give me skin a break or if Im going to shower. Charging is a breeze too - with the included dock I am able to fully charges the way within 20 minure=e=,I am not a power user who uses it to track every walk and exercise, nor am I running GPS all the time either both of which work very well too. I have the view set to manual instead of flicking my wrist to turn on the watch. I like how quickly displays notifications once received. another pro for this watch is how aggressive you can set the vibration to be, works great when used for alarms you cannot miss. switching time zones when driving out from Phoenix to northern New Mexico, very little effort was needed from me to update the time. I work in a labor intensive warehouse where this thing is banged up by packages and equipment all day long and I have yet to see any physical damage to the unit. if you are looking for something inexpensive, not bulky, and durable with a long lasting battery - this is a great option!

Heat monitor misleading

I returned this Fitbit charge 5. It never did track my sleep right. It is supposed to record how long you sleep and how well by showing the number of times that you wake up. I think mine was defective. it tracked a bit and then when I'd get up to go to the bathroom it thought I got up from my night's sleep. It tracked my steps ok, although I don't have anything to compare it to. It is supposed to have the ability to take an EKG. You put your fingers on the side of the watch and it acts like it is taking an EKG because you can see the little lines like a heart monitor, but then it only shows if you went info A-fib. A type of irregular heartbeat. This is misleading, because if you have any other type of heart problem, fast heartbeat or skipping beats or anything else ... MoreI returned this Fitbit charge 5. It never did track my sleep right. It is supposed to record how long you sleep and how well by showing the number of times that you wake up. I think mine was defective. it tracked a bit and then when I'd get up to go to the bathroom it thought I got up from my night's sleep. It tracked my steps ok, although I don't have anything to compare it to. It is supposed to have the ability to take an EKG. You put your fingers on the side of the watch and it acts like it is taking an EKG because you can see the little lines like a heart monitor, but then it only shows if you went info A-fib. A type of irregular heartbeat. This is misleading, because if you have any other type of heart problem, fast heartbeat or skipping beats or anything else other than A-fib, it does not tag you with the results it just says normal sinus rhythm. NOT SO! Normal sinus rhythm is when there are no other irregular beats and could confuse someone who thinks that they are getting an accurate report and rely on it when there could in fact be something really wrong. To me it mentions that it only detects A-fib, but it doesn't have enough by the way of disclosures that it won't detect other serious health/heart conditions. I'm trying the luxe now. It tracks steps and gives you heart rate, but I don't need an EKG if it is going to work like the charge 5 does. So, it does not have that, but it still tracks sleep patterns and counts steps which are my two main objectives. There is more that it does that I will explore. I would not spend the extra money for the charge 5 if you are just feeling impressed by the EKG feature. The luxe is much thinner in the band, and more comfortable so far. Easier to wear. Screen is small, but bright and colorful therefore easy to read.

More features than I need

Probably should do your research before buying. There are many Fitbit models and this one may or may not be the best one for you. I'm just a regular non-athlete and I bought it mostly to track my sleep instead of apps where I have to guess my sleeping and waking and type in the numbers myself. It seems to be pretty accurate about it. It's noticeable when you wear it, but not uncomfortable. The band is simple and it's easy to wear or remove the device and it stays on. Out of the box, the attached band is the one that fits a female wrist so men may have to attach the second band that fits a male-size wrist. It's pretty easy to swap out bands and they offer other colors/textures. Some may also prefer the model that looks more like an actual watch. I just wanted ... MoreProbably should do your research before buying. There are many Fitbit models and this one may or may not be the best one for you. I'm just a regular non-athlete and I bought it mostly to track my sleep instead of apps where I have to guess my sleeping and waking and type in the numbers myself. It seems to be pretty accurate about it. It's noticeable when you wear it, but not uncomfortable. The band is simple and it's easy to wear or remove the device and it stays on. Out of the box, the attached band is the one that fits a female wrist so men may have to attach the second band that fits a male-size wrist. It's pretty easy to swap out bands and they offer other colors/textures. Some may also prefer the model that looks more like an actual watch. I just wanted something as simple as possible without a lot of fancy features that my smartphone already does. The charging cable is particular to this device so don't lose it. It's not really clear on the device what the battery level is. You have to use the app. But battery life is decent. As I bought this with the onset of winter, I haven't used it to track walking and biking that I do in the warmer months. But it has a GPS built in so I'm sure it will do great at that. It's probably not so great at tracking the other type of workouts I do. For some reason, there's only room in the app/device to track 5 or so types of workouts when I rotate between 8 to 10 different kinds. It also won't let me both track an exercise and use the stopwatch feature. There are some other features the watch does but I am dubious about the value and/or don't need them. Supposedly you can track heart rhythm, your relaxation level, and (for women) your menstrual cycle. Probably won't use any of those, but it's OK for what I do use it for. Finally, the companion app on your phone can provide useful summaries on a daily or weekly basis.

Works great!

It’s been so awesome having this. It’s honestly helped me to get moving more and to understand the intensities of my workouts, especially when I strength train! I’m happy with all of the different metrics it tracks. And I am happy with the GPS. I typically had to guess what my lap mile was, but with the GPS there’s so much I can see now with my pacing, and no more guessing how many miles I’ve ran. I don’t have issues with this being on throughout the day. It only turns on when I specify that I’m jogging. The GPS does lower the battery life, but so far it hasn’t been enough to make a significant difference. I can still go more than a day before I need to charge it again after using it.I also like the notifications to move. It’s made me realize just how sedentary I ... MoreIt’s been so awesome having this. It’s honestly helped me to get moving more and to understand the intensities of my workouts, especially when I strength train! I’m happy with all of the different metrics it tracks. And I am happy with the GPS. I typically had to guess what my lap mile was, but with the GPS there’s so much I can see now with my pacing, and no more guessing how many miles I’ve ran. I don’t have issues with this being on throughout the day. It only turns on when I specify that I’m jogging. The GPS does lower the battery life, but so far it hasn’t been enough to make a significant difference. I can still go more than a day before I need to charge it again after using it.I also like the notifications to move. It’s made me realize just how sedentary I am during the work day. I’ve really picked up my movement since purchasing this item.My only issues have been that a couple of times I had trouble syncing it to my phone. But that hasn’t been enough to frustrate me. And the only other thing I wish I could change is when I’m exercising and it notifies me that I’m moving from fat burn to cardio then to peak, I wish I could tap on it to go away so I can see the other details. Sometimes those notifications stay up for a bit too long, which I’m quickly trying to see details on my bpm or pace.Overall, it’s a great product and it’s really helped with improving my healthy lifestyle. There’s so many positives I can say about this Fitbit, so I highly recommend to anyone with an active lifestyle or someone trying to live an overall healthy lifestyle.