Review: Fitbit Charge HR

The Fitbit Charge HR has a tighter clasp on it, allowing the sensors to monitor heart rate.

There's a fitness tracker now for all sorts of people - but think carefully about what you're really going to need it for.

Wearable technology's been talked about for years, but only now are we starting to see an explosion of pretty accessible products that can easily track activity, fitness, sleep and diet.

Leading the pack has been Fitbit - keep your eye open and you'll see a lot of people wearing a subtle rubbery bracelet that's been tracking every step they make throughout the day.

But the world's moving quickly now and the San Francisco company is spreading its wings, providing a much wider range of products - trying to cover the spectrum from those attempting to just get off the couch more right up to aspiring athletes.

Over the course of a few months I've tried out the Fitbit Charge and the Fitbit Charge HR.
The cheaper Fitbit Flex, for instance has no display - just a rubber band that can't show the time of day, but flashes lights when you meet targets for steps taken.

So Fitbit Charge is the next step up - and the one I tried first. It's got a digital display, so serves as a more than acceptable, simple wrist watch.The idea is to wear it all day, let it track your sleep, steps taken, stairs climbed etc... Uploading the data was easy, and its battery life was great - best part of a week without needing to recharge.

One problem though - it's not waterproof. You're supposed to wear this all day and night? Well Fitbit - I think you've got to make it waterproof. Other trackers can be worn while in the shower - and I really think this should offer the same.

Surely if something is designed to be worn all the time - walking, running, sleeping, heading up the stairs at work - then why take it off for a shower or a swim?

Here's what the company says about its water-resistant properties:

"Charge has been tested up to 1 ATM meaning it is sweat, rain and splash proof. However, the device is not swim proof. We also recommend taking Charge off before showering because, as with any wearable device, it's best for your skin if the band stays dry and clean."

Trialling the Fitbit charge - sleeping, walking and running - showed the lack of waterproofness was its only real technical weakness. It's real strength turned out to be not in the device technology, but on the Fitbit website and dashboard.

The site contains a goldmine of tracking info - stairs climbed, hours slept, steps taken - along with optional food logs and charts for everything . Under the sleep stats section there's time asleep over the past 30 days, times awoken over the past 30 days etc...

Sleep tracking

Sleep tracking's not something I was too keen on - to be honest I didn't like wearing the device during sleep. But getting good sleep is a problem for many, so I'm sure it could prove useful to have some firm evidence of disruption to work with.

In my case though, with the memories of an entire year of terrible sleep disruption caused by a screaming toddler still fresh in my mind, I don't need a website to confirm if I had a good night's sleep.

Is it information overload? Perhaps - but to trial the device I signed up for all the email alerts and achievement badges I could. They came flowing thick and fast - awards for climbing lots of stairs, congratulations for taking lots of steps etc...

Perhaps a few too many high fives and back pats for my liking, but if you're starting off on a fitness journey then I think it could prove to be a welcome motivation

The email update system and online data is great - a few too many badges - awards and high fives for my liking (every one's different of course - perhaps my need for constant praise isn't as strong as other consumers)

Here's a screen grab of some of the weekly report Fitbit emailed to me (not a usual week, I was training for a big race.)

Where is it pitched? Well both the Charge and Charge HR are perfect for people who perhaps are getting started getting fit - or trying to get back into the habit of exercise.

Perhaps this is where these gadgets can really distinguish themselves from rivals - for some the gadget's great, but the website not so much. Others (like Fitbit) specialise in the website, the community, the emails - all socially interacting with the wearer and allowing a community of users to develop.

It's inspiring sure - a little too much at times - but it takes all kinds of different motivations from friends, family, workmates and even an algorithm to keep going sometimes.

It's getting to be a pretty crowded marketplace with wearable technology - I'd advise having a good think about what exactly would be useful before buying from the Fitbit range.

If you're making the move from the couch to a bit more walking, then the heart rate monitoring is probably overkill - the daily steps monitoring should be more than enough.

But if you're further along the spectrum - training for an Ironman or marathon - then the HR might not have enough helpful data on specific events. Even a half- decent run triggers the 10,000 steps alert part way - here's where a running watch would be of more use. Fitbit pitches its 'surge' watch at this "performance fitness" end of the market - describing the GPS enabled device as a '"fitness super watch". (Though this also doesn't seem to be waterproof).

With regular updates to the device and the website being made, the Fitbit system will only get more comprehensive (though potentially more chance of being swamped with superfluous data).

So have a good think about what you need - that a device which measures every possible metric under the sun might just be a bit of overkill when all you're trying to do is walk those few extra steps each day.

Here's a company video showing how it all works:

And here's some specs:

- Fitbit charge - with a screen showing the time and how many steps taken that day- good for sleep monitoring
-Fitbit HR (with heartrate monitoring)

NZ RRP for the Fitbit Charge is $179.99 / Charge HR $199.99.

Here's the Charge HR info:

Fitbit Charge HR is designed for more active users who are dedicated to staying fit and want a full picture of their health - in and out of the gym. Fitbit Charge HR uses optical heart rate technology, which provides continuous and automatic wrist-based heart rate tracking, without a chest strap.

LED lights are used to detect blood volume changes when your heart beats, right on your wrist and applies Fitbit's algorithms to deliver heart rate tracking 24/7.

Here's an example of similar heart-rate technology being used on another device I've trialled.

Fitbit says this sort of tracking helps users:

• Get accurate calorie burn for more activities- during exercise and everyday activities like walking, running, biking, lifting weights, spinning, skiing, yoga, Pilates and more
• Maximise training with fat burning, cardio and peak heart rate zones
• Maintain workout intensity by reaching your target heart rate
• Optimise health through heart rate trends and resting heart rate, an important measure of overall heart health and cardiovascular fitness.

Fitbit Charge HR includes all the features of the Fitbit Charge, plus:

• Continuous heart rate right on the wrist 24/7 to get more accurate all-day calorie burn, reach target workout intensity and maximise training
• All-day insights into overall heart health including resting heart rate and heart rate trends, alongside stats like steps, distance, floors climbed, calories and active minutes
• Up to 5 days of battery life - Charge HR.