Fitbit Charge HR Review
Stephanie Dejoode
For all of the units within these posts I simply bought them myself. The Charge arrived back in December which I used first, and then the Charge HR the last month since wrapping up the Fitbit Surge review (you can only have one Fitbit device tied to your account at once).
Probably the most important thing to keep in mind throughout this entire review is that the Fitbit Charge is really just the Fitbit Force with a new name and a new non-reactive band. The functionality in the base Charge is no different than what was promised in the Force before the recall (inclusive of call notifications).
What is new however is applying it to the wrist and doing so either for 247 purposes, or workout tracking purposes. In the case of 247 monitoring, it was really the Basis B1 watch that inaugurated that category (which they recently followed up with the Basis Peak). Meanwhile, for sport, it was a variety of products from Mio, starting with the Alpha, but then including many more of their own, along with others that have licensed their sensor to such as TomTom and Adidas (the raw sensor is made by Philips).
These sensors generally use a green light, however some, such as the Scosche Rhythm+ also use a secondary colored LED (yellow) that can increase accuracy for certain skin types. In the case of the Fitbit sensors, all use just a green light:
With that background in mind, the Fitbit Charge HR (as well as the Surge GPS) have a 247 continuous heart rate monitoring function. This feature monitors and records your heart rate continuously, allowing you to see the impact of various activities throughout the day. At any time you can display your HR on the unit by simply pressing the button:
Note that like virtually all other activity trackers on the market, your workout steps/distance will be added to your regular steps/distance for the day (both on the unit itself, but also in the app/site).
The distances displayed while running or walking can be calibrated using a relatively straight forward equation, which helps increase accuracy. In my testing, it did indeed get accuracy of my runs to within a few percent. Similar to what I saw with the Fitbit Surge. Not perfect, but much more in the ballpark than when I left it set at the default.
This is different from many of the other wrist-based activity trackers on the market that usually easily hit 30-meter deep waterproofing standards. This does appear to be a bit of a trend with Fitbit products and lackluster waterproofing. For example, while the Fitbit Surge is technically 50m waterproofed (which I tested myself here), the Surge also comes with the warning not to swim with it (and to avoid showering).
The Fitbit Charge and Charge HR include basic call notifications that can be enabled via your smartphone. These notifications will appear on the tiny little LCD screen when an incoming call is made to your connected phone:
This is a great review. I am using the FitBit charge for almost 4 months. I like it very much it keeps me motivated all the time. But i think if it would be better to have the charge hr for more accurate results.
hi
i find the calorie count really low if i do a 5 mile run i burn 467 calories yet my nike watch burns abot 560. Also is the charge hr tracking burnt calories or bmr as well I find it very difficult to burn more than 2000 calories in a day unless i play golf for 4 hours and run
cheers
Not sure if this will help anyone with the decision to buy a Charge HR or not but here is my experience so far. I purchased mine in June 2015 and have really liked it (I agree with others that step count is probably off, but not so much that it concerns me) except for one big problem, the battery. My first unit started to not charge in October and the second unit had the same issue (plus the button on the side stopped working) in February. Both units lasted for 3 months (give or take a few weeks) and that is not good. Now to give Fitbit their props they did replaced both units with no issues free of charge, but come on they should last longer. I am primarily a runner and log around 100 miles a month the issue I think might be that I sweat like crazy. Have you heard of anyone one else who seems to be killing their Charge HR with sweat? I tried to look through all of the comments but did not make it all the way so sorry if I missed a previous answer. By the way love the site, been following you for years, and I love the Podcast!
If my understanding is correct, the HR should be much more accurate in calories burned. Without the HR, it just tries to estimate activity and calories based on steps (and maybe stairs climbed) and of course your own parameters such as weight. But the HR uses your heart rate to calculate calories which is a more accurate gauge of activity level. The caveat to that is the accuracy of the heart rate, which for some people is not so good at higher intensity workouts.
Also depending on what kind of exercise you get. If you do much that is not walking, then the HR becomes more of an advantage. If you are mostly walking (or running) i.e. taking steps the Charge can measure), the the Charge is not at as much of a disadvantage.
Any suggestions on why the fitbit is not calculating the correct distance? Tonight I went for a 2.4 mile walk using both the fitbit and a forerunner 15. The planned route was 2.4 miles and the garmin was spot on but the fitbit came in at 1.77 miles. I have set the walking and running stride online but still seeing the same result as before setting them.
First make sure you have done a sync since you set your stride lengths.
The FR 15 uses GPS so it should be near exact. The Charge distance is just estimated from steps times stride length. It sounds to me that you underestimated your stride length. I would try multiplying your stride length entry by 1.36 (2.4/1.77), and then doing another test walk. It can be tricky getting accurate stride length. Perhaps when you get outside walking a decent distance, your stride gets longer than what you measured.
Is there a place I can send the fitbit to be repaired? What is the life span of a fitbit. I had lost it on a walk about 6 months ago, found it, and it was working great! So, please advise me on how to proceed.
Been wanting to get a fitbit for weeks. Was looking through different reviews trying to decide whether it is worth it or not. Overall I think it will be a good purchase for me. I looked online for several different deals, the best one I found was for $117 on ipzmall. Anyone let me know if thats a good price? Thank you for the review.
While on a LEISURELY stroll today my CHR showed my heart rate at 180. I have a hard time believing this to be accurate. Can you explain more about how the light affects the HR data? I am wondering if bright sunlight may have had an impact on my data. I do wear it snug, but not tight. There is no mark on my skin from the HR sensor when I remove the device.
I have extremely small wrist and saw your wife tried on the Alta to show how it fit . Anyway she can try on the charge for comparison. I find the charge he too long for me and looking for other options
Fitbit has replaced both the Charge and Charge HR with the Charge 2 which looks like an upgrade to the Charge HR. It sells for $150 from fitbit.com
Depending on what you just paid for the Charge HR, you might want to see if you can return it and get the altest model.
Do you have an opinion on the Charge, Charge HR, the new Charge 2 or any other fitness tracker for playing a sport like ice hockey. My husband plays in a rec league and we are wondering if there is a good device that will accurately account for the activity.
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