FitbitCharge 3 Fitness Activity Tracker

I read a lot of the other reviews before purchasing this item and many of them listed very specific concerns. I chose to take a chance anyway. I'm very satisfied with my Fitbit Charge 3. It's pretty accurate with the step count as long as I'm not doing anything to "trick it". Shaking a bottle of juice will often times be counted as steps. Sometimes it doesn't record steps when I'm pushing a shopping cart, but the geotracking part seems to fix that to a certain extent. I can select what stat I want to see along with the time on the watch face. I prefer heart rate, but date, stairs, steps and several others are options. It doesn't always catch when I go up stairs, but usually it does. I senses when I'm turning my wrist to look at the time and automatically comes on, so I don't have to push the button on the side. Some have commented on it waking them up at night. I've never had that trouble. Very, very rarely is the screen activated in my sleep or when I'm trying to fall asleep. The wrist band that it comes with isn't the most comfortable one that I've ever used. However, it is very easily swapped out for a different style. I chose a magnetic one and it works great, looks great and feels much better. I've never had any problems docking it on the charger or having my data wiped out. If it doesn't seem to be charging when I first clamp it in, I slide it up or down a little bit until I feel that "bump" that tells me it's now charging. I haven't tried it in a pool, but I have tried wearing it in the shower and have not had any issues with the water affecting it. The app on my phone is easy to use, syncs up with my Fitbit without any problems and has lots of options for things that can be tracked. I've had my Fitbit for several months now, but never owned one before this. I was using a less expensive type of fitness tracking watch for about 6 months and thought it was pretty good. The Fitbit is much better. I haven't yet explored all of the options available to me, because I just don't have the time to research them. However, they are there and I'm sure there are plenty of people who can take advantage of most of the features offered. In conclusion I find that this is a quality product at a reasonable price.- Adding in 6 months later. I wore my Fitbit while swimming and playing in the ocean at Dewey Beach. I was in the water for 5.5 hours total. My Fitbit is still working like a charm, so I can verify that it is waterproof. I was not using the band that came with it, though. I was using an after market magnetic band, so I could tighten it down pretty good. I didn't want to loose it to a wave. The band also held up perfectly.

One of the absolute best purchases I have made.My primary reason for buying the Charge 3 was for the heart rate tracker. I am a very active person - primarily weightlifting, but as I hit my 30s, I realized I needed to increase my cardiovascular capacity. My career demands a high level of athleticism, and I turned to FitBit to help me track my progress.Other reasons for purchasing included the vibrating alarm clock, as sometimes my job requires early wake-ups, and I prefer not to wake my wife in those cases.I was skeptical about the accuracy of the heart rate monitor after reading some reviews here, but let me tell you: it’s phenomenal! Extremely accurate, even during intense exercise. My training regimen includes HIIT / sprintwork almost daily, and my heart rate regularly reaches 175-180 during these sessions. My Charge 3 has been completely accurate even at these high levels. I periodically check my heart rate via other methods (fingers on neck, and cardio machine sensors) just to verify, and my Charge 3 is always accurate within about 4 bpm.I also didn’t realize how cool the rest of the features would be - especially charting my resting heart rate (nice to see it’s about 56) and tracking my sleep. The sleep analysis section of the FitBit app is actually very insightful, so I’d always recommend wearing your Charge 3 to bed.That brings me to another point: battery life. No complaints here. I’d probably get close to 7 days on a full charge, but my strategy is to charge it twice a week, during the day, while I’m at the office. That way, I don’t miss any significant physical events (including sleep), and I only have to charge from about 50% to 100%.The vibrating alarms are great; you can set up to 8 of them through the app, and there are 2 levels of intensity.I do like that you can set it to vibrate when you get phone calls, texts, and emails also. Very helpful when you’re busy throughout the day but also expecting an important call or email.There are some features that I don’t use much, but which you may like, so it never hurts to read other reviews.Stylistically, this thing is beautiful. Sleek, elegant, professional. Very easy to change out the bands. I bought a traditional men’s silver watch band made for the Charge 3, and it creates a very appealing look. Also inexpensive!The Charge 3 is a fantastic investment. I lucked out and snagged it during a sale, but it’s worth the price either way.