VivoFit

With all of the walking, running, and everything else we do day-in-and-day-out, the majority of us don’t realize how much movement our bodies endure throughout the day.  For example, we are willing to bet that most people out there would be shocked to find out how many steps they take in their normal day and how that plays a major role in their overall health.  With the latest trend of wearable tech and activity trackers which monitors how many steps one takes in a day, it’s now easier than ever to quantify your daily movement, in a fashionable way of course.  

Enter the VivoFit by Garmin, which tracks your steps, calories, distance, and monitors sleep.  Amazon lists the VivoFit as the “Best Selling” item when it comes to activity trackers and let us tell you, Amazon is spot-on.  Garmin, who’s well known as a producer of consumer and professional-grade Global Positioning System devices (GPS), has immersed itself in the activity tracker game.  What we find amusing is that, when it comes to these trackers, most people out there only seem to know of one brand, Fitbit.  Great branding play, Fitbit, as there’s the Kleenex – Tissue effect… especially in such a crowded industry.

So why did we decide to go with the VivoFit over the Fitbit for this review, or any of the other popular brands out there such as the Nike Fuel Band, Jawbone, Misfit, etc.?  Well, the decision didn't come easy as it took us about four months to pick one, but we were ultimately trying to rationalize how the tracker would integrate with our daily routines from work to working out to sleeping to everything else.  (Sidebar – some guys in the office did end up choosing Fitbit devices.)  One big factor was NOT having to charge it every several days.  With our busy schedule, we knew that charging the little guy would not make it on our weekly to-do list, thus the item would simply be nothing more than a fashion piece or a conversation starter in line at the grocery store.  So that removed all Fitbit bands; in fact, at the time when we were doing the research, the charging feature removed all of the bands.  We wanted a tracker that we didn’t have to constantly charge.  

Next, we wanted to have the ability to check our stats natively in real time and not have to sync it with our smart phone every time we wanted to see how many miles we walked or how many steps we took that day, so that took Jawbone off our list.  Lastly we wanted a band that was waterproof and Garmin was the only piece that was 100% waterproof.  And ta-da!  That’s how we arrived at the VivoFit.  Of course, the design and feel was also a major factor that influenced our decision as well as its ability to learn one’s activity level and assign personalized daily goals.  All-and-all, we've been sporting the VivoFit for several months now and we couldn't be happier with our little activity buddy.  We find it chic and we almost forget that we have it on as it’s light and comfortable on our wrist.  This is our second unit as the first one went rouge on us by deciding to reset itself every so often losing all its data so we contacted Garmin and they replaced it immediately.  Of course there are some features that we would have liked to have seen on this activity tracker band, such as a back-lit screen to check stats in the dark and a built in heart monitor.  Those features that we listed would make this the ideal and perfect activity tracker out there.  We have no doubt that these features will be added soon. 

For a list of all of the key features on the VivoFit tracker, you can check out Garmin's website.  Since we’ve been so satisfied with our VivoFit, we didn’t really keep up with the news on all the new trackers but a quick Google search as we wrote this article shows that there are some new comers.  One in particular which caught our eye was the Orbit from Runtastic.  The unit itself is very good looking and sports some nice features… but, like many nifty trackers out there, the battery needs to be charged every five days or so and that was a deal breaker for us.  But everyone’s preference is different!

So here is some game for you playboys out there.  We recommend you guys skip out on the Rollie or any gaudy expensive watches out there and cop yourself a fitness tracker.  Not only will you be able to get detailed insight about your daily activities, which will help get you into shape, but it also sends a positive message to those around you… especially to the ladies.  It’s one thing to rock your gaudy watch when you’re out socially and dazzling the crowds with your diamonds, but it also says more about you when you sport a fitness tracker because it assures others around you that you're confident enough to be seen not wearing an expensive watch.  And you are all about your health.   If there is one thing we can confidently say we've learned, it’s that your health is paramount.  Happy holidays!

by ManPossible