Mio Alpha 2 Heart Rate Watch & Good HR Activity Tracker Alternatives
The Mio Alpha 2 Heart Rate Watch + Activity Tracker ($119)
Pros:
-Long battery life. Over 1 week on a charge when using the GPS on runs
The Alpha 2 tracks steps, calories, distance, and heart rate. It is only for runners and walkers
Cons:
-Activity tracking is technically accurate: running, walking. However, without cycling or swimming, it isn't a comprehensive tracker
-No backlight
-Poor Bluetooth connectivity. Getting it to sync with my phone took valuable time away from getting my run started
-The clasp that holds the top end of the watch strap to the bottom strap broke
-There are other products at lower costs with more useful features than a heart rate monitor. A Fitbit Zip ($60), Fitbit Alta with text and call notifications ($130), and Fitbit One ($100) with sleep tracking. All track distance and steps without a heart rate monitor
For those of us who bike commute and need a cycling tracker, the following are all good options:
Sony Smartwatch 3 SWR50 ($132, Amazon)
The SWR50 has voice search, distance, speed, elevation, HR, and supports some Android apps. You can store music on it to listen to on your run. Sony Walkman's have good internals for sound playback so you can trust that your tunes will sound good on this. You can alternate betwen different wrist straps for business, sport, or casual.
Samsung Gear Fit 2 ($180)
The Fit2 auto tracks what type of workout you are doing-running, cycling, even crunches! It embodies the sleep tracking features of the Fitbit, a music player like the Sony Smartwatch 3, heart rate montioring, call and text notifications, and an Super AMOLED display, the brightest screen of this lineup. Highly recommended.
- Fitbit Blaze ($199.95)
- Has HR, recognizes activity, sleep tracking. Guided workouts and workout summaries is the most exciting feature.
- Suunto Ambit 3 Run HR ($229.99)
- The interval workout planner and sleep recovery tests make it compelling.
- Garmin Vivoactive HR ($249.99)
- Customizeable with virtual watch face designs, widgets and apps. The most valuable aspect of the Vivoactive is the calculation of intensity minutes-which combines your walking, biking, skiing, running, swimming to see how hard you go each day
