Fitbit, Jawbove, vivofit, etc.what's your choice?

Looking for guidance on wearable fitness tracker...

Am curious about the feedback on this one. Several options out there at present.

I had a fitbit flex, and it just up and died on me 3 months after purchase. Just today I replaced it with a Garmin vivofit. Give me a few days of use, and I'll give you a comparison. Needless to say, I do not recommend the fitbit.

Jaybeez, my thoughts exactly. Too many options, don't even know where ti start.

Bob, I await your review!

I have a Fitbit Zip that I've had since the middle of Oct. My husband has a Fitbit One that he's been using for a little over a month.

True story.... I check my Zip frequently throughout the day and use it to motivate me to work a lot more steps into my day. Let's just say that my husband doesn't check his Fitbit One with the same frequency. .... A few nights ago at about 10pm, he tells me that he's lost his. When he checked his Fitbit Dashboard on his computer, he sees that the last time it synced up was around 4pm the day before. He also remembers that he got a phone call when he was out walking the dog. He can see on his phone that the call came in at around 5:30pm that day. The next day he goes back to the area he stopped at when he took the phone call and managed to find his Fitbit in the thawing, wet snow.... After landing in several inches of snow and laying there for a day and a half, it still works!

I don't know how well the Fitbits will hold up over time, but right now I'm really liking them. I am planning on getting a Fitbit Charge HR when they become available after the first of the year as I want to be able to track my heart rate when I work out.

Thanks Connie.
But now with n=3, we have a fitbit that breaks all by itself, one working fine after 2 months, and one sturdy enough to work in melting snow.

Fitbit Flex with a better run than Bob. Love the thing but it's tedious to do it right. IOT do that, you synch it with a website that tracks calories (like MFP). Then the true value comes into play when you balance daily burned cals with those eaten through logging food...which is the tedious part.

Do I recommend it? Yes. My wife has one too and enjoys it as well...you just have to train yourself to use it properly.

I had a Fitbit, had it for a bit then returned it. Worked just fine, but I found it in the end a pointless gadget. I was no more active with it or without. I don't recommend any of them. I personally feel they are a waste of money. If you are interested in a device I recommend a gps watch to track, runs, walks, biking etc.

Thanks Chris and Tim.

Reading through swathes of online reviews I've seen some that log climbing stairs while driving uphill, some that work for a week, some that last forever and are the best device known to man. Often the same device, within 5 posts of each other.
Very little on Amazon rates above 3.5 stars with hundreds to thousands of reviews. I usually figure some offset by fanbois and those technically challenged, but 3.5 doesn't fill me with glee and Christmas cheer. I don't like those odds, but a device has been requested...

Leaning towards either a Fitbit flex or a Garmin Vivofit. The Garmin seems to be a little more bang for the buck.
Or just a Fitbit Zip and if it gets used, then an upgrade next year when they've ironed out the HRM technical burps I'm sure they're about to have.

One thing I want to add, the most useful thing to me about my Fitbit Flex was the sleep tracker. It's wasn't 100% accurate, maybe 85% but I did find that useful. Not useful enough to keep for my needs, but useful.

I'm waiting for the Fitbit Charge HR and Fitbit Surge to be released in early 2015 to see how they are received. Most trackers to this point have (for me) lacked in one area or another (or those that do have all the features I want are expensive and aesthetically ugly) but these new Fitbits seem to tick most of the boxes. I do a lot of hill running and walking (no shortage of hills around here!) so something that takes into account changes in altitude (and the effort and energy required to go up hills) is important to me. In the meantime I use the "My Tracks" app on my Android phone and find that it works very well and does most of what i need at no cost. I always carry my phone in a pouch for safety reasons when I'm off-road so it's with me anyway.

One more add I had after reading the responses was that if buying one of these gadgets gets you off the couch and working out more...then by all means. I think each has pros & cons (wifi vs cable) etc, but you have to find what works for your lifestyle.

I was leaning towards a Fitbit, but just bought a Jawbone UP as they were discounted to a little over $50. It's charging now. Hopefully it'll help motivate me to work out more regularly this winter.

I had the original Fitbit (which I drowned), and now the fitbit one - honestly neither did much for me.

Now I just use my phone with Acupedo as a step counter, Endomondo or iCardio if I want to track a workout, and Loseit for a calorie tracker.

I have worn a fitbit for over a year and the real motivation comes from the social element. My wife friends and some family all have fitbit and it becomes a competition which is fun. At the end of the day though only you can motivate yourself to start exercising, the tool will jus encourage you. Just my. 02

I have a Jawbone UP and previously had a Fitbit Force (The one that was recalled due to skin irritation). I never had an issue with the Force and really liked it but returned it knowing they were not going to develop for it and support it.

I like the UP and the app is easy to use. The sleep tracking is incredibly helpful and eye opening, especially with a newborn. I know I've lost an hour and a half of sleep on average per night thanks to her. It will also buzz if you have been stationary too long so I set a window while I am at work and if I don't walk for 45 minutes it will buzz to tell me to get up and move a bit.

Two years with the Fitbit Zip. more accurate on step count than any of the wrist models I tried. Keep it clipped to my pants pocket.

Thanks for the input all!
I'm leaning towards Fitbits - a Flex or a One or a Zip.
I think the Vivofit is probably going ro be too much on the wrist for her, and I hear the Fitbit app is far ahead of the Garmin.

I use a fitbit zip and a Mio continuous heart rate monitor watch.
They both connect seamlessly with my phone, and I get all the info I need.
The zip does NOT have the sleep tracking feature, but that isn't too important to me personally, though I can see it being a real benefit to some.

I've been wearing the Jawbone UP for a few days now and it's pretty cool. It's comfortable and I don't really notice I'm wearing it. For me so far the best feature seems to be the reminder to get up and move around. I have it set to buzz me every 30 minutes from 9 to 5. I have a desk job and it's easy to stay seated for hours. I've been using it to wake me in the morning too. The 1st day I slept right thru the buzzing, but it woke me yesterday and today. I definitely prefer the buzzing on my wrist to the blaring alarm. Also nice that the battery will last about 10 days.