Pro tip: I tested a $30 fitness tracker from a big box store against my old Garmin watch for a month.

I wanted to see if a cheap option could replace my aging Forerunner 35. The budget tracker looked good and counted steps fine, but its heart rate reading was way off during my runs. It would show 140 bpm when I was pushing hard, while the Garmin read 175. After three weeks, I checked the distance on a known 5k route. The cheap one said I ran 2.8 miles, a full quarter mile short. That lack of accuracy made the data useless for real training. I'm back to using the Garmin until it fully dies. Has anyone found a truly reliable budget tracker for running, or is it still a case of you get what you pay for?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_brooke25d ago

Honestly, I've had the opposite experience with my cheap tracker. It's been spot on for my heart rate during steady runs, and the GPS matches my usual routes. Maybe some budget models are just hit or miss.

lucasw8425d ago

Lucky you, mine was all over the place on anything faster than a jog.

morganmartinez24d ago

Wait, your GPS was off at a jogging pace? That's wild, mine gets weird on sprints but a jog is basic.