Can definitely recommend xiaomi’s range if you’re just looking for basic functions.
This https://www.mi.com/tw/miband2/
Or if you decide that you do actually want some fanciness.
https://www.mi.com/tw/amazfit-bip/
Can buy them directly from the website, or check them out in person if you’re near one of their physical stores
I know for cycling computers, Garmin is pretty good with repairs and honoring their products, even past warranty. I do not know much about their watches.
If you want HR, sleep tracking, steps and climbing, you can consider the Fitbit Alta HR.
I bought this for the gf two years ago and she loves it, but said she didn’t like wearing it while sleeping. However, she isn’t as active as any of us, but does appreciate it as a fashionable watch and does track her steps.
I’m honestly not sure if the HR is accurate though. I tested it with my HR strap and it’s off by like 15-20bpm (too low).
To be fair I’ve disabled all ‘smartwatch’ functions of my Vivoactive 3, it’s pretty useless for that and annoying to keep lighting up with message notifications.
Definitely a full sized watch though, but I don’t have issues sleeping with it on.
I’ve been using a Garmin Forerunner 35 for the last month. It has sleep tracking and is compatible with Strava, though I haven’t tried it. It’s light so I can hardly feel it’s on my wrist, with a silicon strap that’s far better than the old rubber straps that I used to go through about once a year. It’s intuitive to use, and has an easy-to-read but ugly face. The heart rate monitor isn’t that accurate, so I’ll probably still use a chest strap. It syncs with my phone, so I see who’s calling even if the phone is in the next room and don’t hear it ring. Certainly a big improvement over my six-year old Garmin.
Are there any shops that sell a range of these fitness trackers, and you can also try them on? Carrefour’s got a few, but in a glass box, and I’m assuming I can’t test them out. I may try one of the Xiaomi stores - but I’m a little discouraged about their websites apparently being all Chinese.
And any points about how they deal with the extreme sweatiness of exercising, or indeed walking out the door, in a Taiwan summer?
Anything with an optical heart rate monitor will require you to have it against your skin constantly. Don’t have to be over tight, but in Taiwan you can imagine that hygienically, any kind of rubber material won’t hold up too well even if just walking around outside.
I take mine into the shower pretty much everyday and give it a good rinse, and completely dry it after.
Try Metro Oasis. It’s a fairly large store to the NE of the Taipei main train station. It’s on Chung Shan South Rd. just north of where Civic Blvd crosses over it, on the east side of the street. There’s another store in Neihu. See https://www.google.com/maps/search/metro+oasis+taipei+store/@25.0554112,121.5313062,14z/data=!3m1!4b1.
They have a good variety of outdoor clothing and equipment, and they do carry specialty watches. See http://www.metroasis.com.tw/products_list.php?cid=284.
About how the Garmin Forerunner 35 does in different conditions - I just spent a week ocean swimming in the tropics, and it worked fine. Back home I’m working out on the water at least twice a week, and again no problem in the month or so I’ve had it. Big numbers on the face make it easy to read at a glance and battery lasts nine days.
Thanks again for the suggestions. I’ve been reading up on reviews a bit, for example at the Wirecutter: it’s a little disappointing, but not surprising, to read about how inaccurate the heart rate monitors often are. They’re especially bad with high intensity / interval measurements, and, well, that’s the main reason I’ve been interested in one. The Wirecutter recommend the Garmin Vivosport, in large part because it was more accurate in their tests; that’s available here at Carrefour, but significantly more expensive than the Fitbit Charge 2, even though in North America they’re at about the same price. However, the Wirecutter emphasizes that if you really care about heart rate measurements, you need to use a chest strap.
One thing I had no idea about: you can use your iPhone (and presumably other smartphones) to measure your heart rate! Many, many apps do this, of varying quality: the light turns on, and you hold your finger over the camera and light. I’m playing with free versions of different apps now, and predictably, some of them keep trying to upsell to foolishly expensive subscriptions, but there must be a decent one out there. Of course, this method isn’t that accurate, but neither are the wrist straps, and I’m pretty sure I don’t want to wear a chest strap, and it’s got to be more accurate than count for 15 seconds and multiply by four.
Whilst this doesn’t directly answer your question, does go into the pros and cons of some of the watches you may be considering:
DC Rainmaker is the man for these kinda gadget reviews.
Would people still recommend the Fitbit? Any other suggestions?
Depends on the functions you need, how you want them displayed, how long you need the battery to hold a charge and your budget. Garmin functions and battery life are quite good. The Garmin website has the Fenix 6 series watches discounted, but they’re still pretty expensive compared to Fitbit. Suunto makes a beautiful watch, but they just don’t function as well as a Garmin. Search for comparison videos on Youtube.
To be honest, I only need/ want a step counter but I dont want to make my normal mistake with gadgets and buy the cheapest only to go and buy a more expensive one later.
Need the battery to stay charged all day at least.
I’m a big fan of fitbit. They are an activity tracker first, smart watch 2nd. Their app is easy to use. Some of their models battery last 6+ days.
If you only want a step counter just buy either a 小米手環 6 (mi.com) , Xiaomi Smart Band 7 or install an App on your phone.
Phone is out. Don’t like having it in my pocket all day. I’ll look at the other recommendation.