Garmin, a company known for its GPS-enabled products, including sports watches for high-performance athletes, has thrown its hat into the activity tracking ring with the Garmin Vivofit (from $129.99)($179.95 at Amazon). It's a well thought-out device, balancing features and design with price and value, although the trade-offs won't appeal to everyone. If you prefer coin-cell batteries that work for a year over USB-rechargeable ones, and appreciate an always-on display, keep reading. On the other hand, if you want a fashion-forward wristband that can quantify how many flights of stairs you climb or effortlessly calculate your REM cycles, the Vivofit's modest look and capabilities won't impress you.

You can buy Garmin's Vivofit for $129.99 solo, or bundle in a chest strap heart rate monitor (HMR) to bring the total cost to $169.99. If you're in the market for a new chest strap and use one often, that's a deal worth considering. On the other hand, if you're not a competitive runner or other athlete and have never used a chest strap before but want heart rate monitoring, I would recommend paying a little more for the Basis B1 Band ($199)($199.99 at Basis), a watch-style fitness tracker that has a built-in heart rate monitor on the back. The Basis B1 is much more comfortable to wear than a typical HRM, and you can wear it day and night. The Basis will even use overnight heart rate measurements to determine your REM sleep cycles, which is something you won't get from a traditional HRM.

Design and Style

In style and use, Garmin's Vivofit resembles a slightly less attractive version of the now-recalled Fitbit Force ($129). (It was recalled because some users reported skin rashes and irritation; for what it's worth, I'm still wearing mine with no problems.) Both wristbands count steps, measure sleep, estimate calorie burn, and show you the time on the display, with the primary differences being the display itself and the battery.

The Vivofit has an always-on, gray LED display and runs on coin cell batteries that you don't have to replace for many months, much like any low-end digital watch would. The Fitbit Force, on the other hand, has a gorgeous and sharp OLED display that illuminates when you press a button, reach your goal, and when its silent alarm vibrates. As to the Force's battery, you need to recharge it using a proprietary USB cable every five to ten days.

The Vivofit feels more plastic-y than the rubbery silicone texture of the Fitbit Force and Fitbit Flex ($99)($62.99 at Amazon). Like them, the Vivofit has a single button that you press to cycle through its readouts, including the time, steps, and distance. The button also forces the device to upload data to your computer via a USB ANT+ stick, which wirelessly synchronizes data, or your Bluetooth Smart-enabled mobile device (whereas the Fitbit products sync automatically when you're in range of an authorized device). For Vivofit, you can access your data in the Garmin Connect mobile app (for iOS and Android) as well as the Garmin Connect website, shown below.

Another distinct difference between the Vivofit and most other activity trackers is how it monitors your goal. Fitbit products count up toward your goal, so you start each day at 0. Vivofit counts down to your goal, and then counts up after you surpass it. The default goal with Vivofit is 7,500 steps, which you can change manually but is less than the federally recommended 10,000 steps per day that most fitness trackers use as a baseline. If you reach and exceed 7,500 steps, Vivofit increases your goal. The Basis B1 Band is the only other activity tracker I've used that dynamically adjusts your goals based on what you have done in the past. Basis cares more about whether you hit your goals consistently over many days. For example, if your goal is to sleep a minimum of seven hours, Basis looks at whether you got enough sleep at least three days this week, rather than just last night. In other words, it's more about consistently meeting your goals than setting a daily number.

Unique Features

Garmin's Vivofit comes in black, purple, teal, blue, and slate, with a swappable wristband ($24.99 a pop) so you can change the color whenever you want, similar to the slightly lower priced Fitbit Flex ($99).

One unique setting in a competing product, the Jawbone UP ($149)($28.49 at Walmart), that I have always loved and wish more activity trackers would replicate, is an idle alert. The UP band vibrates after a certain period of inactivity to remind you to move. The Vivofit takes the same concept and applies it a little differently, using instead a red "move bar," which appears after one hour of inactivity and steadily grows across the top of the display the longer you sit still. In my experience, a trip to the bathroom isn't always enough to clear the red bar from view, as Vivofit is looking for you to take a steady but quick jaunt around the block, rather than waddle to and from the kitchen.

Garmin Vivofit: Activities and Sleep

You might also not notice the red bar inching across the display, however, if you're caught up working or reading a good book. Jawbone's solution can't be missed. Even if you're not wearing the UP when it vibrates, you'll hear it rattling beside you.

Another feature worth noting in the Vivofit is that it's water resistant up to 50 meters. Most other activity trackers are splash-proof but don't actually hold up when fully submerged, the exception being the Misfit Shine ($129)($79.97 at Amazon), which is fully waterproof and supports swimming as an activity.

Activities and Sleep

If you do swim or participate in other activities, you'll need to log these manually in the Garmin Connect website or mobile app. Most other activity trackers work in the same fashion, with two notable exceptions: the Basis B1 Band and the Misfit Shine. The Basis automatically detects walking, running, and bicycling, while the Misfit Shine can track these activities, plus swimming, although you have to tap the device to enable this special mode.

You also have to tap the Shine a few times to enable sleep tracking, and similarly, the Vivofit needs some indication when you're going to bed as well. If you press and hold the single button on the Vivofit, it will say "sync," but if you continue to hold it down, it eventually says, "sleep." When you wake up, you need to press that button again to take the device out of sleep mode. The Basis B1 Band tracks sleep automatically, which I much prefer. The Vivofit, similar to the Fitbit line, looks for motion during the night to show when you tossed and turned, but both require and extra step on your part to make it work: entering the times you went to bed with Fitbit, and putting the device into and out of sleep mode with the Vivofit. The Basis, meanwhile, offers really detailed information about your sleep, such as REM cycles, in addition to figuring out when you fell asleep and woke up automatically.

A Modest Tracker

Garmin's Vivofit modestly covers the fitness tracking bases and hits a few sweet spots that will certainly cater to a particular crowd. If you are in the market for an activity tracker, have used Garmin products before, and are in need of a new chest strap HRM, the $169 price for the Vivofit bundle is a great offer. The band is not especially stylish or high-tech looking. And some of the features are less elegantly implemented than in competing products. If you don't mind those trade-offs, you'll get what you need from the Vivofit.

If you're a self-quantification junkie, the Basis B1 Band is our Editors' Choice for high-end, wrist-worn trackers. Its heart rate monitor is comfortable and built right into the back of the watch, although high-performance athletes may have a harder time keeping it in place on their arm than a chest strap. For daily and overnight heart-rate monitoring, however, it works pretty well. Finally, if you're looking for the next big thing in activity trackers and price is no object, wait until later this year when the luxurious Wellograph watch ($330) hits the market.

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