The best places for rock climbing are located across the country. If you’re an avid rock climber, chances are you’ve considered purchasing a Fitbit to monitor your progress. And we get it, and there are so many different models on the market that it’s hard to choose. In the meantime, the Fitbit is indeed pricey compared to a typical GPS watch. However, it also measures steps, distance traveled, calories burned, and active minutes.
The Five Best Fitbits For Rock Climbing
Fitbit One
If you’re looking for the best Fitbit for rock climbing, there’s no doubt that Fitbit One is your best bet. So it’s no wonder why it’s one of the most popular models on the market. The Fitbit One keeps tabs on your heart rate, distance traveled, calories burned, stairs climbed, and active minutes. It also has a versatile clip that allows you to wear it in your pocket or clip it on your belt or bra. But, of course, when doing pull-ups, you should wear the band over a long-sleeved shirt so that it won’t show.
Fitbit Zip
The Fitbit Zip is ideal for rock climbers, as it measures your steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned, and active minutes. It also has a stopwatch feature that lets you keep track of your pace. So if you’re looking for a simple fitness tracker instead of one with smart-watch capabilities, then the Fitbit Zip is worth considering. Despite this, this model does not offer heart rate tracking.
Fitbit Alta HR
If you’re looking for a fitness tracker that does a little more than keep track of the basics, then the Fitbit Alta HR is one to consider. Aside from tracking your steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned, and active minutes, it also has smart-watch capabilities. One of its most notable additional features is its heart rate tracking capacity. With the Fitbit Alta HR, you’ll be able to monitor your heart rate at all times without ever having to wear an uncomfortable chest strap.
Fitbit Surge
Like the previous Fitbit models on our list, the Fitbit Surge keeps tabs on how many steps you take, the distance you travel, calories you burn, and how active you are. However, aside from this information, it also has a built-in GPS so you can measure your pace while running or tracking your travels. In addition, it offers continuous heart rate tracking without the need to use a chest strap. It is also convenient to set personalized goals that help you stay motivated to exercise more often. This model is perfect if you’re an athlete or just someone who wants a simple fitness tracker to use instead of one with smart-watch capabilities.
Microsoft Band 2
The Microsoft Band 2 is one of the most popular fitness trackers on the market, and it’s no wonder why. It is easy to wear while working out, tracking your steps taken, calories burned, distance traveled, heart rate, and active minutes. It also comes with GPS capabilities so you can keep track of your pace and speed.
Garmin Vivosmart HR+
We have included it in our list as it offers more than just essential step counting capability. It keeps tabs on your heart rate, steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned, floors climbed, and active minutes so you can easily keep track of your activity throughout the day. This model also has GPS capabilities, so you can track your route of an outdoor run or walk, and it comes with text and call notifications right on your wrist.
Microsoft Band 2 vs. Fitbit Charge 3 vs. Garmin Vivosmart HR+
The three models on our list all have similar features for basic activity tracking capabilities, but some critical differences set each one apart from the others.
- The Microsoft Band 2 offers a much more comprehensive range of data about your health, including heart rate monitoring, GPS tracking capabilities, and smartphone notifications. This model also has guided workouts that you can access, and it has one of the lowest profile sizes and weights among the three devices on our list (though it is the bulkiest).
- The device has a touchscreen that displays the time, date, steps walked in minutes and miles traveled, heart rate, and calories burned. You can also set reminders to stay active throughout the day or during meals.
- The Garmin Vivosmart HR+ has an optical heart rate monitor that measures heart rate in one of four ways, including the ability to calculate calories burned using GPS, steps taken, and distance traveled. This model also has a stress management app feature that tells you when you’re stressed and helps relieve that stress.
Rock Climbing With A Fitbit Charge 2
Rock climbing is a great hobby, but it can also be addictive. If you’re passionate about rock climbing and want to keep track of your activity level while you’re out climbing, then the Fitbit Charge 2 is a great option. This tiny fitness tracker measures your steps taken, distance traveled, and calories burned. But if you’re worried that it won’t measure accurately due to its lightweight design, then take comfort in knowing that although it doesn’t have an advanced heart rate feature built into the device, it does have a specialized strap you can wear when you go rock climbing. One downfall is that it doesn’t give any information about whether or not you’ve reached your daily goals of staying active throughout the day. In addition, the battery on this model lasts about four days, which is considerably shorter than the five days that the Alta HR has.
Which Fitbit App is essential to climbers?
Some fitness trackers give you vital information about your performance or health if you’re a serious climber.
Heart monitoring
Climbing is an intense exercise that requires your body to work at maximum capacity. It means you’ll experience your heart rate surge and then drop to a resting point — which is why you need to keep track of how hard it has been working and how quickly it ramps up again. If you cannot monitor this level of detail, you’re missing vital information about your performance as a climber.
GPS tracking
Rock climbing is not an everyday activity that takes place in a controlled environment like a gym, meaning you can’t necessarily rely on the sensors built into your fitness goal to determine where exactly you are while climbing. However, you can be sure that you’re getting the most accurate information possible about your climb route with a GPS tracker.
Personalized data
If you take part in an indoor climbing wall or are a severe climber who’s involved in competitions, then you’ll want to keep track of how many climbs you’ve done. Then you can do a lot more to stay healthy and fit.
Smartphone notifications
Many Fitbit models come with smartphone notifications that allow you to view your everyday activity levels and progress throughout the day. These are especially useful for climbers because they allow you to track your performance during a climbing session without constantly checking smart-watches or a fitness tracker.
Sleep tracker
Automatic sleep tracking is essential to climbers because it can help improve your overall health and fitness. By knowing how much time you’re sleeping at night, you can find out how you’re sleeping in comparison to how long you were able to sleep at the same time every night before. If your sleep quality isn’t as good as it used to be, then that’s a sign to check your lifestyle and eating habits. Then, you can begin identifying these habits and working out a plan of action for improvement.
Fitbit Battery Life
Fitbit battery life is an important thing that you may want to consider when looking for a fitness tracker. With a Fitbit, you can carry it in your pocket or wear it around your neck. However, not having enough battery life has been the most common complaint among users of this device. Based on feedback from past customers, the least amount of time the device can last before needing a charge is about five days, while the most extended life ever reported is up to seven weeks.
Best Fitbit For Different Types of Activities
People of all ages can enjoy climbing. It offers intense physical challenges and an adrenaline rush that require different types of Fitbits. The device is designed to track your steps, heart rate, distance traveled, and calories burned. So, if you are a competitive rock climbing or a trekking enthusiast, then that’s the best Fitbit for you.
Fitbit For Rock Climbing
Let’s quickly look at the best all-purpose fitness band in the market right now: Fitbit Charge HR (Blue). The Fitbit Charge HR is designed for monitoring calories burned, distance traveled, and sleep.
Fitbit For Hiking
Garmin ForeRunner 210 is the best TopoActive device in its range. It comes with inbuilt topo maps, which are specially meant for explorers and navigators. In addition, the device is designed to track your distance traveled, elevation, and other outdoor activities like controlling music playing on your smartphone or taking photos.
Fitbit For Running
Fitbit Surge is the best Fitbit for runners. The device is designed to track your distance, pace, and calories burned. It also tracks your heart rate and other stats like sleep quality and active minutes.
Fitbit For Ride Touring
Fitbit Charge HR (Black) is the best device to track distance traveled in addition to other fitness stats. The device is designed for athletes who love tours and those just looking for a suitable replacement for their Fitbits.
Conclusion
If you want fitness tracking, you can’t go wrong with the Fitbit Charge 2 or Charge 3. The Charge 2 has a more prominent display and longer battery life, too. Also, it’s waterproof so you can take it swimming with you.
If you are an athlete who needs to monitor his progress and compete, then Fitbit versa is the most appropriate thing for you as it tracks such things as distance traveled and pace. However, the best Fitbit for women is Charge HR because of its many features and elegant design. GoPro cameras are popular among rock climbers because they allow you to get a close-up look at all the fantastic action shots without putting you in danger.