Fitbit Surge Fitness Watch (Large): Built with GPS tracking and continuous, wrist-based heart rate monitoring, Surge displays real-time workout stats like distance, pace, elevation climbed, and heart rate intensity, so you can make the most of your training.
Customer Rating
4
Great Product!
on January 24, 2015
Posted by: Runner411
I've had the One Fitbit and Flex Fitbit for the past two years and loved them both. As a runner, I don't love wearing the Flex and a watch. I had a Garmin Forerunner, but I didn't like having to physically connect my watch to my computer to upload data or wearing a separate heart rate monitor, which is what promoted my Surge purchase.
The Pros: I now only have to wear one thing while going out for a run. I still run with my phone in my pocket for emergencies, but it's nice to see who is calling or texting on the Surge, instead of digging my phone out. I run the same routes weekly and know the mileage; the Surge GPS has been spot on.
I have also found the heart rate monitor to be extremely accurate and definitely pushes me harder in my workouts. I haven't had problems finding my heart rate, which I've read as difficult in other reviews. I think it has an easier time finding my heart rate the more I wear it and I'm getting the hang of where it needs to be to find it.
The data from each run, workout, and my day is pretty impressive. I love seeing my calorie burn, what increases my heart rate, and getting a better understanding of how my workouts impact my day. My workouts also sync through bluetooth, so there's nothing to connect to my phone or computer.
My previous Fitbits have always connected to My Fitness Pal, but I'll add this to the pros, because I still enjoy this feature. This pushes me into a harder or longer workout when I know I'll be going out for dinner or drinks, and gives My Fitness Pal more calories, based on my Fitbit activity.
I've found the battery life to be pretty reasonable. I charge it every day while I shower and a little longer after long runs. The battery life is MUCH better than my Garmin, which is impressive since it does a lot more. I should add that you only need to charge it every few days, I just find it more convenient to charge daily while I'm in the shower instead all at one time.
The Cons: My biggest hang up is how it looks. I don't love wearing a "sports watch" daily. Especially if I'm getting dressed up, going out, or at work. I wish there was a feature to select if I am wearing my Flex or Surge so I could easily switch back and forth. It's really not that large (smaller than most sports watches), but not that attractive for every day wear, especially for a woman. I also think have interchangeable bands would be nice.
I could sync back to my Flex, but the setup was a bit of a headache, so I think this will be more work than it's worth, especially on a daily basis, between work and working out.
The Surge charges somewhat easily, but I always find myself double checking that it is charging, because it disconnects easily. I've thought it was connected several times, only to find out it didn't click in all of the way and was not charging.
Overall, I'm extremely satisfied with my purchase. I hope Fitbit will make some improvements in the future. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good running watch. If you don't need the GPS, I would stick to the Charge HR.