I've been a Fitbit user since the Ultra, but this is my first wrist based FB. For serious workouts with heart rate, I've been using the Basis Peak. My impression of the Blaze versus the Peak is as follows. Blaze is MUCH more comfortable. In fact, I hate wearing watches so much that I only wear my wrist tracker when working out in order to get HR and instant feedback. For basic step counting I use my FB One in my pocket. The Blaze is among the most comfortable watches I've ever worn (and I actually like the style). The Blaze has better heart rate monitoring compared to the Peak, virtually always get a reliable reading and no disconnects (not so with Peak). I also find the Blaze very user friendly in terms of actual use. I like being able to glance down and see my HR Zone graphically, no complicated settings like with some other products...It's all set for you. And no complex swipes all over the watch face to get what you want. It's all very user friendly and just works. I suppose for the truly serious athlete the lack of customization may be confining, but works great for me (subject to the abilty to customize the data we want to see, which I hope is coming). As for the watch not being on at all times, after some initial glitches it's no problem in real world use. The turn of the wrist (as you would normally do to see the display) works flawlessly. The connected GPS works fine for the few times I may want to route an outdoor run. As someone else said in another thread, these days it's pretty foolish to run without your phone in case of an emergency, especially in unfamiliar territory. If in familiar territory, I personally have no need for GPS to track my route day after day. I must admit, had the Vivoactive HR been out, I would have tested it side by side with the Blaze. I don't really care about on board GPS (though I'd take it for $50 more), but I do like that Vivo will have apps and more customization. The Vivo is also waterproof, which is nice but not something I need. I generally take off even my waterproof watches before swimming. Why tempt fate? No way to tell how the Vivo will feel on the wrist until it's out, but if it feels good than FB better get its act together by May (when Vivio comes out). No reason why FB can't give us some basic apps, weather, temp, elevation, etc. The main reason I'm so pleased with the Blaze, aside from ease of use and comfort, is the fact that the Blaze integrates perfectly with my One. If I work out in the morning with the Blaze, my data appears not only on the dashboard, but also on the One that I throw in my pocket for work, very awesome. Overall, thumbs up for the Blaze. It will lose a thumb for sure if we don't get some basic additions soon (basic apps; more faces; reminders to move; more custom data on the pages). Hope these comments help those on the fence.
