I've had my Charge 5 for months now. I've tried. I've really tried. And I've owned every Fitbit since the original clip-on. But I've had it with the 5 and am going back to the 4, primarily for three reasons.
1) Stairs. I climb stairs. I've been participating in the American Lung Association's Fight for Air Climb for a decade now and have been a top fundraiser every year since the 3rd year. I climbed 1400 stairs 4 months to the day after I finished chemo. But the 5 doesn't track stairs. It never even occurred to me to check as every Charge since the first one has tracked them. This alone makes the Charge 5 an expensive downgrade from the Charge 4.
2) Sleep. My typical sleep record says I go to sleep at, say 9 p.m., wake at 11 p.m., go back to sleep at 1 a.m. and finally wake at 6 a.m., or whatever the exact numbers are that night. I have to delete the first one, re-sync, manually correct the second entry, and re-sync again. 50/50 chance that it works. But when I reset the sleep time, it always defaults to a 12-hour clock, even though I've set every Fitbit where I've had the choice to a 24-hour clock. I'd much rather set my sleep start time to 2100, but when I do forget this new "feature", it assumes 9 is 9 a.m. If it's going to default to a 12-hour clock, you'd think the programmer would be smart enough to realize that sleep time usually begins in PM and ends in AM. So, typically I don't get any REM, deep, light, or heart rate tracking through the night. Another step down from the Charge 4.
3) Plastic bands suck. They trap water between the band and my wrist. But the Charge 5 only has one, count 'em, ONE flexible band and it's only available as a large. In my case, that means that it's too loose a couple of months after purchase as it loosens up in the last notch. I guess I'll have to punch out another hole and might as well trim the excess length while I'm at it.
I've had my Charge 5 too long to even think about getting my money back, but I sure hope the Charge 6 goes back to Fitbit's original fitness tracking mission. In the meantime, I'll hope my Charge 4's cracked screen doesn't get worse. Thus endeth the rant.
