Fitbit for trakcing Cross Country Skiing - in km not by steps like the Ionic has been doing

[elinsigr]

Hello

3 years ago I bought Ionic Fitbit instead of Versa. Now I need to stop using my Ionic because of battery overheating.

Now I need another one. I bought Ionic because of GPS tracking from the watch instead going through the app. But when I do Cross Country Skiing - the distance is so short - I can not select Cross Country Skiing and I have been choosing bike-ing instead but I do not know if the GPS is calculating correctly.

The main problem is when choosing walking (when doing cross country ski) then Fitbit multiplies the steps with my step-lenght instead the distance on the map. And my walking steps are shorter than my sliding steps when cross country skiing. 

I have seen others with same problem some years ago - but what would you recommend?

Regards from Iceland - hoping to have the temperature decrease so it will stop raining and start snowing 

[charleskn]

Hello @elinsigr ! I don't see CC skiing as an activity option, but running or "outdoor workout" should work just fine. The GPS data should be the same regardless of the activity chosen. Afterward, you can rename the running or "outdoor workout" to "CC Skiing", or whatever you prefer.

I am not sure what you mean by, "But when I do Cross Country Skiing - the distance is so short". Are you seeing map data that is not correct?

Please note that the GPS antenna on the device, and the GPS reception, can be affected by other objects. I use my mobile device as the GPS source, and I know that where I keep the mobile phone can affect my GPS track, somewhat.

[elinsigr]

What I have experienced the Fitbit app calculates (multiplies) my normal steps but the steps are longer in cross-country-ski.

[charleskn]

@elinsigr Fitbit calculates a walking/running stride length, based on your height. You can also manually adjust the stride lengths if you choose, but even for CC skiing, I don't see the point as part of the time you will be "skiing" and not "striding". GPS is the better answer here, for distance. You could use the "Outdoor Workout" for GPS skiing activities. I must admit I am still not quite sure of the problem.

Any non-GPS activity will use steps and stride length for distance. Any GPS activities will use the GPS to calculate the distance, regardless of the number of steps taken. There can sometimes be issues using the GPS on your tracker versus your mobile device GPS, but in my (Charge 4/5) experience, these issues have been minor.

You could ski a known route, and compare that to Google maps, as an example, which will allow you to measure distance along a route.

I am admittedly a tad unusual in that I don't worry about tracking my steps or distance, except for my runs, and for my runs I use the GPS on my mobile device. Typically, I judge my activities by my Active Zone Minutes.