Make a Fitbit for hiking (realtime track maps/elevation/heart rate)

[LVinLA]

I'm looking to replace my aging Charge 2 (cracked screen from rock climbing), & it seems the Charge 4 now has internal GPS with very limited 5 hour battery life, useless even for day hikes. And, the Inspire has no altimeter. Does Fitbit make a tracker for hiking, with in-app realtime track maps, that also include elevation & heart rate?

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @LVinLA, and thanks for taking the time to share this suggestion about making a new Fitbit smartwatch that tracks GPS/maps in real time, elevation and heart rate. We rely on feedback like yours to help us develop products and features that we know our community wants to see. If this suggestion receives votes from other customers and gains popularity, it will be shared internally with various teams at Fitbit. To learn more about how Fitbit decides which suggestions get developed, visit our FAQs.

Watch this space for status updates. In the meantime, try visiting Health & Wellness to talk with other members about all things health and fitness.

[LVinLA]

Thanks @YojanaFitbit

A new tracker is not actually required for these functions - my Charge HR from 5 years ago, & my 3-year old Charge 2 already have all of the sensors required to provide these data, along with my phone's GPS - all that's required is for the Fitbit mobile app to provide the display!

Prior to Fitbit's mobile app update of July 29, 2019, the display available on the web activity log after sync looked like this:

This example from a hike back in 2018 shows all of the important features

1. the route map with the terrain layer turned on to show topography, & distance measured using GPS location rather than # of steps x estimated stride

2. elevation data in height above sea-level, not just relative floors

3. heart rate easily correlated with elevation

For some unknown reason, the elevation & heart rate data disappeared from the logged activity display in the July 2019 update - Reinstating these data would be a great first step in getting the app back on track! (Many others have been asking for this on other threads for 18 months now)

I normally use the mobile app to provide the realtime map (makes it easy to backtrack to keep from getting lost on unfamiliar/unmarked trails), although the realtime map is flat - no topo data. I use my tracker to see floors in realtime to estimate altitude. A nice augmentation to the app once it's fixed would be to display GPS altitude in realtime (others have asked for this on other threads as well)

It would be awesome if the terrain layer could be displayed on the realtime map. I'm often hiking in areas with no cell service, & rely on my phone's offline maps - it would be even more totally awesome if offline maps could be integrated into the realtime display!

[pvernaci43]

A feature I would like on my new Fitbit Sense is a customizable screen where I can pick the items that are displayed without having to scroll to a different screen. My Garmin edge 810 bike computer allows you to divide the screen into a variable number windows and assign each window to a different metric, i.e. time, distance, heart rate, elevation, elevation gain or loss, etc. As a walker and biker, I would like to be able to see time, distance, and heart rate on the same screen. As a person that is recovering from a cardiac event, heart rate is most important. Since you already collect all of this data, being able to select what is displayed would be a really attractive option. 

[Semvn]

The Charge 4 lasts at most 3 hours on GPS with GLONASS on and power-saving off. If you're willing to live with wildly inaccurate measurements, you may get 3 hours and a half or so. I would never use the Charge 4 to track hikes, bike trips, or marathons. It is good for workouts and short runs only, perhaps also for swimming.

[Rich_Laue]

With gps your tracker will track changes in altitude during a bike. However you have to look a the web version of the hike to see altitude. 

[LVinLA]

Yes, exactly @Rich_Laue  And also, altitude data are only available after you've completed your activity. Would be great to have altitude in realtime!

There's another thread discussing this: https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Feature-Suggestions/Show-altitude-elevation-in-Fitbit-Charge-4/idc-p... 

[Fit70plus]

I have a similar issue. Bike rides of 60 - 80 miles with GPS activated. Not only does the fully charged Fitbit Charge 4 die somewhere enroute (4 - 6 hours) but it does not even save the data, as nothing is later synchronised. 

[Rich_Laue]

GPS is a battery killer. One thing to try with the Charge 4 is to go to Settings - GPS Settings and turn on the Low Power Mode. One can also try GLONASS instead of GPS.