Waterproof trackers

I'm looking for a completely waterproof tracker with all of the features (sleep, heart rate, steps, stairs, miles, calories, reminder to move, phone alerts, clock with date, etc) all in one. When??  Please make this your next release!!!!!

1,001 Comments
Rich_Laue
Community Legend

Fitbit has the Surge rated for 5ATM.

My concern and the reason I don't let my Fitbit get wet is worth the glue that holds the band together?

Also there is really nothing the Fitbit is able to track properly while swimming or walking in the pool.

You may read what the 5ATM standard is here.

http://www.cnet.com/how-to/water-dust-resistance-ratings-in-gadgets-explained/

 

istantinople
Stepping Up

I've forgotten to remove mine before swimming a few laps before, and it's still working fine, but I don't plan on pushing my luck either. Running is my primary sport, so the surge has been great for me so far; however, if I ever fully branch into triathlons I'll probably have to leave fitbit behind unless they figure that out.

 

I think what we all want is a swim-proof multi-sport watch with GPS tracking and heartrate monitoring without a chest strap. As far as I can tell, nobody makes that yet. Garmin is closest but they still use chest straps, and those suck. [EDIT: Turns out TomTom does make a product like that (swim-proof, multi-sport GPS, strapless heartrate), but it lacks general all-day tracking that garmin and fitbit provide] Surge is the next best thing, but even casual triathletes are going to pass it up. 

 

I'm an engineer, I should just make it myself. Watcha say fitbit, wanna hire me?

Status changed to: New
DerrickS
Premium User
Moderator Alum
Moderator Alum

Hi @mel_3, thank you so much for posting on the feature request board. Please note that the Charge HR utilizes an altimeter, which requires a very tiny hole on the tracker, to measures changes in atmospheric pressure used to calculate floors climbed. In order to avoid water-logging, we do not recommend swimming or showering with the Charge HR

The Charge HR is water resistant to 1ATM, which means the tracker can be submerged and will still work when removed from water. However, this does not mean the Charge HR can withstand the force associated with swimming strokes.

songbird1329
Strider
According to the website, the Flex is not waterproof, it's water resistant. But a lot of people have had success wearing a flex in the pool. I won't risk my Charge HR in the pool. I use my Zip, in a Ziploc bag, which I place in the zippered compartment of a sweatband on my wrist. Seems to work OK. We shouldn't have to do stuff like this, we should be able to have a device designed for swimming/water aerobics.
Baltoscott
10K Racer
@songbird1329 - My bust.  As you point out, the website only claims water resistance for the Flex and plainly says don't swim with it.  (I guess I've just read so many posts to the contrary that I thought you could keep it on in the pool).  
I certainly agree that it would be great to have a Fitbit device that one could keep on while swimming/showering etc.

 

songbird1329
Strider
@Baltoscott There is a company that will waterproof a Fitbit Flex. I've seen a waterproofed Flex advertised on another website. Of course, they charge an arm and a leg for the "waterproof Flex".
dithering
Premium User
Jogger

I agree with SomeThaiGuy ... dive and aviation chronometers isolate and prevent incursion or leakage into electronics compartments up to rated ATM - waterproofing.  It's not cheap for a one-off, but given the number of folks who are buying Fitbit and similar devices who do not ADORE the idea of removing it everytime there is a possibility of H20, even within ATM rating, at velocity, make this a product line wide feature.

Arienya
Jogger

This has to be worked out, its a must for us who just do activities outside in the UK, heavy rain is a given.  We like to cross train, and need an activity monitor that can do this, and include swimming asap. There has to be a way, even if its down to a waterproof cover?? It needs sorting, or loads of us will be changing to another make, like garmin that you can swim in!

RhaeSoleil
First Steps
I understand that some technology is unable to be waterproofed for bare operational purposes, but that being said it does not inhibit the opportunity to develop the addition of a removable waterproof housing.
This would expand the customer base of your product, enabling customers to have a personal fitness device that is all terrain is key to many consumers of this product. It also gives users a choice in how to personalize their Fitbit as well, should you choose to make something like this in different colors or styles.
I hope your company reviews this suggestion!
Anomoly
Base Runner

Smart Coach... yes please

TimB_uk
Base Runner

I would love a Qi chargable FitBit- surely that would help with its waterproofness?

RikardoKiss
Base Runner

Using logic, if you have a device to monitor health, exercise, of course you will sweat, so at least it should be resistant to water, we know that some people sweat in larger quantities and another in smaller but envidentemente, the company must the worst case into account.

Can you imagine if the device is sensitive to water to the point when you start to sweat a lot, you have to take it off?

Nascarnanny
First Steps
Water resistant & waterproof are two entirely different things. Most Fitbit devices are water resistant. But for one to be waterproof it has to be able to be completely submersed to a depth of +/-50 ft.

Becky Williams
502.645.6011
psclfltn
First Steps

The idea of an offically waterproof Fitbit device (preferably the Charge HR) was started 12-28-2013, so in the game since over 1,5 year - any reasonable progress? ETA?

 

Currently got a yo-yo between Mio Fuse (where the App stability is a con) and the Charge HR - with the way bigger con of not being waterproof. While a big portion of my workout is swimming ...

fittwitter
Jogger
I need a fit bit that's waterproof for swimming and that also records my other exercise. It's way too time intensive to log info about my swimming which I do at least 3 times a week. Why is there no fb that can be worn to track swimming?
istantinople
Stepping Up

I'm not sure why you guys are having problems in the rain, the surge is definately advertized as rain and sweat proof. If yours broke from rain or sweat, I'd start bothering fitbit about warranty replacement, it says rain/sweat PROOF (not resistant) on the specs page for the product. I live in New Orleans, I've been rained on plently over the past 6 months and haven't had an issue with my surge, plus I've drenched it in 100 degree-Fahrenheit/100% humidity your-sweat-doesn't-evaporate heat 5 or 6 days a week all summer without issue.

istantinople
Stepping Up

tl;dr - Next surge-type model, keep all the same stuff but add triathlon mode (Swim-T1-Bike-T2-Run), make it waterproof, add swim tracking, and ditch stairs in favor of exercise-only GPS elevation if need be to make it waterproof.

 

Look, the Surge is great, I love mine. But I also need a swim tracker. Swimming may be the worst part of triathlons (yeah, it is, I don't care about your opinion swimming is awful), but it's still part of them and I need a way to track it. 

 

From what I've read, the only reason the surge isn't swim-proof is the altimeter. Is that correct? In my opinion, serious athletes don't really need stair tracking, the GPS can gather elevation data when it matters and the rest of the time it's unimportant. We're already doing three sports at once, how much do we need to track stairs in the off time? (Am I wrong here? Fellow triathletes, how much do you like stair tracking? It could just be me; I don't have a lot of stairs in my daily routine. Or are all the triathletes over at Garmin...)

 

So just to be clear, the next surge model (or whatever you decide to call it - Deluge? Torrent? Splurge? [I officially claim copyright over all those names for a fitness tracker]) should be a waterPROOF fitness tracker that can track triathlon training (and for that matter, allow full event timing in one session as well, so log swim-T1-bike-T2-run all in one tracking mode, in addition to each separately), with GPS and wrist-based-all-in-one heart rate monitoring, keeping the standard Fitbit all-day & night tracking (but ditch stairs if you need to). One piece of hardware that can do all that. Plus a separate cadence sensor that works with the watch sans phone would be awesome, but that's me pushing my luck I'm sure.

 

If we were designing my ideal watch, it'd also be running Android Wear and have full smart-watch functionality instead of just text/call alerts.  But hey, let’s just add swimming for the time being.

WalkingForLife
Recovery Runner
I understand, I believe mine was defective. Thanks to Best Buy's extended warrenty it was no issue!
Lisa_Ferguson
First Steps
I would love to be able to go to the pool/water recreation area with my Fitbit. Not only to swim with it but I miss out on all those steps for the 4-5 hours I have to have my Fitbit off because it is not waterproof. I would like to see some sort of temporary waterproof case for it. That way it is removable and you can use all the other normal features with the case off.
katiewagner
First Steps
I currently have a ChargeHR, but I think it would be neat to have all FitBits be waterproof! I would love to be able to wear mine while I swim or do dishes and everything. Waterproof FitBit for the win ☺️😁
Manda76
First Steps
I am a swimming teacher and average about 500-6000 steps in the pool daily. At the moment I have Garmin, I started with the flex, however the Garmin is a bit fancy and continually vibrates annoying me to no end. I love the simplicity of the Fitbit. They need to make one that is waterproof exactly like the Fitbit HR. The Fitbit HR has all the features I require and is fashionable as well just not waterproof. Come on FItbit pleas make a HR one waterproof. Your product is way better and user friendly than the Garmin, I'd buy it in a heartbeat..... Come on in time for Xmas please.......
DebInGA
Base Runner
Oh I love my garmin. Especially the feature that reminds me to move after X
amount of inactive time. I also find the garmin doesn't pick up the
vibrations of the lawn mower when i am working on the yard. I wish the
fitbit did the same so i could just wear one tracker.
Debbie
Rascal2015
Jogger
I agree that a waterproof feature for all water activities would be more than useful. Not looking for deep sea diving, just enough to take care is swimming and Aquafit.
songbird1329
Strider

Some trackers give you all kinds of swim metrics, others simply measure activity in the water.  I want a fitbit I can wear for recreational swimming and water aerobics, others want the detailed info about laps, distance, etc.  

 

If other companies can do it, why not fitbit?  We can sync multiple devices to the same phone, maybe a separate device?

 

 

Nascarnanny
First Steps
Same here - just want a device that you can safely wear in the water - not interested in laps, swim data, etc.
To comment, you must first accept the terms of the Idea and Feedback Submission policy.