REVIEWS

Fitbit Surge Fitness Superwatch Review

By Philip Yiga | April 10, 2015

Fitbit Surge has had some stiff competition from Pebble but many users of Pebble sports watch have ditched them away in favor of Fitbit Surge super watch. So far it is the best activity tracker on the market and its mobile applications makes it very easy to read and compare data. In this detailed review of Fitbit Surge, we shall look into its Pros and cons and finally make a verdict basing on what it offers. But before we go any further with this review, I want us to see what other customers say about this activity tracker.

PERFORMANCE:-3.7 out of 5 stars (I’m quite disappointed by this rating, not so good compared to that of Fitbit Charge HR)

[See price on Amazon….]

FULL DIGEST:-

This Surge feels like a normal watch and it looks pretty compared to other fitness trackers. You can wear it as a normal watch because it also tells current time & date so you will not miss that normal watch anymore and at the same time you will be tracking each and every step you take, calories burned and heart beat.
Its battery life and heart rate are accurate so you will be tempted to choose Surge over the other sports watches like Pebble & AppleWatch.
It is GPS enables so you don’t have to run with your iPhone 5 / 6. Serge feels up that gap very well. You can sync data from Serge to your iPhone after working-out; this will make it easy to read.

FEATURES:

Built-In GPS
PurePulse Heart Rate
Multi-Sport
Activity Tracking (Steps, Calories, Distance and floos climbed
Smart Notifications (Music Control & Notifications)
Auto Sleep + Silent Alarm
Active Minutes
Clock

FROM THE HORSES MOUTH:

According to Fitbit, everyone should train smarter and go further with SURGE. This is a great fitness watch designed to do just about anything automatically. It will help you reach your peak without straining your heart. Surge will collect all fitness data and deliver it to you in an amazing manner. Its wide screen can show enough data better than Fitbit Charge HR and at the same time you can sync this data wirelessly to your mobile device or computer. With Surge super-watch you can add activity tracking, control music, text, get call notifications, track sleeping patterns without setting SURGE to sleep mode and stay connected 24/7. So no matter which fitness goal you have, SURGE will be there to work with you.

RELATED POST:- Fitbit Charge HR Wireless Activity Wristband Review

[See price on Amazon….]

HEART RATE TRACKING:

Before we dig deep into Fitbit Surge’s features, I want to point out one feature because it’s what makes Surge relevant and cool. Surge has a continuous heart rate monitor which senses your heart pulse immediately after wearing the watch. So you will be in position to know your heart beat reading even before you start working-out. Some users say that this heart rate is not accurate, but if you wear the watch snugly, it will give you the best readings. However, when exercising, it is best to wear it a notch tighter, this will keep it in one position, but make sure you wear it above the wrist so that it gives you accurate readings. Surge is good but they need to make some improvements in the pulse sensor because it takes a while to stabilize. If you want to see this, try to wear it loose, results will be unstable, scattered all over the screen. People who would like to wear this watch on a daily basis as a normal watch, I suggest you don’t wear it too tight because it will block skin pores and your skin will not breathe properly. (For some people they can get a skin rash if they wear a watch with non-breathable material)

A WORD TO FITBIT:- Please Fitbit, if you get a chance to read this review, could you upgrade this device and add a feature which lets users choose a target hear rate. This is an essential feature, because when I plan to go an extra mile I have to set a desired heart rate, once I reach that reading, i get a buzz to tell me to reduce on the intensity of the exercise. In that way my heart stays in good condition and my body stays fit as well.

STAIR READINGS:

I wore this watch to work, but when I climb stairs, readings go up but when going down stairs, no count is made. This change in functionality makes me think that Fitbit Surge is accurate because I always use less effort when going down stairs and I like the fact that it only counts steps I take when going up.

PROS:

TELLING TIME:– Much as we love working-out, timing our selves is very essential. Fitibit has several sports watches and they all show Time of the day which is a pretty good thing. If it gets dark, you can tap on the watch and the back-light will turn on making it very easy to read current time of the day.

Notifications:– I’m sure everyone would like to get a buzz on their wrist when someone is calling them. I have experienced this with SURGE, I always get call notifications every-time my iphone is out of reach or when it’s in silent mode. You might be in the garden taking care of your flowers and your smartphone might be on left on charge in the house, but once you get a call, Surge will go one. However, the distance between you and your phone should not be that big, otherwise you might miss some calls.

Motivation: – I will credit Fitbit App for allowing us to set daily goals. At least you don’t have to be overwhelmed by some impossible to achieve fitness goals. As a trainer; I advise you to take it one step at a time. Set achievable goals for each day and kept track of your performance. You can decide to burn calories, climbed stairs, run, distance, steps etc. Once you reach a desired goal of a day, the watch will give you a buzz to show you that you have reached your goal. People who want to lose weight, you will fall in love with a calorie counter, this will show you how many calories you burn on a daily basis. I have done some research and I have discovered that 3500 calories = 1lb fat, so do you really want to lose weight, get to know how many lb’s you have and do the math very well. However, you should not over depend on burned calories, consider getting fit and balancing your body weight evenly.

Fits well: – Many users complain about the bulkiness of SURGE but I have checked Amazon, they sell both small and large size. So if you want something lighter; you better opt for the small size, it fits very well on your hand and you will not feel uncomfortable. Actual product size is Small (5.5-6.7 in) / Large (6.3-7.9 in), but there is a slight difference in pricing for these two sizes. For example Small size costs only $233.17 yet large size costs $249.95. I think this difference is determined by the amount of materials used to make that (Large sized SURGE).

Build Quality: – I can say that the build quality is decent. Not so bad and not so good, just 50 – 50. This is a sports watch so I don’t expect it to look like a designer watch like most users would like it to be. We have to be considerate to Fitbit because they have done a good job even though a few things have to be fixed to get this watch to perfection, but the design bit of it is okay. If you don’t like the large size please opt for the smaller one. It has no sharp edges and it does not fade easily as most fitness trackers.

CONS:

Poor Battery Life but it Charges really first:- Things don’t seem as pretty as they do in adverts. If you have watched Fitbit’s commercial, they say that its battery life is about 7 days. Actually that is not true because the actual battery life of SURGE is 5 days not 7 days. When you receive this SURGE when it’s still brand new, you might not need to charge it and the battery will take you for at least 6 days. However, the only good thing is that it gets charged fully within 1 hour and that is pretty nice.

No stopwatch:- I have used different types of sports watches and they all have a stopwatch which enables me set alarms for specific goals. However, our beloved Fitbit Surge does not have this stopwatch feature. I suggest Fitbit does some adjustments and improves on how SURGE works, because these minor features make a-lot of sense to us. Why should I set alarms via Fitbit mobile App yet when I’m running I leave my phone at home. Now that you thought of these alarms when designing the Application, could you please respond to our call and integrate them in the watch its self.

Wake-up Alarm beeps once:- This is kind of wired to me because I never want to get out of the bed. So having this SURGE which beeps only once and goes off will just make me pull by bed sheets on the head. I know I’m the one losing here, but sometimes we have to speak the fact. At least that alarm should beep more than once, just like any other alarm clock would do. It’s annoying but that is the only way a man like me can get out of the bed. [That frustration caused by endless beeping just makes you hit the clock and say all strong words to it]

No tracking for Cycling:- I have checked Fitbit.com and in their gallery they show a man riding a bicycle while wearing SURGE. It is true this device is a multi-sport tracker but it does not do well with cycling. At the same time you can swim with it on the hand even though they say its water proof. You should not go to bath with Fitbit Surge on your hands, because it does not do well with soap and shower water. I’m sure Fitbit can solve these small issues and make SURGE the best fitness & sports watch ever made in the world. We love the product.

[See price on Amazon….]

SPECIFICATIONS:

GPS enabled
3-axis accelerometers
3-axis gyroscope
Comes with a Digital compass
Accurate optical heart rate monitor if used well ( some users say this heart rate monitor is not perfect)
Altimeter
Ambient light sensor
Vibration motor

Environmental Requirements:

Fitbit Surge should be used in this temperature: -4° to 113°F and its maximum operating altitude is 30,000 feet. If you exceed these specs you will get distorted results.