Getting a fitness tracker never crossed my mind. During the Covid years, my exercise frequency decreased dramatically. It took a while for me to get back into the gym so I chose the one thing that I could control: walking. As I started to enjoy walking more, I knew that I wanted to invest in something that was high quality. Something that was going to encourage me to achieve my goals. As style is an important factor for anything that I choose to wear, it couldn’t sacrifice that. In early 2023, I invested in a Fitbit Charge 5, which I wore day and night for a year and a half. In late 2024, that watch broke and I upgraded to a Fitbit Charge 6. After using the Fitbit Charge series for just over three years, I feel like I can give an extensive review on them.
About FitBit: The History
In 2006, a 29 year old entrepreneur and tech gadget connoisseur, James Park, and his friend and colleague Eric Friedman teamed up to form Healthy Metrics Research Incorporated. At the time, they had no idea that they were going to create a dominant fitness brand that would change the game for wearable fitness technology. After drawing inspiration from a Wii game that let players interact by moving their bodies, James and Eric wanted to create something that could provide social connection. In 2009, they released the first FitBit, a clip-on tracker for steps, calories and sleep for women.
Over the years, FitBit’s success was tied to its ability blend product innovation and fitness technology. In addition, they moved their consumers’ focus from metrics to process and progress. Its first defining moment was when it transitioned from being a clip-on tracker to a wristband watch in 2013, with the launch of the FitBit Flex. The second moment was when it became a smartwatch in 2016. It transitioned from a simple pedometer to a performance and health-focused technology that offered a variety of features. These features included heart rate monitoring, stress management, ECG and more.
About Fitbit Charge Series
FitBit will always be known for its early adoption into the wearable fitness and health technology. The Charge Series in 2014 combined the brand’s evolution with style and comfort by integrating a sleep tracker. The Charge Series also introduced an OLED display providing their customers instant access to their activity stats, notifications, time etc.
If you take a look at the FitBit Instagram page, you can see that their brand identity is playful and vibrant by the colours that they use. It includes real faces, lighthearted jokes and health and wellness tips for each season. Their values to empower and inspire you to live a healthier and more active life shines through every single post. Their target audience are those who want to live a better life through movement regardless of race, gender, age, class etc.
Disclaimer: This post does include some affiliate links. If you click and purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products that I have personally vetted.
What To Look For In A Fitness Tracker
If you are looking to invest in a fitness tracker, you have to decide what essential health metrics are important to you. Most trackers will have heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, activity tracking such as step counts, distance, floor climbed, calories. Having access to sleep tracking, that also analyses the sleep quality, stages and duration matters me. Getting enough sleep per night is sometimes not enough. You can sleep 7-8 hours a night and still wake up tired and not refreshed. Sleep quality gives you an insight into why you are still tired and how to resolve that. Moreover, I’m competitive in nature so I like to compete against myself when it comes to my step count over time.
Aside from health metrics, the other type of features that you might want to look for in a fitness tracker include:
- Functionality: the battery life and display options
- Features: GPS for those who like to hike, run, and cycle. Water resistance, smart features such as contactless payments, music storage and connectivity
- User experience: App functionality, comfort, size and price
Some fitness trackers are made for specific sports and activities. Unfortunately, there isn’t one made for strength sports, specifically powerlifting. If there is one available for your sport, it narrows down the selection. If not, then you need to look into features that matter to you.
The Fitbit Charge 6 Review
When I was looking to invest in a fitness tracker, I had already eliminated the Apple Watch despite having an iPhone and a MacBook. The reasoning behind this was I didn’t feel like having another Apple product that monopolised my tech gadgets. I was deciding between three types of fitness trackers: the Fitbit Charge 5, the Garmin Vivoactive 5 and the FitBit Versa 4. Ultimately, it was the price point, the style and the simplicity of the features that were the deciding factors for me. That led me to invest in the Fitbit Charge series.
What Are The Benefits
Firstly, what makes the Fitbit Charge Series a great fitness tracker for walking and sleeping:
- The battery life is incredible and can last up to a week without charging. I find this to be very beneficial as I can move with it without worrying about it dying.
- It’s an immersive and colourful fitness tracker that has multiple displays. You can learn so much about your activity and wellness stats through the screen. In addition, it syncs to the corresponding app where you can review these stats in more detail.
- It is easy to put on and it comes with a short and long strap depending on your wrist size.
- The price point makes it competitive with other wearable fitness trackers on the market.
- If you opt to get Fitbit premium in the app, it has over 30 workouts for you to choose from.
What Are The Cons of the Fitbit Charge 6
However, I have noticed some cons with the Fitbit Charge 6 in just over the last two years:
- If you have sensitive skin, you will need to take it off regularly to clean and rinse it. I didn’t have this issue with its predecessor, but the Charge 6 has caused a rash or eczema-like issues on my wrist.
- The tracker can’t sense if you are strength training so you have to manually add the workout into the app. It’s only reliable for cardio-based activities.
- The display screen to be too small to read notifications on a regular basis, especially if eye health is important to you. If reading notifications via the screen is important to you, you may prefer to invest in a tracker with a bigger screen such as the Garmin Vivoactive 5.
The Results & My Experience
For nearly three years, I have been using the Fitbit Charge series both day and night. I wear my Fitbit Charge 6 all the time, including when I am training. If I am deadlifting or doing any exercise where I need to wear my wrist wraps, I will attach it to my sports bra. With the long strap, you can wear it on your ankle and it will still track everything as if it is on your wrist. The Charge 6 is so lightweight that sometimes you forget that you are wearing.
One of the key features that I like about this watch especially when I’m training is that it buzzes when I have completed active zone minutes and when my heart rate moves from moderate to vigorous and peak. This gives me some insight into how my training sessions are going and if I am pushing myself hard enough. In addition, if you haven’t completed 250 steps in the last hour, it will vibrate to remind you to get up and move. It also tracks your hourly movement which you can change in your settings. I’ve set mine to 9-5 as I find that I move less during this time period.
In sum, I have enjoyed the Charge 6 more than the Charge 5 despite the sensitive skin issue because I love how sleek it is and the colour wave that I chose (porcelain silver). It’s customisable and I haven’t explored all the features that this tracker can do. When I stumble on something new, it feels like it’s a new wearable fitness tracker all over again.
Fitbit Charge 6 Review: The Final Judgement
My final judgement? I think that the Fitbit Charge 6 would benefit:
- Fitness enthusiasts that want to improve their lives with simplicity
- Strength athletes and lifters that want to tracking other wellness metrics
- Lifters that know that cardiovascular is just as important as strength training
- Lifters and wellness enthusiasts that want that extra boost of clarity when it comes to their health
- People who want to improve both their sleep quality and quantity in the years to come
- People who do fitness solo but also want to compete with others via the step count and have a social connection.
Although I haven’t competed with my siblings via the Fitbit stepping tracker in the last year, I do find that this feature keeps you accountable when it comes to getting your steps in.
Would I buy the Fitbit Charge 6 again? Yes I would but I would find alternative strap that doesn’t cause skin issues.
What is your favourite feature to look for in wearable fitness trackers? I’m starting to have fun doing fitness reviews so you will see more coming out this year. I hope that this post has given you some insight into fitness and health technology. Make sure to hit that subscribe button to join the community and never miss out on a post. Find me on Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok for more powerlifting and wellness content.
Until next time,
Folakemi
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