I’ve long been a fan of Fitbit and their line of fitness trackers.  I bought the original when it came out a few years ago and have claimed for quite some time that their Fitbit Zip was one of their best…due to it’s long battery life.  Not too long ago I tried out the Flex and their new Fitbit Charge.  For the last few months I’ve been wearing the Fitbit Surge…as they like to call their “Fitness Super Watch”.

Overall I’ve been pleased with it.  I find that what it does, it does well…mostly.  The fitness tracking seems in my opinion to be pretty accurate.  I’ve never before worn any fitness device that measured heart rate and it was interesting to see that measurement anytime I wanted.  I also really like the automatic sleep tracking.  I’ve been surprised to see how little sleep I get sometimes.  The GPS also seems pretty accurate and responsive, thought it’s not perfect.  Often I’ll start set it to measure a hike and the map that it provides is not exactly correct, but close enough for my use.  It’s also nice that it can do all of this without needing to be tethered to a smart phone, an advantage that not too many smart watches can claim.

And speaking of smart watches, Fitbit never actually makes that claim.  I do like having the limited notifications on the watch, like seeing phone calls and reading text messages.  But there is no way to respond to any of those notifications.  As with other smart watches you can select different watch faces but you are limited to just 4, none of which are very attractive.

Another thing I’m not too crazy about is the size…this thing is pretty big.  I’m a big guy with large hands and wrists so it’s not too noticeable on me, but for anyone smaller than me it’s just really too large to be practical. The 42mm Apple Watch I tried on recently was smaller than this Fitbit Surge.

Lastly is the price.  The $250 price tag seems reasonable when you compare it to other smart watches out there…Android Wear or the new Apple Watch.  But again this is technically not a smart watch and offers very limited notifications.  When you compare this against Fitbit’s own Charge HR it’s really not worth the extra money.  The Charge HR does everything that this Surge does with the exception of not having the GPS tracking and the always-on screen.  For the money if you are strictly looking for one of the best fitness trackers available I’d recommend going with the Fitbit Charge HR.