Are you looking for the best waterproof fitness tracker for swimming exercises? Or maybe you need a smart tracker that can stand raindrops, spills, and shower and you’re wondering which one to pick?
Then this guide is for you.
To be fair, wearable tech has remarkably revolutionized, advancing from simple pedometers to cutting-edge models with premium built-ins.
First it was the inclusion of heart rate monitor that completely changed the way we perceive fitness trackers. Then sleep monitoring, which we never expected would even appear, came with the likes of Fitbit Alta and Letscom Fitness Trackers.
Then came waterproofing, which completely changed the way we perceived fitness and activity trackers.
With a rating of up to 5 ATM, which is the maximum rating we’ve seen so far, these devices now allow you to track your pool workouts, no matter how long you stay in water.
What’s more?
You don’t have to take them off in the shower and you can use them even in rainy weather.
This guide reviews only the best waterproof fitness trackers in the market today. So if you seriously need a fitness device with a good water rating, you will love this piece.
Let’s get started.
Best Waterproof Fitness Tracker Reviews in 2020
1. Garmin Vivofit 2 Activity Tracker
- Long battery life, you get a one-year runtime from the replaceable battery
- This device can easily pair with a heart rate monitor
- It has a strap that locks easily
- Waterproof up to a depth of 50 meters
- Doesn’t include vibrating alerts
- There’s no way to customize reminders
- It’s expensive
Garmin may not be a fitness tracker specialty per se. But it’s one of Fitbit’s biggest competitor, mostly because it also designs some of the best waterproof fitness trackers. And if there’s one thing that we’ve come to love about Garmin, it’s that the brand does the best it can to make sure its activity trackers are as accurate as possible.
The Vivofit 2 is one of the most accurate gear in the Garmin activity tracker series. At the very least, it’s a decent pick that you can use to plan your workout, meet your fitness goals, and even share your progress with families and friends. And if you were just getting started with fitness tracker, this one would be a good fit as it comes with a well-written documentation for reference.
Despite the high price tag, which demands quite a lot from you, we strongly believe that there couldn’t be a better upgrade of the original Vivofit than this. In fact, we recommend this activity tracker because it has tons of built-in features.
To begin with, Vivofit 2 has the same Move Bar built-in the first model. The goal of this smart tech is to help you overcome your sedentary life by reminding you to move after a certain period of inactivity.
To put this into perspective, a built-in sensor will check to see if you’re still. If it fails to detect motion after 60 minutes, the Move Bar will light up red to inform you that it’s time to move. Now, the challenge is to get up and log at least 250 steps. But provided you get going, the red bar should disappear on its own.
Vivofit 2 is a tested waterproof fitness tracker with a 5 ATM rating. Take it to even the biggest and deepest swimming pool in your area and it will survive. In short, if you’re looking for a truly waterproof activity tracker that you can use for swimming, then we recommend that you go with this.
And there’s more:
The Vivofit 2 is quite handy in helping you set personalized fitness goals, which is a good way to get you working out even harder so you become healthy and fit. Of course, this is just a band. It won’t help you lose weight. But it will definitely motivate you towards losing weight and becoming fit by encouraging you to stay on the Move.
No brand beats Garmin when it comes to building batteries with the longest runtime. And what we like about the Vivofit 2 is that it has a battery life of 365 days. But the battery isn’t rechargeable. Still, replacement options are available at a lower price.
2. Fitbit Charge 3
- Good tracker with a lightweight design
- Truly waterproof design, you can use it even in the pool
- Includes a heart rate monitor
- Monitors sleep stages to let you know of the quality of sleep you get every night
- Fitbit Charge 3 is an expensive fitness tracker
- We wish that the display was colored, but the monochrome screen is still good as it’s easy to read even under too much sunlight
- It doesn’t include a GPS system built-in
Charge 3 is the latest fitness tracker in Fitbit’s family and by far the best model in the world. Ask anyone what he or she thinks is the best waterproof fitness tracker in the market and they’ll probably mention or recommend this one.
Fitbit Charge 3 isn’t a complete overhaul of Charge 2. There are only a few changes here and there that Charge 2 doesn’t have. And the goal is to give you the best fitness tracker that you can trust to give you the results you need.
Charge 3 is slimmer and lighter than its predecessor is but it still maintains the same monochrome display that’s easy to read even under bright light. And when it comes to fitness tracking, this device can count steps, calories burned, swim strokes and laps, and your heart rate.
On waterproofing, Charge 3 sports the standard 5 ATM rating, which makes it one of the true waterproof Fitbits in the market. This feature is important for fitness enthusiasts that love to keep an eye on their swimming exercises. But if you just want to exercise in rainy weather without taking a fitness band off, this one would make a good choice.
There hasn’t been a significant improvement on Charge 3’s battery life. Like the previous model, this one has a battery life of 7 days, which is enough to get you through. It’s best to re charge it as soon as you notice the battery is around 5%.
Charge 3 has quite a robust notification system. You get calendar alerts, call notifications, and text messages. With the device, you can now even read messages in full, which is a great improvement over the notification system of the Charge 2 in the series.
One last thing to mention about this fitness tracker is its advanced sleep monitoring ability. Instead of showing you how many hours you slept, it goes even further to record the stats according to stages. These stages include light, deep, and REM sleep.
3. Letscom Fitness Tracker
- It has a built-in heart rate monitor that works 24/7
- Has a decent battery life, a 10-day runtime on a single charge, which is even better than what you get from Fitbits
- Generally an accurate fitness tracker that can track movements and calories burned
- Anti-loss feature only works within a 10 meters range
- It doesn’t feature a built-in GPS
You already know by now that no fitness tracker is 100% accurate.
But Letscom has played a part in making an almost accurate fitness tracker that doesn’t disappoint. What’s more, it cheaper that all Fitbit models. And it’s one of the best waterproof fitness trackers for the money.
For a long time, wearable users were made to believe that only Fitbit devices are waterproof. This changed when Letscom made its first debut in the fitness bandwagon. And it’s one of the top water resistant device that we’ve known ever since. T
oday, it’s one of the few fitness trackers that you can use in water environment and never have to worry about it breaking down.
One of the things you’ll love about this device is just how simple yet robust it is. For starters, this device has a powerful algorithm that tracks movement while filtering irrelevant wrist motion on the go.
Furthermore, it can count the amount of calories burned, total distance moved, and all the steps you take.
Letscom is an activity tracker for fitness maniacs on a budget. Instead of saving up for a Fitbit Charge 3 or Garmin Vivoactive, you can simply buy this and enjoy the benefits of fitness tracking on the go. And if you just prefer a cheap fitness tracker anyway, you should go with this one.
The design is as sleek as it looks. And it’s very easy to use. It even has an Android and iOS app, not to mention that you can connect it with other fitness apps like Google Health and Apple Fit.
We love the sleep monitor because it’s accurate. The built-in sensor is robust enough to track your silent moments, how long you’ve been asleep, as well as your sleeping pattern. You can also set the silently vibrating alarm to wake you up in the morning.
Letscom waterproof fitness tracker with a heart rate monitor doesn’t have a battery life as long as Garmin Vivofit bad does. But it has a better runtime than all the Fitbit models. At the very least, you get 10 days of battery use on a single charge, which is enough to take you through the week.
The device is very easy to charge once the battery runs out of power. Simply use the USB port to juice it up. You can either plug it in to a power outlet or use your laptop for charging.
One last thing worth mentioning about this model is that it has an anti-lost feature built-in to the App. The goal of this function is to help you locate the device in case you misplace it. You simply use the app to command the tracker to vibrate loudly, making it easy for you to locate it.
4. Garmin Vivofit Fitness Band
- You can set the device to sleep mode at night so it track your sleep pattern
- A fitness tracker with a decent batter life
- Good for swimming and even helps to track sleep patterns with ease
- It doesn’t have a GPS
- The device is rather bulky and then design somewhat boring
Garmin Vivofit fitness band is the best alternative to Fitbit Flex 2. It features a clear display, which completely eliminates the need for a mobile app.
One of the things we love about the display is that it’s easy to customize, so you can only see the information that matter to you.
While Garmin Vivofit is a bulky fitness band, it’s one of the lightweight options that you can buy and wear on your wrist.
When it comes to health and fitness monitoring, this device is good for tracking active as well as inactive moments.
Even more interesting is its ability to monitor your sleep patterns, so you can use it to analyze the quality and quantity of your sleep to know if you’re truly getting enough.
On water resistance, this fitness band has a rating of 5 ATM. That means you can take it to swimming even in the largest pool on the planet and it will still beat the odds and survive just fine. And that means you can use it to swim in water for as many hours as you want, provided the depth doesn’t exceed 160 feet.
The display isn’t big, just enough to display the stats that are relevant to your workout. You’ll be able to see inactive sessions, sleep time, restful hours, and period of movement.
There’s a built-in Move Bar that helps to keep you on toes. The purpose of this integration is to detect inactive moments and then remind you to move. If you’re inactive for 60 minutes, you’ll see a red bard moving on the screen. This is a sign that you should get up and feed the device with some steps.
One of the things that make this device stand out is the long battery life. To be clear, the standard battery isn’t rechargeable. But it gives you a runtime of 364 days, which is the best battery life that we’ve ever seen in a fitness device. This means you can track all possible activities without worrying about the battery draining too soon.
Then there’s heart rate monitor, which gives you an estimate of your heartbeat so you can optimize your workout accordingly. Plus, there’s a zone data function that gives you an estimate of the calories burned after workout.
5. Fitbit Flex 2
- A truly waterproof fitness tracker that you can wear to the pool and use to track swimming workout
- Gives you accurate data that you can use to enhance your fitness goals and work towards achieving them
- You can wear it on your wrist or use it as a pedant
- You’ll love it because it’s 30% smaller than the original model, not to mention that it’s a lightweight fitness tracker for the money
- It doesn’t have the best battery life. You only get a three-day runtime on a single charge.
- It doesn’t have a screen, so unless you’re fine with using it alongside the mobile app, it would be best to look at a completely different option
Fitbit Flex 2 is one of the top rated fitness trackers in the Fitbit’s family.
Unlike Fitbit One and Zip, Flex 2 is a more advanced model with tons of built-ins. Flex 2 is an upgrade of the original Flex and it’s fashionable, and sleeker than Charge 2.
This upgrade is 30% smaller than the original model, not to mention that it’s lighter than some fitness trackers in the market. Plus, it’s easy to set up and very straightforward when it comes to integrating with Fitbit’s Android and iOS app.
The waterproof design makes it one of the top wearable device in the Fitbit’s series. And it’s the kind you can take to the shower and even use for swimming.
Flex 2 sports a waterproof rating of 5 ATM, which is to say that it can survive in water up to a depth of 50 meters. As you swim, the device’s built-in sensor will track laps and yards and you can use the brand’s app to evaluate your swim data and even customize your workout if you want.
There’s more to Fitbit Flex 2 than just the 5 ATM. To take activity tracking even further, this device is able to track biking, weightlifting, swimming, distance walked, calories burned, and stairs climbed.
The Reminder to Move is one of Flex 2’s top features. Its ability to detect inactivity and remind you to get up and get moving goes a long way to help you develop a healthy lifestyle. At the very least, this feature will challenge you to log at least 250 steps within 60 minutes.
How to Choose the Best Waterproof Fitness Tracker
1. Know Your Budget
One of the most important things to look at before you think of buying a fitness tracker is your budget. It’s a no brainer that these devices aren’t made equal.
And that means the price of one model will definitely differ from another – even if they come from the same brand.
So check your budget. Know how much you’re willing and able to pay for a fitness tracker.
This will help you to choose a device that’s within your desired budget.
Fortunately, many water-resistant fitness trackers are affordable, so figuring out your budget shouldn’t take you very long.
2. Determine What You Want to Track
Here’s the brutal truth about fitness trackers in general:
They don’t track the same metrics. Some can track steps and fail to count stair climbed. Some can monitor hours you spent sleeping but lack deep sleep analysis. Yet some can do all of these.
Therefore, it’s important to determine what you would like a waterproof fitness tracker to do for you before you choose one.
In general, all fitness trackers on this list can count calories burned, track steps, estimate active minutes, and show total distance covered.
However, not all these devices have built-in GPS systems, not to mention that some don’t have heart rate monitors.
Do you see where we’re going with this?
In short, before you spend your hard-earned money on fitness trackers, first know the metrics that you would like to track and then only buy a device that can do just that.
3. Choose a Trustworthy Brand
We strongly recommend choosing a fitness tracker from a reliable brand.
Why?
Because they’ve been in the market long enough and they have the skills and the technology to design truly waterproof activity trackers that can give you the best value for your money.
All the devices that we’ve recommended here are from reliable brands.
Not only are the devices reliable in tracking different metrics, they also give you results that you can use to enhance your fitness lifestyle and set new goals.
4. Check the Battery Life
One last thing that you need to look at is the battery life. We recommend that you choose a fitness tracker that has a long battery life, not one that will give you a runtime of only a few hours.
Fitbit, Garmin, and Letscom design fitness trackers with decent battery life. And that’s why we have included their devices on this list.
With Fitbits, you get a runtime of up to 7 days from a single charge.
Letscom fitness trackers have about the same duration for battery life.
Garmin trackers with replaceable batteries can work for a year before you need to replace the battery. And the ones that require recharging can last up to 5 days.
Conclusion
Now that you have a list of the best waterproof fitness trackers, it should be easy for you to pick one that you feel is best for you.
