Traveling With A Fitness Tracker

 When I backpack around Europe I end up putting in a lot of miles walking all over cities and mountain trails. In the past I have always wondered after each trip just how many miles I had put in. I looked into getting a pedometer years back but just never got around to it. 

Pedometer

 So for the holiday season of 2014 I decided to gift myself a Garmin vívofit to keep track of my steps, calories, and monitor my sleep. 

Garmin vívofit

 I went with a Garmin because of my experience with their cycling computers and GPS products. I know the fitness trackers without GPS are not nearly as accurate as ones with GPS capabilities, but the features of the Garmin vívofit and the price made it very attractive. The accuracy is close enough to put me in the ballpark for distance traveled. 

Garmin has this to say:

Activity Tracking Accuracy
Garmin activity trackers are intended to be tools to provide you with information to encourage an active and healthy lifestyle. Garmin activity trackers rely on sensors that track your movement and other metrics. The data and information provided by these devices is intended to be a close estimation of your activity and metrics tracked, but may not be completely accurate, including step, sleep, distance, heart rate and calorie data. Garmin activity trackers are not medical devices, and the data provided by them is not intended to be utilized for medical purposes and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Garmin recommends you consult your doctor before engaging in any exercise routine. 

Another very attractive feature is the 1+ year battery life. As I write this up in July of 2016 I have yet to replace the batteries(video), though I plan on doing so before my next big trip. 

One can pick up the original Garmin vívofit on Amazon typically under $55 and less depending on band color. I recently upgraded my band after nearly wearing out the original one; I wear mine 24/7. 

Knowing how nice this Moretek band is I would have made the switch a long time back. 

Moretek Replacement Band 

Moretek Replacement Band

While traveling around Europe in 2015 I used my Garmin vívofit to keep track of my activity. I averaged a daily step count of about 17,000 with my biggest day being my last. I walked all over Paris that day only using my legs to get around. Walking from the Hotel Pullman Eiffel Tower where I was staying all the way up to Sacré-Cœur and back seeing all the main sights along the way. This was my biggest day.

As you can see by my chart from that day I put in some steps/miles.

Euro Trip '15 Totals:

Total Miles Walked/Hiked: 198.6

Total Steps Taken: 390,034

Biggest Day: 32,295 Steps, 16.0 Miles on last full day of trip (Paris) 

Only two days under 6 miles and that were the two days of flying to and from Europe. 

I did not pay attention to total miles until I got back stateside or else I would have put in a few more to break the 200 mile barrier. 

I am now looking at the Garmin vívosmart HR but for long term travel I will stick with my trusty Garmin vívofit to avoid having to deal with charging batteries while traveling. 

Do you travel with a fitness tracker? Have any daily records for steps and miles while traveling?