Overall, the Fitbit Surge is a great activity tracker. It has built in GPS, a heart rate monitor, step counter, and the ability to track floors climbed. Oh, and it also is a clock! I’ll provide some pros and cons of this device and Fitbit’s ecosystem. I’ve upgraded from the Fitbit Flex which was just a step tracker which broke by not being able to charge it in the flimsy cradle. I’ve also owned a huge Garmin Forerunner 205.My use case for this is to be more active via running, walking and bicycling. It tracks each activity well via GPS and the heart rate monitor. I can not have my phone at work so about 10 hours a day, the Fitbit is untethered. Here is the breakdown:++ Device ++The device is comfortable to wear as long as the wristband isn’t too tight otherwise you may develop a skin rash. I find it more comfortable to wear it 2 finger widths above my wrist bone and snug. I take my Fitbit off when showering and clean it daily to avoid the skin rashes that were reported. Charging it when I’m watching TV also lets my skin breathe a bit more. The charger is much better than the Flex’s cradle. It’s a proprietary charger that clips into the back. The only issue with comfort is that it’s a bit wide, so if you’re wearing a buttoned shirt with long sleeves, it’s hard to tell the time without unbuttoning your sleeve.++ Connectivity++The Fitbit pairs to any modern smartphone with Bluetooth. I currently have it paired to an iPhone 6 Plus and it works flawlessly. The Fitbit app will sync your stats throughout the day as long as it’s running in the background and Bluetooth is enabled. In my case, I’m nowhere near my phone during work and the Fitbit keeps on tracking without having the sync. The max is 7 days of minute by minute tracking before losing some of that detailed data. After 7 days, it will track only overall daily totals. I’ve tested this for a max of 3 days with no connectivity and it synced flawlessly (my work is unique).++ Ecosystem ++The data statistics are uploaded to Fitbit’s cloud website where you can view the steps taken, distance ran, and heart rate broken down by each hour of the day. Compared to MyFitnessPals website, the Fitbit website looks more modern with nice graphs and charts displaying total steps in a day, week, or a month. Once it syncs to your phone, it will immediately display it on the website as long as you have Internet connectivity on your phone. You also have the option of a USB dongle (included) to sync with your Mac or PC. The Mac software version works well, but not my primary means of syncing.I also have Fitbit’s Aria Wifi scale which automatically uploads your weight and body fat percentage each time you step on it. This seamlessly integrates into their website with the same types of charts to see your progress over a certain period of time. This scale is kind of expensive, but the seamless connectivity without hand jamming your numbers is worth the cost for myself.The website even gives you badges on lifetime milestones like steps taken, floors climbed, and weight lost. For example, the “Japan” Lifetime Badge is earned when you go a distance of 1,869 miles or the “747” Lifetime Badge is when you climb 4,000 floors. Finally, you can “game-ify” your experience and challenge your friends with Fitbits with who can get the most steps.If you’re using this to lose weight, I do NOT recommend using Fitbit’s food database as it is very limited. I recommend using MyFitnessPal (MFP) to track your food, and linking your MFP to Fitbit in the Apps section of MFP. More on this in the next section.++ Weight Loss Goals ++For those trying to lose weight, your body at a certain weight, height and age burns calories even when not doing anything. Based on these attributes, if 2500 calories a day is required to stay the same weight and maintain your body functions, cutting 250 calories from eating, and burning 250 calories through walking will put you at 500 calorie deficit a day. If you keep this up for a week, you will in theory lose 1 pound per week (more or less).When linking your MFP to Fitbit, enter ALL your food entries in MFP. Then ensure that you have a goal set in Fitbit on how much weight you would like to lose. Also ensure that your age, weight, and height are set in Fitbit’s website settings for accurate calorie requirements. For example, a medium intensity plan allows you to cut 500 calories a day to lose roughly 1 pound a week. (i.e. 3500 calories cut per week = ~ 1 lb/week loss). All your activity will be recorded via Fitbit’s activity syncing. Fitbit’s website will also tell you how many calories are left to eat in the day. Do not double-record stats into each website otherwise you will throw off your numbers. It will sync automatically once linked. Also, I set my setting in Fitbit to “Sedentary” so I start at 0 calories burned starting at midnight and it will start increasing the calories that your body is burning base on your height, weight and age. When set to sedentary, it won’t try to predict my activity level from previous days and throw off my numbers if I don’t say as active as previous days. I also try to have a “200 calories left to eat” in Fitbit just for any variations in my food intake. As you lose more weight, the less calories you will be able to eat, so having your correct weight via hand jamming or the Aria Wifi scale will ensure your required calorie intake is accurate.++ Display ++The display is always on and shows the time by default. You can go on Fitbit’s website and change the display to different watch faces. My favorite is the time and date. And yes, it even displays a 24 hour clock. If you swipe left, you will see steps, then your current heart rate (BPM), miles you ran or walked (not bicycling), calories you’ve burned based on activity/heart rate (more on this later), and floors climbed. It also has a backlight and a new firmware update allows the display to light up automatically by raising your wrist up, which works well, otherwise just tap the screen. You can even go on the website to customize the activities to display when you want to specifically track an activity discussed next.++ Activity Tracking ++When starting an activity, you want tracked (run, walk, bike, weights, elliptical, treadmill, etc), depending on what you’re doing, it will show the elapsed time the activity is being conducted, the pace (running/biking), and miles. Just press the left button and swipe left or right on the activity you want. Once there, tap the screen to go into that activity. If GPS is required, then it will display a GPS icon and a heart icon (by default). Once conducting your activity, you can swipe left and right to display the clock, heartrate, average speed, and calories burned. The GPS will only be used for outdoor activities like running, biking and walking. You do not need to start an activity to be tracked as this is automatically tracked- but if you want more accurate GPS stats, I recommend this for running and biking. The Fitbit knows if you’re doing something base on the movement of your wrist and heart rate. Once done, hit the pause button and then the finish icon. Then a summary screen will display your stats for that activity you just tracked. You can also set it to vibrate every so minutes or mile splits. Also there is a free run mode or lap mode when running on a quarter mile track. Just press the lap button each time you pass the finish line to see that lap’s time and the lap number.++ Heart Rate Calorie Calculation ++This is the best feature next to the GPS, your heart rate is calculated at all times while wearing the device. This is the most accurate way to show calories burned. For example, a regular GPS watch (like the Garmin Forerunner) will base your calories burned based off of weight and speed. What if your entire ride was downhill and going with the wind? To give a great example, I rode my bicycle to my company provided vehicle which was about a 2 mile bike ride. I forgot to turn off my Fitbit’s GPS activity tracker. I then drove the vehicle about 25 miles while tracking my commute and once I realized this, my Fitbit told me that I burned only 150 calories. It knew based on my heart rate that I wasn’t doing much, but I did “ride” 27 miles!The one thing I’m not sure about is if the calorie calculations for an activity like running includes just the run or the run plus my body burning calories throughout the day. I guess I can test by turning on the run activity and lay out on my patio for an hour. If it says I’ve burned 50 calories, then the calorie measurement includes my regular body burning at my height, weight and age.Also, I’ve heard reports of the heart rate being off. I have not tested this, but I have seen where I went for a 2 hour bike ride and sometimes the heart rate display blanks out as if it can’t read my heart rate. This happens I’m vigorously peddling or the Fitbit isn’t 2 finger widths above my wrist bone. If the heart rate is off, then your calories burned will also be off.++ Notifications ++The notifications are a nice feature. The Fitbit will vibrate when someone texts or calls you. You will see at the top who is calling or texting. You can even read the text message (although really small) on the watch. You can not reply or answer your phone via the Fitbit. A use case for me is when riding my bicycle, I have Bluetooth headphones to listen to music. If someone calls me, my headphones will play the ringer and I can look at the Fitbit to see who’s calling. If it’s important, I just press the answer button on my headphones. You can even control music or see what music is playing via the Fitbit, just double tap the left button. A good use case for this is when cleaning my house, I’ll be playing music via Airplay to my sound system. If my phone is charging, I can double tap to skip songs or see what song is playing. The Bluetooth range is about 30 feet. If you’re not in range, then the Fitbit will not notify you. Once you get in range, it will not display either so you need to be in range for this to work.++ GPS ++The GPS is fairly accurate, and it will also account for elevation which is nice. It takes about 5 to 10 seconds to acquire the GPS signal once you start an activity that requires it. The most I’ve waited was about 1 minute and that is rarely. The one thing I like to do is bike to a store, and pause my work out. The GPS will still be running indoors and will resume when I get back outside so I don’t have a bunch of small bike rides on my Fitbit dashboard and instead one big workout. Compared to my Garmin Forerunner 205, which took almost 5 minutes to acquire a GPS signal! The Garmin though has a bigger and more customizable screen with many stats.++ Battery ++The battery is good, I ride (GPS) about 5 to 10 miles a day, run (GPS) about 2 to 3 times a week for about 30 minutes each, and get about 10,000 to 15,000 steps a day. The battery lasts me about 3 to 4 days with notifications turned on. They claim 7 days, but that’s with minimum activity, no GPS usage, and notifications turned off. I try to charge it Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays. The good thing about the battery life is that I can wear it to sleep to track how well I sleep (which is nifty). It takes about 45 minutes to charge from when the low battery icon on the watch appears. When you plug it in, it vibrates and displays the charge icon. When you charge it, set it on it’s side and do not disturb it as the charger unplugs easier than I would like.++ Developer Geek Stuff ++Fitbit opened their platform up so that anyone can code up a program to pull in data and do more detailed statistical analysis of someone’s data. For example, you can download and import your data into a excel spreadsheet and do massive data analysis. I have a Bachelor’s in Computer Science and they have some good documentation on that API. All you need is some coding know how in JSON and app development (Android/iOS/Python etc). Just search “developer fitbit” for extensive details.++ Pros ++An activity tracker with a clock!Good GPS and heartrate trackingSimple notificationsCustomizable via websiteCan be un-tethered from the range of your phoneCalories burned based on heartrateEcosystem integrates with MFPOpen developer platform++ Cons ++There are a few cons that I’ve noticed that can be fixed easily with a firmware upgrade, but not sure what the hold up is:When biking, I also acquire steps for some reason. When I go on a 2 hour bike ride, I get about 10,000 steps. Not sure why they add steps to a bike ride, but they should have an option to disable this.There are 3 buttons which serves their purpose during workouts. If you’re just in clock mode, then the two buttons on the right side do not do anything. Maybe have those buttons do something else like quick buttons to your favorite workouts.Between MFP and Fitbit, sometimes there is a discrepancy between your caloric intake and your calories burned. Just watch out for this and ensure your total calories gets pulled into Fitbit’s website correctly. If not, you can delete the entries on Fitbit’s website and just add the total calories eaten as one entry. This is not Fitbit’s fault, but more of a coordination between Fitbit and MFP and glitches between the systems. This happens about once a month for me.Apple’s iOS smartphone system includes HealthKit which Fitbit refuses to support. Not sure why. HealthKit is a central place to pull in all your data from all your fitness apps into one central location. On the other hand, they support Microsoft’s HealthVault which owns like 1% of the smartphone market. I think Fitbit even came out public stating that they will never support HealthKit; not sure if it’s a privacy issue, but it should be an option for those who want it.In conclusion, I do recommend this Fitbit as it has 24x7 heart rate and GPS support (on the actual device itself) with a good ecosystem. It’s much simpler and has a longer battery life than the current Apple Watch. Since wearing this, I’ve noticed much more people wearing this fitness tracker and they like it; heck even President Obama wears his Fitbit Surge regularly!I debated getting the Surge for several months. I was really excited when I heard about it before it went on sale. I loved my FitBit One, and I also loved my Polar. What I didn't love is the disconnect between the two, the fact that Polar wouldn't sync with MyFitnessPal, or the fact that I had to wear a chest strap. Since I take hourly breaks from my desk job to do the stairs or walk, the chest strap was a pain to don and then doff.I was so geared up to buy Surge as soon as it came out. Then I read the reviews. The primary feature I wanted it for, the Heart Rate Monitor, was getting some bad press. Reviewers said that it didn't work during rigorous exercise. Many reviewers. For several months I was certain I wouldn't get Surge. I'll hold off until technology improves. Meanwhile, I was using my One and Polar, chest strap, manually entering in workouts, wishing that the Surge performed as it was supposed to.Then my employer started a fitness campaign and I received a $110 credit to purchase a fitness monitor. Since I already had the One, and I read a few more favorable reviews about how to actually use the Surge to make the HRM accurate; I decided I would try out the Surge for myself, knowing that half of it would be on the company dime and I could return it within 30 days if I didn't like it.When it arrived, I opened it immediately and set it up. I read the instructions but I didn't need to really. It was very intuitive and user-friendly. Right away I noticed how even though the watch has a large face, it seemed to be designed just so that I hardly noticed it was on my wrist. It was very comfortable. I liked everything about it so far, I don't really use the music or text notifications features, but they seemed to work fine when I tested them. The big issue was the heart rate monitor. Would it preform?I strapped my chest piece on and put my Polar on my right wrist. It was time to put Surge and Polar head to head. I followed the directions in the FitBit booklet and moved the Surge about three finger lengths up on my forearm and made sure it was snug but not too snug. Then I proceeded to climb up and down my stairs for 10 minutes. To my delight, the Surge worked great! There is a small delay compared to the Polar, but that's to be expected. You have one measuring capillaries on your wrist, the other directly above your heart. Of course the Polar strap over your heart will be a little faster. But once I got going, the FitBit and Polar were almost identical and stayed that way for the duration of my workout.Then I tested it on a run. I enabled the GPS, moved the Surge up on to my forearm, turned on my Polar and ran 5k. Same results. The Surge took a tinsy bit longer than the Polar to register an increase in my heart rate, but it had no trouble once I topped out around 160 (I was running steep hills). It kept the pace with the Polar every step of the way. I did more workouts all week. I did some in the gym, some on my stairs, and several runs. I finally put aside the Polar because I knew the Surge was reliable. I gave the Polar and my One to my husband.I'm SO happy I decided to take a chance on the Surge, it met or exceeded my expectations. I love that continuous HRM, I love that I don't have to wear a chest strap. I love that it syncs to MFP and I love the variety of workouts I select. It's much more comfortable to sleep with, so I actually do have sleep data (I never used that feature with my One). And the best part is, you don't have to set it, it just *knows* when you've slept. I love that the GPS tracks my runs and I can see them on a map in my FitBit app. I just love the Surge. I'm not sure why some people have problems with the HRM feature. Maybe the issues were taken care of in a software update, or maybe they didn't read the instructions, but I did not have those problems and Surge has been a lifesaver for me. I know that some people feel the iPhone health app can replace activity monitors such as Surge, but I say no way. I love the continuous HRM feature, I love the FitBit customer support - try getting support from Apple and when you're finished banging your head on your desk, I'll be here running laps with my FitBit. I love that it's all in one place right on my wrist. I LOVE SURGE!So will you love it? I hope so! It's hard to say why it works fine for me and not others. Maybe there's another variable like body density, difference in capillaries or something of that nature that makes it work well for one person and not another. But with FitBit's amazing customer support and Amazon's generous return policy, give it a try. If it doesn't work for you, send it back. You have nothing to lose but excess weight!Edit: After a few more weeks of use, I'M STILL IN LOVE! This thing works fantastically! I've used it for stairclimber workouts, weight lifting, spinning, yoga and hiking. I love it so much! I periodically check my heart rate on the fitness machines and compare it to the Surge. It's spot on. And I don't have to move it up on my arm 3 inches, it reads my heart rate just fine in the 1 inch spot. Love!Second Edit (7/14/15): Sadly, my love affair has come to an end. Yes, the watch still works. The problem is Fitbit's customer service is not what I had come to expect after all these years. Shortly after my review, Fitbit released a firmware update that rendered this product little more than a watch unless you are in exercise mode (which takes away most of the battery life in a few hours). I used to be able to dock the watch on my heart rate (the primary reason I purchased this product) but with the new firmware update, all of the additional features snap back to clock after 15 seconds. I wish they would have given us more choices, not less, when it comes to product development. Why can't we decide which screen is the default screen after 15 seconds? No matter, I thought, I'll just tell Fitbit this, and surely they'll work on a patch for their next update. First, they directed me to this thread: https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Feature-Requests/Surge-Touchscreen-Lock/idc-p/866964#M25478 and told me to leave my complaint there. Months have gone by, and many people have complained of the same issue. Fitbit has done nothing to help us. We spent $250 on a product we now can't use effectively. I've contacted Fitbit multiple times, and they always brush me off with this sort of semi-optimistic PR nonsense about how they're working on it but have no plans. So basically they don't care that they've rendered a $250 product useless to many users. That was my main worry when I was weighing this product over the Apple watch, and the reason I went with Surge. Fitbit had always been so helpful and responsive! Not any more. So I'm assuming Apple will release a new watch this fall, and I'll sever my ties with Fitbit forever then. I can't wait. I have never in my life been so soured on a company so quickly, and I had to change my 5-Star review to a 1-Star review. Fitbit doesn't seem to care.So, where does that leave you, the consumer? I feel like I've been betrayed by Fitbit. I've been baited and switched into getting a watch that I thought I could leave on heart rate all day, without going into the battery draining and options-limiting exercise mode. And I had this for a little under a month before Fitbit pulled the rug out and left many customers holding the $250 bag. If you don't mind this kind of behavior from a company, and you don't mind either having to use battery draining alternate modes to get the data that you want, or having the data you want to see disappear every 15 seconds, then my original review still stands. But personally, there are many companies on the market that make this kind of product and actually care about their customers without putting them out to pasture on some placating thread that the company never intends to even monitor. Fitbit has lost a loyal customer, and I will never buy another product again. I can't wait to get rid of this expensive watch.Good but would recommend the Fitbit Blasé as is far easier to use and seems to have better access to the functions and is slightly cheaperI have been using the Surge for the past two years. It had efficiently worked and delivered on all counts, as per product specification. However as most have observed over the years, the button do tend to have issues and so does the touch screen/sensor. My old Surge strap began to cut where the strap meets the dial. The company was amazing in replacing it. The replacement goes to my spouse and I purchased my very own Tangerine Surge - It is priced mighty high and it is my shortcoming that I did not check the price range properly. . It is not a slim watch and certainly does not have the water resistant feature - so do not shower or swim with it. GPS, Average Heartrate, steps, distance, Calories, floors - It has the basic info that one needs. The strap is a sharp colour and the texture adds a designer touch. If you like dainty, then this may seem large on your wrist, getting caught on the shirt sleeve often. A week (purchased on January 31st, 2018) into the use and the Heart Rate Sensor does not work. The LED sensor does not capture my BPM at all. I contacted the Fitbit support post trying every trouble shooting option. They said they cannot replace it as they replaced the previous tracker. That makes no sense at all as these are two different defective products. Being loyal, I purchased the same brand and type. I am so disappointed as I use the BPM to tailor my workouts. To add to the woes, I have kept all the receipt and warranty card, but my child destroyed the box in play. I am now left with a product that has an important non-performing feature, a company that does not offer any solution and having overpaid. I will try to check if Amazon will take this product and stop selling this Surge as the issues on this device is repetitive. As an athlete who uses chest straps, hand trackers to tailor her workout, I am can assure that this tracker is bound to have issues within a short period of timeFor what I use it for (fitness & sleep tracking) the watch is very functional, but the band has fallen apart on two watches very quickly making it all but useless. The first Surge I had, the back screws cracked the band and it became uncomfortable within 11 months of purchasing the watch. Fitbit replaced the watch, as it was on warranty. Six months after receiving the replacement watch, the band is bubbling and detaching. Fitbit offered me a 25% discount on my next Fitbit tracker purchase - however, I expect a $300 watch to last a few years, not a few months, so I have no intention of wasting any more money on Fitbit products.My suggestion is, DO NOT BUY THIS CRAP.1. Syncing is always a problem. I endured this for 2and half years. You have to remove and pair device when sync error happens.2. Within 2 years strap started breaking. There is no official replacement band available. Had to buy 3rd party band.3. Within 3 year screen lost sensitivity and complete waste. When contacted support, they come back and say no warranty and hence no replacement. I told I don't need replacement. I NEED IT REPAIRED.BUT THEY DON'T HAVE ANY REPAIRING FACILITY ANYWHERE.in a nutshell, if your Fitbit develops problem after warranty, you just need to throw it. I did.Used this for regular workout, worked quite well initially, but in some time the straps wore off and got damaged, I have changed straps twice on this watch, but that was ok, since the rest of the equipment was fine. However just after an year it started giving problems first with the touch screen, and then it would arbitrarily stop recording heart rate, then later it stopped synching and eventually it stopped booting up. Now a 25K watch which has the wrong time, cant's synch, and the touch screen does not work