I was surprised by two things. First, I was surprised Fitbit was introducing a new step tracker device and how I reacted to it. Within ten minutes of learning about the Inspire HR I ordered it. I couldn’t wait to get it. My expectations were high and I was super excited when it arrived…which led to my second surprise.

The Fitbit Inspire HR exceeded those high expectations.

(So you’re aware…the links provided take you to Amazon. If you purchase an Inspire HR I will get a small commission to help cover the cost of this blog. It won’t cost you any extra. If you’re not comfortable with that, feel free to open a separate browser for Amazon)

The Way it Feels

This really surprised me. I wasn’t expecting it to feel as good as it does. The Inspire HRis very light and the feel of the band makes it a pleasure to wear. It’s a different kind of rubber that feels better than the other two wearable Fitbit devices I have (Flex 2 and Blaze).

I often forget I even have it on. That could be a problem if I get so used to not feeling it and I forget to wear it one day. That’ll put a real speed bump in my 20k One Year Step Challenge. But, for now I love the way it feels and wear it all the time.

Bonus feel…the strap is much easier to use. Putting my Blaze on often left me feeling frustrated because of how hard it is to fit the strap into the metal clasp. It wasn’t designed well. But, the Inspire HRhas no such issues. It’s easy to put on which leaves me feeling almost giddy by comparison.

The Way it Looks

Until now, my favorite Fitbit device was the Flex 2. I love it’s slim design. The Inspire HRis slim, but not as slim. I was concerned about that. I’ve worn it for a week now and I like the way it looks even more then the Flex 2.

It’s a nice mix of slim and cool…if that makes sense. The Flex 2 simply looks like one of those rubber wrist bands. The Inspire HRis a really great design and I like the way it looks on my arm.

I also love the way Fitbit designed the screen. The Flex 2 did not have one….which I thought I preferred. Not so much.

The Inspire HRscreen gives you both the time and date. You can choose between eight different clock face options.

I picked Post Analog. I prefer looking at a clock instead of simply numbers. A quick swipe up and I can see how many steps I have. Very intuitive.

The Way it Performs

The heart of any Fitbit device, for me, is how well it performs. If it’s not accurately tracking my steps I don’t care how good it feels or cool it looks.

A few days after I got the Inspire HRI did a fun little test in the grocery store. I walked around the perimeter of the store three times. The first time I pushed the grocery cart with both hands on the handle. The second time I stood at the front corner of the cart and pulled it along with one hand, while the arm with Inspire HRswung free.

My wife, Ava, keeps insisting that that’s the only way a Fitbit will count all your steps. I’ve never totally agreed with that, but there was one time in the grocery store it seemed like I should have had more steps than my Blaze was showing. So, I switched the way I moved the cart. With my new Fitbit it was time to test that theory.

The third trip around the store I counted each step in my head.

I was thrilled to see my Inspire HRhad the same step count for each. I was satisfied it is up to the task of accurately counting every step and my arm did not need to swing free for that to happen.

Battery Life

This is huge. I started using my new Inspire HRearly on a Wednesday morning. I fully charged it before strapping it on. It did not need to be recharged until Sunday afternoon…almost five days later! This is going to take some getting used to because my Flex 2 and Blaze usually needed recharging every other day.

It was also a nice bonus that the Inspire HRdisplays how much battery life remained when I set it on the charger Sunday. It was at 12%.

I’m going to really enjoy this longer battery life!

Features

The Inspire HRhas other features which are nice, but not the primary reason I bought it. Eventually, I want to maximize the heart rate monitor. That’s what the HR stands for in the name. I need to learn more about how to use the heart rate feature before writing about it. For now, it’s “nice to know” information that will eventually help me on this fitness journey.

The Inspire HRalso tracks sleep. This is something both the Flex 2 and Blaze do, but the Inspire HRdoes it better. Let me explain. The Blaze tracks sleep stages while the Flex 2 just tracks whether I’m asleep or not. I prefer the more detailed info which is why I typically wore the Blaze to bed even though I liked the Flex 2 better. Now I get to wear my new Fitbit during the day and at night. I like that.

The Inspire HRalso alerts me to text message and calls. I can see read the texts on the screen and also see who the call is from. The Blaze does both of those, but the Flex 2 only let me know through vibration something was there. I had to grab my phone to actually see the text or call since the Flex 2 does not have a screen.

What the Inspire HR Replaces

The Inspire HRis now Fitbit’s low cost step tracker. I couldn’t resist its the design and features at that price point which is why I ordered it within ten minutes of learning about it. You can also go even lower in price with an Inspire model that does not track your heart rate.

Fitbit has replaced the Flex 2 and the Alta with this new Inspire HRand I think they’ve hit a home run. You can choose from several color combinations. I picked all black.

I’ve been using the Inspire HRfor a week and everything about it is a hit for me. Fitbit has some serious step tracker competition with the Apple Watch, but for my money the Inspire HRdelivers everything I want and need to Win at Fitness at a fraction of the cost.

If you struggle with motivation to stick with fitness this blog will help. Don’t be intimated by the title. That’s my goal…not yours. But, my bigger goal is to help you start a fitness journey that has doesn’t stop and builds momentum. If you click FOLLOW (below on your phone and to the right and above on your computer) you’ll get an email with a link to each motivating article the moment it’s published.