Withings vs. Garmin Index- I need a new scale

Laura Becker

Anyone have any experience with either of these scales?? I am in desperate need of a new scale and better body composition....like STAT.

Was thinking Garmin Index or Withings 50....thoughts?

 

Brad Marcus

@Laura - I was in the market a few months ago and before I had the chance to shop them, Heidi bought me a Weight Guru - this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Weight-Gurus-Connected-Backlit-Stainless/dp/B01IFYLAR4/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1474418978&sr=8-3&keywords=weight+gurus+smart+scale

Not sure if it's better or worse than the ones you mentioned, but it works well with an iPhone app and gives all the data you could want. It'll push data to some other tracking sites, but I cannot get it to push data to Garmin. Not sure if that's important to you. Otherwise, I'm happy with it, and its probably half the cost of others.

Robert Sabo

I have the Withings 50 and it pushes to training peaks with no problems. I don't believe the % body fat number though.

Nemo Brauch

I have a Withings scale (doesn't do body fat). Things I like about it are that it pushes the weight to Garmin Connect & Training Peaks automatically and it allows for multiple users in our house (4 in my house, me, Joe, and yes, both cats). It also has its own app that it connects to (and that's essentially how you then link it to the other apps). I use that app for Joe and the cats.

As for Body Fat measurements, I'd suggest you do some research there before getting too invested in those numbers. Quote below from DCRainmaker on the Withings Body

"Of course, with any of these metrics dependent on electrical impedance technology they can be variable in terms of accuracy. While I find the measurements relatively consistent day to day, I can’t say that things like body fat is necessarily 100% accurate. After all, it’s the exact same technology that I tested back a few years ago in my three part accuracy testing. In that case I found that while weight was virtually always spot-on, the body fat measurements tended to be all over the map."

tim cronk

Not sure about the Garmin - quick read on it and its like many Garmin products , good hardware ruined by bad software...

We have 2 scales one of the Original Ironman Tanita scales and a Withings...

The Tanita- has been bullet proof for 5-6 years, NO wifi so data needs to be entered into TP or whatever you use manually (obviously the newer ones have this option)... Accuracy of all the metrics are going to be debatable for any scale, they vary quite a bit depending on many things , however if you take the data measurements at the same time of day at least the trends will be visible... Weight should always be accurate which on this scale it is....

The Withings- smarter scale and sends data to TP via wifi which is very nice.... 2 major problems I have had with this scale... 1st is with automatic multiple users its gets them confused sometimes (Heather and I are pretty close) this is very annoying, I would prefer to select the user...It has a feature that if its confused to the user it lists all the user's in the database and you can then select yourself but even then sometimes I am not there...Usually this is an issue after big training days of major weight loss or gain in a short period of time which is quite often for the Ironman athlete... The other thing I noticed is the weight can fluctuate .2 lbs or more if you double/triple check your weight at the same weigh in... The Tanita will give the same exact number every time you step on it during the same weigh in...

I'm not sure which way I would go but am interested to follow this thread on the general consensus.... Currently I would like a smart wifi scale with all the metrics and selectable users.

Clark Mitchell

I picked up a withings last fall. It was a big upgrade after having to manually entering my weight data into sporttracks for so long. The wireless bit is really nice! I've run into the same issues as TC regarding fluctuation and this is what I heard back from withings. The scale needs to re-calibrate for 10 seconds anytime it's moved or used, so if you plan to weigh yourself 2x, be sure to wait 10 seconds in between. I also don't believe the body fat numbers because they jump around too much day to day. Regardless, I would recommend the scale based on the wifi bit alone.

Clark Mitchell

DC Rainmaker and clever training (http://www.clevertraining.com/) have a 10% off deal and they carry the withings if you can't find one on sale anywhere. Also, if you can wait until closer to Christmas, they usually go on sale.

Tom Glynn

I've had a Withings for a couple of years. Like others, I love the wifi update to TP. Super simple. I don't believe the body fat number - maybe because of large swings in hydration?? Our scale mixes up people which is a little annoying, but I get used to tipping right or left and it's not that bad.

I haven't heard anything about the other device.

Laura Becker

Thanks all for the feedback!! MUCH appreciated!! I ordered the new Withings Body and its on its way.  A bit nervous about what it will say when I get it----gotta make sure I dont go off the deep end when I see whatever number that may be!!!!!

Paul Hough

I'm too late to this party but would add that I have the Ironman Tanita scale and would echo Tim's comments. I weigh daily and take the average for the week which tends to eliminate the daily fluctuations.

BTW - my wife made it very clear that any sort of WIFI scale was a non-starter. She uses my Tanita and would not tolerate a scale that sends data electronically anywhere!