Conventional wearable standards requires you to wear a smartwatch and fitness band on your wrist for accurate results. However, even ankle fitness trackers are just as good provided you fit them right and know what metrics you want to track.
In this guide, I’ll look at some of the best ankle fitness trackers that you can start using right now.
Whether you just want to count steps or you want to account for heart rate during indoor cycling, you just might find the recommendations in this guide reasonably helpful.
If you’re in a hurry and just need suggestions as to what the best ankle fitness trackers are, check the following options.
- Fitbit Flex 2
- Amazon Halo
- Moov Now Fitness Tracker
How Significant Are Ankle Fitness Trackers?
I would like to make it clear that fitness trackers work best and give accurate results if worn on the wrist.
Even then, you can still wear some models on your wrist and get reliable estimates. A fitness tracker worn on ankle:
1. Reduces Distractions
Wearing the activity tracker on your ankle will help you avoid continuous distractions while working out.
With a wrist activity tracker, you tend to check your heart rate, the number of calories you have burned, and the steps you have so far taken more times than you should.
If you wear the device on your ankle, it’s unlikely that you’ll be making unnecessary stops to check readings.
You simply avoid distractions, keep your head in the workout game, and check stats when it’s actually time to look at your phone.
2. Increases Step Tracking Accuracy
An ankle fitness tracker may not monitor heart rate accurately, but it’s a perfect option for counting steps.
If you think about it, a pedometer the wrist ca only track steps accurately when you swing your non-dominant hand when walking or running.
It’s a different case if you have tracker strapped around your leg.
When worn around the ankle, a fitness band won’t require the vigorous movement of a wrist to count steps. Instead, every time your feet hit the ground, the tracker counts them as steps.
What Are The Best Fitness Trackers for Ankle?
The following is a list of fitness trackers that work well even when worn on ankles:
1. Fitbit Flex 2
Fitbit Flex 2 does not come with a screen display to show fitness data like the rest of the fitness trackers on the brand’s list.
But it’s still a powerful option that work with the company’s native app. All the information such as steps, distance, and calories will be available in the iOS or Android app.
The model uses a comfortable and secure silicone band to house the sensor.
And given that it grips the skin and stays in position as you run or jog, Fitbit Flex 2 makes a good choice for anyone who’s interested in a fitness tracker to wear on the ankle.
If you’re going to get Fitbit Flex 2 and wear it on your ankle, you had better be using it to track everything else but heart rate. That’s because it doesn’t have an HR sensor built into it.
Besides counting steps and estimating calories burned, Flex 2 doubles as a Fitbit you can wear in the pool to track swimming.
Pros
- Decent battery life
- Tracks steps and estimate calories burned accurately
- Comfortable band that stays in position as you workout
Cons
- Flex 2 is somewhat expensive
- It doesn’t include a display
- We wish it included a heart rate monitor
2. Amazon Halo Band
Amazon Halo is an ankle fitness tracker that comes with all the bells and whistles that you’ll find in premium, high-end fitness tracker. And surprisingly, it only goes for under $100 bucks.
Amazon Halo does not have a screen to display summary results of your daily workouts. And that means you can confidently wear it on your ankle without the feat of causing scratches.
A replaceable wristband houses the tracker. And all the important sensors, including the optical heart rate sensor, are on the rear side of its housing.
While Amazon offers fabric straps and silicone sports bands, the later tends to be stronger enough to ensure the tracker stays on your ankle for longer.
Amazon Halo is a good recommendation for those who want to track calories burned, see their workout intensity, and check current heart rate from the app.
You can wear Amazon Halo in the shower and even swim with it to a depth of 164 feet. It would have been great if the 5 ATM rating also means it tracks swimming, but for a model this cheap, it’s okay not to expect too much.
Pros
- Water-resistant enough to stand up to splashes, sweat, rain, and swimming pool
- Can monitor live heart rate from the wrist
- Replaceable straps available
Cons
- Don’t expect accurate heart rate estimate if you wear Amazon Halo on your ankle
- It doesn’t have a display to read stats from your wrist
3. Moov Now Fitness Tracker
Moov Now fitness tracker is for those who are looking for a simple band that doesn’t sacrifice flexibility and performance.
So if you’re in the market for a model that can track distance, count calories, estimate active minutes, and monitor sleep, Moov Now is a fair deal.
It doesn’t have a display to show a summary of your fitness data, but it make up for it by offering you a ton of utility points.
There is only one button on the tracker. With it, you will be able to synchronize data on the fitness app and start workouts.
Comfort is paramount when it comes to wearable technology. And Moov has done its best to play by the rule, making its model comfortable enough to wear on the wrist.
In addition to giving the band a waterproof design, Moov went as far as to make the device breathable. Consistent airflow means you don’t have to worry about your skin itching from sweat.
Those that have the Moov Now testify that it has a solid grip, with a 100% immobility when it’s in action. So tracking biking and runs get easier.
The model’s rep-based training, which provides additional details on activities, lets you switch sports mode so you can exercise in style. With Moov Now, your options include swimming, cycling, running, step counting, and so much more.
Pros
- 6 months battery life
- A cheap fitness tracker with tons of premium features
- Can connect with your phone’s GPS for distance tracking and route mapping
Cons
- The battery isn’t interchangeable
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can You Wear a Fitness Tracker on Your Ankle?
It’s possible to wear a fitness tracker on your ankle depending on the metrics you’d like to track.
However, keep in mind that some brands don’t recommend wearing the band anywhere else other than your wrist.
For example, Fitbit warns against wearing the band on your ankle because the result estimates tend to be inaccurate. And that’s because they design their products specifically for the wrist.
Unless you want to count steps or track heart rate during indoor cycling, I wouldn’t recommend wearing the device on your ankle all the time.
If you really must wear a Fitbit on your ankle, I would recommend that you get a Fitbit compatible ankle band to help you attach the device securely against your skin.
What the ankle band does is to ensure the sensors attaches appropriately to your skin, thus helping to enhance the accuracy of step counting.
2. Does a Step Tracker Specifically for Ankle Exist?
You can wear almost any fitness tracker on your ankle to count steps.
Whether you want a simple pedometer or an advanced bracelet, you can find a device to monitor every step you take.
If anything, step tracking is one of the feature of all fitness trackers. So whatever you choose should give you the true value of step tracking.
Final Thoughts
Fitness tracker brands market their devices as wrist-based technologies, but that doesn’t except you from wearing them on your ankle.
Really, it’s up to you to decide whether you want to wear a fitness tracker on your ankle or on your wrist. Just keep in mind that there’s no guarantee that the data you’ll get will be as accurate.
Moov has been discontinued. So it’s not worth even considering to use it.
Hey Jae,
Thank you for bringing me up to speed. It has been a while since I was here.
I will most definitely update this guide soon to include only what’s available.
Best Regards,
Michael Jonathan.