Fitbit Flex/Jawbone UP/Nike+ Etc opinions?

[Jonny2284]

Hey all.

 

Been looking into these kind of monitors as I've been having problems on my walking challenge for this period (I am walking more than I used to, but I keep forgetting to activate runtastic and therefore nothing is logged) and if these things work as advertised they seem to be the solution to my problem (albeit an expensive one)

 

I'm primarily looking at the Fitbit flex, but some of the alternatives have crossed my radar as well, has anybody used/got one and could comment on how good/useful they are?

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

Great question - I'm wondering the same myself.  

 

(Eagerly awaiting wise responses .....)

[Krisis]

I have had a Jawbone and a Fitbit flex and a Bodyfit media armbugg thingy. 

 

The Jawbone was really easy to break and not water resistant.  Very unflexible on my wrist and it drove me nuts.  I wore it like, two days.  

 

The Bodyfit I wore for 2 months, but it was a pain.  It was also not water resistant and I hated wearing it on my arm.  It didn't feel good. 

 

I have had my Fitbit flex for 2 months and I LOVE it.  It feels great on my wrist and I am super picky about that kind of thing.  It feels pretty accurate and IT'S WATER RESISTANT!  I can wear it in the shower!  Yay!  It's REALLY easy to use and I love the app.  I really like it.  I will keep it forever. 

 

I looked at getting a Nike but I didn't want to because it cost $50 more than the Fitbit and it doesn't measure things in calories (apparently it uses something like Fuel Points?  Or something weird.)  

[MoogleStomp]

I know you we're asking about the flex but I have the fitbit one and I figured I'd chime in since some things would be the same between them. I've had mine for almost a year and its great! If the build quality is as good on the flex as the one I'd say its great. The online interface would be the same for the flex as the one and I love it. I love reaching daily and lifetime goals and it can send them to your phone. It's pretty satisfying to have your phone pop up with a message saying you've walked 500 miles. It has been great motivation for me.

[Bubbette]

I got my Flex a week ago and I'm really liking it so far.  It's comfortable, which is something that I did worry about.  I love that it tracks sleep.  It is definitely making me more aware of how much I move, or don't, throughout the day. 

[Jonny2284]

Just to update you guys, between the recommendations here and a lot of research I bought the flex late last week, not 100% convinced of it's accuracy right now, but if it is misreading general motions as steps it does at least appear to be consistent in it's inconsistency, I can still use that as a base figure and aim for higher. Seems a solid bit of kit, especially loving the sleep tracking feature, it's making me rather aware that I'm not really getting enough, also quite love that it can auto adjust my calorie figures on myfitnesspal according to how much I have or haven't done. 

 

As I say, time will tell on it's accuracy, but with it seemingly consistent at least I can take that figure as a base value.

[HansBraggart]

the wife and i both just got Flexes, and we like them. my favorite feature is the Sleep Tracking as i have been most concerned with my sleeping habits lately. i had been using SleepBot for Android, but the Flex is much more convenient.

 

where it falls short is that the desktop app, with which one must use to sync it, does not work on Linux. hence, i had to come up with a virtual windows desktop using Oracle VirtualBox and NOT a pirated version of Windows 7 because that would just be WRONG 

 

i am trying to figure out the Activity Record feature. i understand its purpose and how it should work, but the only instructions i could find for how to start the recording process are specific to the FitBit One.

 

in the end, i recommend the FitBit Flex. we intend to get the FitBit Aria scale in the future, so expect a review of that to come.

[Jonny2284]

If you have an android phone can't you sync it via that?

 

And yes, that scale looks like a wonderful compliment to the tracker, I've been struggling with scales for a while, I find it hard to get a consistently accurate reading so I normally settle for the first one I can get 3 times as close to accurate and fitbit yet again seem to have come up with a device that's the answer to my problem, sadly the problems are twofold a - by fat arse is still over it's weight limit according to their website (although once I'm running at a few pounds under it is a definite purchase) and b - it's bloody expensive, another item that'll have to wait until payday.

[HansBraggart]

If you have an android phone can't you sync it via that?

 

And yes, that scale looks like a wonderful compliment to the tracker, I've been struggling with scales for a while, I find it hard to get a consistently accurate reading so I normally settle for the first one I can get 3 times as close to accurate and fitbit yet again seem to have come up with a device that's the answer to my problem, sadly the problems are twofold a - by fat arse is still over it's weight limit according to their website (although once I'm running at a few pounds under it is a definite purchase) and b - it's bloody expensive, another item that'll have to wait until payday.

 

no i cannot sync it with my android phone. i have an HTC Sensation, and the FitBit only supports Bluetooth synchronization with four certain Samsung devices.

what really excites me about the scale is that it also measure Body Fat Percentage.

[Jonny2284]

Wow, yeah you're right. That is a pretty paltry selection of devices, hopefully that'll improve with time (or at least someone writes some decent driver software for other platforms), fortunately I got the S4 when my contract rolled a couple of months ago otherwise I'd be missing the precious to the minute data.

[CalvinHobbes]

Just to update you guys, between the recommendations here and a lot of research I bought the flex late last week, not 100% convinced of it's accuracy right now, but if it is misreading general motions as steps it does at least appear to be consistent in it's inconsistency, I can still use that as a base figure and aim for higher. Seems a solid bit of kit, especially loving the sleep tracking feature, it's making me rather aware that I'm not really getting enough, also quite love that it can auto adjust my calorie figures on myfitnesspal according to how much I have or haven't done. 

 

As I say, time will tell on it's accuracy, but with it seemingly consistent at least I can take that figure as a base value.

 

I had this issue with the Fitbit One--I once left it on the dryer and as my dryer shook it thought I walked about 10 miles overnight. Also, if I am wearing it on my hip (I know the flex is a wristband, the One is a clip on) and I bounce my leg or something it will count it as steps. 

[bigm141414]

I had this issue with the Fitbit One--I once left it on the dryer and as my dryer shook it thought I walked about 10 miles overnight. Also, if I am wearing it on my hip (I know the flex is a wristband, the One is a clip on) and I bounce my leg or something it will count it as steps. 

 

 

Cheater! 

[wideeyed]

Thanks for this thread - I was just looking at some of this stuff, and this seems to answer the questions!

[SimplyTsundere]

Wow I'm really glad I gave this a look too. I'm going to have to add it to my ever growing list of Must Have items. There was one I saw a while aho that tracked workouts pretty good but can't remember the name of it. Not to thread hijack but does anyone know? ...I know...very vague...

[Gilfren]

http://nerdfitnessrebellion.com/index.php?/topic/31535-fit-bit-and-a-nf-fit-bit-group/page-2#entry598029 Join the NF fitbit group It's pretty dang motivating.

 

Also, make sure you set your stride on the fitbit dashboard, and also make sure you've got it set for which hand you wear it on (dominant vs non-dominant). I doubted accuracy at first as well, but once I set these, it was far more accurate. That's not to say if you violently shake your arm at the heavens, it won't count a couple steps, but the way I rationalize that is this: Shaking my arms at god burns as much, if not more, than taking a step... so whats the harm  

[jediokie]

I had/have a polar and it was good when I was doing a lot of cardio. But once I started doing almost pure strength training it got in the way more than helped and I'm pretty sure the numbers were off. If you're running or any other form of general cardio its awesome.

[Aggie42]

I've been wearing my BodyBugg now for about 4 months.  I love the accuracy, but I hate it on my arm.  I'm looking to possibly switch over to the fitbit after my 6 months is up with the BB mostly due to comfort.    

[Lonniepop]

I got a Jawbone Up in May and personally, I don't even notice it when I'm wearing it now that I have the right size band (started with a medium, which was too small and caught on everything from my clothes to my cat). Up until yesterday I was in love with it, but it suddenly stopped holding a charge. I'll give the replacement band a fair trial, but if not I may switch to a fitbit, but I love the silent alarm and powernap features.

[Eboncat]

I have the fitbit flex and the Aria scale.  Love them.  Also love that the fitbit app syncs up with MyFitnessPal and my iBiker app (which I track my workouts on).  The whole thing works seamlessly to track my calories in MFP.  I think the flex is pretty accurate, it is definitely consistent day to day - I was worried about it when I got it.  I'd had the clip-on fitbit before and the flex definitely tracks higher #'s, so it's probably also picking up all the arm movements I'm doing for work while I'm basically standing still.  I've had it for 3 months now, and the calorie use the app loads into MFP seems to be pretty accurate as far as helping me determine my net calories for the day.  The Aria scale seems very accurate for weight.  I'm not sure how accurate it is for BF%, it seems to read high, but it is very consistent and it is easy to track whether I'm going up or down.  We also have an Omron handheld BF% device.  The scale reads about 6-8 points higher than the Omron for me, about 3 points higher for my hubby. For example, this morning the scale read 25.8% and the handheld said 17.5%. 

 

I am also in the NF fitbit group.  Join us!

[HansBraggart]

grr, my Flex does not seem to track my Sledgehammer workouts accurately!

[Jonny2284]

Unless you're taking a running leap at the tire I'm not sure what it should be tracking tbh, while it's a wonderful thing, it is still at it's core just a pedometer. 

[swarneke]

What does everyone think about the calories burned tracking for the Flex? I've been toying with getting one or a Polar, so I'm curious for some opinions.

[Eboncat]

The flex seems pretty accurate to me.  I've had mine for about 3 months.

[swarneke]

Thanks.

 

I just found that Amazon sells the Polar RS100 for basically $60. I'm starting to lean more towards that one now simply because of the massive deal that price is since Amazon claims the SRP is $120.

[quanta]

I know you we're asking about the flex but I have the fitbit one and I figured I'd chime in since some things would be the same between them. I've had mine for almost a year and its great! If the build quality is as good on the flex as the one I'd say its great. The online interface would be the same for the flex as the one and I love it. I love reaching daily and lifetime goals and it can send them to your phone. It's pretty satisfying to have your phone pop up with a message saying you've walked 500 miles. It has been great motivation for me.

I also have the Fitbit One and I have been using it for a few months now. It really does keep me motivated to stay active and is accurate with respect to the number of steps I take. It also syncs seamlessly with MyFitnessPal