Fitbit or Misfit -- looking for reviews and recommendations

cmfruin2012

I have had a Fitbit One for 2 years now -- have no complaints and have had no problems with it (other than the occasional failure to sync issues that everyone with a Fitbit has experienced). But I am very intrigued by this new product I have seen called the Misfit Shine. What has me most intrigued by it is that you can wear it swimming (which is one of my primary forms of exercise). But I am also thinking maybe an upgrade to the new Fitbit Charge would be good

So - I am looking for reviews and recommendations from folks that have used either or both these products -- should I just stick with my One (because it works) or try out one of these fancy new toys.

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

Christine

Euclidus

I can't speak to the Misfit Shine, but I received a Misfit Flash as a gift in mid-December. The first week of using it was wonderful! This was my first foray into the world of activity trackers, and I thought it did an excellent job of tracking my steps and keeping me motivated to reach my daily goal. It was incredibly simple to setup with my phone and get started using. The sleep tracking feature was very cool, and I loved that it didn't need to be charged and was waterproof. However, one week into using it, the band that it sits in (similar to a watch band) snapped in half right where the unit sits, rendering it unusable. I looked around on the internet for a replacement and instead of finding one, I found that this was a very common problem for the Misfit Flash band. It's just not well made. Irritated but undaunted, I just switched to using the belt clip that came with it. That was fine for about two days, and then my Misfit entirely stopped working. This was on December 28th. I've been in contact with their customer service, who has been quick to respond but not so helpful.

In the meantime my fiance bought me a Fitbit Charge, which I love. Yeah, it's an inconvenience to have to charge it (it seems like the battery lasts about 5 days) and that it's not waterproof, but it has a lot of great features and so far has been very reliable! My band is set to vibrate when I'm getting a phone call which is helpful when I'm listening to my iPod while working out. There's also a silent alarm feature that I love, and the app is very easy to use. My fiance purchased a Fitbit for himself as well, and we're able to do a ton of different challenges/competitions with each other and any others who have a Fitbit. I was able to see my progress compared to my friends' progress on the Misfit, but I really like the way Fitbit has different actual challenges set up. You don't even need to compete with another person, you can just compete with yourself if you want to. Based on my experience I would definitely recommend the Fitbit over the Misfit. Keep in mind that my experience was with the Flash and not the Shine, so I don't know how helpful with would be to you, but I thought I'd offer my two cents!

cmfruin2012

Thank you so much for your very thoughtful review and advice -- I appreciate it!