fitbit flex or one?

Options
24

Replies

  • iwantniceabs
    iwantniceabs Posts: 357 Member
    Options
    bump, would like to get one
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    Options
    I have had a one since Feb and I really like it. I have to say though, I would like a flex. Just because it would be less likely to fall off. I keep my one clipped to my bra. Over the last 4 months, the casing for the one has stretched a little due to body heat and taking it in and out to charge...I keep a tiny little hair band around it so it doesn't fall out of the clip. I often forget to track my sleep anyway and don't make a habit of looking at the screen. Just log into my dashboard or my phone to check. Does the flex track stairs? I can't remember....

    Velcro. The sticky kind.... one side One.... other side casing inside. Fixed. You can also clip it to your underwear & have it right on your hip bone so your pants/shorts hold it firmly in place.... also a better count accuracy than the bra I find.... less bounce to simulate a step.
  • andrewbucur
    andrewbucur Posts: 1
    Options
    I have had the ONE since march and have lost 12 lbs even when i wasn't trying to. It's amazing being able to be knowledgeable of your fitness activity and health. Sometimes i don't always achieve my steps goal for the day or my friends are beating my weekly steps goal. That in turn makes me get up and move even after already going to the gym hours earlier. I take the one with me everywhere. Even when i go out at night dancing. It's great to see how many steps and calories I've burned. I love the ONE, however i have been waiting for the FLEX to become available again as it is back-ordered for quite some time. The only reason the FLEX is appealing to me is the convenience of wearing it always. The ONE has the sleep tracking feature which i enjoy using, but it can be annoying to have to slip it in and out of this black Velcro band you wear. Even then, the Velcro band falls off sometimes resulting in failed sleep tracking. The ONE does include an altimeter meaning it will track your floors taken daily. Something to consider is the FLEX does not have an altimeter because fit-bit suggested this feature was gimmicky and did not function properly so they removed it entirely. The ONE also has a small LED display that you can quickly view your various stats. The FLEX just has single LED's that emit according to meeting your goal. BOTTOM LINE: If you do not plan on using the mobile app to track your activity level then go with the ONE. If you are an intensive mobile phone user, then go with the FLEX.
    Glad to have helped in anyway! Enjoy and get stepping!!
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    Options
    It can't count calories if it's NOT ON MY PERSON. I have 45 days to request a refund for any reason, so it's going back.

    It DOES count it even when NOT on you. Mine does everybody's does... it's designed to do that. It calculates your daily burn, it's what it's supposed to do. Really it is. Ask anyone, they will tell you the same thing.
  • fhartog
    fhartog Posts: 10 Member
    Options
    I have had my flex one week and I am happy so far. I have found it to be fairly accurate. On the website you can see your steps walked in 15 min intervals, and usually you remember what you were doing at that time. I have had it driving, and for a significant period I was also standing and handing things to people. It did not track any of that as steps.
    Nothing is completely accurate however I am expecting that in trending over time it will prove to be a valuable tool.
  • bsalvato
    bsalvato Posts: 63 Member
    Options
    It can't count calories if it's NOT ON MY PERSON. I have 45 days to request a refund for any reason, so it's going back.

    it does though. It's just assuming you're being completely sedentary and that's what you're body is naturally burning throughout the day. It's what it's designed to do. It tracks your normal daily expenditure and anything above and beyond that. All fitbits do that. Not just the flex. I lost my Ultra I had before I got the flex and until I got a new one it was still registering calories burnt just not activity.

    As for whomever said the band won't close, when you first get it it's pretty tricky because it's new and still kind of stiff. You have to make sure that gray piece is super flush to the band. I struggled with mine for the first few days but now I can take it on and off at will with no issues.
  • jennylee8
    jennylee8 Posts: 35 Member
    Options
    It can't count calories if it's NOT ON MY PERSON. I have 45 days to request a refund for any reason, so it's going back.

    You shouldn't have a problem returning it. Sorry you didn't like it. :(

    But, to be clear, as the other poster mentioned it continuosly updates your BMR calories burned (as per your info when you set it up) whether or not you are wearing it. In addition to that it adds in calories burned by activity (from when you are wearing it) to give you a total TDEE for the day. Hope that clears it up!
    I actually find it very useful, but I never had the One or the Zip.

    I do wish Fitbit would come out with a clip to hold the sensor for those times I don't want to wear the bracelet...but I'm not sure how that would affect its use.
  • webchickadee
    webchickadee Posts: 4 Member
    Options
    Your body burns calories while you are alive (otherwise you would die.....you need energy to pump your heart, breath, perform your cellular processes, etc.). It's calculating what your baseline metabolism is based on your weight, sex, etc.

    In addition to your baseline metabolic burn, you expend extra energy by exercising/moving, etc. Wearing the Flex helps you keep track of those additional calories used.

    So even if you never wore it, it would show your baseline metabolic calories used (as if you were sleeping in bed 24 hours per day).
  • Alyyspp
    Alyyspp Posts: 8 Member
    Options
    I've found my flex to be amazing since never have to take it off so it won't end up in the washing machine!
  • scrapjen
    scrapjen Posts: 387 Member
    Options
    I really like the One. My son wanted a wrist one and was too impatient to wait for the Flex to be available, so he bought a JawboneUp instead. I really wish he had something in the Fitbit family (so I could just see his steps as "friends" without having to ask him about it). The Jawbone doesn't seem as user friendly (having to actually take it off to sync). I've since picked up three more Ones (for my mom, dad and son#2 ... son#2 beats me most days and I am very active!)

    The one tracks stairs, I don't believe the Zip or Flex do. Not that I use that function that much. I do peek at my steps on my device (can't do that on the Flex). I like NOT having it obviously visible (as the Flex is). My son#2 is a basketball player, and he can wear the One during games (they don't allow bracelets of any kind, so he wouldn't have been able to wear the Flex).

    I wore an Omron pedometer before getting my Fitbit, and still wear it too (out of habit and to compare steps). The One and the Omron and quite close each day, so I'm happy with the accuracy.

    I managed to keep hold of my Ultra for over three years without losing it or washing it. It was getting cracked at the top (one of the reasons I think they changed the design for the One) so I upgraded to the One before it gave out, as I wouldn't want to be a day without my Fitbit Feedback. Although it alone wasn't working for me ... I was still gaining weight. But now with MFP tracking calories and the two sites working together, I'm really hopeful I can get back where I want to be!
  • skinnyme47
    skinnyme47 Posts: 805 Member
    Options
    Here is a site you might want to check out comparing the different Fitbit products available. It is http://www.fitbit.com/comparison/trackers. I personally have the Fitbit One, but by wearing the Fitbit Flex on your wrist, I would think the possibility of leaving it on your clothes and accidentally throwing it in the wash would be minimized. That and you can wear it in the shower, so you won't take it off and leave it somewhere. Hope that helps.
  • jrbb03092
    jrbb03092 Posts: 198 Member
    Options
    I love my One. So much. I would go nuts if I didn't have it now.

    My pet peeve is how many people don't read the instructions and/or understand what a Fitbit does i.e. calculate your BMR and give you calories for that PLUS activity.

    I wonder how many people return or stop using them based on this misunderstanding *facepalms*
  • xynyth
    xynyth Posts: 89 Member
    Options
    Once I turned off calorie estimation on my FLEX I like it a lot more now. I have worn it swimming, in the shower, running, at work and it's held up through all of that. I especially like that the band is designed to really stay on. Yes it takes a little work to get it closed the first time but after that it's no big deal. I like the silent alarm feature and the sleep tracking is interesting, but I don't really know what the point of it is. My biggest piece of advice would be to TURN OFF THE CALORIE ESTIMATION if you wear it all the time, like I do. There were some days it told me I could eat several hundred more calories that day, so I did, and the next day it would change and I would be over :( That was really frustrating as I ended up overeating on a few days when I thought I was in the clear and I wanted to chuck this thing out a window. Now that I fixed that little problem I am loving the FLEX.
  • ShannonMpls
    ShannonMpls Posts: 1,936 Member
    Options
    It can't count calories if it's NOT ON MY PERSON. I have 45 days to request a refund for any reason, so it's going back.

    Of course it can. It is using data from your personal metrics - weight, age, sex - to calculate your RMR. When the band/device is not moving, the Fitbit assumes you are not moving, and therefore calculates calories based on your RMR. When the device moves (along with your body) that activity is added to your RMR to estimate your TDEE. If you forget to wear the device for a day, it will report your daily burn as being your RMR. This is exactly how the device is intended to work.
  • alankirkgray
    alankirkgray Posts: 2
    Options
    I have a fitbit flex, and here are some positive comments to respond to some of the negative comments that I regard as thoughtless.

    The flex fits on your wrist, and you can wear it in the shower. It is regarded as difficult to make the clasp work at the beginning, rightly so. But it took me about five minutes to loosen it up just enough to work fine -- just need to push the prongs of the clasp into the slots a number of times to get is adjusted, then you can go ahead and put it on pretty easily. And you need to take it off about every five days to recharge the battery, not a big deal.

    You don't need to plug it in to your computer to sync it, unless you want to. You can sync it to a USB dongle you put into your PC, and it syncs wirelessly.

    The benefit of having it on your wrist is that it does some useful things. For example, it has been accurately tracking what it calls my steps on my exercise bike. I was surprised it did so, then I looked and my wrist moves about an 1/8 inch with each revolution, and it has counted that, with only about a 1% error. In enter my exercise into myfitnesspal, and when it syncs, that overrides the fitbit calculation of steps on the bike.

    You can use it pretty easily to track your sleep if you like.

    If you have it off, it does not count your steps or motion and use that to determine calories, but the web software will calculate your base metabolic rate -- BMS -- and keep a running count of calories you burn that way during the day, adding to that the calories it calculates when it does recognize motion from taking steps.

    All in all, I'm quite pleased with it, and the sync with MFP is quite effective.

    Thought it worthwhile to provide some response to the throw-away negative responses I've seen here. Anyone should make up their own mind, but don't be guided by thoughtless comments that serve no purpose.
  • sugboog29
    sugboog29 Posts: 630 Member
    Options
    It can't count calories if it's NOT ON MY PERSON. I have 45 days to request a refund for any reason, so it's going back.

    It DOES count it even when NOT on you. Mine does everybody's does... it's designed to do that. It calculates your daily burn, it's what it's supposed to do. Really it is. Ask anyone, they will tell you the same thing.

    ^^this....it does. I was confused when I first got mine, contacted customer service and they explained it. hmmm...who knew! I have a one and love it!!! The few days I've forgotten it...I feel almost naked!
  • NathanFronk
    NathanFronk Posts: 137 Member
    Options
    I got the Flex and am already trying to send it back. It's COMPLETELY inaccurate. I'd take it off for hours and it would still report calories burned for that time away. It looks very cool, but past that, I would say it's useless. I haven't tried any of the other Fitbit products but the Flex was pretty off-putting.

    I am wearing the Flex as I type and wanted to remedy some misconceptions.

    1) The Fitbit Flex and website assumes you are alive and breathing even when you take the flex off. This means that you are burning calories all day, and the Flex accounts for those calories. For instance, if you are 25 years old, female, and reasonably active you might have a BMR (number of calories you burn just by being alive) of around 2400 Calories/day. That's 100 calories/hour. If you take off the flex for 8 hours it will assume you burned 800 calories.

    2) The Flex does not count stairs as the Fitbit One does because Fitbit found that stair-counting was inherently inaccurate, and so dropped it.

    3) Accuracy: It is extremely accurate. I wrote a review on Amazon explaining how to calibrate the flex properly http://www.amazon.com/review/R3FES980GE6PC5/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

    4) Get the Flex.
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    Options
    Once I turned off calorie estimation on my FLEX I like it a lot more now. I have worn it swimming, in the shower, running, at work and it's held up through all of that. I especially like that the band is designed to really stay on. Yes it takes a little work to get it closed the first time but after that it's no big deal. I like the silent alarm feature and the sleep tracking is interesting, but I don't really know what the point of it is. My biggest piece of advice would be to TURN OFF THE CALORIE ESTIMATION if you wear it all the time, like I do. There were some days it told me I could eat several hundred more calories that day, so I did, and the next day it would change and I would be over :( That was really frustrating as I ended up overeating on a few days when I thought I was in the clear and I wanted to chuck this thing out a window. Now that I fixed that little problem I am loving the FLEX.


    It's only water resistant not waterproof. Swimming is not such a good idea with it.


    I wear my One 24/7 and the cal estimation is brilliant. I get given about 400-600 more cals a day but only cause I work hard at getting it. 25,000 + steps will get you that. I only go via the cals here rather than the site, if MFP tells me I have 1500 cals more I can eat.... today was closer to 1900 on top of my already 1500 then so be it. I'm not putting anything on & taking it off.
  • bsalvato
    bsalvato Posts: 63 Member
    Options
    I have had the Ultra and the Flex. In my experience I can disprove what some posters are saying about it not being accurate or counting hand movements as steps. I find it to really be just as accurate as my Ultra was if not even more because it never comes off of my body. The best part is I can just open up my iPhone app and see my progress at any given time. Just like any other item you'd spend a good chunk of money on do your own research. Yes, user reviews are good to a point but you always have that one person who won't be happy no matter what. If possible try them both for a time, not at the same time because you can't link two to one account.
  • maegmez
    maegmez Posts: 341 Member
    Options
    How can it accurately calculate calories burned if it doesn't know your heart rate and activity exertion? I prefer my polar hrm and only track my calories burned when exercising. I have a very low resting heart rate which means I have to work harder to get my heart rate up to burn decent calories.

    I just don't see how it can be accurate.

    I also don't believe my hrm is exactly accurate either but it's going to be closer than a pedometer.

Categories