Fitbits - waste or worth it?

Stella3838

LOVE my Charge 2. Had it for over two months and wear it all the time. Someone else said this and I agree that I love it's an activity tracker. It gets me up and moving more through the day. I track my water, my workouts, my steps (which for me are fairly accurate), my HR, and even my sleep is fairly accurate as well. I really like the app and seeing all green at the top when I hit all my daily goals. I read all the reviews and had some doubts, but for me, this is one of the best purchases I've made in a while. Oh, and I love the interchangeable bands to switch up my style!

mumblemagic

Not sure where your husband got his reviews from, because they are really popular and get 4.5* reviews on amazon and argos. If you're not the kind of person that likes those kind of stats on yourself then you won't like it, but most people I know have been really satisfied and found them to be really helpful. I have a flex. It's great! I do a lot of walking and it makes it really convenient tracking my activity levels and syncing up with myfitnesspal. I like the sleep tracking as well. It really helps me take care of myself.

ETA: at some point this year I want to upgrade to a Charge HR 2. I'd like the heart rate monitor, watch, and smartwatch capabilities.

kindrabbit

I own my own business which is a housecleaning business (would love a Fitbit that counted stairs). But out of curiosity...how can an employer ban them? That's terrible!
[/quote]

Hi, I also run my own cleaning business! I have a charge Hr and that does count the number of flights of stairs you climb per day. (its doesn't give you more calories if you're carrying a vacuum unfortunately!)

butcher206

The whole entire reason I bought a Charge 2 was because I wasn't gaining any weight, so I wanted more accurate estimates to how many calories I was burning, and it supposedly was able to sync with MyFitnessPal automatically and update your daily calories. it's been nothing but sync'ing issues with myfitnesspal ever since. For some reason on the Fitbit dashboard you can't just see how many calories you've burned from exercise, it just gives you this vague "calories burned" for the whole entire day that includes your BMR; so I'm right back to square one, just kind of guesstimating how many calories I've burned through these vague myfitnesspal exercise entries. I don't know; it's basically a waste. I think MyFitnessPal purposely gives them poor support to push people towards their underarmour wristband

JustMissTracy

I've had mine for over a year, and LOVE it. Everyone is different depending on what they want to get out of it....I have lost the weight, increased my activity level from sedentary to Active....and where I used to only get 4-5 hours of sleep per nite, I now average 7-8. I love seeing the trends, and understanding why and when changes happen allow me to make more changes, and improve on myself daily.

sugaraddict4321

Bluwaves1 wrote: »

...unfortunately the place where I work just banned them...

Why would they ban fitness trackers? They help motivate people to move more, which should mean healthier employees!

I have mostly used the Zip. It's basically an upgraded step counter but it works for me. I keep it in my pocket instead of clipping most of the time, just because the clip case wears out. The battery lasts for about 5 months, which is great because I never need to think about charging.

I did try the bracelet-style flex, but as I use my hands a lot for work and around the house, I felt it really over-estimated burns. I didn't think it was as accurate as the Zip when I compared my weight loss to the numbers it gave. I have a lot of friends that wear the bracelet-styles, and when they talk with their hands, the bracelet is always blinking like mad.

Katie1951

I have had a some model of a Fitbit since 2012. As you can see from my profile pic, I'm addicted. I currently have the Blaze and love all the extra features it offers. It can be addictive. It is also great if you have a group of friends on their site that will challenge you. Also, you can't beat their customer service. I have had them send me an absolutely new one when something has gone wrong with the one I have, no questions asked.

kindrabbit

butcher206 wrote: »

The whole entire reason I bought a Charge 2 was because I wasn't gaining any weight, so I wanted more accurate estimates to how many calories I was burning, and it supposedly was able to sync with MyFitnessPal automatically and update your daily calories. it's been nothing but sync'ing issues with myfitnesspal ever since. For some reason on the Fitbit dashboard you can't just see how many calories you've burned from exercise, it just gives you this vague "calories burned" for the whole entire day that includes your BMR; so I'm right back to square one, just kind of guesstimating how many calories I've burned through these vague myfitnesspal exercise entries. I don't know; it's basically a waste. I think MyFitnessPal purposely gives them poor support to push people towards their underarmour wristband

Calories for the whole day was exactly what I was looking for so it suits me perfectly. I know that if I burn 2000 in a day and eat 1750 I am eating at my desired deficit.

I do also set it to start and stop when I exercise so I can see that, for example, I burn 480 calories in an hour in my circuit class.

lobsterthang999

I have just ordered a charge 2 from very on interest free, I took out the additional 3 years insurance premium after reading the reviews and figured it probably wont last the three years any way and ill probably end up with a free replacement. Have bought similar policies in the past and they are great you always end up with a better model than you first bought. If your having doubts like I was then at least this way you are covered if the product breaks, co-incidentally the insurance covers accidental damage which is what swayed me to purchase it. Im still waiting for it to arrive as only ordered yesterday but its already motivated me and its not here yet!

kindrabbit

Just to let you know, I had my 1st fitbit for over a year before the casing started to fail around the charge port. I emailed fitbit and they replied the same day. They offered me a free replacement or a discount on the latest model. I chose the free replacement which arrived in about 3 days from the initial email. I was really impressed with the customer service.

kikih64

I have one of the earliest ones - the Ultra - and I've never had a problem with it and I love it. It's been about 5 years and going strong. It's the clip on kind which I prefer over the wristband. (I like real jewelry). It motivates me and gives me the data I want. You should go for it!

butcher206

I was being ultra negative. I guess the other Fitbit features are pretty cool. Like the sleep tracking.... heart rate monitor is cool. So I don't know I kind of expected it to be more "advanced" and more "seamless" but I like it enough not to return it. Sorry about the negativity

CharlieBeansmomTracey

kindrabbit wrote: »

I own my own business which is a housecleaning business (would love a Fitbit that counted stairs). But out of curiosity...how can an employer ban them? That's terrible!

Hi, I also run my own cleaning business! I have a charge Hr and that does count the number of flights of stairs you climb per day. (its doesn't give you more calories if you're carrying a vacuum unfortunately!)

[/quote]

it doesnt accurately count stairs even though there is a little stairs icon, per fitbit-"it detects floors using an altimeter, which is a sensor that calculates altitude change based on atmospheric pressure. Therefore, atmospheric pressure decreases with increasing elevation, so the Charge HR calculates elevation gain based on the reduction in atmospheric pressure and just like she said: your tracker registers a floor when it detects continuous motion combined with an elevation gain of about 10 feet. If you feel that your floors aren't being accurately counted" so if you are hiking and climbing hills it will also say you climbed stairs

mmmmaidservice

butcher206 wrote: »

I was being ultra negative. I guess the other Fitbit features are pretty cool. Like the sleep tracking.... heart rate monitor is cool. So I don't know I kind of expected it to be more "advanced" and more "seamless" but I like it enough not to return it. Sorry about the negativity

I certainly didn't take it as negativity. I asked for opinions and I'm appreciative of all the comments whether they are pro or con. It's helping me to make my decision. So thank you!

mmmmaidservice

I also like hearing their customer service is great and I think I'll opt for a warranty as well.

cwolfman13

mumblemagic wrote: »

Not sure where your husband got his reviews from, because they are really popular and get 4.5* reviews on amazon and argos. If you're not the kind of person that likes those kind of stats on yourself then you won't like it, but most people I know have been really satisfied and found them to be really helpful. I have a flex. It's great! I do a lot of walking and it makes it really convenient tracking my activity levels and syncing up with myfitnesspal. I like the sleep tracking as well. It really helps me take care of myself.

ETA: at some point this year I want to upgrade to a Charge HR 2. I'd like the heart rate monitor, watch, and smartwatch capabilities.

They recently had a recall on the Force and have discontinued those sales...it has really hurt the company and their stock has tanked...that combined with smart watch competition from tech giants has caused some concern as to whether the company will make it.

NorthCascades

Three Fitbit Ones replaced under warranty. I got hit hard by a car with my Garmin on and it works as well as the day it was made.

festerw

The Fitbit social aspect and customer service is fantastic, however in my experience the product leaves a lot to be desired. Between my wife and I we went through 3 Flex and 3 Charge under warranty.

They do work well when they work but seem to be plagued by battery and band issues.

We switched to Garmin and while the social part isn't as good the hardware is much better, but again depends on the functionality you are looking for.

I wanted built in GPS and the ability to add sensors for biking which Fitbit doesn't offer.

trigden1991

The step count and calorie burn features are great motivators and tools for me.

CSARdiver

It all depends on expectations.

For data geeks these things are like crack. I've been tracking my performance since 1996 using a Polar chest strap and Excel spreadsheet. I upgraded to a HR7 which does an excellent job of tracking my workouts.

I picked up a Flex and upgraded to a Flex 2 for the added features and waterproofiness. I jockey a desk now and this is a good reminder on when I'm sitting down for extended periods.

On a personal side my Flex started dying early and wouldn't hold a charge. I called customer service and they ran diagnostics online and priority shipped a new one next day - no questions asked.

hesfeld

I love my Charge HR. I've had it replaced once in warranty because the plastic where you plug it in broke off. Customer service was super helpful and prompt. I'm thinking of even upgrading to the Blaze. The only hassle I've had is trying to find your HR when working out. If it's not held perfectly still, the HR won't display for a minute as it tries to find it. The lighter colors also turn black pretty easily. I wipe mine down with alcohol daily but it will still look dirty. I was also the type to say "I'm active all the time, why do I need a tracker to prove it?" It was uncomfortable on my wrist the first couple days, but that went away after I got used to it. But it is so motivating to see that you're under your step goal and need to get moving. It's taught me how little sleep I get. I also thought I was walking way more than I actually do. I say it's worth it.

jillybeansalad

mmmmaidservice wrote: »

I own my own business which is a housecleaning business (would love a Fitbit that counted stairs). But out of curiosity...how can an employer ban them? That's terrible!

Well, I know that places that work with sensitive/classified information do not allow anything that can connect via bluetooth, wifi, or USB.

papercut2k

I used my rewards points to buy mine a few days. I don't think I would have bothered if I didn't use "free money". That being said. I like it so far.

mmmmaidservice

@jillybeansalad that makes sense.

My husband won me a used Fitbit alt on eBay. So I'm starting with that one for now.

Jthanmyfitnesspal

I have had 4:

The first one had the button clasp. Fell off in the snow after 3 months. I was irate and called Fitbit. They said that if I sent them a receipt, they would give me a new one. It was a gift and I just forgot about it.

Then my birthday came along, and my wife gave me a much upgraded heart-rate model (Charge HR?). I liked the functionality, but broke it about every 5 months due to impact or moisture. Fitbit replaced it twice, then offered me a 20% discount on a new one.

I'm still on the fence about getting a new one. You get everything except HR by using your phone. (With one of the fitness tracker apps. I like Google Fitness. S Health is also good.)

I have a Wahoo fitness HR monitor for when I exercise. It's cheaper than a fitbit and works directly with a phone app during exercise.

Fitbits overestimate steps (you get a few steps while driving). Phones underestimate steps (mostly because you put them down every once in a while).

Feature I miss the most: Sleep monitoring and silent alarm.

I might spend a lot more for a Garmin the next time...

ptsmiles

I started with the Zip, upgraded to the Charge HR and now have the Blaze. I love it. The customer service has been great and the challenges have been very motivating.

HOOVEY17

Worth it! It definitely keeps you motivated to hit your goal. The challenges between friends has definitely helped me along with the stepbet app

jemhh

I use mine solely to gauge how active I am during the day. I do not trust the calorie info it provides at all as it hasn't matched my food diary/weight loss records. In addition, I've had a terrible time trying to get it to sync up with MFP. I try it again every once in awhile (and just did last night actually) but it's never worked correctly for me.

SingRunTing

I love my Fitbit! You just have to recognize that like any other tool, it has limitations. Have realistic expectations and it is a really helpful tool.

extra_medium

mmmmaidservice wrote: »

Bluwaves1 wrote: »

I have used one for a month now and it really is good to look back to see how your week was, how much sleep you got, your resting pulse etc. you can see improvement in the numbers. unfortunately the place where I work just banned them so I probably won't use it because the 40 hour gap will make it kind of useless. But I would recommend it to anyone, just make sure you can use them at work first before buying.

I own my own business which is a housecleaning business (would love a Fitbit that counted stairs). But out of curiosity...how can an employer ban them? That's terrible!

They do count stairs. Definitely worth it, the calorie count is actually pretty accurate I've found, and the community is great. I use an Apple Watch now but I miss the fitbit challenges etc.