FitBit wristbands

molissep

I'm getting a Flex for Christma and I can't wait!

Question for those of you who have one....I have a desk job where I'm always typing and answering phones, shuffling papers, etc so my hands are always moving. Have any of you found that the hand movements interfere with your counts at all? That's one thing I'm concerned with.

kitticus15

I have a fitbit one and love it, it makes me do more cos I can see if I am being lazy

jchrisman717

I'm getting a Flex for Christma and I can't wait!

Question for those of you who have one....I have a desk job where I'm always typing and answering phones, shuffling papers, etc so my hands are always moving. Have any of you found that the hand movements interfere with your counts at all? That's one thing I'm concerned with.

Great question - I work a desk job too and would like to know that answer.

Losingthedamnweight

I'm getting a Flex for Christma and I can't wait!

Question for those of you who have one....I have a desk job where I'm always typing and answering phones, shuffling papers, etc so my hands are always moving. Have any of you found that the hand movements interfere with your counts at all? That's one thing I'm concerned with.

Unfortunately it does register casual movements that you'd do at a normal desk job as steps

molissep

I'm getting a Flex for Christma and I can't wait!

Question for those of you who have one....I have a desk job where I'm always typing and answering phones, shuffling papers, etc so my hands are always moving. Have any of you found that the hand movements interfere with your counts at all? That's one thing I'm concerned with.

Unfortunately it does register casual movements that you'd do at a normal desk job as steps

Yikes that could be a problem. I have smallish ankles, maybe the large wristband will fit my ankle and I can wear it like that. I guess I'll give it a try and see how "off" it seems. I'm mostly sedetary at work so if it tells me I've had a lot of steps I will definitely know it's wrong.

Thanks for your reply!

WalkingAlong

Wearing it on your ankle would be like using a scale with one foot on the floor. It's not programmed to be accurate that way.

If you don't want incidental arm movements counting as steps, I'd get a One or Zip model. Though if you have about the same incidental arm movement regularly, it's not going to matter much. The value is as a baseline of your activity, not so much to count your actual steps.

kah68

I had the Fitbit One for a year and loved it, I started using a Flex in October and love it also. I really don’t have problems with accuracy, I wear it on my non-dominant wrist (you set up through your account the wrist you plan to wear it on) and compared it to the One for a while receiving the same results. Each LED light reflects 20% of your progress, so with steps set up an LED lights for every 2,000 steps taken (if daily goal is 10,000) – gives you an idea of where you are for the day. You can also choose for it to track calories burned or miles walked with the LED lights instead. It was hard to get used to not seeing the number when I wanted to but with the LEDs I have an idea and can just check my iPhone really quick if I want to know exact since it updates via Bluetooth. I also think the sleep function is easier. At first it felt weird to wear it on my wrist since I don’t wear a watch, but now I don’t even think about it. It does not track heart rate though, so if you’re looking for a device that measures that you’ll need a HRM – I wear both during cardio.

wellnesscoachmegg

I actually haven't found that to be true, in terms of it tracking "hand movements". Im constantly moving my hands at work, but I haven't had that problem. There is a function on the dashboard when you get and install the stuff for the fitbit where you can pick whether its highly sensitive, or not as sensitive to movement. I picked the "not as sensitive" option just because I didn't want it tracking my hands moving and counting it towards steps. Seems to have circumvented that as a problem--at least from what I've noticed.

WalkingAlong

I've used a torso-clip Fitbit for a long time and tried the Flex for a day and also didn't find it added a lot from incidental arm movement. I returned it for other reasons but the steps count was similar between both models.

By the way, I had read on someone's blog that the Flex 5-light display actually gives you more than just 20%-to-goal increments. I believe the next un-lit light flickers for the number of 20% increments it is toward being lit. E.g., so if you have walked 8800 steps toward your 10,000 goal, you'd get 4 solid lights (representing your 8,000 steps) and the 5th light would flicker 4 times to represent the 800.

GolfBird1

I actually haven't found that to be true, in terms of it tracking "hand movements". Im constantly moving my hands at work, but I haven't had that problem. There is a function on the dashboard when you get and install the stuff for the fitbit where you can pick whether its highly sensitive, or not as sensitive to movement. I picked the "not as sensitive" option just because I didn't want it tracking my hands moving and counting it towards steps. Seems to have circumvented that as a problem--at least from what I've noticed.

^^^^ I am with you there. I have had mine for almost a month and it does not pickup my hands moving and counting as steps..

kamakazeekim

I've had the fitbit one for about 2 weeks now and I love it!!!! I usually clip it to my bra because none of my dress pants I wear for work have pockets and you can't tell at all that it's there

TheyCallMeMISTERChace

I haven't used FitBit, but I used a Jawbone Up for several months and use a Withings Pulse now.
If anyone wants to know about those, message me.

bacitracin

The 2 FitBit Flexes that I bought for me and my girlfriend have been nothing but nightmares. I tried to sell them at a huge loss but no one would even buy them.

The software had major problems installing on Windows 7 32-bit AND 64-bit. I haven't even tried on my Windows 8 machine, since apparently just plugging the dongle in is all we need now that we've "registered" the devices to our email addresses. I spent a week in customer service hell, and the support staff at the company are worse than useless. They've at least mastered the art of copying and pasting, but fail the most basic reading comprehension and have the memory and attention span of a brain-damaged goldfish.

A few months later, the battery on mine lasts 2, maybe 3 days if I'm lucky, when it is advertised as lasting 5. My girlfriend has just stopped wearing hers almost entirely, after her band's rubber ripped apart, even after she started using my smaller one.

0/5, would not recommend to my worst enemy.

EmilyJackCO

I'm getting a Flex for Christma and I can't wait!

Question for those of you who have one....I have a desk job where I'm always typing and answering phones, shuffling papers, etc so my hands are always moving. Have any of you found that the hand movements interfere with your counts at all? That's one thing I'm concerned with.

Great question - I work a desk job too and would like to know that answer.

I've had a Flex since the release date, and I can attest that NO, it does not. When I sit at my desk all day, it doesn't show any of the activities that keep me so busy. It also doesn't really count the weight training that I do either. I spent over 14 hours ripping apart my house this past couple of weekends and it didn't really count but maybe half of the activity, and I was busting my *kitten*. But it was a lot of lifting, sorting, cleaning, etc. I have no issues at all with the accuracy of my Flex and have found it has really made a big difference.

HOWEVER, it is also not an HRM. Those will be the most accurate way to track your exercise levels.

chaoticdreams

I have a Force and I work a desk job. It does not count any of my casual movements. I don't know where the info is coming from that says it does, but mine doesn't and everyone I know who has a Force or Flex, says theirs doesn't.

The only issues I've had with mine so far is: 1. unless you swing your arms or have them near your hips while moving sometimes it's not very accurate on steps. The ellipticals at my gym are the kind without the arm attachments and you have to hold onto a side bar while on them. It doesn't track that. 2. every now and then it freezes up and I have to plug it back in or tun on the sleep timer to get it to track again. 3. It registers me climbing floors when I do not take the stairs.

Other than that, it's been great. I had a zip and so far, I haven't seen many inconsistencies with the wrist band version vs the zip step wise, other than the elliptical at the gym.

broox80

I dont want to hijack the thread, but I did have another question. I dont care about it tracking my sleep. I have a 1 year old who is getting his last few teeth so sleep is kind of hit and miss for me anyway If all I want it for is to track my steps and cals burned through daily activity, would a zip be better for me or are there other features on the one or flex that I am not aware of??

bacitracin

I've had a Flex since the release date, and I can attest that NO, it does not. When I sit at my desk all day, it doesn't show any of the activities that keep me so busy. It also doesn't really count the weight training that I do either. I spent over 14 hours ripping apart my house this past couple of weekends and it didn't really count but maybe half of the activity, and I was busting my *kitten*. But it was a lot of lifting, sorting, cleaning, etc. I have no issues at all with the accuracy of my Flex and have found it has really made a big difference.

REALLY? Mine goes off for 10,000 steps when I'm moving my mouse, tying my shoes, opening the fridge...

6bizymom

I have the Fitbit One, I LOVE IT!! Keeps me motivated to keep moving. Shows steps, floors, miles traveled, and calories burned. It also monitors sleep patterns. You can check the read out on the Fitbit or you can sign on and see it online. I am sure it is not 100% PERFECT, but it is nice to keep track of some of it.
Don't want to wear a bracelet, this clips to waist or bra very easily.

Fullsterkur_woman

I don't have a fitbit, but I have been researching a lot of these devices and thought you might want a little more info.

I have a BodyMedia Fit armband. In addition to the accelerometer (which is really all the Fitbits, Jawbones, and Nike Fuel bands are), it has skin temp, heat flux, and galvanic skin response (sweat) sensors. I feel that it is far more accurate because of this. They claim a 90% accuracy rating. Based on my experience with this, assuming my calorie intake tracking is accurate (always a dangerous assumption!), that's a fair statement. Mine appears to overestimate my burn by a little over 8%.

I also have an old Polar F11 heart rate monitor that I wear when exercising.

It sure would be nice if they could somehow take the features of all three of those and merge them. I would gladly wear the sensors of the BMF on a heart rate monitor chest strap if I could have all-day heart rate data and be free of the monthly subscription fee like on the Fitbit.

Alas, nobody has a product that meets those requirements!

molissep

I actually haven't found that to be true, in terms of it tracking "hand movements". Im constantly moving my hands at work, but I haven't had that problem. There is a function on the dashboard when you get and install the stuff for the fitbit where you can pick whether its highly sensitive, or not as sensitive to movement. I picked the "not as sensitive" option just because I didn't want it tracking my hands moving and counting it towards steps. Seems to have circumvented that as a problem--at least from what I've noticed.

^^^^ I am with you there. I have had mine for almost a month and it does not pickup my hands moving and counting as steps..

I'll have to remember to set it as "not as sensitive". Thanks for this info!