Fitness Bracelets?

findingfitness101
findingfitness101 Posts: 38
in Fitness and Exercise
Anyone use any of the fitness bracelets available?
I've been looking into FitBit, Polar, Garmin and Nike Fuel etc. What's the best one out there in your opinion? And best for Gym and everyday use, as I'm an active person and then do all my weights and cardio at the gym.
Thanks :-)

Replies

  • Chezzie84
    Chezzie84 Posts: 873 Member
    I have a fitbit flex and love it.
    I haven't used another type so I can't compare

    Edit: because my stupid predictable text thinks it knows what I want to say better than I do
  • dsjohndrow
    dsjohndrow Posts: 1,820 Member
    I use a Fitbit one since August. Not sure that I wanted a bracelet. It clips on just about any clothing.
  • summertime_girl
    summertime_girl Posts: 3,945 Member
    I have a BodyBugg. It's supposed to be the most precise device on the market.
  • TheStephil
    TheStephil Posts: 858 Member
    I like my Fitbit Flex but would prefer the Force since it has the display on the wrist. It works for activities like walking, running, hiking, etc. but doesn't work too well with rowing, biking, strength training,etc. If you aint stepping, it aint tracking.

    I'd personally wait for the Amiigo to come out. It looks amazing and it's what I'm saving my money for. It says it will be able to track all different types of activity and is supposed to be more accurate.

    https://amiigo.com/
  • AmandaKnox
    AmandaKnox Posts: 18 Member
    I've been using a Fitbit Flex for about a month now and I really like it. I'm sure its not 100% accurate, as far as strength training especially, but I'm fairly active at work and I do cardio/strength training in a gym so I use it to get a general idea of how my day looks.
  • tweetybird960
    tweetybird960 Posts: 4 Member
    Hi! We have gone with the Jawbone UP bracelet, mainly because it monitors your sleep patterns as well as your steps. We figured it would be less likely to lose it too! We looked at the fit bit, but thought it can fall off without being noticed & then we would have to go buy another. I hope this helps! Here's the website URL for the UP: https://jawbone.com/up?r=awup9&gclid=CJK-upnb6r0CFRdsfgodUFsAYw
  • TheStephil
    TheStephil Posts: 858 Member
    I have a BodyBugg. It's supposed to be the most precise device on the market.

    I had a BodyMedia (same thing) and it actually over tracked and said I burned more than I actually did. It was consistently 200 calories than my Fitbit One or Fitbit Flex. I tested my maintenance calories and gained weight following the BodyMedia's estimates but maintained when following Fitbit's calories burned. Also BodyMedia and BodyBugg trackers are very large and rest around your upper arm. It gets a lot of looks and questions. I was even told by a coworker (who I hardly know) that it was ugly and I looked stupid. She was rude but still... it is noticeable and will get you lots of attention. I didn't mind for awhile but it got old.
  • jhenn21
    jhenn21 Posts: 2
    I love my fitbit one. It syncs to myfitnesspal and I have an app on my phone so I don't have to get it out and check how many steps I have taken. If you work a desk job, it is great to keep aware.
  • KoiKitten101
    KoiKitten101 Posts: 26 Member
    I got a fitbit flex yesterday. I love it. You can take it with you in the shower. I lost my fitbit Ultra(a version older than the fitbit one), it fell off my pants while I was at work... so that's one reason I no longer like the clip on trackers. Unfortunately the fitbit flex cannot tracks how many flights of stairs you've gone up.. which is one thing I did like about it. The flex also does not have a display like the clip on tracker.

    The fitbit flex also vibrates and I can set alarms on it... woot.. that's just a plus..........
  • mc_hudd
    mc_hudd Posts: 47
    I'd personally wait for the Amiigo to come out. It looks amazing and it's what I'm saving my money for. It says it will be able to track all different types of activity and is supposed to be more accurate.

    https://amiigo.com/

    Anyone have any idea what these will cost? I want one!
  • findingfitness101
    findingfitness101 Posts: 38
    I've read mixed reviews about the fitbit flex so I'm a bit cautious of them! Is the amiigo planned to come to the UK?
  • izu87
    izu87 Posts: 267 Member
    I've been really thinking about buying Garmin's VivoFit, but what has stopped me so far is... well... I don't really see what's the point. Yeah, sure it and all the other will count my steps (yay) but I can get this with a 5 euro pedometer. And unless I do go for the extra walks and so on - it's pointless - if you should take in mind the calories you burn while your walking your usual rounds around, well... no. You haven't lost based on them so far, so why care about them? And the bracelets measure the steps based on hand swings -not accurate if you work on a stationary machine or biking...

    I bought a cheap (40 euros) watch with a heart monitor that I use during workouts and based on my heart rate it gives me back the burnt calories. I also have installed the free Endomondo app on my phone that I turn on whenever I go out with my bike or for a long walk, but not because I care about the burnt calories - tracking distance with it. So far those along with my 5euro pedometer has been more than enough.
  • findingfitness101
    findingfitness101 Posts: 38
    See I'm actually trying to get more active and I'm a runner so it's more suitable to me :-) I'm just generally interested in learning and exploring my fitness and these seem to go in depth. I'm more swaying towards Jawbone Up24 now
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    I have a BodyMedia FIT, and I love it! It has been super accurate for me. It has more sensors than the other ones, so it tracks based more than just step count. It does have an arm band but that doesn't bother me because IDGAF what anyone else thinks about my fitness. Plus I love showing off my electronics.

    ETA- I have had it for almost 6 months and have worn sleeveless clothing and have never gotten one comment or look about it. :ohwell:
  • markarina
    markarina Posts: 17 Member
    I currently use a basis band (http://www.mybasis.com/), it's fairly discreet and seems to give consistent calorific readings, it doesn't sync with MFP so the only way you can find out if you've met your calorie target is by reviewing data the following day, you can check calories throughout the day directly on the watch so you can get an idea of how you are doing.

    There is a new bracelet coming out in July called the GoBe (http://healbe.com/) as yet does not sync with MFP but it's unique selling point is that it measures calories in as well as calories out!

    Handy image comparing features here http://getfitmamas.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/activitymonitor.jpg
  • Sean_The_IT_Guy
    Sean_The_IT_Guy Posts: 168
    I have a fitbit flex and I can attest to a couple things. At first I was very conscious of how active I was while wearing it, but that eventually tapered off. If you have more staying power or general drive to be active than I, it's a great encouragement to stay active each day.

    I had charging issues with my flex, and eventually it stopped altogether after about 3 months. I can't say if the units themselves are poorly made, but mine definitely had a defect. That said, I read a lot about the company's 'poor customer service' and I dont know where those people got that idea. I emailed the contact email on their support site, and within an hour a real person emailed me and asked me some basic troubleshooting questions, and when that failed, asked me for a photo of the original receipt, and what my shipping address was, and within 4 business days, I had a new unit in my hands.

    I like it, and now that it's warm weather again, I'm going to work on hitting my 10K steps a day (maybe even upping it).

    The only beef I have with the unit is that it doesn't accurate track cycling, which is 80% of my regular fitness regimen, as I bike-commute to work (a 14km / ~8mile round trip)
  • WaterBunnie
    WaterBunnie Posts: 1,371 Member
    I wear and FitBit One and find it really accurate, even for cardio machines (treadmill, recumbent bike & cross trainer) at the gym but don't think I'd trust a wrist worn device, plus it's always on display and less hygienic too.
  • MammaC66
    MammaC66 Posts: 118 Member
    I have a Fitbit Flex and I love it! It definitely motivates me to push a little harder to reach my goals.
  • Rita619
    Rita619 Posts: 4
    I agree! I also like the fitbit one over the bracelets because you can hide it when you are dressed up and still get the steps etc,! I wore mine on my bra to my daughters wedding! Figured if I was going to be doing all that moving and dancing, I wanted to count it! :)
  • WBeamen
    WBeamen Posts: 2
    I have the fitbit force...and your're right, the accuracy takes a dip when you do weight training because of the slower movement...however I combine my Fitbit with a heart rate monitor (i use the Wahoo bluetooth HRM with Endomondo app) which gives me a more accurate representation of calories burned. Fitbit syncs with Endomondo which syncs with MFP. This allows MFP to do a better job of calculating the bigger picture of your daily activities, especially when certain movements aren't as easily tracked thru Fitbit or other bracelets.
  • aeribus
    aeribus Posts: 163 Member
    My wife got me a fitbit flex for father's day last year from my son. Within the first 5 or 6 months, the lights on the display started burning out to the point where I only had about two and a half working lights. The wrist band also started cracking within the first couple of months from having to remove the actual fitbit to charge it. The wrist band eventually snapped into two pieces, fortunately, since I had that issue and the issue with the lights I fitbit sent me a new one in a couple of days. Fitbits are really only able to track the amount of walking that you do so any type of activity that doesn't involve running, walking, or jogging probably won't be tracked. Fortunately, you can add any additional workouts into the web app for complete tracking.

    The two biggest complaints that I've had is that it is pretty poor at tracking steps. I've been connected to my fitbit with my phone while walking and it randomly stops counting the steps that I'm taking. Sometimes it will compensate and add the steps into the count and sometimes it won't. The other issue is that it almost always counts steps that you don't take. There is an option which should compensate if you're wearing the flex on your dominant wrist or not, but even that seems to be a little off. I've had random instances where my fitbit would record 700-800 steps within a short time frame and I wasn't walking.

    While fitbit is supposed to be able to sync with MFP, it seems that anytime one of the two updates their software you lose that ability. Anything that I've added within the past 10 days would sync to fitbit from MFP but MFP has not been recording any activity time that I've performed while wearing my fitbit. It seems like I've had to re connect the fitbit software to my MFP account quite a bit within the past couple of months.

    I pretty much use mine as an alarm clock these days.

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