Fitbit Flex Disappointment

Melo1966

Well I am bummed. I have been waiting to get a Fitbit Flex because I lose or forget to put any type of clip monitor on so I was wanting a braclet. I wear a cheap HRM watch but do like how it tracks steps (with arm movement) and it does not sync with anything and the calories are way off. And I wanted the sleep feature.

I thought the Flex would use the same technology as the Fitbit One which has shown to be more acturate than the Bodymedia, Nike Fuel and the Jawbone Up for steps and mileage. My main form of exercise is walking and running. Right now I am doing the 10K Trainer App and I have ran 2 5K's. The Flex does not use the same technology, it is done with arm movement like my watch which is stupid. I walk and run with my dog and do not always swing my arms and shopping while pushing a cart does not count either. The Flex also does not track stairs or heights like the One which I really wanted. So now what?

Do I go with the Bodymedia which may track calories burned more accurate even though steps and mileage may be off. When walking or running I use the Endomondo App for mileage but I want to know how much I am moving throught the day. Also I am planning to do more hiking now that the weather is good. The Endomondo App uses wifi signals and loses reception in the woods. I do not have much data on my phone and I have a family plan with my father whom is in a rehab facility and is incapable of speaking to AT&T to upgrade my data to go with an app that uses data instead of wifi.

Maybe I need to spend $300 for a GPS HRM Watch but I just can't justify that. $100-150 is about my budget.

I could get a Fitbit One and try to wear it with the sleep wrist band on or create my own band.

Or get a Polar 1 with a chest strap and a Fitbit Zip and try like hell to remember and not lose them, which sounds to complicated, and I am far too forgetful.

A HRM with a chest strap or Bodymedia would be best to track calories burned from the occasional exercise classes that I do and I have a free 3 month gym membership to use that I have not started yet and want to start lifting so maybe I need more than a fancy pedometer.

Does anyone have any thoughts of what is the best way to go. Sorry for my rambling.

mmddwechanged

Thanks for posting, I would have expected it to work the same way! I don't have any suggestions because I only have had a fitbit. I do lik run tracker on my iPhone though to track workouts.

Melo1966

I could try it out using it as an ankle braclet???

whitebalance

Here's a rambling response.

Part of the reason the FB One is more accurate than the other devices is you don't wear it on your wrist. If you wear something on your wrist, it's going to track wrist movement... Period. The algorithm may be more or less accurate for a given device, and te FB folks think they've done a very good job of making the Flex more accurate, but it's still on your wrist.

I have a FB One and love it. I don't use the wristband for sleep tracking - I set it to sensitive and attach it to something I'm wearing on the torso. Obviously won't work for you if you sleep in the buff.

I also have a mio Alpha HRM. I've compared it with the FB One on walks, runs, and various cardio machine workouts. On flat surfaces, the FB and the HRM give me pretty similar burn numbers. On hills and stairs, I haven't paid as much attention but I imagine they're pretty close. On incline treadmills, the FB under-reports compared with the HRM. Not surprising, that.

On all the cardio machines I've used - rowing, recumbent bike, adaptive motion trainer - the FB under-reports significantly. What do I mean by "significantly?" On last night's AMT workout, the FB reported 500 calories burned from steps. The HRM reported 680.

YMMV (your mileage may vary), of course. But if your main workout activity is outdoor walking/running and/or treadmill with no incline, the FB One seems to estimate calorie burn very well for those activities - at least it does for me.

amandaj1966

Mel, your post has got me thinking, I was counting the days until the flex comes out in the uk, now I am not so sure. I have heard quite a few views concerning the flex, mostly are disappointing. I wanted something that I could wear on my wrist all the time. The fitbit one looks very good but I wouldn't remember to clip it on every day.
I have also looked at the up but really can't afford to pay out money for something that I am disappointed with and that ends up in the drawer.

blessedswine

are you sure its not counting steps while walking dog or pushing cart, mine seems to do that stuff just fine, i even tried to rest my wrist at the fitbit and still got it to count my steps while walking, i do have it on my non dominant hand with the setting set to dominate not sure if that makes a huge difference or not.

Kevinkpcc55

I use the Fitbit one, goes in my pocket when i get up in the morning and then, put by the side of the bed when i go to sleep, never leaves my side.

I think this is a good indicator of you daily activity, but that it, i don't read to much into the exact calorie counts,, thats what i use my MFP for. I always data input the daily exercise i do into the Fitbit website, so i get a good record of calories burnt.

I look at at it as this....... MFP is a counter for calories in, and Fitbit for calories out, and as long as the output is higher than the input i keep going.

wswilliams67

I use the BM FIT LINK armband. Love it. Tracks everything accurately. The only issue is the subscription fee, but I got lucky and got a Costco deal with a free year. Jawbone just bought BodyMedia so who knows what the future holds for their devices.

It doesn't do mileage, but then it never did and isn't supposed to. If you want accurate mileage tracking use a smartphone app with the phone's GPS. Cheaper than a runner's GPS device and you will always have your phone with you for safety.

lindajobazil

I have to disagree about the Flex not recording dog walks. I walk my dogs in the morning and it does count the miles...but not as accurately as the Zip or One. Yesterday I wore my Zip (back up for when my Flex dies...which it had done the day before) and my new Flex and lost 4000 steps (2 miles out of 12) on it. That is too much of a discrepancy for me. So today I changed my stride length and even though that is now off, I am getting the correct miles. The steps are still off. I actually thought something was wrong with the Flex, so I went and bought another one..I am going to wear both tomorrow to see what happens. I may resort to adjusting the sensitivity mode, other than that I guess I will just have to know what I'm doing and live with it. The One is the best, but I love wearing it on my wrist, so I guess we can't have it all!