Fitbit Flex vs. One Review

Agreed. Great review. I own the flex and agree if you set it up logically. However, one needs to do the following to reduce sensitivity. Wear on the non dominant wrist and have it set in the app to dominant. If anything, I am below steps taken now as I see on my phone as I move when I tested. Hope this helps.

For what it is worth, I went to see if there was any comment from fit bit about this. Here's what they had on the site:

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Why is my Flex step count different than my count on other Fitbit products?

Flex has been tested extensively against our clip-based devices like the Fitbit One and Fitbit Zip. That said, because Flex is specifically designed for your wrist, if you move your body a lot and not your arms (or vice versa), you may get a slight difference in activity than you would see on your clip-based trackers. Additionally, since you’re more likely to wear Flex 24/7, you may count a few more steps.
This is no different than any wrist-based tracker on the market. For most people, there may be no difference at all between clip and wrist based trackers or it may be within a few percentage points difference. That said, if you have a lifestyle where you move your hands a lot such as playing the drums everyday, you may see a few extra steps on your Flex as we do want to give you credit for this activity.

Why do I get extra steps sometimes?

Flex is a motion sensor on your wrist. There are many instances where your hands may be moving, but your body may not be, such as playing the drums, cooking, or even burping a baby. Flex may count some extra steps here and there to give you credit when it thinks you are active.
Don’t forget, it’s the trends that matter the most in achieving your health and fitness goals.

Will Flex count steps when I’m pushing a stroller or a shopping cart?

Flex will count your steps when you are pushing a stroller or a shopping cart as we do want to give you credit for this activity. That said, because your hands are not moving, your step count may be a bit lower during this activity.
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I decided to get the flex because I can get credit for more activity. Not all calories we expend comes from walking. Even if the steps aren't 100% accurate, I think that the calories can be close to what I burn. It is though I have a tracker for upper and lower body. Also, wearing a flex is like wearing a watch, I often forget it is there.

Thank you so much!!! I had the flex for a week before returning it because I felt like it was just making up steps. I love to talk with my arms I guess you would say so wearing the flex i wonder is this accurate? and when I fell asleep with out turning on sleep mode it told me i took 500 steps in my sleep LOL. So unless I'm sleeping walking this will not do. but after returning it I still missed all the tracking info so tired the Jawbone UP and the counts stayed the same so I gave up on the bands. After reading ur review I will now try the one and hope it's what i'm looking for

Thank you! I've now decided to buy Fitbit One instead of Flex, and that's a great idea cause I hate wristbands

Agreed. Great review. I own the flex and agree if you set it up logically. However, one needs to do the following to reduce sensitivity. Wear on the non dominant wrist and have it set in the app to dominant. If anything, I am below steps taken now as I see on my phone as I move when I tested. Hope this helps.

Please take this advice! It kills me to see people pass over the Flex because they don't realize they have settings they need to configure. I have mine on my non-dominant hand with the dominant setting turned on as described.

Also, the Flex calculating wrist movement as steps doesn't happen as you guys are describing. I have tested it extensively myself. I use a drum machine to produce music and the worst that ever happens is the status gets checked or it goes into sleep mode from tapping on the machine. Never steps though.

Two weeks ago I bought my Fitbit One. I did a fair amount of research prior to buying it and in the end vanity won out over all. The Flex is a rubber type bracelet that you wear on your wrist (I hear someone talking about their ankle but not sure) My One can be clipped anywhere, I personally wear it clipped to my bra in between my breasts. Either one would be absolutely fine day to day BUT
if you need to get dressed up for a night on the town (or work in an environment that requires formal clothing) then walking around with a rubber band on your wrist is going to spoil the look imo. No matter what I am wearing I can find somewhere to clip the one and nobody is any wiser.

Honestly in terms of getting you to move more, I think both Fitbit Flex and Fitbit One accomplishes this. Ultimately it really depends on what you're looking for in a tracker. Here are my pros and cons:

[Fitbit Flex]
Pros:
- Waterproof
- Wear all the time without worrying about breaking it or losing it

Cons:
- No display, can only get data by syncing
- Sensitivity on the tap sucks (I had hard time activating/deactivating sleep mode)
- There is water residue that built inside the band (though tracker should be safe considering they are waterproof)
- Seems to be less accurate than torso clipping trackers
- No altimeter
- Band seem to wear off easily if you frequently take the tracker out of the band

[Fitbit Ultra or device that clips onto your torso]

Pros:
- Display that shows your steps
- altimeter
- More accurate than wrist trackers

Cons:
- Not waterproof (I've killed my Ultra before with my sweat :P)
- Easy to lose (I've lost one previously and I have no idea how... now I have pedometer strap on it)
- Easy to forget to put it on
- Easy to forget to take it off before laundry (washing it will break it)

So I was going to switch to Fitbit One but my coworker told me about Withings Pulse which is a tracker similar to Fitbit One. I picked it up today so I'm going to give this a test ride.

Good points all around. I have been interested in the Pulse ever since I heard about it. After some testing can you come back with comparisons? Also, pay special attention to the HRM function and let us know how accurately that works!

I really wanna get their Wifi scale since it syncs to all the apps I use. It also has a lot more features than the Aria to boot.

Thank you for this thread, it helped me decide that I will get the Fitbit One. I prefer the idea of the flex but I hate wearing anything on my wrist. If they did an ankle version I might be convinced to try that one day

Thank you so much for your research!!! I was on the fence about which fitbit to buy and I miraculously happened to come across the awesome research you did and now know which to buy. Thank you again for this!!! :-)

Thank you for this comparison! I am trying to decide between Flex and One~!

Thanks for the update!

I've got the Fitbit One on my Wish List but I keep hoping someone will come out with something similar that also tracks exercise other than walking, like weight training and cycling. I don't want to need multiple devices in order to get the whole picture.

That's not going to happen because there's really no way for any device to actually know you're lifting weights.

A few points in FAVOR of the Flex -
I don't ever have to worry about losing it. I very rarely take it off, and it is ok for water.
The Flex settings can be changed for Dominant or NonDominant hand--accuracy is inherently linked to having it set up properly.
And this is kinda goofy, I know, but I like that I can get different colored bands for my Flex.. I haven't yet, but I intend to.

I *like* that it's on my wrist. I don't have to think about it. I've had a couple of people think it's just a cool looking bracelet. I like telling people about my latest gadget.
I like that I don't have to fish it out of my bra every time I want to look at it. (Bra does seem like a very good place for the One, I'll admit) If I don't have time to sync it to see where I'm at goal-wise, I double tap the bracelet and the 1 to 5 little lights works for me.

I have to agree with a previous poster - yes, you may have false "steps" if you are waving your arms around but not walking, but all movement creates caloric burn. I want points for the non-step movement, too.
And I *LOVE* when the thing vibrates once I've hit my goal for the day! My Flex is cheering for me!

Fitbit's site does not recommend putting the Flex in a pocket. It is designed to be worn on the wrist.

Finally, it's like a scale. Your scale may have me 3 pounds heavier than mine. But at the end of the day, it is the TREND that is important. Is the scale going up or down? Same with the Flex; are you moving more than you did yesterday? If your answer is Yes, you are receiving the intended benefit.

Happy Stepping, everyone!

I'm late to the party, but thanks for the comparison. I was wondering about the differences.

I have had the flex since May and have lost about 16 lbs since using it.

If anything I have found it to be extremely accurate, but most of my exercise minutes are from treadmill time and walking my dog on a 3 mile track at the park. The mileage always matches up to what I know I did.

I also work out with a trainer 3 times a week for 40 minutes and use weights. The flex shows me about a 50 calorie burn when I do this. I know it is closer to a 100-150 calorie burn, at least this is what my trainer tells me.

For me, I find it to be extremely accurate, and I eat at about a 500-750 calorie deficit and continue to lose on average 1-1.2 lbs per week.

I LOVE THE FITBIT FLEX!!!!!