I purchased a FitBit One back in the middle of May. Okay, full disclosure: I didn’t actually purchase it myself, it was a gift. Actually I received a FitBit Flex but decided that I wanted the pocket clipping One with a screen over the number-less Flex.
I’ve been using the FitBit almost every day since and I have mixed things to say about it. The positives are all on the design and implementation of the device. The negatives all rest on my reaction to the FitBit being a little less than I was hoping. More on that later. First, the device itself.
Looks
I’m a big fan of the design of the One and most FitBit products, they are distinctive enough to be easily identifiable without being obnoxious. The One clips pretty reliably and sturdily to anything that I wear. Mostly pants pockets but sometimes belts. I’ve only had it fall off of me once, terrifyingly during a lawn mowing session (terrifying because I thought I had mowed it up, but also because I lost all those
precious steps).
The screen is simple but has all the information that you need, steps, stairs, miles, calories and a flower thing? I’m not sure what the flower is still but it seems pretty irrelevant. The One can also double as a stop watch for people who do physical activity in a quick time and want to measure that. I’m not one of those people but I’m sure they exist somewhere. Mostly the stopwatch mode’s function is to confuse me when it’s accidentally activated.Beachway Therapy Center’s website
Tracking
Speaking of tracking things, I’ve done numerous, totally unscientific, experiments to test how accurate the various metrics are. The steps seem pretty accurate except when I tap my feet too aggressively or shuffle in one place. When I’m moving the steps seem accurate to +/- 2 steps over 75. Accurate enough for me. The stairs seem less accurate, partly because the definition of one flight is pretty loose in my mind and partly because I’m not sure what witchcraft is used to measure this information. Seriously, I think it’s witchcraft.
Once all these things are tracked it’s synced through a phone, tablet or PC to FitBit’s service. The data is collated and organized in fairly digestible charts and graphs. This is where you can punch in your current weight (or sync your FitBit Aria scale) and enter food for calorie tracking. The data is displayed in a pleasing way and the food database is fairly large, maybe not as nice as MyFitnessPal but large enough that I don’t find myself needing anything else.
Other
The only problems I’ve had in my 3+ months of FitBit use is on my end. I’ve made strides to be more healthy, but I don’t find myself as driven by the data and achievements as I had hoped I would be. I’m not forgetting to use my One but at first I would look for reasons to climb stairs to try and hit the 10 flight a day goal. Now that no longer happens, I’m not avoiding these kinds of things but I’m no longer going out of my way.
Maybe this is how I’m supposed to feel about the FitBit, ignore it mostly and get inspired by the weekly updates. But I kind of wished that the drive would be stronger for me. Nevertheless I think I’d recommend a FitBit for people who are already interested. I want to try and see if the friend leaderboard would convince me to take the dog for more walks in order to beat my friends’ stats.
Without being able to test the friend competitions I can’t give a comprehensive review but I don’t think you need to use the FitBit for any more than just counting steps and stairs. It’s well worth it’s price for that alone.
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