Fitbit? One or Flex?
August 2, 2013 1:14 PM Subscribe
Due to events beyond the scope of this AskMe, high-intensity exercise is currently off the table for me. I need to stay active in order to manage a bunch of minor but chronic health conditions, though, and I know from previous experience that gamification works really well to keep me on target. So I'm in the market for a Fitbit or something like one -- I have a pedometer app for my phone, but that doesn't work so well for on-all-day functionality. But which fitbit?
The problem is, the Fitbit is so popular that I can only find them online, and the features I want aren't really called out very well in the online materials or user manuals. In a perfect world, I want:
* Something waterproof
* Something that will count activity when I'm pushing a stroller or shopping cart, or when I'm on an exercise bike or elliptical or whatnot
* Something that will track my sleep
* Something that will buzz periodically throughout the day to remind me to get up and at least do some squats or something
* Something ACCURATE. This is my biggest pet peeve with the pedometer app on my phone, it will sometimes count my steps at 4x their actual rate, and sometimes I can walk from here to the library and back and it will claim I've taken 12 steps. This breaks my whole motivation.
I'm having a very hard time figuring out which devices have which of these features -- I know the Flex is waterproof and the One isn't, but beyond that it's all very opaque. Anyone have any specific experience with either Bit?
The problem is, the Fitbit is so popular that I can only find them online, and the features I want aren't really called out very well in the online materials or user manuals. In a perfect world, I want:
* Something waterproof
* Something that will count activity when I'm pushing a stroller or shopping cart, or when I'm on an exercise bike or elliptical or whatnot
* Something that will track my sleep
* Something that will buzz periodically throughout the day to remind me to get up and at least do some squats or something
* Something ACCURATE. This is my biggest pet peeve with the pedometer app on my phone, it will sometimes count my steps at 4x their actual rate, and sometimes I can walk from here to the library and back and it will claim I've taken 12 steps. This breaks my whole motivation.
I'm having a very hard time figuring out which devices have which of these features -- I know the Flex is waterproof and the One isn't, but beyond that it's all very opaque. Anyone have any specific experience with either Bit?
I've got a Fitbit Ultra, which is the predecessor to the One. In terms of what you want:
- not waterproof, but it's pretty rugged otherwise
- will track stroller/shopping cart time (as walking), but not exercise equipment
- sleep tracking is supported but I never got much value out of it. Opinions may vary
- no alarms on my Ultra, but it looks like the One does support it
- I find my Fitbit is very accurate. It's currently showing 3.92 km, and I know my walk to work is 3km (more or less exactly), and Google Maps just told me that my lunch spot today was 400m away, so it adds up nicely.
Stair climbing is tracked separately; on the Ultra, at least, this is a little flaky. Sometimes I find that I get credit for 3 flights of stairs just walking home, other times I don't get credit for actually climbing stairs.
In general, the Fitbit has worked out very well for me from a gamification point of view. I've had it for over a year and still carry it faithfully. If I forget it in its charger I feel like the walking I'm doing doesn't "count".
posted by flipper at 1:36 PM on August 2, 2013 [3 favorites]
- not waterproof, but it's pretty rugged otherwise
- will track stroller/shopping cart time (as walking), but not exercise equipment
- sleep tracking is supported but I never got much value out of it. Opinions may vary
- no alarms on my Ultra, but it looks like the One does support it
- I find my Fitbit is very accurate. It's currently showing 3.92 km, and I know my walk to work is 3km (more or less exactly), and Google Maps just told me that my lunch spot today was 400m away, so it adds up nicely.
Stair climbing is tracked separately; on the Ultra, at least, this is a little flaky. Sometimes I find that I get credit for 3 flights of stairs just walking home, other times I don't get credit for actually climbing stairs.
In general, the Fitbit has worked out very well for me from a gamification point of view. I've had it for over a year and still carry it faithfully. If I forget it in its charger I feel like the walking I'm doing doesn't "count".
posted by flipper at 1:36 PM on August 2, 2013 [3 favorites]
Had a One, now have a Flex. The One worked well, but the belt clip kept popping off my waistband until I finally just lost it altogether. Replaced it with a Flex and honestly it meets just about all of your criteria. It's waterproof; counts steps accurately when I'm pushing my infant son around the block; will track your sleep; will let you set alarms for which it will buzz; and is the most accurate pedometer I've seen so far. (I had a phone app, too, and junked it pretty quickly because it was so wonky.) I'm a pretty big fan.
tl;dr: skip the One, go straight for the Flex.
posted by we vs us at 1:36 PM on August 2, 2013 [1 favorite]
tl;dr: skip the One, go straight for the Flex.
posted by we vs us at 1:36 PM on August 2, 2013 [1 favorite]
I have a One and am perfectly happy with it. I can't say what would be better or worse about the Flex.
The One will count activity, track sleep if you really want to stick it in the soft wristband pouch and wear it to bed. (I tried this a couple times, didn't see the point, and stopped bothering with it.) This might be a slight advantage for the wristband Flex if that's really important to you.
It will not periodically buzz to remind you to do things (at least I don't think it will - I accidentally discovered a stopwatch function a couple weeks ago that I had no idea existed. Maybe it does this too.) But that's easy enough to do with a phone.
Okay, accuracy. No pedometer is perfect. They're always within a reasonable margin of error. My One is the successor to an Omron pedometer that I carried around in my pants pocket until the finish wore off. From time to time, I would count off steps on a walk and check them against the device. My fitbit seems to be slightly less precise than the Omron was, but not enough that it bothers me. Neither was perfect. Just figure the errors average out and don't worry about it. It certainly works as a motivator, especially if you find a few friends to link up to online and get competitive.
Other things about the One:
Battery wants to be recharged roughly every week. It comes with a USB adapter so I just plug it into a free port on a machine that's always on and leave it overnight. It helpfully emails you to let you know when it needs a recharge.
You have to take it out of the little neoprene case to charge it. If you do this, for the love of God, don't leave the empty case out overnight. It is almost uncannily similar to a toy mouse and your cats will take it while you are sleeping and hide it in the downstairs closet.
Short answer: I'm not sure it matters. Which sounds better to you: another wristband or another something floating around in your pocket?
posted by Naberius at 1:38 PM on August 2, 2013
The One will count activity, track sleep if you really want to stick it in the soft wristband pouch and wear it to bed. (I tried this a couple times, didn't see the point, and stopped bothering with it.) This might be a slight advantage for the wristband Flex if that's really important to you.
It will not periodically buzz to remind you to do things (at least I don't think it will - I accidentally discovered a stopwatch function a couple weeks ago that I had no idea existed. Maybe it does this too.) But that's easy enough to do with a phone.
Okay, accuracy. No pedometer is perfect. They're always within a reasonable margin of error. My One is the successor to an Omron pedometer that I carried around in my pants pocket until the finish wore off. From time to time, I would count off steps on a walk and check them against the device. My fitbit seems to be slightly less precise than the Omron was, but not enough that it bothers me. Neither was perfect. Just figure the errors average out and don't worry about it. It certainly works as a motivator, especially if you find a few friends to link up to online and get competitive.
Other things about the One:
Battery wants to be recharged roughly every week. It comes with a USB adapter so I just plug it into a free port on a machine that's always on and leave it overnight. It helpfully emails you to let you know when it needs a recharge.
You have to take it out of the little neoprene case to charge it. If you do this, for the love of God, don't leave the empty case out overnight. It is almost uncannily similar to a toy mouse and your cats will take it while you are sleeping and hide it in the downstairs closet.
Short answer: I'm not sure it matters. Which sounds better to you: another wristband or another something floating around in your pocket?
posted by Naberius at 1:38 PM on August 2, 2013
* Something waterproof
* Something that will count activity when I'm pushing a stroller or shopping cart, or when I'm on an exercise bike or elliptical or whatnot
* Something that will track my sleep
* Something that will buzz periodically throughout the day to remind me to get up and at least do some squats or something
* Something ACCURATE. This is my biggest pet peeve with the pedometer app on my phone, it will sometimes count my steps at 4x their actual rate, and sometimes I can walk from here to the library and back and it will claim I've taken 12 steps. This breaks my whole motivation.
I have a Fitbit Flex and I'd say almost all these conditions are met.
I can shower with mine on, it can track my sleep (though I don't use mine for this), it can buzz on a schedule you set with your iPhone or with a web app, and it seems reasonably accurate(*) when compared with going on walks while my partner wears his Fitbit One.
My only two complaints with it are:
• The bracelet can be kind of difficult to get on (but once on, it stays attached)
• The battery life is so-so: about 4 days between charges, in my experience, and less if I sync it with my phone more frequently
*: I don't know if it tracks shopping cart or stroller motion, although if you know anything about the sport of curling, my Flex counts each back-and-forth sweep with a broom as a step.
I would not say this is accurate, but this is probably not a typical usage scenario for Fitbit's engineers, while pushing a stroller/shopping cart is more likely to be one simply based on user demographics.
On the accuracy tip, I heard a rumor from one of my tech friends in Seattle that one reason the Flex was held up in shipping for two months was because of a usage scenario where people wore the bracelet around their ankle and steps were miscounted, which required some programming adjustments. (Again, just a rumor, so take it with a grain of salt.)
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:38 PM on August 2, 2013
* Something that will count activity when I'm pushing a stroller or shopping cart, or when I'm on an exercise bike or elliptical or whatnot
* Something that will track my sleep
* Something that will buzz periodically throughout the day to remind me to get up and at least do some squats or something
* Something ACCURATE. This is my biggest pet peeve with the pedometer app on my phone, it will sometimes count my steps at 4x their actual rate, and sometimes I can walk from here to the library and back and it will claim I've taken 12 steps. This breaks my whole motivation.
I have a Fitbit Flex and I'd say almost all these conditions are met.
I can shower with mine on, it can track my sleep (though I don't use mine for this), it can buzz on a schedule you set with your iPhone or with a web app, and it seems reasonably accurate(*) when compared with going on walks while my partner wears his Fitbit One.
My only two complaints with it are:
• The bracelet can be kind of difficult to get on (but once on, it stays attached)
• The battery life is so-so: about 4 days between charges, in my experience, and less if I sync it with my phone more frequently
*: I don't know if it tracks shopping cart or stroller motion, although if you know anything about the sport of curling, my Flex counts each back-and-forth sweep with a broom as a step.
I would not say this is accurate, but this is probably not a typical usage scenario for Fitbit's engineers, while pushing a stroller/shopping cart is more likely to be one simply based on user demographics.
On the accuracy tip, I heard a rumor from one of my tech friends in Seattle that one reason the Flex was held up in shipping for two months was because of a usage scenario where people wore the bracelet around their ankle and steps were miscounted, which required some programming adjustments. (Again, just a rumor, so take it with a grain of salt.)
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:38 PM on August 2, 2013
I have had two FitBits: the Ultra (older model) and the One, and I think they're swell. When I lost my Ultra I read up on the Flex and a lot of reviews pointed out that because you're wearing it on your wrist, and you use your arms more than you do your legs, that it's not particularly accurate and you get way more steps than you've actually made. That was the tipping point for me into getting the One.
posted by clone boulevard at 1:40 PM on August 2, 2013 [1 favorite]
- Not sure about the waterproof aspect. It has a nice silicon clip case thing that protects it from sweat. I have had no problems with it that way. I wouldn't wear it swimming or in the shower.
- It will track as you step. As long as the activity that you're doing is stepping, you're good. It will also keep track of stairs that you climb.
- It will track your sleep, as long as you put it into a wrist cuff and start it properly, then stop it when you wake up
- Yes, although I haven't used that feature yet. It has a waking alarm and I think you can set others, also
- See prev. The wireless aspect is nice, too. I believe the flex is awkward to charge? or sync? something.
posted by clone boulevard at 1:40 PM on August 2, 2013 [1 favorite]
I have a Fitbit One. It is waterproof, but you couldn't wear it swimming for instance. It counts any walking activity, but doesn't distinguish biking or more cardio intensive activities. I track my running and biking separately (and don't wear the Fitbit while doing those activities). It can track sleep. It does not buzz to remind you, though if does flash little encouragement messages sometimes.
posted by wsquared at 1:40 PM on August 2, 2013
posted by wsquared at 1:40 PM on August 2, 2013
I believe the flex is awkward to charge? or sync? something.
That's another bugbear with both the One and the Flex: The charger is a proprietary USB cable that plugs into your computer. Lose that tiny cable and you're sunk.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:42 PM on August 2, 2013 [1 favorite]
That's another bugbear with both the One and the Flex: The charger is a proprietary USB cable that plugs into your computer. Lose that tiny cable and you're sunk.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:42 PM on August 2, 2013 [1 favorite]
I'm two weeks into life with the Flex and loving it over the One. I wore it with the One for the first few days to compare and the Flex was consistently about 300 steps higher for the day. For me that's not enough to make a difference compared to the joys of it being waterproof and not having to remember to put it on every day.
You can set buzzing alarms so you could tell it to go off at 11 and 2 every day, for example. It's not quite smart enough to just go off because you've been still for a while, though.
It tracks on a treadmill just fine, can't speak to a bike or elliptical.
posted by Stacey at 2:05 PM on August 2, 2013 [1 favorite]
You can set buzzing alarms so you could tell it to go off at 11 and 2 every day, for example. It's not quite smart enough to just go off because you've been still for a while, though.
It tracks on a treadmill just fine, can't speak to a bike or elliptical.
posted by Stacey at 2:05 PM on August 2, 2013 [1 favorite]
I was googling exactly this last weekend, trying to decide if I wanted to bother with something better than a Zip if I couldn't use the sleep tracking anyway. I found a review by a woman who used a Flex and a One in tandem and found the Flex tended to miscount if she was carrying a purse in that hand. She also had some concerns about it counting hand gestures as steps.
posted by Lyn Never at 2:06 PM on August 2, 2013
posted by Lyn Never at 2:06 PM on August 2, 2013
I've had an Ultra and now a One.
I concur with most of the above, so will just add that if you're in situations where you don't want it to be visible, you'll want to go for the One, not the Flex (I'm not wearing a Flex with a fancy dress, for example.)
They are surprisingly accurate. I play roller derby and the thing counts steps (though not distance) accurately while I'm skating. It's kind of freaky. It can't handle bicycling though -- my body is too still.
(Had no idea you could set alarms on it, so now I'm going to go do that.)
posted by pixiecrinkle at 2:09 PM on August 2, 2013
I concur with most of the above, so will just add that if you're in situations where you don't want it to be visible, you'll want to go for the One, not the Flex (I'm not wearing a Flex with a fancy dress, for example.)
They are surprisingly accurate. I play roller derby and the thing counts steps (though not distance) accurately while I'm skating. It's kind of freaky. It can't handle bicycling though -- my body is too still.
(Had no idea you could set alarms on it, so now I'm going to go do that.)
posted by pixiecrinkle at 2:09 PM on August 2, 2013
Washed my Ultra twice, and it continued working both times. The only change I noticed is that after the second washing, the charge started lasting only three days (the time it's guaranteed to last) instead of over a week like it did previously. I've got a One now, and haven't washed it. Both of them seem fairly accurate with steps, but laughably inaccurate when it comes to counting flights of stairs.
Neither of them buzz to tell you to get up and do something. I eventually installed a browser extention at work that popped up with a simple exercise to do every twenty minutes or so. (And then eventually uninstalled it when it started annoying me.)
posted by telophase at 2:42 PM on August 2, 2013
Neither of them buzz to tell you to get up and do something. I eventually installed a browser extention at work that popped up with a simple exercise to do every twenty minutes or so. (And then eventually uninstalled it when it started annoying me.)
posted by telophase at 2:42 PM on August 2, 2013
My dad uses a Fitbit One, and it does count steps he takes on his elliptical as long as he clips it to the bottom leg-part of the shorts he wears to exercise in. It does not count his steps on the elliptical if he wears it on his belt or in his pocket.
posted by Juffo-Wup at 2:44 PM on August 2, 2013
posted by Juffo-Wup at 2:44 PM on August 2, 2013
My spouse and I both have Fitbit Flexes.
1. Waterproof. Yes. I wore mine in the shower for maybe the first month and then quit doing that but you can.
2. You can mate your Flex/Fitbit app with My Fitness Pal and enter your activity in there. So I do indoor rowing (which is awesome) and I just put the activity into MFP right before I start, and it gets counted. I think it's fairly accurate.
3. It does track sleep, but you do have to put it to sleep and wake it up (easy).
4. You can set a gazillion silent alarms.
5. Accuracy: as above, I think it's pretty accurate. It will say how many miles you've walked, for example, and that usually correlates well to my own mental estimate or what I just know to be generally correct. Also, my Fitbit and my spouse's register the same distances when we are together (and he's a good 11 inches taller than me).
posted by Medieval Maven at 3:26 PM on August 2, 2013
1. Waterproof. Yes. I wore mine in the shower for maybe the first month and then quit doing that but you can.
2. You can mate your Flex/Fitbit app with My Fitness Pal and enter your activity in there. So I do indoor rowing (which is awesome) and I just put the activity into MFP right before I start, and it gets counted. I think it's fairly accurate.
3. It does track sleep, but you do have to put it to sleep and wake it up (easy).
4. You can set a gazillion silent alarms.
5. Accuracy: as above, I think it's pretty accurate. It will say how many miles you've walked, for example, and that usually correlates well to my own mental estimate or what I just know to be generally correct. Also, my Fitbit and my spouse's register the same distances when we are together (and he's a good 11 inches taller than me).
posted by Medieval Maven at 3:26 PM on August 2, 2013
Response by poster: Medieval Maven, does it register activity where your hands are still, like on a shopping cart or something?
posted by KathrynT at 3:36 PM on August 2, 2013
posted by KathrynT at 3:36 PM on August 2, 2013
I clip my One inside my right side pants pocket; the clippy bit is outside and the actual unit is inside the pocket, so if it does come out of the clip, it will probably stay inside the pocket. I haven't had any problems with losing it, and I'm bad for that sort of thing (I've never broken a month for a pedometer before, IIRC).
The first time I clipped it on, I took the four block walk I most frequently take, counting the steps. It matched exactly, to the step. I measured the distance on Google Maps, and it was within a few percent; I adjusted the stride length.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 3:43 PM on August 2, 2013
The first time I clipped it on, I took the four block walk I most frequently take, counting the steps. It matched exactly, to the step. I measured the distance on Google Maps, and it was within a few percent; I adjusted the stride length.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 3:43 PM on August 2, 2013
Medieval Maven, does it register activity where your hands are still, like on a shopping cart or something?
posted by KathrynT at 3:36 PM on August 2
[+] [!]
I had the same question when I got one -- and in my experience it does. I walk a lot carrying my baby (so not swinging my arms) getting him to sleep and the number of steps the flex records seems right.
posted by JenMarie at 5:10 PM on August 2, 2013
posted by KathrynT at 3:36 PM on August 2
[+] [!]
I had the same question when I got one -- and in my experience it does. I walk a lot carrying my baby (so not swinging my arms) getting him to sleep and the number of steps the flex records seems right.
posted by JenMarie at 5:10 PM on August 2, 2013
One thing the FitBit One has that the Flex doesn't is an altimeter. I've found that very helpful in encouraging me to take the stairs instead of an elevator more than I would otherwise. (I also live in a hilly place and it's gratifying to see that the tiring hills actually count for something.)
posted by foxfirefey at 5:19 PM on August 2, 2013
posted by foxfirefey at 5:19 PM on August 2, 2013
Someone I know had a lot of problems with accuracy on the Flex. She wrote a blog post about it.
posted by jeri at 11:58 PM on August 2, 2013
posted by jeri at 11:58 PM on August 2, 2013
www.wirecutter.com story choosing fitbit
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-fitness-tracker-is-the-fitbit-one/
posted by tarvuz at 8:19 AM on August 3, 2013
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-fitness-tracker-is-the-fitbit-one/
posted by tarvuz at 8:19 AM on August 3, 2013
@KathrynT as far as I can tell yes, it does.
posted by Medieval Maven at 11:15 AM on August 3, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Medieval Maven at 11:15 AM on August 3, 2013 [1 favorite]
One thing the FitBit One has that the Flex doesn't is an altimeter. I've found that very helpful in encouraging me to take the stairs instead of an elevator more than I would otherwise. (I also live in a hilly place and it's gratifying to see that the tiring hills actually count for something.)
My partner's One has helped him to take stairs over the elevator, as a matter of habit. The Flex can't count flights of stairs.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:03 PM on August 3, 2013
My partner's One has helped him to take stairs over the elevator, as a matter of habit. The Flex can't count flights of stairs.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:03 PM on August 3, 2013
I have a One and I love it. I didn't get the Flex because I wear a watch every day and I knew that having the Flex and the watch would drive me nuts. I charge mine on my way to work every day (I have about a 30 minute commute)- just plugged the USB cable into a car adapter. The ~30 min charge twice a day means that I have never had it die, even using it for sleep tracking and without charging it on the weekends, so I have no idea how long the battery lasts normally. I usually clip mine onto the inside of my bra so it's completely hidden and I can't lose it (because even if it came unclipped, it would fall into the cup). My only problem is forgetting to put it back on after I take a shower or something. I also track my exercise separately and don't wear my fitbit at those times.
posted by kro at 11:42 AM on August 4, 2013
posted by kro at 11:42 AM on August 4, 2013
Response by poster: Thank you so much for your wonderful insights! As I type this, I am wearing my brand new Fitbit Flex, which was harder to find for immediate sale in this city than heroin. Everywhere was backordered except, mysteriously, the AT&T store. I've had it for less than 12 hours, so I have no solid data yet, but I want to thank everyone for helping me make the choice!
posted by KathrynT at 8:33 AM on August 6, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by KathrynT at 8:33 AM on August 6, 2013 [2 favorites]
Can I ask how it's worked out for you?
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:48 PM on October 15, 2013
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:48 PM on October 15, 2013
Response by poster: I love it. It absolutely hits the competitive spirit in me, and I love knowing that my every step "counts." It's very comfortable, it is definitely waterproof, and I only take it off to charge it.
posted by KathrynT at 3:52 PM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by KathrynT at 3:52 PM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
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I covet the flex, though.
posted by needlegrrl at 1:22 PM on August 2, 2013