Fit Bit Review: I’ve Got Your Pedometer Right Here
I think I’ve mentioned before, I don’t really make New
Year’s resolutions because I try to always be improving my life in all the
various areas. A couple of years ago, I
got a pedometer for Christmas, and have tried to do 10,000 steps per day, every
day, even Sundays, since then. For the
most part, I’ve been pretty successful.
The first pedometer I had was a Striiv, and while I liked
the interface and found its measurement sensitivity to be very
accurate, one thing I did not like about it was that I felt it wasn’t terribly
durable. By that I mean—it’s a
pedometer, not a piece of Baccarat crystal.
You shouldn’t have to baby it, especially when its whole purpose is to
get you to exercise more. Um….exercise
equipment should be durable, ok? Is this
something I have to actually say?
This is the exact same discussion Stephan and I keep having
because our treadmill keeps breaking, I kid you not, because he marathon trains
on it, and apparently treadmills break down when you sweat on them too much.
Let me say that again.
TREADMILLS BREAK DOWN WHEN YOU GET TOO MUCH SWEAT IN THEM.
So, in case you’re wondering, the reason why there is always
at least one treadmill broken at your gym is because while modern science can
put a man on the moon and spilt an atom, scientists are unable to come up with
a SWEATPROOF TREADMILL. I’m sorry, I
know it’s annoying when I write in all caps, but don’t you think this is an
occasion that totally warrants that?
Sweat gets in the treadmill, which was built solely for the purpose of
running indoors, and then it ceases to work?
What the whaaaaaaaaat?
But I digress. I
guess I dropped the Striiv pedometer one too many times, because its LCD
display ended up with a crack on the inside, which eventually meant I couldn’t
read the numbers, and since that is the whole point of a pedometer, I had to
start looking for a new one. The Striiv
lasted for about 9 months (of heavy, everyday use and multiple drops) in case
you’re keeping track. I still like the look of the Striiv, and I think they must have improved the durability, because the next generation looks a little tougher. One thing I really liked about the Striiv was the little game that it has in it (MyLand), which you can play by accruing points through exercise. It's fun and engaging and makes exercise a little less boring, which is great. Again, I loved the Striiv, and yes, it was my fault for dropping it, but it really bummed me out when it stopped working.
Next I moved on to the FitBit Ultra, which I am still using
now. I like the FitBit a little bit
better because it is much simpler and more streamlined, easy to clip on your
pants or exercise clothes, and it seems to measure a little bit more accurately
than the Striiv (which I would sometimes catch giving me credit for steps I
took when I was actually riding in a car or on the subway). The
FitBit is more like a little flash drive that stores data, and thus it’s
smaller, less likely to fall out on the ground, and generally more streamlined.
One thing I don’t like about the FitBit is that it doesn’t
sync itself in an intuitive way. I feel
like it should be able to use wireless to sync to your user account on the main
website, but it actually only syncs when a) you plug it in to the computer (so—not
wireless), or b) are within 100 feet of the “main” computer where you have the
software installed (so, also not exactly wireless). In order to see your data on the FitBit app,
you have to sync it to the website first (which is also less than
intuitive—like, shouldn’t the app and the device be able to talk to each other
wirelessly?).
Once you actually do get the information from the device
into the website, though, FitBit goes back to being my favorite pedometer so
far, because they slice and dice your data, let you know how you’re doing on
progress toward your fitness goals, the whole (fit) bit. This part I really like, and I would do
it more if the data synced itself (in case someone from FitBit is reading this
and wants feedback on how to make their products better).
Oh, one more thing. I
don’t use the “sleep tracker” function, which means I could probably could have
bought the less-expensive ”Zip” or “One” models instead of the “Ultra.”
Bottom line: I have
made a pedometer part of my everyday life, and I’m really glad that I did. Try it!