Today I am starting a new section where I will be compiling reviews of products that I have personally tested. I will try to give an all encompassing review of the products. So lets get on with it.
I have been using the Fitbit Flex for about eight months now. I have found it to be a first rate fitness tracker that is highly rated among other trackers in its field. The Fitbit Flex's primary competitors in this area include the Jawbone UP, Nike FuelBand, Polar Loop, and others. The Flex is not Fitbit's first foray into the wearable fitness tracker. It is however their first wrist-based wearable tracker. Prior to the Release of the Flex the company had released the Fitbit Zip and the Fitbit One both of which are still available for sale. While both of these were wearable units they required you to clip them to your clothing and were prone to falling off and becoming lost.
Unlike the Zip and the One, the Fitbit Flex is designed to be worn in a strap on your wrist. Similar to a watch it is slim and stylish and has a long battery life. During the day the Flex tracks your steps, Distance, and Calories burned. It also has a sleep trackers as well. (More on that in a moment)
The accuracy of the tracker is among the highest of the available trackers on the market. While the technology behind the tracker is a company secret; Fitbit does say that it is a complex algorithm that tracks several factors to produce an accurate account of information to the wearer.
Upon use I have found that actual information tracked is extremely accurate. The algorithm seems to take into account not just arm swing but also accelerometer information (forward movement and speed) to deliver Distance and Step count. While it is not perfect it does a great job at counting steps even if your arm is not moving such as if you are carrying something. I must also note here that like all trackers it is possible to manipulate your step count by standing in place and swinging your arm back and forth.
The Flex is equipped with an LED screen, which displays how far you are towards your daily step goal. Tapping the unit with your finger and the Flex will show your progress on a scale of one to five. The default daily goal is 10,000 steps. The goal can be changed within the software. Upon reaching your daily goal the device will alert you by vibrating and flashing the LED lights. warning the first time it happens i might startle you.
The Flex calculates your calories burned by factoring in your age, height, weight, and activity level to reach calories burned. While this is accurate it is not as accurate as it would be if heart rate was factored in to the equation. As heart rate and exertion increase calories burned will also increase. Fitbit does contend that their algorithm takes this into account.
Sleep tracking is another feature of this tracker that is popping up in many trackers on the market. The ability to track the length and the quality of your sleep as well as the number of times you are awake is of added benefit. However the actual sleep tracking seems to be a bit inconsistent. Fitbit claims that you are actually awake whether you are aware of it or not. It seems that the tracker determines between restless sleep and awaken sleep based on how much you move. and there for provides you with a overview of your sleep pattern based on these periods. While placing the tracker into sleep mode can be tricky at first you will easily get the hang of it. If you forget to put the tracker in sleep mode you can manually enter your time you went to bed and the time you woke up in the software and it will still figure your sleep. The tracker also can be set up with alarms to wake you in the morning or any other time you choose. The alarm causes the tracker to vibrate and does so just enough to awake even the most sound sleeper.
The tracker itself is water resistant, not water proof. Fitbit says that it is safe to wear while showering and other tasks where it might get wet but should not be submerged completely under water. I wear mine daily in the shower and have not had any issues except for the fact that I have to on occasion dry excess water from the wrist band. The wrist band itself has a unique closure that other reviewers has commented is very stiff and hard to close. While it is hard to close at first if you take a few moments to open and close it it does loosen up and become quite easy to close.
The battery is enclosed inside the unit and is unserviceable. However the battery when fully charged lasts on average of seven to ten days of normal use. As with any electronic gadget that uses rechargeable Lithium-Ion batteries it too will suffer from battery degradation. In my use I have just started to see signs of battery decline. Resulting in having to charge the unit about every 5-6 days.
Software
The software is really the difference between Fitbit and the other trackers out there. The software it self allows you to customize your goals to match personal targets. Everything from calorie intake vs calories burned, to weight is easily customized through the software. The companion mobile apps available for both iOS and Android allow you to easily check you progress at anytime. However the apps do not allow you to tweak your custom settings. You are only able to do this on the Fitbit web site.
The real strength of the Fitbit system is its online data analysis tools. Both the Fitbit mobile app and web interface let you sift through your stats in views of days, weeks, months, and a full year. You can look at your entire month of data to recognize trends.
The web interface allows you to customize it to see just the information you want to see. It also allows you to also connect with the Fitbit community where you can find other Fitbit users. You can even find local groups that you may have things in common with such as a local running group. The advantage of the community is that is gives you a wealth people to challenge and compete with for bragging rights mostly. If you have friends or family with a Fitbit you can cheer for each other, you can also compare stats and see how your progress stacks up. The leader board refreshes regularly so you always know where you rank against friends. Another item that Fitbit has included is badges. While kind of juvenile they do work to motivate you to do just a little bit more. You will receive badges for daily, weekly, and lifetime achievements. Each time you achieve a new goal, (such as 20,000 steps in one day) you get awarded with a badge. Your friends will also be able to see these badges as well.
Fitbit also allows you to track calorie intake as well as other things like Fat and Carbs. This is done through a large large food database to log meals. While it is not as easy to use such as one you would find in say MyFitnessPal's Calorie Counter It is still very useful. The true test is trying to figure out how the item you are looking for was entered into the database. For instance if you are looking for Cherry Pop Tarts you could search for Poptarts and not find it. But if you search for Kellogg's Pop-Tart Cherry it will pop right up. You also fave the ability to create custom foods, and have often-entered meals stored for fast entry. It does make the task of calorie counting easier.
Over all the Fitbit Flex is a wonderful all around Fitness tracker. Towards the end of last year Fitbit released the Fitbit Force which took the Flex and added a altimeter to track stairs climbed and a digital watch face. However the Force lacked a removable band. The Force as of the time of this writing has been pulled from sale and has undergone a voluntary recall due to owners reporting issues of developing a rash from the device and band. To date there have been no rash issues with the Flex. Also the ability to change bands to allows people to give some flair to their device. You can get Flex bands in Black,Slate, Teal, Tangerine, Navy, Lime, Violet, and Pink.
The Fitbit Flex is a great fitness tracker at a great price. Overall 4 out of 5 Stars...
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