OT: Fuel Band vs FitBit?

[Rocco]

I'm looking to buy one mainly to track my activity throughout the day. Anyone have any insight to which product is better? Thanks in advance...

 

[NailstheCusefan12]

I like the Fuelband better because it actually comes as part of a watch with a digital display. Fitbit is probably the more reliable bet as workout tracking goes because that's the only product their company makes. If you want the most reliable tracking device I'd go for one of the Polar devices that comes with a heart rate monitor. That will give you the most accurate information.

Also, if you couldn't tell, I work as a sales manager for Dick's.

 

[oldpinepoint]

Apple watch

 

[Upstate]

Squats

 

[retro44]

just put down the donuts after 8:00 am

 

[Rocco]

just put down the donuts after 8:00 am

Ha, I don't need to lose weight, just thought it would be interesting to track daily activity.

I like the Fuelband better because it actually comes as part of a watch with a digital display. Fitbit is probably the more reliable bet as workout tracking goes because that's the only product their company makes. If you want the most reliable tracking device I'd go for one of the Polar devices that comes with a heart rate monitor. That will give you the most accurate information.

Also, if you couldn't tell, I work as a sales manager for Dick's.

Thanks! Does Dick's carry all of the products you just mentioned?

 

[NailstheCusefan12]

Ha, I don't need to lose weight, just thought it would be interesting to track daily activity.


Thanks! Does Dick's carry all of the products you just mentioned?

Not sure if all our stores have the Fuelband yet. Most stores will have the Fitbit and Polar products. Best bet is to call the closest store and figure out exactly what they've got. If you're considering making the purchase do it soon. Those are huge holiday items.

 

[CuseOnly]

It depends on how accurate you want your information and what other features you wan to have/use.

My company distributes the FitBit, Misfit, Mio Global, Polar, TomTom and Pair lines.

I am partial to the Misfit Shine. Waterproof, tells time, tracks activity and sleep.

www.misfitwearables.com

Check it out. One of the Apple guys is a founder.

EDIT: I forgot the Garmin Forerunner products as well as the Vivofit.

 

[Rocco]

It depends on how accurate you want your information and what other features you wan to have/use.

My company distributes the FitBit, Misfit, Mio Global, Polar, TomTom and Pair lines.

I am partial to the Misfit Shine. Waterproof, tells time, tracks activity and sleep.

www.misfitwearables.com

Check it out. One of the Apple guys is a founder.

EDIT: I forgot the Garmin Forerunner products as well as the Vivofit.

Interesting stuff, thanks!

 

[orangepack]

I have the Fuelband and find it to be terrible. It can't differentiate between the type of workouts you are doing. The Nike Fuel system is flawed. I'm an avid runner and I earn more Fuel by standing still shooting baskets than I do on a 10 mile run. It is a fancy pedometer and watch at best.

 

[CIL]

Rocco, it depends really on what you want to do. The problem with most of the trackers is that they do not have a heart rate monitor as Nails mentioned. Most of the trackers I have come across aren't that good with regards to measuring you output if you are doing strength training, high intensity training or the like as many of them track the motion of your body.

I wear a heart rate monitor when I work out. It's pretty accurate down to the calorie. Bad news is you can't wear it all day.

I'm curious to see how the apple watch is going to work.

 

[cusepack]

I have been using the Jawbone UP24 and cannot say enough good things about it. I did a tremendous amount of research before choosing the Jawbone and it has the most bang for the buck. Last I read, Nike was discontinuing the FuelBand in the near future, so that might be something to consider. I love the Bluetooth connection to my phone and it's constantly updating itself, so I never have to worry about hooking it up to my computer. It tracks steps, active calorie burn, idle calorie burn and sleep. The sleep function is amazing . . . shows you a graph of your sleep pattern, including light/deep sleep and if you awake in the night. You can also link it with myfitnesspal as well as other fitness apps, which is a great bonus. I keep track of my nutrients through myfitnesspal and Jawbone graphs my progress . . . activity vs. food. Their newest firmware update now gives the Jawbone 14 days of battery life, as opposed to the 7 it had. I also love the alarm feature which is a soft vibration instead of some beeping or buzzing to wake me in the morning. Purchased mine at Best Buy along with the $20 extended warranty. Sales associate told me, if in a year, I just want a new one, to bring it in and they'll replace it, no questions asked.

 

[TheCusian]

Apple watch is going to be sick. Watch the end of the presentation from last week. Tons of info all interacting with your iPhone. Amazing. Expensive. But amazing.

 

[kuethstheman]

I have been using the Jawbone UP24 and cannot say enough good things about it. I did a tremendous amount of research before choosing the Jawbone and it has the most bang for the buck. Last I read, Nike was discontinuing the FuelBand in the near future, so that might be something to consider. I love the Bluetooth connection to my phone and it's constantly updating itself, so I never have to worry about hooking it up to my computer. It tracks steps, active calorie burn, idle calorie burn and sleep. The sleep function is amazing . . . shows you a graph of your sleep pattern, including light/deep sleep and if you awake in the night. You can also link it with myfitnesspal as well as other fitness apps, which is a great bonus. I keep track of my nutrients through myfitnesspal and Jawbone graphs my progress . . . activity vs. food. Their newest firmware update now gives the Jawbone 14 days of battery life, as opposed to the 7 it had. I also love the alarm feature which is a soft vibration instead of some beeping or buzzing to wake me in the morning. Purchased mine at Best Buy along with the $20 extended warranty. Sales associate told me, if in a year, I just want a new one, to bring it in and they'll replace it, no questions asked.

Love my Jawbone, partly because it's orange.

 

[TheCusian]

This is a good read: http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-fitness-tracker/

 

[WickedOrange]

Exclusive: Nike fires majority of FuelBand team, will stop making wearable hardware
The sportswear company has decided that only software has a future in Nike’s technology vision. That means cutting the FuelBand, including a slimmer version planned for the fall.

http://www.cnet.com/news/nike-fires-fuelband-engineers-will-stop-making-wearable-hardware/

 

[RandygoCuse]

I've heard good things about Garmin

 

[ImperialOrange]

My 13 son wanted the fuel band to track his XC/track/jr olympics training. After reading reviews ended up getting him the TomTom instead which has been issue free to date since last Christmas. Fuelband reviews stated its not accurate (as stated prior) and the construction was sub par (lots of rusting issues).

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=TomTom Multi-Sport GPS

 

[wfschrec]

Bodymedia was by far the best and was purchased by Jawbone but is still available for purchase. My wife and I tried a few and found it to be the most accurate and loved the metrics it provided.

 

[Rocco]

This is a good read: http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-fitness-tracker/

Good read. Seems to lean towards the Garmin Vivofit the whole time... Do you have one?

 

[Rocco]

Rocco, it depends really on what you want to do. The problem with most of the trackers is that they do not have a heart rate monitor as Nails mentioned. Most of the trackers I have come across aren't that good with regards to measuring you output if you are doing strength training, high intensity training or the like as many of them track the motion of your body.

I wear a heart rate monitor when I work out. It's pretty accurate down to the calorie. Bad news is you can't wear it all day.

I'm curious to see how the apple watch is going to work.

The apple watch is what I want to hold out for, but I don't have the patience. I'm going to order one regardless as soon as they come out, but that is not until winter/spring of 2015.

I also wear a heart rate monitor when I work out. That tells me if I'm pushing myself too hard or too easy and allows you to make adjustments mid-workout.

 

[bevosu]

Here's another review of most of the major players...

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/projects/activity-trackers