Can anyone tell me about fitbit?

[flumperoo]

Does anyone have one of these, or know about them? They track activity and calories burned, although I assume this must be estimated since it doesn't monitor your heart rate - or does it? I don't think there's a chest strap involved. I'm interested in tracking my running activity, which I currently do using my iphone and mapmyrun app which tracks distance, speed and estimates calories based on this info. I'm wondering if the fitbit offers anything that my current method doesn't. I'm not really interested in tracking sleep, and I know it would be easier to carry/wear than a phone, but I tend to run with my iphone anyway in case I do a detour, get lost and need to refer to google maps .

I have one and it is interesting re general activity levels and sleep. However I still use map my run for tracking runs etc. It makes me be more active on work days as it is clear these are SO much less active for me than non work days. I also have the scales but they are shit as weigh me 5lbs heavier than the gym scales

Let me know if you have any other Q's

Thanks for your reply Summer. If you use something different to track your runs, I'm wondering what benefit you get from using the fitbit. Does it just tell you if you're generally being active or not? Anything else? DO you think it's worth the money?

There was a product trial on here of he orb, IIRC.
Maybe search out the thread?

Thanks SpottedZebra. I've just found some fitbit threads, I hadn't thought to search (doh!)
Not sure what this means though... of he orb, IIRC

Oops. It's my shitty autocorrect!

Of the Orb, if I recall correctly.

Orb is a fit bit model I think. ..

I've found it, thanks

I think it's ok but I wouldn't have bought one (got it as a present). Fitbit works by monitoring arm movement which it uses to count steps. I also take it off for runs, and just use it to monitor the steps I take in the normal course of my day. It does make me more likely to walk to work rather than jumping on the bus, so I guess it has benefits.

If you're interested in tracking your running, I'd get a Garmin watch or similar and use that. You can see real-time pace data, as well as uploading full workout details and seeing similar info to map my run. You can also preset it or hit the reset button to monitor different intervals, some models can e.g. beep when you drop below a certain speed etc. It is a much more useful running tool than a phone as it tells you what you ARE doing rather than what you did, iyswim.

I haven't tried a fitbit. But it comes across as a bit of a gimmicky thing a bit like pedometers were years ago….

I had one as part of the product trial on here and it fell out of the wristband on the third day of wearing it. I would have been seriously annoyed if I had paid for the orb.

I think the latest Fitbit tracks heart rate. It looks more like a watch.

I have a Fitbit Flex. I don't find it terribly convenient in terms of charging. However, spending the best part of £100 on a gizmo focuses the mind and I try to make sure I am active every day.

Here's a tip. Don't shut your arm in a London Underground tube barrier while you are wearing it or it takes a funny turn and wipes out all the steps you did while you were walking around London earlier in the day. Thus causing you to feel you have just 'wasted' your whole day as your steps weren't recorded and then realise that you may have a small, addiction to technology problem as you had had a good day in London and hadn't actually gone there as a means to achieve your 10,000 /day step goal.

I have a FitBit Flex, and use it for tracking my steps for monitoring daily activity (it really is just an overengineered pedometer). Bur for running I use RunKeeper, and the FitBit would be less accurate than the GPS tracking of RunKeeper. What I do like is that both the FitBit and RunKeeper sync with MyFitnessPal, so I can track all my activities and my calories in and out.

I also like the way the FitBit desktop site has great been green smilies that say "hooray" whenever you meet a goal for the day!

Don't mix up the FitBit with the Fit Bug Orb which was trialled on here. They are completely different companies, and FitBit is much better established.

As Anthracite says, they've just brought out three new models which have lots more features, so they might be worth looking into.

I've just looked into the new FitBit range. The one I'm most excited about is the Surge, which comes with a HRM, GPS and also lets you control music volume and has caller ID from your phone. And is a regular watch too. It's not out yet, but I think I will be getting one next Christmas!

Thanks for the further replies. I hadn't checked back here in a few days. Looks like something like a Garmin GPS watch might be more useful for me. Any recommendations for those?

I had one and it died after a couple of months. Not impressed.

I have a Garmin FR 15. Its got a pedometer and you can monitor sleep but you have to enter it in the website.