I have been wondering what all of the hype about fitness bands has been, so I recently decided to buy a Fitbit Charge (http://www.fitbit.com/charge) to try it out for myself. The price tag of the Fitbit Charge is a little hefty at $129.99 but I got it on special at Kohl’s for $109.99. I thought writing a review as my blog would be helpful for some of you since I don’t think any of us ever have. So here it goes:

Display 

There are two main ways to display the information received from the Fitbit: on the Fitbit itself and the Fitbit app. Since the Fitbit Charge has an LED screen, it is able to display multiple categories. It is able to display the time and date, steps taken each day, how many miles you have walked, calories burned, and number of floors climbed.  In addition, you are also able to see who is calling your phone on the Fitbit display if you have them synced. You are also able to set an alarm from the Fitbit app to vibrate whenever you have it set.

App  

The Fitbit app, which is available for iPhones, Androids and Windows phones, has a much larger selection of statistics. The app has all of the options the Fitbit Charge itself can display, but you are also able to see things like active minutes and how long and well you slept. There are also things that you can enter manually like weight, food consumed, water consumed, and exercises that you completed. You are able to see more detailed statistics from previous days, weeks and months to track your progress. The app is very well designed and I personally have not had any problems with it yet.

Design

I find the design of the Fitbit Charge pretty stylish and comfortable for the most part. I am a person who always wears watches so starting to wear the Fitbit wasn’t much of a change. The only weird thing was wearing it while I sleep so I could get statistics on how well and long I am sleeping. I actually find the the Fitbit to be less noticeable since there was no watch head that restricted any of my wrist motions. There are three different sizes (http://www.fitbit.com/charge) which you are able to find dimensions to on the website. The only thing that is slightly annoying to me is that the Fitbit is sort of a rubbery material that can sometimes get caught on my long sleeve shirts and sort of pull my sleeve when I move my arm too much. Other than that, I never notice that I am even wearing it.

Battery

There is a battery that is rechargeable. I have found that I have to charge the Fitbit about once every 5 days or so. I have been checking it a lot more than I feel I will in the future though since it is new, which drains the battery. It charges in less than an hour so I have been getting in the habit of just charging it while I go take a shower since it cannot be taken into the shower. But I have not had a problem with it dying on me yet.

Add-ons

There are also many other cool add-ons you can get to use with your Fitbit app like a scale which is recorded daily and tells you how well you are making progress. There are also fun, motivational badges you get whenever you break personal records and goals. You can compete against friends to see who is the most active as well, which is a pretty cool feature to help push yourself.

My Opinion

While wearing my Fitbit Charge I honestly find myself walking more and challenging myself to reach my goals every day. I take stairs rather than elevators and have learned things that I never really thought about, such as how lazy I can be some days and how much sleep I don’t get on others. It’s nice to know when someone is calling and whom he or she is without running to get my phone when it isn’t on me or when I don’t want to pull it out of my pocket.

There are only a few things that I do not like about the Fitbit. I do wish that I was able to wear it in the shower, but it is recommended that you do not. It would also be nice if it were solar charged so I wouldn’t have to ever charge it, but charging it isn’t the biggest burden. The last problem is it getting caught on my long sleeve clothing.

Overall, I do really like the Fitbit. It really helps me be more active because I feel more rewarded seeing all of the steps and active minutes I am putting into each day. It helps me feel guiltier when I take elevators and escalators too. If you can spare the $129.99 for a personal trainer on your wrist I would recommend a Fitbit Charge to you!

Let me know if you have a Fitbit, and if so, how you like it!

“Yesterday you said tomorrow.”

– Eric Hess