Best Fitness Bracelet?

[poofyhairguy]

I want to get my wife one of those fancy fitness wristbands for Christmas. She has an iPhone 5 and iPad 2 that it would work with. Any suggestions?

 

[RandomFool]

I've got the Fitbit Flex and I like it. I got it through work for ~$20 bucks as part of an wellness program so my view is a little skewed. As an "how much am I moving" kind of thing it's great. I probably wouldn't have bought the Flex for full price but the new version (Fitbit Force) just came out and it looks much better. The addition of the watch and side button fixes the two things that I dislike on the Flex. That one I'd consider buying since I always wear a watch anyway.

 

[Deeko]

I have both the fuelband and the fitbit one. If I had to choose between the two, I would choose the fuelband - I find it more motivating and the community more engaging. However, the fitbit does have more interesting stats, if that's your thing.

 

[Ravynmagi]

I kinda want to get a Fitbit Force (the new one that just came out). But I'm disappointed that these idiots can't make an Android app for them. Them and Nike. It can't be that hard. Grrr.

 

[SpongeBob]

I've been using a Jawbone Up since June. I chose it over the Fitbit Flex due to the sleep features and mobile app. It's not perfect but I like it a lot.

 

[Sid59]

I kinda want to get a Fitbit Force (the new one that just came out). But I'm disappointed that these idiots can't make an Android app for them. Them and Nike. It can't be that hard. Grrr.

AOSP didn't get BTLE until 4.3 but that doesn't mean the Samsung, HTC, LG couldn't include it .. but that may explain why their weren't any fitness devices that worked on Android.

 

[TheStu]

I've been using a Jawbone Up since June. I chose it over the Fitbit Flex due to the sleep features and mobile app. It's not perfect but I like it a lot.

I want a Jawbone Up, but I am waiting for the Up 2 (or 3 depending on your point of view, considering the recall and re-release), and hoping that it will have BT 4.0. Not sure why Jawbone, the BT headset people, didn't put BT in their wristband. They seem to be doing the sleep tracking/ alarm thing better than the others. None of them are quite perfect.

 

[Binky]

Ok, I'll be that guy - do you really want buy your wife something that says "you need to work out!"

Suggestion - buy two of them and make it a competition.

Me and my girl had fitbits (which we both lost) and it was pretty fun to see who moved the most. We're both office workers, so the incentive to get up and move around was useful.

 

[s44]

AOSP didn't get BTLE until 4.3 but that doesn't mean the Samsung, HTC, LG couldn't include it ..

Samsung did include it.

 

[cbrunny]

I have a fitbit flex and love it. I've lost ~15 lbs using it, which is pretty awesome. The fitbit force looks like a great device - get that!

 

[QueBert]

Nike Fuelband ties in perfectly with iOS, also imho the nike+ web site is by far the most interesting. Nike's releasing the 2nd gen fuelband in a week, I'd go with it over the original.

 

[Crono]

Fitbit Force and Nike Fuelband are the best right now.

I'm not an Apple fan exactly (always comes down to a few products I like) but I think the fitness watch they are working on, whether it's an iWatch or called something else, will be a game changer almost as much as the iPad was. So I'm waiting for that, though I did have a Fitbit Zip at one point, which I have accidentally washed (still worked) and misplaced more than once. Worked well, but yeah the bands are a better option.

 

[s44]

I'm not an Apple fan exactly (always comes down to a few products I like) but I think the fitness watch they are working on, whether it's an iWatch or called something else, will be a game changer almost as much as the iPad was.

Doubt it will happen, not least because of the Nike connection.

 

[boomhower]

I'd probably go with the Jawbone Up with the new Fitbit a close second.

 

[cbrunny]

Jawbone up doesn't sync wirelessly. Fitbit syncs automatically wirelessly. Not sure about fuelband.

Fitbit force also counts stairs climbed and altitude changes, and includes this info in your calorie burn. Jawbone does not. Not sure about fuelband.

Really though its about what features you use, and which one does it better. For me, fitbit was a no-brainer.

 

[Graze]

Fitbit flex or fitbit force

I wouldn't touch the steaming pile of crap that is the jawbone up(that is is plague with build quality issue, even on the later iterations).

 

[SpongeBob]

Fitbit flex or fitbit force

I wouldn't touch the steaming pile of crap that is the jawbone up(that is is plague with build quality issue, even on the later iterations).

FWIW I have had zero issues with my Jawbone Up. I've worn it every day since June.

 

[Graze]

FWIW I have had zero issues with my Jawbone Up. I've worn it every day since June.

One or 50 or 100 people not having problems with theirs is nothing compared to the number of people who do have problems with it.

 

[Phokus]

Fitbit Flex if being waterproof is important to you, Fitbit Force if having the display is important to you (the Force is only water resistant, not waterproof).

 

[poofyhairguy]

Thank you for the responses everyone.

For more information:

I want to get one because recently she has gotten on a huge health kick (that I did not push for!) and she is trying to monitor her food intake and calories very carefully so I thought a device providing data can help.

Anything trying to monitor her eating is worthless as she only eats homemade vegan dishes with no brands. She is already monitoring that without the device using some iOS app. I think she will like the activity stats more.

So far I think I like the Fitbix Force and Nike Fuelband because they double as watches which gives me some clearence next year when I want a smart watch *sneaky*.

My wife loves the Nike brand and she is iPhone only so I would go for that, but she won't care about the social network "force yourself to workout " features so maybe I need to snag a Force while I can before X-Mas shopping makes them scare (they are already overpriced on ebay).

Decisions decisions. Thank you for the continued advice everyone!

 

[SpongeBob]

The Up has capability to import data from other apps, so that be beneficial to her if the iOS diet tracking app she uses is one that is tied into the Up app. Fitbit may have this capability too, not sure.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Well I was about to pull the trigger on the Force until I saw this picture: