Almost a month ago, Charlie and I bought the Nike Fuelband SE. I converted from using the Fitbit Flex for about a year. The transition has been great and I’m looking forward to learning more about this new device and what it can do to take my fitness to the next level!
Since adopting the Fuelband into my lifestyle I’ve noticed a few pros and cons that I’d like to share in comparison to the Fitbit Flex.
Pros:
- More intuitive band. I love that I can see more information on the band itself than just a few dots. It shows me the time, how many Fuel points I have, how many steps I’ve taken, etc.
- Easier to wear and clean. One of my biggest pet peeves with the Fitbit Flex was the pocket where the Fitbit devices fits into the armband. For those of you that have one, you know what I’m talking about.
Photo from Digital Trends Because that pocket is in direct contact with your wrist, sweat and all kinds of gross travels into that pocket. And it’s a pain to clean. I used to use disinfecting wipes all the time to get it clean in that little pocket. Even with my tiny fingers, it’s not as easy as I’d like it to be. With the Fuelband, a simple wipe all the way around the band suffices.
- More positive reinforcement. In comparison to the Fitbit, Nike has a ton of little badges that you can earn and when you earn it you get a mini-celebration on the app. I know this isn’t a significant selling point, but I like the idea of conquering obstacles one step at a time. 🙂
- The biggest seller for me? Sessions. Nike allows you to track a certain amount of time. I love this feature because I have a workout routine set. Tracking my workouts allows me to see if I am continuing to grow during every work out. A good example: Because I knew what my activity level was like during my Tuesday 2 hour gym workout from the previous week, I was determined to surpass my points even if it was a little. And I did! My previous Tuesday session I earned 2265 Fuel points and the next session I earned 2704. It feels good to know that you’re continually pushing yourself to be better every time.
Cons:
- In a lot of ways I’m a creature of habit. And to me, if I have a system that I like why would I change it? I made so much progress with the help of the Flex. So this was a tough one for me. I tossed and turned with the idea of letting go of my good ol’ trusted Fitbit Flex.
- The Nike Fuelband doesn’t sync with Myfitnesspal. I LOVE MYFITNESSPAL. This was tough for me. The app that Nike syncs with is Lose It! and I personally think it’s a subpar app to Myfitnesspal.
- Battery life. This comes to be expected though since the Fuelband has much more display options. I just figured that the battery life would be shorter than the Fitbit and I was right. It’s not a big deal to me though, a simple charge won’t kill me.
All in all, I can’t truthfully say that I prefer one over the other to someone else. I think it really depends on what fits in to your lifestyle, what you want to accomplish, and what features you can do with or without. To be honest both devices aren’t as accurate as I’d like but my goal isn’t exact numbers it’s overall improvement. I think that where I am in my fitness goals leans more toward the Nike Fuelband and I don’t regret my purchase for one minute.
Hope you’re all having a great week so far! Let’s get active! 🙂
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