Thoughts on the Nike+ Fuel band and the like...

mayweather12 · 30 Dec 2012 at 23:44

Hi,

Just wondered what everyones take and thoughts were on the Nike+ Fuel Band and the many more available, e.g. the BitFit. On the pricey side of things, but in terms of being able to improve motivation, what you guys think? Anyone own one?

Nike's advert/exploring how they went about it which is quite Apple like:

Cheers

King Damager · 31 Dec 2012 at 00:04

Being someone who swims a lot I looked at both the speedo watch and the garmin version. Neither really had all the features I'd like...

kd

mayweather12 · 31 Dec 2012 at 00:05

King Damager said:
Being someone who swims a lot I looked at both the speedo watch and the garmin version. Neither really had all the features I'd like...

kd

Yeah its a shame this is only "Water resistant" rather than water proof, a first generation product though, nor does it have a heart rate monitor which seems possible seen as its held on the wrist.

grudas · 31 Dec 2012 at 00:08

bit pricey for what it is i think

i can't see how it can track my calories properly. How it would track activity like cycling/gym etc either

it seems that all it tracks is steps, has usb connection and a website

i swear you can get smartphone apps that do just that too..

ricky1981 · 31 Dec 2012 at 01:07

The Fuel band, FitBit, Jawbone's Up and some others are little more than pedometers with some good marketing and a fashionable look. None of them will accurately measure actual calories burned unless you do nothing but run/walk as they can't track full body motion (even for walking/running they won't be that accurate).

They can help with motivation but mostly because their very presence on your wrist/belt will remind you to be more active but personally I'd say you're better off spending the money on some exercise equipment or gym membership or anything that will you can actively use.

If you want to track calories or exercise then there are plenty of free or low cost options like myfitnesspal, runkeeper, fitocracy or any one of dozens of smartphone apps if you have an iPhone or Android device.

If you're aiming at getting into shape/losing weight then check out the Sports forum as there are some very clued up people in there

Somnambulist · 31 Dec 2012 at 04:56

Concept of wearable computing is good. The Fuelband would make a cool watch as well... but they're all too expensive for what they do, and too limited - how is the Fuelband going to be accurate for people who weight lift? It's not.

Currently my means of tracking is a pen, paper and Excel spreadsheet, and Fitocracy purely for the lulz.

Saundie · 31 Dec 2012 at 11:58

The FuelBand is a nice idea, but quite poor value for money, considering you can get a Garmin Forerunner 210 with a HRM for around the same price. Not only will the Garmin track your runs, but it'll also work while cycling too, and as it has a HRM it'll give you a much better indication of your calorie use. In my opinion the FuelBand would need to cost around £25 in order to be worth considering. If you already have a smartphone, you may as well use one of the apps ricky1981 mentioned.

Both would be useless for swimming though (the HRM won't work in the water), and for weight lifting you're better off manually logging your sets.

I've just realised that all of my points have already been made... I'm still going to post this now, as I've gone to the effort of writing it out

Nexus · 31 Dec 2012 at 12:43

I've been using a Nike+ Fuelband pretty much since they were released back in May, they are actually a little cheaper than at launch now too, along with a couple more colours.

I'll be the first to admit its a bit of a gimmick, but it can work well as a motivation tool, but its not like having somebody shout at you and force you to do something, you need to be motivated yourself.

I found that setting a daily goal, I'd do everything to try and reach it, even if that mean't walking a non-shortcut route to get somewhere or whatever, just to earn a little more Nike fuel.

The main area of motivation comes from the website though. It's the same as Nike+ Running for those who have used it. It means you can challenge friends, compete in little games and also receive awards and trophies.

In recent months I've not been following it quite the same as I used to, but I'm planning on getting back on it soon. One goal you can go for is an uninterrupted streak where you reach your goal everyday and I plan to try and beat my previous record.

So yeah, its a total gimmick, but it looks cool, it can motivate and if you can afford it, why not?

(I'd also add that it's not really mean't to be a HRM or similar, I have a Garmin for that. However I do wear it when cycling, but you tend to clock up even more fuel than running, perhaps because of the vibrations from the road).

mayweather12 · 31 Dec 2012 at 20:03

Nexus said:
I've been using a Nike+ Fuelband pretty much since they were released back in May, they are actually a little cheaper than at launch now too, along with a couple more colours.

I'll be the first to admit its a bit of a gimmick, but it can work well as a motivation tool, but its not like having somebody shout at you and force you to do something, you need to be motivated yourself.

I found that setting a daily goal, I'd do everything to try and reach it, even if that mean't walking a non-shortcut route to get somewhere or whatever, just to earn a little more Nike fuel.

The main area of motivation comes from the website though. It's the same as Nike+ Running for those who have used it. It means you can challenge friends, compete in little games and also receive awards and trophies.

In recent months I've not been following it quite the same as I used to, but I'm planning on getting back on it soon. One goal you can go for is an uninterrupted streak where you reach your goal everyday and I plan to try and beat my previous record.

So yeah, its a total gimmick, but it looks cool, it can motivate and if you can afford it, why not?

(I'd also add that it's not really mean't to be a HRM or similar, I have a Garmin for that. However I do wear it when cycling, but you tend to clock up even more fuel than running, perhaps because of the vibrations from the road).

Nice one, was looking at getting one myself, and had plenty of good replies here, the thing is, do you think its going to go in a Apple like fashion in terms of a second generation launching on a yearly bi yearly basis?

grudas · 31 Dec 2012 at 20:08

there's no such thing as apple fashion ;D if it actually is successful - and i cant see it being at that price point, then they will look into releasing a v2 or w/e you want to call it

otherwise i wouldn't worry, if you're happy paying that much for a motivational device then go on i don't think they will be releasing a v2 anytime soon

mayweather12 · 31 Dec 2012 at 20:10

grudas said:
there's no such thing as apple fashion ;D if it actually is successful - and i cant see it being at that price point, then they will look into releasing a v2 or w/e you want to call it

otherwise i wouldn't worry, if you're happy paying that much for a motivational device then go on i don't think they will be releasing a v2 anytime soon

LOL, I was thinking the same due to price, then I go and look at the facebook groups/youtube videos, and theres literally millions of followers lol, in total that is.

grudas · 31 Dec 2012 at 20:18

yeah i guess.. well ill be getting my motoactv soon which looks like a good all around device

i can use it to track my cycling and i can wear it as a watch too.. (not much bigger than my current watch) and it has all those functions + a lot more

the big "but" is the battery life on motoactv.. we'll see how that goes but i don't really worry much about since i can charge it with usb!

mayweather12 · 31 Dec 2012 at 20:24

grudas said:
yeah i guess.. well ill be getting my motoactv soon which looks like a good all around device i can use it to track my cycling and i can wear it as a watch too.. (not much bigger than my current watch) and it has all those functions + a lot more

the big "but" is the battery life on motoactv.. we'll see how that goes but i don't really worry much about since i can charge it with usb!

Just had a look at that looks pretty neat, fuel band stays on all day everyday though I guess as already carry a G Shock watch I really like lol, will see how it goes. Fuel Band's are available in every Apple store right?....Seems a bit shifty as Tim Cook is on the Nike board lol

ricky1981 · 31 Dec 2012 at 20:25

The Fuel band and Jawbone Up bracelets sold out initially and it can still be hard to buy them (plenty of scalpers on the usual auction sites). I would definitely expect V2/3/4 to be released and they'll most likely add features like GPS, Bluetooth (for the devices that don't already have it) and maybe music support as well as promises of more accurate motion/altitude tracking.

Personally I still think it's a lot of money for something to sit on your wrist to remind you to exercise. The actual tracking isn't that great and the food tracking is obviously manual so as an overall package it really isn't that comprehensive.

I'm sure some people get some genuine motivation from them but I think a large number of people buy one in the expectation it'll give them a huge boost when the reality is that if you couldn't be bothered to exercise/eat well before then a band on your wrist isn't going to make that much difference and the odds are that within a few weeks they'll have lost interest in tracking their stats.

The Motoactv brings quite a bit more than the fashion devices and if I didn't use my iPhone then I'd be tempted to get one (only for exercising as it's too big/ugly to wear all of the time).

Nexus · 1 Jan 2013 at 15:03

I wouldn't be so sure that the Fuelband will be upgraded much in the near future....

Firstly, it depends on how well its been selling, I don't know what the figures are, as Nike hasn't announced them, however you are correct that they were difficult to get hold of at first and are only available from a limited number of places. You can easily pick them up from Apple and Niketown (and their websites).

If you look at Nike's product history with gadgets particularly Apple associated ones, they aren't like Apple themselves who continually release new ones.

The Fuelband is supposed to be a glorified pedometer type device, so its highly unlikely that it will get GPS or a heartrate monitor. Its designed to be used doing any sport and everyday activity, it doesn't require tracking of where you are, which would use up more battery and be useless indoors.

Nike also has other devices that fill those needs, the Nike+ Running App, Nike+ for iPod/iPhone, Nike+ GPS Sportswatch with optional HRM. All of these devices also now earn Nike Fuel, which is what they have been busy promoting.

So while I think the Fuelband will get even more colours, possibly a cosmetic redesign, I don't think its going to gain too many more features that make it a proper technical gps/running device.

It is early days though, when I bought mine at Niketown, they did seem to be listening to feedback and said that such devices were a very important new market for the company.