I’ve written about my obsession with fitness trackers or bands here, and when people ask why I wear them, I tell them I love having a device track my steps and activity. I find it motivating when I reach my daily goals, and incentivising as I do star jumps at night trying to get to 10 000 steps (I kid you not, and my bf is starting to think I’m mad while I’m jumping up and down at 10.30 at night).
The latest little number on the market is the Fitbit Charge, which follows the Fitbit Flex, which I reviewed here when it first launched in South Africa. Fitbit has basically turned a device I liked a lot into a device I love by tweaking things that bugged me slightly.
What you need to know
The Charge tracks your activity by measuring your motion pattern, and determining your steps taken, distance travelled, active minutes, and calories burnt. It also monitors your sleep so you can see how long you’re in deep or restless sleep for. It links to an app on any of your devices, and when you sync your daily activities, you can get more data and stats, see your rewards and badges, and gage how your Fitbit friends are doing too (for those with a healthy competitive spirit, this is a great feature).
The Fitbit Charge has a battery life of up to seven days, but mine lasted for 10 full days before I needed to charge – you’re sent a notification when your battery is low. It’s not waterproof, but is water resistant up to around 10 metres.
What I love
I can now see my stats on the device, without syncing it to the app. This means that by pressing the Charge, I can access the time, the number of steps taken, distance I’ve walked, and calories burnt. This is a huge plus as many fitness devices don’t have a display option.
If your phone is on Bluetooth and paired, you can also get caller identification on your Fitbit Charge, which is really cool.
As with any fitness device, this one might not turn you into a Women’s Health covergirl, but if you’re looking for a classy virtual coach that looks good, doesn’t judge you, and motivates you, then the Charge is a step in the right direction.
The Fitbit is available for R1 899 from iStores or online. It is available in black and two sizes: small and large.
Disclaimer: the writer owns and uses the Fitbit Charge.