I have had a FitBit Flex for awhile now, and while I liked it there were a few frustrating things about it. First off, the Flex had a very limited display and I would continually be looking at my wrist for the time. It also really only tracks steps. So each CrossFit class I would take off the FitBit, put on my heart rate monitor, then switch back at the end of class and manually enter the calorie burn. Not the end of the world, but kind of silly.
I started researching other fitness bands - debating moving up to the new FitBit Force, or getting something different - when I came across the Basis. The Basis counts steps, monitors sleep and estimates calorie burn just like the other trackers, but additionally it has sensors to capture your heart rate, perspiration and skin temperatures. This should lead to a more detailed level of information about your lifestyle.
The watch syncs directly with most Android and all iPhones, and the phone interface is pretty quick and easy to use. You can also access your stats online, and the statistics you can see are pretty mind-blowing.
You can see throughout the day when your heart rate changes, the steps you take, the calories you are burning, skin temperature and perspiration changes. Additionally the Basis can sense when you are walking, running or biking and keeps track of the amount of time you have done each activity.
The Basis also automatically detects when you are sleeping and can monitor the difference between light sleep, REM and deep sleep - and gives you a sleep score based on the amount of time you spend on each sleep cycle.
As opposed to goals, which is how the FitBit interface works, the Basis focuses on habits. You can chose from a variety of habits depending on what works for you. As you succeed in one habit you earn points that allows you to unlock your next habit. It starts out just having you wear the Basis for 12 hours at a time, this was really easy for me since I was used to wearing the FitBit. I also added an afternoon lap, because I know I tend to sit too long at work in the afternoon. Once I succeed at both of these habits I will be able to add more.
I kind of like the habits - it is a bit more motivating to complete a habit if I am able to unlock more, as opposed to the goal of the FitBit. Although I will miss the excitement of my FitBit lighting up and vibrating when I made my calorie burn goal for the day!
I wore the Basis to CrossFit for the first time tonight, since the Basis does not constantly monitor your heart rate in the same way a training Garmin watch would (for example), it definitely was slightly off on my measurements during my workout. So far, this would be my only complaint about the product. I did find that if I wore it slightly higher up on my wrist it seems to get better measurements. I also emailed their customer support and suggested they allow you to force a heart rate check by pushing a button. I know it never picked up my max heart rate during my workout because it just didn't happen to check at that point....it would have been nice to force it to check here and there during my workout. But it still gave me some great readings, and a better overall view of my activity during the day than the FitBit ever did.
The Basis is also lacking a silent alarm feature, which I really liked in the FitBit. It also does not currently sync with sites such as My Fitness Pal, which is a little disappointing. Hopefully this is something that can add eventually. Then again, it is easy enough, if I decide to count calories again, to do the math in my head based on the calorie burn the Basis has for the day...
Overall I am excited to continue to use my new toy....and see if it pushes me to make slight improvements to my lifestyle.
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