Ah, I remember my first Fibit (Ultra) fondly. I can't remember how exactly I found out about them? I think I was trying to find a pedometer that didn't suck on Amazon and there it was in all its glory. I was a bit sticker shocked, but I knew I hated every pedometer I tried (for like a day and would abandon). The reviews were convincing, the technology sophisticated, and the design sleek, sexy, and completely practical. Being the geek I am, I was tempted. I was on the conquest to better my health and save on my health insurance at work. I had started some walking/running over the previous few weeks and wanted to quantify my efforts. I bit the bullet. I was so excited when I opened the package. I got it charging and my account set up. In the early days, the site was a little buggy, but they quickly remedied it. With each update, they kept the clean interface and added more features. I couldn't be more thrilled!
Then, the inevitable happend. You see...when you clip something so small and weightless to your clothes, there's a good chance of 2 things happening; it could fall off and you'll never know or it will end up in your washing machine. Well, since I was new to fitness and this was about spring by this point, I was wearing shorts, which the previous summer had fit, but now were a bit baggy with the weight loss. I was rolling down the top waistband to keep them from riding up and it was working, but I was definitely getting some chafing. TMI? Never. I don't believe in it! Well, I got home eager to see what my fitbit said and then it hit me...it was gone!!! I had done one of my longest outdoor runs! I think it was like a 6 or 8 miler at that point. I had a lake to canvas to find it and I didn't have much time to do so. I took a partial day off of work and looked...nothing. I never found it. I went about a week without it and my motivation instantly fizzed. I didn't have my fitbit to show me where I was in relation to other days. I didn't have the "chatter" on the screen to "high five" me or tell me to "get moving." I had none of it and I was devastated. I wasn't looking to toss another $100 out, but I needed my fitbit, so I bought another. This time I built a handy little tether system using a baby pacifier clip (don't have kids, so I had to buy one) and a D ring for a keychain type thing. It worked and saved me from fate many times. Then, one fall day I was running a race...and there was a fitbit on the ground! I knew I had mine in my zippered pocket on my tights, so it couldn't be mine! I double checked and it was secure. Fitbit down! Someone else was about to realize they had suffered the same horrible fate as me with my 1st Fitbit! Luckily, the "chatter" feature says whatever name you put in it. There it was...a first name!!! But it was a common one...there could be several people with that in this race (it was a half and full marathon). I noticed the time was an hour behind mine. Now, we're talking!!! Once the race results were posted, I looked for the first name and found someone in a neighboring state listed that would be an hour behind me. Now I had a full name, but no way to contact. I posted on the marathon's facebook page, but didn't get anything back. Ahh!!!! So, I contacted fitbit and they said that I could print out a prepaid postage label and send it to them and they could get it reunited with the owner! Woohoo! I made a tether for her fitbit and included it in the package like any Fitbit lover with a lifehack would do and I sent a pic to the customer support person that helped me and let them know it was on its way to them with a cute tether. They loved that they had a cool person in the Fitbit community that had gone the extra mile (that's about 2000 steps for those of you at home haha) and they hooked me up with a 1 year premium membership as a token of their esteem. Great success! Everyone wins and I was just happy knowing there wasn't a sad little lost Fitbit out there like mine had been.
Fast forward a few months and then the inevitable happened again and this time the fate was that of the washing machine. Fitbit took a bath and it never recovered. I tried putting it in rice and letting it dry out, but it could not be revived. Sad panda! It had been almost a year since I had been using Fitbits and from the first leave of absense, I knew I couldn't stand to be without one. Luckily, I was just within my 1 year warranty period and they had just launched the Fitbit One's so, they replaced my Ultra with a One as they did not have any Ultras in stock. Many improvements like making it just a little piece that sits in a silicone holder, so you can replace those (which circumvented the old hinge issue on the Ultra models) and it also stuck much better on clothing etc, so it wouldn't fall off easily like my original one did! The display was also more clear which I like a lot too.
I used it a couple of months and it died in my sleep. Did I lay on it too hard? I have no idea, but it died. Fitbit's support walked me through a reset procedure, but nothing brought it back to life. I was now out of warranty period, so I had picked up a new One at a local Best Buy knowing I didn't want to be without one when I heard back from support that they would like to offer me a replacement at a discounted price. I figured, I may as well have a hot spare in case I had one die after warranty later, so I took them up on it and let that one sit in the package. This fall, I got my sister a Flex for her birthday and I gave my mom my hot spare to use "until I need it someday when mine dies" but in reality, I know I'll just let her have it. She's been so motivated and moving more and she has MS so 10,000 steps a day is not realistic, but she's been pushing and getting more steps in and moving more. Woohoo! Then, the other week, my Fitbit One again died in my sleep like my 1st one did. WTF? Well, at least I had the scanned receipt from the original warranty replacement (I'm good through December basically) and I just used that with my support request on this one. I went about a week without a Fitbit again (torture!!!) and got my new replacement.
So I have:
- 1 lost Fitbit never to be found
- 1 dead Ultra from a bath in the wash
- 2 dead One's (both died in my sleep)
That's $400 in about 2 years, which is significant and you might think I'd have trash talking to do about Fitbit at this point, but I don't.
My health has improved SO MUCH as a result of the motivation they have provided
$400 is way less than a gym membership
Their support is awesome and they are committed to improving lives and health of people
I really hope they come out with my dream sportwatch someday soon (I'll make another entire post dedicated to my wishlist on that), but until then, they are hands down the best step/stair/sleep tracking device in a tiny design. I tend to wear mine almost always on my bra because it's grippy and stays put there and it is less likely to take a swim in the wash. Titbit anyone!?!?
<3 Fitbit and if you've been on the fence about ever getting one, then don't be. They are amazing and despite my graveyard of Fitbits past, I am still in love with them.
My graveyard of fitbits with my happy (and alive) current One in the front
