Review Wednesday: Fitbit Zip

About two months ago I got my first Fitbit. I have the Fitbit Zip. It was a prize I won for participating in my company’s wellness program.
The Fitbit Zip (along with the other two mentioned on the website) tracks steps, distance (in miles) and calories burned. They sync wirelessly to computers and my iPhone (and other smartphones).
The Zip has a replaceable battery, which according to the website lasts 4-6 months. It is sweat, rain and splash proof. If you don’t get a Zip for free from your company it costs about $60, which for everything it does is a great price.
There are two other types of Fitbit, which I am looking into investing in at some point. The One Wireless Activity and Sleep Tracker and the Flex Wireless Activity and Sleep Wristband. They are both $100 and you can read more about them on the Fitbit website.
Fitbit also sells the Aria Wi-Fit Smart Scale, which according to the website, measures weight, BMI and percentage of body fat. It costs about  $130 and uses wi-fi to upload information automatically to Fitbit.com.
After I received the Zip it took me a couple of weeks to set up. I kept thinking I didn’t have time. But it literally took five minutes. It was easy to set up and once it was set up I was ready to go.
I can monitor my progress on Fitbit.com. It also syncs up with certain challenges on the work wellness page. There is also an app for that, which is also fairly easy to use.
By the way, I am semi-obsessive with monitoring my progress on the website. You can see when you were most active. You can also use the site to track food and weight and calories in vs. calories out.
On the site you can also have “friends” and track their progress as well.
The Zip is small (as you can see from the picture above) and can clip to your bra, band of pants or the side of your pocket or even in your pocket.
Because it is so small and easy to clip onto a pocket I am worried I am going to lose it at some point or accidentally wash it. A few of my co-workers have already lost theirs. And one is pretty sure hers ended up in the washer.
The main negative I have found is that it doesn’t track very well with bike riding. The first time I used it in spin I clipped it to my foot at the suggestion of a friend. It tracked, but not for the miles I actually rode.
Since then I have clipped to my hip and it has tracked a little better. But it still isn’t accurate. I just realized I haven’t tried it clipped to my sports bra or workout top. Maybe I will get better results there.
It also tracks no steps while in a yoga class, even a very active one.
Other than those two negatives it is a pretty cool little device, especially for the price.