Nike+ FuelBand Personal Review

The husband and I were among the first several thousand to receive the Nike+ FuelBand on February 22 (the official launch date for the product). Nike overnighted all of the products so everyone would get them on the same day. They are continuing to create demand by only releasing a certain number for purchase on various selected days.

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One thing I love about working out is all of the gadgets that can go along with it. I am a numbers person (not meaning I like to calculate numbers). I just like things that are black and white, thus numbers.

What is the FuelBand you ask? Think of it as a pedometer meets Nintendo Wii. Reviewers have said that it is a fitness gamification tool. (Who knew gamification was a word? It is not accepted by Word spellcheck, but it is in Wikipedia!) It follows your movements to track your number of steps (converts to miles on the iPhone app and Website), calories burned and NikeFuel (metric that Nike put together on its own that matches a person's movement through the wristband's accelerometer against data collected on how rapidly oxygen is consumed, via CNET).

 

Will this product make you in better shape? Not necessarily. But if you are a numbers person like me it can be a “fuel” for your motivation. On Sunday I had done nothing but eat pizza and go to the movies. I was bummed when I saw I had burned a measly 350 calories by 3:30 pm that day and I know I had consumed way more than that! I decided to take the dogs on a walk and then I ran several miles after that because I realized how beautiful it was outside. Because of the FuelBand’s reminder, I had my most active day thus far. Plus, my husband and I are ultra-competitive so we love comparing results at the end of the day and seeing which “awards” show up on our iPhones once we have synced the day’s activity. We regularly ask each other "what's your fuel?" throughout the day. (I know we are a little crazy!)

I think the band is relatively comfortable and very lightweight. I wear mine on my right hand so I can still wear my watch or bracelets on my left. The band also has a watch on it as well which is convenient. You just hit the button to scroll to the different measurements. I have definitely gotten used to wearing it.

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FuelBand’s ever clever motto that has made its popular trending on Twitter - #makeitcount

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Also as a major marketing plus, Kevin Durant (former Longhorn and current All-Star MVP!) is a spokesperson for the band.

Nike has been described as the Apple of fitness products. No one can touch them. We will see if this is a revolutionary product for fitness or just a flash fad.

Make it count!

Danielle