The Fitbit Luxe - still worth buying?

Let's cut to the chase - YES - we believe the Fitbit Luxe to be worth buying! 

We have given the Fitbit Luxe and replacement straps for the Luxe a trial run, wearing it alongside the Fitbit Sense 2 and the conclusion is, it is certainly a great 'little' fitness monitor. 

Fitbit Luxe for Fitness

The size is definitely one of the positives, the slender monitor sits nicely on all wrists, perfect if you want something innocuous to help you with fitness goals, if you wear a timepiece already, the Fitbit Luxe makes a perfect health monitoring companion on your wrist. 

Replacement straps for the Fitbit Luxe

We would like to quickly mention at this point that we stock an impressive range of Fitbit Luxe replacement straps - in all the designs and colours you need. So if you are looking for a new fitness monitor and the Fitbit Luxe is of interest, rest assured you will be able to get all the great looks and styles we have.

Luxe straps in all styles and some....

As well as comfy silicone, classic leather and stylish metallic Luxe straps, we also have resin straps. Resin straps are perfectly comfortable, with a stylish adjustable clasp to get that fit just right. The range of patterns and colours are guaranteed to please - easily match outfits and accessories from tortoiseshell to pink. 

So, is the Fitbit Luxe the one for you? 

How accurate is the Fitbit Luxe? 

If you are just interested in your daily activity, the absolute accuracy of your fitness monitor may not be that high on your list of priorites as the ability to make calls/texts, or listen to music is. However, if you are using the monitor to improve your health, to get fitter or just to lose weight, then the accuracy becomes more important. Especially so if you are trying to lose the last kilo - it's difficult to shift those last few pounds as you get closer and closer to your target weight, accurate calorie burn will make that process much easier. Also if you are looking to lose fat and build muscle, body recompostion, knowing your exact calorie burn will make that transition easier to monitor and control. 

So we took an almost scientific look at the Fitbit Luxe and it's accuracy. Comparing the results from the Luxe with the Sense 2 and that given by gym equipment where it is used. 

1. How accurate are the Luxe steps? 

We ran a pedometer experiment. 

Counting steps whilst wearing the Fitbit Luxe. We walked 1000 steps - literally counting!  No reliance on another monitor, phone, GPS or pedometer to get the exact figures and then compared this to that given by the Luxe (and the Sense 2).

Conclusion

Both undercounted on the steps, calorie burn was almost the same but the Sense 2 had a higher figure for average heart rate. This is a common criticism of the Sense 2. 

2. Accuracy on a workout

Gym equipment

For this we used the elliptical trainer

Both the fitness monitors counted each step on the elliptical trainer in the total number of daily steps, so be mindful of this if you are adding both steps and exercise to a diet app separate from the Fitbit App such as Noom or My Fitness Pal.

We then commenced a workout with the device on both dominant and non-dominant wrists to compare the steady step count to determine if there was a difference in simple steps or the dominant hand is counting all the extra tasks such as writing, lifting coffee cups etc. 

Bike Ride - Outdoors

Both monitors picked up on the exercise without needing to select it pre-workout. The GPS worked equally well for both monitors, distance, altitude and speed were very similar in numbers.  The Sense 2 didn't pick up the outward bike ride immediately, there was some kind of technical hitch and it took nearly 10 minutes to right itself.

Dominant hand

This was where things got a bit disappointing. For some reason wearing the Luxe on the dominant hand, and selecting this option in the Fitbit App settings still resulted in an extra 2,000 steps over 25000 in a given day. Definitely wear the monitor on the non-dominant wrist if you can. You will get a much more accurate reading over the day. 

Whether you already have a Fitbit Luxe, or you have one on your to-buy list - check out the fab range of replacement straps for the Fitbit Luxe by following this link. 

Conclusion

We totally love the Fitbit Luxe, it's small but mighty and nicely compact. The screen size was a little tricky to view quickly in the middle of a workout but the accuracy was adequate and the range of replacement straps is impressive. Subtle fitness monitoring with stylish looks and designs to complement gym wear and evening wear.