REVIEW: Misfit Shine - Activity Tracker & Cute Accessory
/"Oh hey I can see your activity monitor attached to your bra through your shirt?" "Well I can tell you are tracking those steps with that tracker bulging out of your pocket?"
"Wow! You really make that activity tracker match the fancy outfit of yours ... or not!"
Has anyone thought or said any of these comments to you?
Well I have had one or all of them mentioned to me in passing.
So sorry that even at a wedding I want to track my activity! You know I can get some serious steps with my dance moves. ;)
What is a fashionable girl to do? C'mon folks let me pretend I am fashionable for at least one post. M'kay!
Misfit heard my pleas and produced the Shine (value $99.99).
(Note: I received the Shine free for this review, but all thoughts and opinions are my own - ain't nobody got time for lying!)
The Shine is an activity monitor that tracks movement and sleep: calories burned, steps, distance and sleep quality and duration.
The Shine can be worn anywhere. This is a HUGE help when trying to wear a tracker and not have it seen by the world.
Since the Shine is so thin it doesn't look bulky when on your bra or waistband (or your underwear band if you are wearing a dress ;).
The small size of the Shine can unfortunately backfire as well. I lost mine transitioning it from my shoe to my sports bra after a Spin class. It must've slid off my bra while I was putting my backpack on and I didn't notice.
It stays on by magnet - one on the clasp and one in the Shine.
Luckily, Misfit has great customer service and they sent me a new one.
Syncing your Shine is simple. You just place the device on your iPhone/Android and tap the sync button.
Quick and easy. Hello instant gratification! I hate having to wait until I get home to sync a tracker. I want to know right after the run happens where I am at.
Additionally, you can double tap the Shine to see what sort of progress you are making by a series of lights lighting up.
Activity Tracking
Use points to easily measure all your activities, such as walking, running, swimming and cycling.
While the Shine sets your goal at 1,000 points a day, you can change that to whatever you want whenever you want. I love how it breaks your goal down for you via walking, running or swimming. Those are definitely just examples and suggestions if you are wondering how to hit your goal for the day.
But the Shine tracks more than points as I mentioned: steps, calories burned and distance are also noted.
Now I don't know how accurate the information is as I do not track/record calories burned, but I like using it as a guide from day-to-day. I can compare a rest day to a day where I was constantly moving.
I appreciate the graphs broken down by hours of the day so I can see when I was most active and when I hit my points goal for the day!
You can also set an activity: running, swimming or biking. When you set the activity to say biking, if you tap on the Shine three times it will you know you are beginning a session on your bike cycling and will record the activity appropriately. You can change the activity (out of those three options) at any time.
Track your progress
Tap your Misfit Shine to see how close you are to reaching your goal.
You can set activity, sleep and weight goals on the app.
Have fun with friends
Find your friends and view each other's accomplishments.
You know I have a little competitive side so this feeds right into that. :P Who doesn't love a friendly little competition?
Sleep Tracking
This is something I was VERY interested in since I never feel like I get a good night sleep... Ever!
You know what. I was right. I consistently see gaps in my sleep tracker. I figure I am either tossing/turning or taking bathroom breaks during those times.
It is upsetting to see, but I am happy I now have the proof. Next step becomes figuring out how to fix it.
Weight Tracker/Food Journal
You do have the option of hooking up your MyFitnessPal to your Shine. I do not use that site so I don't have it connected. But I do update my weekly weigh-ins in my account.
So for those that do count calories this seems like a great feature for you.
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But what sets it apart from other activity trackers that offer the same information?
It is waterproof (aka I can safely wear it while swimming) AND it is stylish. That's right. I can wear it to a wedding without anyone being the wiser.
How?
Also Misfit offers some cool accessories including necklace, metal mesh band, leather band, sport band or metal band.
Bloom Necklace Holder
Deceiving right? You wouldn't even recognize it.
Now the accessories are great they can be quite pricey. The Bloom Necklace Holder rings in at $79.99, while the metal band is $49.99. So if you want more than the sport band and clasp that come with the Shine, you will be forking over some $$$.
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Overall the Shine is a great deal for $99.99 in my opinion.
Wins
^ Runs on a battery (lasts 6 months), which means no waiting to charge the device
^ Waterproof so I can wear it swimming
^ Able to adjust to wear it all over my body
^ Offers graphs for both activity and sleep breakdown
^ Coin sized so unnoticeable to people
^ Stylish and comes in many color options in case you do want to show it off
^ Easy to sync while on the go
Losses
^ Not sure how accurate the step/calories burned feature is
^ Accessories are quite pricey
^ Slips off easily from my tank top when I am sleeping
^ Offers a watch feature, but is confusing to read/understand
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Have you tried the Misfit Shine yet? What is your favorite feature?
